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Archives for October 2020

Akina Adderley: “Broke”

Back when KUTX first started in 2013, one of early favorites was Austin singer Akina Adderley. But in the years since, Adderley’s devoted more and more of her time both as one third of retro “girl pop” trio Charlie Faye & The Fayettes and as the fearless orator at the head of world jazz group NORI, all the while continuing her legacy of bold, Afro-inspired vocals.

With early voting in Texas beginning tomorrow, Adderley’s unfurled her first solo single since 2012, once again boasting her gargantuan voice on a call to action that places Adderley in the pantheon of rock-soul champions like Aretha Franklin, on “Broke”!

KUTX supports Austin music; your support makes KUTX possible. Donate today.

Shaundell Newsome (Ep. 45, 2020)

On this week’s edition of In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Shaundelle Robinson, United States Air Force and Operation Desert Storm veteran, and the founder and visionary behind Sumnu Marketing, a two-time Small Business Association Award winner.

Far Out Saturday Night

This is where it’s at. The buzz is out for another must-see line-up at The Far Out Lounge in South Austin. Your Saturday night was made for sets like these:

-Music. Modeling, Painting. Design. This is what one would describe as a bona fide Renaissance man – but extra. Detroit-born/Austin-based hip-hop renegade Mike Melinoe is on the bill.

-Not confined by any linear definitions of hip-hop or R&B, Austin artist TEDDYTHELEGACY instinctively feels his way through his creative process to convey the inner and outermost turmoil.

-Austin songwriter and hip-hop artist formerly-known-as Anya, Anastasia imparts rhythm to the message, a candid sensuality to her craft. And quit attaching “female” to the title. This is, quite simply, a badass artist.

The show kicks off at 9 p.m. Central tonight, Saturday October 10, at The Far Out Lounge & Stage, 8504 S. Congress Ave. For your safety, social distancing is in practice. Limited entry, table seating, and masks are required.

-Photo of Mike Melinoe courtesy of the artist.

KUT Weekend – October 9, 2020

Governor Abbott allows county judges to reopen bars at 50 percent capacity. Plus, how the Republican Party consolidated power in Texas. And why are there so many otters popping up in Central Texas? Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!

Subscribe at https://weekend.kut.org

Saturday Buskin’

The AMM has your schedule for Domain Northside‘s Northside Rocks Busking Hours, an October music series spotlighting local artists, each performing at different spots around the Domain from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. Plenty of opportunities for musical discovery and supporting local artists!

This Saturday – San Gabriel (“Another One” featured on today’s AMM), PR Newman, and Cari Hutson.

October 17th –  Aubrey Hays, Shiela, and Andrew Nolte.

October 24th – Henry Invisible, Alesia Lani, and Pelvis Wrestley.

Check the Domain’s website for locations, and thanks in advance for practicing social distancing as you enjoy these performances.

-Photo of San Gabriel (James Bookert) by Joel Sutton.

Texas Standard: October 9, 2020

It’s Cornyn versus Hegar in a debate tonight that could influence the Texas election for the U.S. Senate. We’ll look at what to watch for. Also, we’re in a pandemic and the economy has been hit hard. But Houston area courts are moving forward with eviction cases. We’re following the story. And despite economic devastation, it’s been a record year for the Texas lottery and specifically scratch-off tickets. A look at why. Plus, what it’s like to vote from abroad, lessons learned from not-so-great Nobel prize winners, and unpacking a new poll that shows President Trump with 5-point lead in Texas. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

New Life

With everything going on in the world, the simplest and yet most miraculous thing is also still happening: new life is joining us. This Typewriter Rodeo poem was requested by a Texas Standard listener.

Mélat: “Happy Hour” [Social Distancing Pop Up Music Video Premiere]

Mélat is featured in ACL Fest 2020, Friday Oct. 9 at 7:45p. The Austin R&B singer-songwriter first played the Zilker Park fest in 2017.


NPR Live Sessions/KUTX – Shot in June 2020 by Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon, audio mixed by Jake Perlman

Though there’s an endless array of people claiming to “do it all”, Austin’s Mélat lives up to the expectation. This Studio 1A savant‘s pitch perfect vocals are just an introduction to the young songwriter’s already impressive discipline, which seems to mature with each new recording.

Back in June, Mélat treated the KUTX multimedia crew to a socially distanced pop up session right outside the George Washington Carver Museum alongside keyboardist Xavier Davis for an incandescent rendition of  “Happy Hour”, shot and edited by phenomenal Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon and mixed by the KUTX-quisite Jake Perlman. If that’s not enough of a star-studded cast for you, tune in to Mélat’s virtual ACL Fest tonight at 7:45PM and, if you’re so inclined, complement your free “Happy Hour” download with a pre-game drink before you virtually hit the park.

KUTX supports Austin music; your support makes KUTX possible. Donate today.

Sweet Thursday

It was a dream. But it wasn’t. But…it moved like one. All your Austin Music Minute host vaguely remembers is Madonna, Big Bird, John Wayne, and…a sexy banana? Freddie Kruger woulda seen this one, turned and run screaming. (Or he would stay to party, probably.)

It was actually a commercial Sweet Spirit put together for South Congress costume spot extraordinaire, Lucy In Disguise with Diamonds, which is very generously providing all the necessary over-the-top ensembles and accessories for Sweet Spirit’s October musical residency on Hotel Free TV. It’s like a Halloween dream come true – with rock. And shreds. And…maybe a sexy banana wandering in, who knows?

Hotel Free TV is a DIY virtual residency program supporting the ATX music scene by providing a platform for musicians to share their music, while opportunities to perform live are on hold or very limited. For the month of October, they have Sweet Spirit on board for a weekly livestream series like no other. The band invites you to see them “shred, sweat and live the fantasy” starting at 8 p.m. Central tonight, Thursday October 8, and every Thursday this month, at Hotel Free TV’s website.

Sign me up, Big Bird.

-Photography by Roger Ho.

 

Texas Standard: October 8, 2020

At least you could hear the candidates actually speak, but in a nation so politically polarized, did anything said in the vice presidential debate have the potential to affect the outcome? Also, the governor set to reopen more of Texas as COVID-19 cases stabilize. And one of the largest stock exchanges in the world moving from the Big Apple to the Big D? To be fair it’s only part of NASDAQ in talks with Texas, but it could be part of a seismic shift in high finance. Those stories and so much more on todays Texas Standard:

Kydd Jones: “Skate World”

If you’re a longtime listener of KUTX then you’re already familiar with Kydd Jones, but in case you’re not, this Austin-based producer-rapper-singer maintains a steady output that navigates across the hip-hop spectrum. You’ll be listening to a track that sounds like early-’00s-era Madvillain one minute and the next you’ll hear one that evokes an aura not unlike modern day Frank Ocean.

Last Friday Kydd Jones launched a social media takeover of performing rights organization BMI, doing so with two new sleek singles from the double A-side Skate World, and even though both the title track and “No Smoke” ring in at just under two minutes, Kydd proves once again that quality supersedes quantity.

KUTX supports Austin music; your support makes KUTX possible. Donate today.

Texas Standard: October 7, 2020

A democratic presidential campaign raising the stakes big time in Texas. We’ll follow the money and what its telling us. Also, imagine dropping your absentee ballot in the mail, and a few days after the election finding something unexpected in your mailbox: your unopened ballot. Concerns grow in Dallas county over problems coping with mail in ballots during an election season likely to include many of them. Also as the stakes heat up in the Texas race for U.S. Senate. Politifact check weighs in on a claim by the incumbent. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Next Journey

The Austin Music Minute featured Rosie and The Ramblers at least a couple of times as a must-see midnight show at The White Horse, around 2014-2015. That’s around the time band’s album Whatever You Need had come out to critical accolades, notably for front woman Selena Rosanbalm‘s exceptional vocals. That voice has also given the Austin-based songwriter bragging rights, thanks to praises from Shawn Colvin that did not mince words: “Selena sings her ass off!” Hell yeah. Add to that a sharp humor giving extra fire to The Ramblers’ country flare.

A considerable amount of time has passed since the last Ramblers album, following Rosanbalm’s much-needed break to grieve the sudden loss of a loved one and sort through the torrent of emotions that followed. However, the bereavement led to a wake up call, a new perspective that’s radiating on Rosanbalm’s latest self-titled release, as she taps into renewed energy and newer inspiration. Those vibrant vocals reveal not only the heartbreak, but something strangely hopeful on the horizon.

Selena Rosanbalm celebrates the release of her new LP with a livestream show at 6:30 p.m. Central tomorrow night, Thursday October 8, on Bud’s Live and Direct on YouTube.

-Photo courtesy of the artist.

Norfleet: The Texas Rancher Who Kept On Coming

By W.F. Strong

The year was 1919. J. Frank Norfleet, after two years of pursuit, finally slapped the handcuffs on Mr. Stetson in Florida. Stetson – real name: Joe Furey – had swindled Norfleet out of $90,000 in Dallas and Fort Worth two years before. Stetson was shocked to see him and paid him a backhanded compliment. He said, “Well, you old trail hound. I never expected to see you out here. … I thought we left you flat broke in Fort Worth.” Please don’t take me back to Texas, Norfleet … your “damnable hounding” has already cost me “as much money as I have made” off of you.

Stetson’s surprise at having Norfleet slap handcuffs on him is equal to the surprise that most people have when they first hear the incredible story of  the old rancher’s dogged and ultimately successful pursuit of his swindlers. I’m not spoiling the story by telling the ending because the joy of this story is in the chase.

Norfleet had no experience in law enforcement, big city life or sophisticated cons. He was a cowboy and a hunter, a man who had always lived on the edge of the Texas frontier. So when he made up us his mind to pursue the band of bunco men who conned him, he used the only tools he had, which were unfathomable patience, cutting for sign, following the trail no matter how faint, employing camouflage in the way of disguises, always being well-armed, and being willing to withstand all nature of hardship to win in the end. Norfleet out-conned the con men. He seemed to be operating under the motto of  Texas Ranger Capt. Bill McDonald: “No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that’s in the right who just keeps on a-comin’.”

Norfleet was born in Lampasas and grew up on the Texas plains. He was a working cowboy trail herder in his early days and later managed to buy his own ranch out near Plainview. At 54, he had finally accumulated some real wealth. So he went to Dallas and Fort Worth with the intent of selling his ranch to buy a bigger one. It was there that con men ensnared him in their sophisticated  plot. It went like this:

Norfleet got into a  seemingly casual conversation about mules in the lobby of the St. George Hotel in Dallas. He said that “to one of his upbringing, the most lonesome place in the world is a large city.” So he was happy to find someone of similar tastes and interests. This man, Hamlin, upon hearing Norfleet had a ranch to sell, said he just happened to know someone who might be interested in his land. That interested party,  Mr. Spencer, magically appeared and said they would need to go to the Adolphus to see another man. When they sat down in the lobby to wait, Spencer cleverly steered  Norfleet so that he’d sit in just the right place to discover a man’s pocket book “lost” in the crevice of the couch. The pocket book had “$240 in cash and a cashable bond for $100,000 dollars.” Mr. Stetson was the name on the Mason’s card inside. Spencer and Norfleet inquired at the desk for a Mr. Stetson, got his room number, and returned the pocket book to him.

Mr. Stetson – AKA Joe Furey – offered them both $100 reward. Norfleet refused.  Stetson told him that he was a stockbroker with the Dallas exchange and said, “Would you mind me placing that money on the market and would you accept what money it might earn?” Later that day Stetson gave Norfleet $800 as the amount his $100 earned. And that is how the hook was set. From there, much more money was made and eventually cash guarantees required by the fake exchange. When the con men cleared out on the last round, absconding with all of Norfleet’s money, he was left repeating to himself in a stunned haze, “Forty-five thousand dollars gone; $90,000 in debt; 54 years old.” If it happened today he’d be saying, “Seven-hundred-thousand-dollars gone; $1.5 million in debt; 54 years old.”

Most swindled people keep quiet about it. Some report it to police but just suffer the loss and go about rebuilding their lives. Furey, who conned many an Englishmen said that the British always handled the loss with such poise. But he resented Norfleet for taking it so personally.

So here is where you will want to pick up the book and get on the trail with Norfleet. He logs 30,000 miles pursuing these con men. Its’a great adventure and demonstrates an old cowboy’s enormous creativity and grit. He just wouldn’t quit. You can read his own telling of the story in his fast-moving autobiography, “Norfleet,” published in 1924. Or, you can read a more modern version historically contextualized by Amy Reading in “The Mark Inside.” Whichever you choose, cinch up your saddles nice and snug.  It’s gonna be a wild ride.

Andrekza: “TÉ”

We all know Steve Aoki’s reputation as an internationally renowned DJ, but recently the thrill seeker’s downshifted just a bit from the nonstop globetrotting and beatmaking to found his Latin underground label Dim Mak En Fuego, shining the spotlight on rising artists like Venezuela’s Andrekza.

Born in San Antonio de los Altos and now based out of L.A., this flamboyant, mononymous creative director, photographer, and singer has a promising career ahead of her, especially if her debut R&B-pop single and music video “TÉ” is any indicator of what’s to come!

–Photo: Joshua Carter

New York Stories

Full disclosure: Aside from a handful of films that, for better or worse, left a huge impression of life in a world-renown metropolis, your Austin Music Minute host’s central connections to New York City were mainly Tama Janowitz and Fran Lebowitz, the former through her brilliantly odd detachment, the latter with humor on wry-overdrive. Occasionally, Spalding Gray would wander in for added adventure at 100 miles per hour and tales to get lost in for hours. Then, along came Suzanne Vega, with experiences captured in a unique voice through music, whether at 59th Street and Central Park South (think “Frank and Ava”), the Lower East Side, Greenwich Village, or seeing Lou Reed perform when she was a student at Barnard College.

Damn.

Vega recorded her tenth LP, An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, in the spring of last year, a live album with an intimacy that makes you feel as though you’re right there in the same room with her, as she performs a combination of her more well-known hits and fantastic rare favorites from an extensive discography. And it wouldn’t be complete without a few New York City memories.

The pandemic has postponed Vega’s tour in support of the album until next year, but you have a chance to see Vega in a special livestream performance at 8 p.m. (Central) tomorrow night, Wednesday October 7, coming to you from the Blue Note Jazz Club. Your virtual ticket gets you a link to the show.

Texas Standard: October 6, 2020

A police shooting in a small north Texas town over the weekend now. A 22 year old police officer charged with the murder of Jonathan Price. We’ll have more. Also, another sort of Supreme Court battle, this one happening at the polls in Texas. We’ll explore. And it wasn’t so much the wind, but the rain–a researcher sounding the alarm over hurricanes that stall, a new normal? Plus the case of the missing students, during a pandemic. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

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