I really don't know why, but I think I do. Cable channels are a big part of it. And, yes, this will be another old fart remembering the good old days and bashing the now days. Not really. Just a curiosity. In the old days, we got a gig. It was probably 4 hours long. We did it in 2 or maybe 3 sets, with breaks. Sure, maybe long breaks. Now it's a bit of a battle to get a gig. Or not. But you don't have much when you have one. It's usually just a "show," 2 hours tops. There are still restaurant and hotel gigs (?) which might go 4 hours. I dunno. It doesn't matter much. Except I guess partly I'm jealous of all the young acts coming up in Austin now learning how to kick ass in 90 minutes or so. Instead of having to slug it out trying to make people dance and drink for the eternity-seeming four hours in a dance hall. I miss the old Austin. I miss the old Austinites who were here when I got here 36 years ago. They were really friendly, drunk or sober. And they supported me. I really like some of the newer venues. I like Flips. I still approve of the Continental. It's still really loud a lot. I'm glad it's still there. And something about me likes that the band is gonna play 90 minutes and then rotate the heck out of there and go to their other gig of the night (with a different band).
But there seems to be something difficult about getting a group to hang together for very long in this environment. A gig is just not much of a commitment. And if you're a little late to it, you miss a lot of it.
And sometimes you're glad you did
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I actually miss going to Houston in the dead heat of a Texas summer and picking lantana clusters to wear in my hair at Liberty Hall. Remember Roberto, the Chilean promo guy whose house we stayed in? No hot running water? I miss UToteM. I miss gas at 44 cents a gallon. (I miss a keyboard that has a symbol for "cents".) I miss youth and the laughter that came with invincibility. I miss learning some of the world's best music from my best pals. Today it's a struggle. Those of us who stepped away from music in earnest are taking tentative steps toward rebirth and hoping for that moment when it clicks, like riding a bike. I've found that I'm disappointingly wobbly on my bike now, I freak out at narrow passages with few options, I don't look where I'm going. So it is with music. These are baby steps. I didn't know I had it so good, even when it was shitty.
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