Tomorrow night starts Antone’s nightclub’s 50th anniversary celebration with a revue of artists from the Memphis blues and soul scene. 50 years as Austin’s home of the blues, even if it’s moved 5 or 6 times. The anniversary brings to mind the time, 30 years ago, when I attended Antone’s 20th anniversary, and, as a result, decided to leave New York for Austin. Honestly, I don’t remember much about the birthday parties in 1995, but there are some people who were responsible for me getting there and then getting to Texas permanently.
I knew Rose and Artie from our days at WUSB, the radio station broadcasting from SUNY Stony Brook. The whole state university system in New York has undergone some name changes, so the college located near the eastern end of Long Island is referred to by something else these days. I started as a disc jockey at WUSB in 1979, was music director there from March of 1983 to March of 1985, and continued on the air there, off and on, until moving to Texas in 1995. Rose and Artie were a live-in couple who had a string of radio jobs, and as a result, they moved around the country a bit after leaving the Brook. I visited them in El Paso, Syracuse, Florida, and, finally, Austin. We liked music and radio, and our twisted sense of humor and weird tastes in the arts made things interesting.
As I had done some times before, when visiting Austin, I stayed with them for a couple of days while celebrating the home of the blues. A hot topic whenever I showed up with them was when I would leave New York City, where I had a fourth-floor walk-up on the edge of Hell’s Kitchen overlooking the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. I was tired of the city, tired of my job running the computers at CMJ, and I was looking for a place with a backyard and a dog. I could address all that in Austin. They said if I moved, I could sleep on their couch until I settled in. When I returned to NY, I landed in LaGuardia, which was always a bummer after being out of town. It seemed so dark and dirty. The next week, when I got back to the office, I gave my notice at CMJ, and, after working my last Music Marathon, the CMJ college radio/music convention, I split for Austin. Rose and Artie, let me stay in their living room, then ghosted me a few months after I got there. (WHAT?) But I ended up with a nice apartment and got a job with IBM after three months of looking for something computer-related. I didn’t start writing again until 1997, and I haven’t heard from my ‘good friends’ since.
Back to Antone’s. Tracy O’Quinn was one of the ‘blues babes’ who worked for Antone’s, the record label, and we worked together a lot. There was a trip to the Blues Music Awards in Memphis that was memorable, with a visit to Graceland and all the music happening on the banks of the Mississippi that weekend. We did a couple of music conventions together, if I remember correctly. There was one in Boulder that was outstanding, as I got to see Kris Kristofferson backed by Stephen Bruton, among other things. Tracy took care of me during Antone’s 20th, and she’s always been righteous since. I have to mention ‘blues babe’ Sally King, who was Tracy’s sidekick at the label and always treated me right as well. So Happy #50 Antone’s. It’s amazing you’ve survived this long. It’s a testament to a vision that’s true and your love of music that’s good for the soul.
I've wondered on occasion what led to your move to Austin, so this was very interesting to learn (or be reminded of?). My last job was a two minute walk from that "fourth-floor walk-up on the edge of Hell’s Kitchen overlooking the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel," so this was one thing I did remember. The neighborhood's gone through a major renovation in the last ten years, but the building you lived in remains somehow untouched.
Sweet memories! We are glad you came here, glad you stayed.