Texas Flood: Austin Gets Soaked, and No Statue is Spared

Credit: Reagan Hackleman (https://twitter.com/@rhackleman)

We got some serious rain a few days ago.  It was not a joke at all, as a lot of damage was done.  Nonetheless, one small bit of amusement that the storm begat was this photo that freelance photographer Reagan Hackleman took of the iconic Stevie Ray Vaughan statue at Auditorium Shores up to its waist (and last few frets) in water.  I wonder if Mr. Willie did any better?

HOW TO HELP:  Please consider helping victims of the flood.  If you are interested, there is plenty of useful information on the Statesman: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/how-to-help/nbdrt/.  Or contact the Austin Disaster Relief Network, American Red Cross, or Salvation Army.

Forget ACL. Yäktoberfest 2013 is Coming Soon!

Fall is a magical time here in Austin.  After your typical brutally hot Austin summer, the weather finally starts to cool down, eventually hitting that sweet spot in the 70s and 80s.  UT comes back to school, which stokes the seeming millions of local college football fans.  And of course, if you're a music fan (and who in Austin isn't really?), you can't forget the ACL Festival, which usually kicks off an active concert season that runs through November.

But the fall event that I'm sure most of Austin is waiting for is, without a doubt, Yäktoberfest!  What's that?  Yäktoberfest is an annual charity fundraiser that several local home brewers hold, where home-brewed beer is shared, fun is had and money is raised for good causes. This will be our fourth Yäktoberfest, and we're hoping to outdo last year.  I've been working on three different beers, although I haven't decided which ones my team, the Connecticut Drankees, will be offering up this year.

Working on a batch of porter for Yäktoberfest 2013

If you want more info, please visit the official Yäktoberfest website at www.Yaktoberfest.org.

What became of those figs?

Those farmer's market figs from last week are thumbprint cookies this week.

INGREDIENTS

24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

3/4 cup jam (any type)

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg, and beat until completely combined. With mixer on low, add flour, and mix just until incorporated.

STEP 2

Shape dough into 1-inch balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Place on baking sheets, at least 3 inches apart.

STEP 3

Moisten thumb with water, and gently press the center of each ball, making an indentation about 1/2 inch wide and inch deep. In microwave or on stove, heat jam until liquefied; spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into each indentation. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. If storing, place in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.

recipe c/o marthastewart.com

Summer at the Farmers Market Means Figs

Really, fruit in general takes center stage come August at Austin's farmers markets. In addition to these lovely figs that will soon be jam, we have recently gotten peaches, pears, pomegranates and great melons of all varieties.

Want SXSW to Go Away? You're Not Alone?

I read this funny interview with Zachary Cole Smith of DIIV on Pitchfork.  He sounds off about all sorts of things, including some comments he made during a performance at South by Southwest this year that were critical of the festival.  Did he back off?  Not quite:

Pitchfork: Can you talk about your experience at SXSW this year? The general backlash to your statements seemed to find hypocrisy in criticizing something you willfully participated in.

ZCS: People were like, "This artist is anti-corporate, he looks like Kurt Cobain, he has long hair. OK, I get it: This is the zeitgeist anti-corporate punk rock." Fucking whatever. That wasn't my intention at all. Our fucking government is owned by corporations, and other companies get money from the government. If you live in Germany, you get money from the government if you're an artist. So since our government is corporations, it makes sense that we should be taking money from corporations to pay for our art.

If I play Coachella, it's sponsored by a company-- that's corporate, too. But we're playing it because we're getting paid and we want to be a part of the festival. At SXSW, there's all this corporate money changing hands, but none of it goes to the artists. It's fucking bullshit. But I didn't want it to be like, "DIIV-- the band that hates SXSW," because that's not my main tenet as an artist. Some people were like, "DIIV is not having fun at SXSW." I was having a blast. All my friends were there. But I lost $8,000. We were participants in it, but kind of blindly. Our booking agent was just like, "These are the shows you're playing in Austin. Here. You're going." So then we bought the flights and went. 

At the time, I thought of it as part of a game. I'd been twice before, and it was never that bad. I've always been going as a band that was trying to break; I went with Beach Fossils and we played 40 shows because we wanted people to see us. And then it got to this year, and, in some ways, we were one of the larger bands playing. We weren't desperate for attention. We were a commodity used by corporations to make their brand look fashionable, but then they used us to keep kids out of venues. We'd play in a 150 capacity room for 20 minutes with no sound check, and all the kids are outside, because they're like, "Sorry, you're not cool enough to go in the fucking Red Bull Vans Fort over here." I participated in it partially because I didn't really think it through before I went, and also because, you know, everybody goes. But when we got there, I realized what a fucked up thing it is. It seems to get worse every year.

Pitchfork: What's your advice for a band who's just getting started and wants to use SXSW as a way of getting their name out there?

ZCS: If I had my way, SXSW wouldn't happen in 2014. I don't think it deserves to exist.

You know he's not the only one complaining.  I mean, it's pretty clear that SXSW Music is more about the industry than the art form.  I'm sure Prince got paid plenty for his little gig at La Zona Rosa last year, but do you think Star & Micey or Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three or Allah-Las made big bucks?  No.  They probably came down to Austin on a tiny budget, stayed in some crappy overpriced pad, had to schlep around to too many shows, most of which were too short, at bad times and/or before audiences that are more interested in simply "getting in" that in your music.  If you're a badge-wearer, you end up paying a month's salary but still end up shut out of the most enticing event.  And forget about it if you're just there for the free stuff -- good luck meeting your expectations as you compete against tens of thousands of your closest friends for a chance to cram into the shitty back corner of a dingy club to see a bunch of bands that you've never heard of for good reason.

Of course I'm being a big cynical.  After all, it's not like I haven't written about fun times I've enjoyed at SouthBy for nary a dollar.  I've gotten to see the Zombies, M. Ward, Spoon, Seun Kuti and many more for free.  But Mr. Smith does have a point. So what do you think, should SXSW just go away altogether?

Last Week's Cucumbers = This Week's Pickles

Not much else to do when it's 105 degrees outside than to find a few good indoor diversions. I sometimes wind up in the kitchen, like today when I turned what ended up being giant cornichons into some spicy pickles.

If you're interested, the recipe is here in this old post.

Spicy pickles with large cornichons from the Austin Farmer's Market downtown