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Table of Contents

6 8

The Sound of Local Fests

By Madison Cassels

12 14

Letter from the Editors

Music in Film

By Madison Cassels

What Goes On in the Musicians Head

By Arushi Ahmed

18 Picture on Cover by Dayo Adepoju

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How Oboists Craft Their Own Double Reeds

By Arushi Ahmed

20 24

High School is Musicool

By Sonya Kraizman

26 30

Vinyl: Austin Style

By Sonya Kraizman

Learnin’ in Austin

By Georgia Fink

Rockin’ in Austin

By Georgia Fink

32

The Dark History of Ticketmaster

By Georgia Fink

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Meet the Editors Arushi Ahmed Arushi Ahmed is a freshman at Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA). She is writing about the musician experience in Austin, with it being the live music capital of the world. She enjoys taking care of her indoor plants and playing instruments. Arushi knows how to play the piano, clarinet, and ocarina. Her favorite color is green and her favorite type of music is 90s hip hop. After she graduates, Arushi wants to do something related to environmental science or architecture.

Georgia Fink Georgia Fink is a freshman at Liberal Arts and Science Acadamy (LASA). She is writing about some of the many local music schools in Austin to give them more deserved recognition. One of Georgia’s hobbies is playing guitar. Another thing she enjoys doing in her free time is swimming. One of her many favorite songs is Miss America

by Styx. Her favorite bands include Green Day and Styx. Once she graduates, she hopes to go into Astronomy or another space-related field.

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Sonya Kraizman Sonya Kraizman is currently a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy (LASA). She spends her time playing the violin, reading, hanging out with her friends, and her favorite color is pink. Along with that, Sonya likes listening to jazz, R&B, and hip hop music, and her favorite artists include Lana Del Rey and MF DOOM. Sonya is interested in becoming a dermatologist or another medical professional after graduation.

Maddison Cassels Madison Cassels is a freshman at Liberal Arts and Science Acadamy (LASA). She is going to write about some of the smaller Austin music festivals. One of her favorite hobbies is dancing and she has been doing it since she was 3 years old. Her favorite genre of music is either pop or alternative. A fun fact about Madison is that she was born in Phoenix, Arizona. When she graduates, she would like to do something film related, such as being a director.

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The Sound of Local Fests All about music festivals here in Austin!

By: Madison Cassels

787 A Musicians Heaven | 8 Inside a music festival. Photo by: Okan Caliskan

You’re standing in the heart of Austin, surrounded by thousands of people who are all there for the same reason - music. The sun is shining, the smell of food trucks and beer fill the air, and the sound of live music echoes through the streets. This is the experience of attending one of Austin’s many local music festivals.

Austin has been known as “Live Music Capital of the World” since 1991, and its musical history dates way before then. A main part of the music scene here is festivals, no matter how large, or how small.

The start of many of these festivals was in 2002, with ACL (Austin City Limits), and since then it has only grown. A deeper aspect of going to these festivals is to feel emotions.

Whether it’s an adrenaline rush from rock n’ roll, or tears running down people’s cheeks to slow alternative pop. Songs are there to make people experience a strong sense of emotion, and the performance aspect only adds on to that.

Festivals are all unique to the creator’s visions. There are so many different ones with completely unique vibes. One of these local music festivals is the Levitation Festival, founded by Rob Fitzpatrick.

He has always had a love for music

and has a background in design/web development. This knowledge goes into the start of him and his friends creating the festival. From the start, he always had a clear vision of what he wanted the festival to be like.

Fitzpatrick states that he started it “in 2008 with my friends The Black Angels who are an Austin-based psychedelic rock band.

The idea was to invite their favorite bands, and that’s still a big factor in what we do - we consider what would be cool from that perspective and then branch out from there. Our programming starts with psychedelic rock and then branches out from there into adjacent genres like punk, metal, folk, electronic and general indie / underground / non-mainstream music.”

Besides, festivals have several elements that contribute to the emotional aspect, including the visual component.

The costume may display if the performance is more bold or soft, for instance. The background is able to tell a story in the productions as well.

On top of this, the color during performances has a major effect on how people perceive the songs and overall performance, this is due to color theory.

lighting designers and visual artists keep in mind - and in the context of a performance they’re looking to amplify the feeling behind their songs or take the viewer somewhere. Color is one of the tools visual artists and lighting designers use to hit those emotional chords that we have as human beings - that audio and visual pairing is really powerful.”

Another local music festival, owned by Travis Sutherland, is called the URBAN fest.. One of the festival’s distinguishing features is its camping option, which adds a new and exciting dimension to the entire experience. It’s this aspect that sets URBAN fest apart and makes it a truly unique and special event.

“Camping at our festival provides attendees with an opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the festival environment and make the most of their time at the event.”, Sutherland voices. “Some of the

Microphone. Photo by: Pexels

“Music is very powerful.

Listening to and making music is part of what makes us human - it’s part of all cultures and our collective history.” -Rob Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick says, “Color theory is something that 787 A Musicians Heaven | 9

had a xylophone when I was little and could barely even walk or speak”. Throughout her life she has experienced many festivals and talks about the process of it.

Austin, Texas mural. Photo by: Achim Thiemermann

ways that camping can enhance the music festival experience is from convenience, socialization, extended experience, and flexibility. It creates a sense of community and allows attendees to fully immerse themselves in the festival environment.”

Austin, Te xas is widely known as the Live Music Capital of the World for good reason. This and many other factors are what make it a perfect place for music festivals.

The city has a rich and vibrant musical history that spans multiple genres and decades. It started in the 1960s when a group of counterculture musicians moved to Austin to escape the rigid music industry in Los Angeles and New York. This gave rise to the Austin music scene, which was centered around the iconic Armadillo World Headquarters. Today, the music scene in Austin is as strong as ever, with countless venues hosting both local and international acts every night of the week. From blues to country, punk to indie rock, Austin has something for everyone.

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Sutherland states he chose to have his festival in Austin because it “offers a unique and exciting backdrop for a music festival, with a dynamic and inclusive community, a wealth of cultural attractions, and a passionate and supportive fan base.”

Fitzpatrick also mentions how lucky he is “to be in Austin, the community is very supportive of music and the arts, there’s a great scene here, and per capita more people see shows in Austin than anywhere else - so we really lucked out starting it in Austin. It wouldn’t have worked in a lot of other cities.”

Bianca de Leon is a singer who has performed at numerous music festivals, one more recent being UTOPiA fest. She was born in Corpus Christi, raised in Houston, then lived in California for a long time.

She ended up moving to Austin after a very large earthquake. A benefit of this move was that she was able to more easily tour, as in California touring was only along the coast. She has been into music since she was very young saying “I

De Leon describes it as “a very connecting experience”.

She is able to feel the shared passion for music in the space, and the positive vibes radiated. She loves how people are able to enjoy and feel the songs she sings. Not only that, but it being a festival means that people from all over the world will come and experience it together.

As for the actual festival and how that goes, de Leon states how there “isn’t really a lead-up to the festival, it is more just showing up and singing”. Once she gets out on the stage, she instantly feels a connection with the crowd and the adrenaline begins to disappear as she sings. However, she mentions how “the lights blind me as soon as I go on stage”, and how it is hard to really see anything.

Getting performers for music festivals can be a relatively straightforward process. Of course it will vary from festival to festival, but many of the local ones in Austin don’t require too much effort to find an artist. For example, the LEVITATION festival has a pretty laid-back application process.

Fitzpatrick says how there “is no formal process”, and that generally they will book “agents and agencies to find out which artists are planning to tour TX or North America in the time period of our event”, people from a “wishlist

that we’ve developed - our favorite bands, artists who have inspired us - and most importantly ones we know our audience would be excited to see”, a specific band “based on the recommendation of another band/artists we work with”, and directly reach out “to artists who have caught our ear/eye on the internet or at live shows”.

However, that is not to say that it doesn’t take a while to set up the whole festival. There are many aspects and parts of a festival that have to be put together and perfected for the festival to be ready.

Also, the size of the whole festival should be taken into consideration, as it will have a heavy impact on

the number of things it takes to get it ready, causing a variety in the time range it takes from festival to festival.

“The time it takes to get it ready can vary, but it usually takes the whole year to plan and prepare.” states Sutherland. Some key factors that affect the time it takes to get ready are “concept and planning, booking performers, logistics, marketing & ticket sales, and staffing.”

In the end, attending a local music festival in Austin, Texas is an experience that is hard to replicate anywhere else in the world. The city’s rich musical history and vibrant

Colorful music festival. Photo by: Emmanuel Ostrovsky México

community create the perfect backdrop for festivals that cater to all musical tastes. The Levitation Festival and URBAN fest are just two examples of the diverse range of festivals that Austin has to offer.

The emotion that music evokes is amplified by the visual aspects of the performances, including the use of color theory, costumes, and background production. The supportive community in Austin and the easy process of booking artists make it an ideal location for music festivals. Ultimately, the music festivals in Austin are more than just a celebration of music; they are a celebration of community, creativity, and the emotions that music can evoke.

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By Madison Cassels

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Performing in Austin

By Arushi Ahmed Photo by Maxwell Collins via Unsplash

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Finding your niche as an artist in Austin, TX.

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ustin’s music scene is so diverse, encompassed with genres such as country, rock, jazz, blues, hip-hop, and more. This town has been given the “live music capital of the world;” locals and tourists from all around come to this city to bask in the animated sounds, but a select few have the unique experience of being a musician here, and every individual has to start somewhere.

Whether you’re a soloist, in a band, or simply experimenting with making sounds, Austin is teeming with opportunities to perform and connect with the community.

“I chose Austin because it’s just so music centric,” says Camille Schiess, local violinist, fiddler, and lesson teacher. Especially focused on teaching and developing musicians, when Scheiss had originally moved to Austin she found it shocking how many students were in school programs such as band, orchestra, and choir.

“I wanna be here because not only can I teach, but I can also play and show my students what they can do,” and they will be strongly passionate about it, she says.

The ability to become a musician is in everyone, but each individual has to start somewhere.

There are many ways one can become involved, at any time.

From joining a band, orchestra, or choir in high school, to simply beginning to listen to new and unfamiliar genres in your free time.

Dougie Do, producer and MC of Magna Carda clarifies how

he and his coworker “were always involved in music from a young age.” Dougie has been playing the tenor saxophone since high school, and Megz, the rapper, started off by being in a rap group for church growing up in New Orleans. Having experience from such an early point led the two to form a group, eventually making their way into the city of Austin.

When the two initially arrived in Austin, around 2008-2009, they point out that the community was not as receptive to hip-hop and r & b as genres, since rappers were not seen as musically capable or talented. Dougie Do states, “with more transplants arriving in Austin in the last decade, it’s created a new wave of hunger for the genre,” and that they themselves and other artists have been able to obtain attention for their creativity. As more underground rap battles, open mics, and even larger scale festivals like JMBLYA have become popular, hip-hop artists in Austin have been able to exchange and explore new styles of rap, and simply share their stories with people who are willing to listen.

Camille Scheiss, violinist, again adds onto the fact that rap and alternative genres are still underrepresented in the Austin music scene: “There’s so much music, and there is some music that I don’t think is represented as much.”

A way that many musicians have made their way to Austin’s lifestyle has been by learning classical music. “Classical music, you want to make sure you’re very centered on your technique and

making sure you’re really getting what you want out,” Scheiss says.

After doing repetitions of small parts, and then putting the pieces together, people will typically

“Its really like no other energy in the world being on a festival stage.” begin to expand their genre and style. This way it really adds a unique personality to the music, and forms a spot for Austin’s livelihood.

Austin’s live music scene also requires finding a venue and a timeframe for a gig, which is difficult for anyone starting off in the music industry. The process of booking any venue is grueling: after sending many emails and follow up requests, they may respond after months or even after years!

However, over the past years, Austin has become open to new musicians by providing multiple live venues and festivals to work up to, allowing for more approval room. Billy Murphy, vocalist and manager of the jazz band “Copa Kings,” had only started getting small gigs when 787 A Musicians Heaven | 15

at SXSW, Austin City Limits, and Sound on Sound Fest, that “having a 45 minute performance always feels like 5 minutes!”

Covid-19’s impact on musicians’ careers.

Billy Murphy performing with his band, the Copa Kings.

All musicians have setbacks, and one that a lot of them have in common is the recent pandemic.

Covid has influenced musicians in ways that directly affect their careers, their feedback, and the ultimate experience. The required quarantine in Texas meant that all sorts of shows and performances were halted, and that meant lower incomes for musicians that depend on live shows.

By this point, Austin’s title as the Live Music Capital of the World lost a big part of it’s meaning: individuals getting together to perform and watch others perform live on stage, where acoustics would fill up a room, or resonate for miles if it were held outside.“I bet you we didn’t play another gig of any kind for over a year,” says Billy Murphy. This had a great impact on the careers of many lesserknown musicians, because people wouldn’t randomly come across them playing in public spaces anymore.

People simply didn’t have as many online-sites set up for listeners, putting a significant pause to their growth in recognition. It would take quite some time to form a platform strong enough, even as viewers to have connections with people online. It wasn’t until months later, in early winter, when the Copa Kings had begun to meet

“its just a game of being patient”

their band first began to form. “We were very fortunate in that we have two venues in town actually, that prioritize us to perform,” says Murphy.

From starting off with a couple of gigs, they’ve proven to have brought in large crowds to the bar, and in return obtained a monthly Wednesday to perform. All it takes to get in the gig business is a small nudge from fellow musicians who are willing to help out, which then eventually opens up a whole array of opportunities.

When an artist’s live playing has expanded over time, after hours of hard work, gigs, and an 787 A Musicians Heaven | 16

expanded audience, they can start working up to performing at larger festivals.

When there are so many bands playing at one festival, it can be really special to have an audience at one stage, because they have chosen out of so many options to be at that specific one. Magna Carda says from experience playing

up again and began recording holiday music. This had opened up a new experience for them as musicians, and for their listeners.

Once covid had subsided, there were still limits to which venues were available, and other strict guidelines to follow safe protocol. This meant that there would be less performances for every artist, and that they would have to be precise about when and which gigs they wanted to do. This somewhat made many musicians aware of what was important and what was not, allowing for less stress even after the limits became unlimited.

Teaching music in an online environment was also a struggle for both the teacher and the learning student. Even

teachers who are well experienced in educating new musicians about music have had trouble with such an unexpected halt. Camille Schiess has been teaching violin lessons for years: “we as teachers rely on our students to react back.” The lack of being in the physical presence of live music has made it difficult for starting musicians to become passionate about the little things, and grab onto the ambition to become something musically special.

From the old eras of Austin where many musicians were not recognised, to finally making it through the tough times of online music; Austin’s lively musical scene

Camille Scheiss, playing violin with one of her bands. Photo by Frank McCamant

COVID-19: “It wasn’t a bad experience but it was weird.” has stayed steady and strong for years, and it is a great spot for musicians to express their passion for music!

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HOW OBOISTS CRAFT

THEIR OWN DOUBLE REEDS

Many people have heard of woodwind instruments, and a large percentage of them require reeds--delicately carved pieces of cane that vibrate and let air flow through the hollow instrument. A select few, mainly the oboe and the bassoon, use double reeds: which instead are composed of two pieces of cane that vibrate against each other and form a sound, instead of a single reed vibrating against a mouthpiece.

Single reeds can be bought at local music stores based on the instrument and the size needed, however, double-reed players typically craft their own reeds in order to fit the embouchures of the select player. This allows the player to provide a unique sound and touch of bright and bold color, whether they play a solo or in an orchestra.

by: Arushi Ahmed

materials you will need: arundo donax cane

and:

nylon string oboe staple

split down the middle

- planing board - planer - gouging machine - guillotine - beeswax - water - carving tools

chop at 77mm

soak in water guillotine

pre-gouge cane and narrow the ends

planing board

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planer

Pre-gouging is necessary so that once the gouging process comes up, the results for each reed will be consistent. The planing process includes a planing board and a planer, with indentures for the cane to be placed and then shaved until flush with the face of the board. Lastly, narrowing the ends will be needed later in the process to attach the reed to the staple.

gouge the cane at preferred measurements

gouging machine

score and fold cane over

Now that the cane is pre-gouged to the consistent thickness, the actual gouging process can begin to thin the edges of the reed. Oboists typically prefer a center thickness of .58-.61mm, and a side thickness of .45-.48mm. If the edges are too thin, the sound might come out flat and brittle, and if it is too thick, it will be much more resistant and difficult to form a sound.

place staple between the faces of the cane

wrap string to connect staple and cane rub beeswax along string

Now the cane is on the staple, but it is still not playable yet. First the very top edge needs to be slightly cut so that the two faces can separate into two pieces of cane, and be able to vibrate against each other. Players will often cut at a slight angle so one face will be taller than the other, and this improves the ability of the cane to vibrate.

Once the cane is folded over, the reed is placed on a shaper tip, and a razor blade is used to scrape the edges until it matches the curve of the shaper tip. A wider shape can help warmth the lower register while a narrower shape can improve stability along the higher range.

scrape and shape the reed

tip heart channels

mmimports.com cui.edu

787 A Musicians Heaven | 19

Austin Style

Record Stores and the Authenticity of Local Culture

By Sonya Kraizman 787 A Musicians Heaven | 20

Image credits to Wesley Gibbs/unsplash

Vinyl:

Austin relies on the magical power of vinyl.

People are bound by the ever-present love of records and the local music scene would be nothing without that.

Records are the timeless way of keeping Austin cool, shaping lives, communities, and careers.

Vinyl has remained forever relevant because of the connection it provides. Record stores and their employees are what define a music scene as unique. They solidify the community of an area by supporting local artists and bringing music enjoyers together. Dan Plunkett, founder of End of an Ear, believes that a record store can “[become] a networking place,” connecting people by the commonality of love for music. Vinyl is an integral part of Austin’s culture and record stores play a significant role in the city’s authenticity.

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[Record stores] become a meeting place, just like a book where you start recognizing certain characters.

According to Eva Monsees, manager of Antone’s Records, “the amount of younger people coming in has increased dramatically over the past few years,” primarily due to the rise of the ‘retro’ aesthetic on social media. Apps like Tiktok and Instagram have romanticized the 90s, as well as artists common to that time. Cat McCrorey, manager of breakaway records, also shared her thoughts on the internet’s role in the change. “It used to be that record stores were where people could dig for rare music to sample. Obviously so much is on the internet now that the culture has changed.”

Many people collect records for tradition and aesthetics, despite most music being accessible on apps like Spotify and Apple Music. Vintage goods became more popular in the past decade, as did the younger generation’s love for vinyl. “It’s encouraging to see a lot of young kids that come in here and shop, which is great,” Plunkett voices enthusiastically, “They’re

discovering vinyl and the love of it.” The popularity of vinyl began in the 50s and continues to grow throughout the 21st century. As trends and lives evolve, record stores remain a staple in any music-bound community.

Qualities of record store employees: Especially with many young people beginning their journey with vinyl, it’s significant for record store employees to have a welcoming attitude and passion for it. When asked about essential qualities in record store workers, authenticity and a love for music were included in all answers.

A common stereotype surrounding record stores is a stuckup attitude among workers, and McCrorey agrees. “It would suck to walk into a record store and just feel like everyone who worked there thought they were cooler than you,” she says after reflecting on her community at

Target customers and the cultural influence of record stores: As Austin expanded into a metropolitan city, the local record industry was also changing. The business remained impactful, but its target customers and cultural significance have shifted. Record stores used to attract specific groups, stereotypically men in their late twenties or forties. As generations shifted, so did the crowd.

Breakaway Records.

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Record stores and local artists:

Cat McCrory, manager of Breakaway Records.

Breakaway. Monsees contradicts this stereotype, making it clear that “[Antone’s Records] encourage[s] people to purchase or listen to whatever they like and explore whatever they like,” which is important, especially for people just getting started with records.

Monsees shares that it can be an intimidating experience to begin shopping for records, but a welcoming staff can make all the difference.

It is equally as important for the community of employees to feel at home, and Plunkett agrees that his “good cadre,” makes all the difference. McCrory also recognizes a “sense of respect and community that [she has] never experienced in the workplace before,” compared to her prior experience working in a Dallas record store. A record store’s employees influence its dynamic, and a good work environment makes all the difference.

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Austin’s music scene is unique in its closeknit community, and record stores create a sense of familiarity with their generous outreach to local musicians. A primary role of record stores is the artists that they specifically promote, which isn’t talked about enough. This can tie a community together, and introduce people to local artists.

Record stores offer substantial support for newer artists, launching them into the world of performance and the Austin music community.

Monsees describes this as a large portion of their contribution to the music scene, which involves “[stocking] records by local bands and independent artists, and every week [they] have in-store release parties,” attracting large crowds of interested music lovers.

Certain record stores even host smaller concerts or gatherings featuring local musicians. While reflecting on recent performances at End of an Ear, Plunkett observes that “It becomes a networking place. So it’s like anything that you go to on a weekly basis; you start recognizing certain people and then you build these networks like, ‘oh, I, I saw your band play,’ and that kind of thing. So for me, I think it’s become a meeting place, just like a book where you start recognizing certain characters,”

such as bands or individuals you have seen play.

With engagement and support comes a greater feeling of community, common throughout all of Austin’s long-standing music stores. In the local music industry, record stores provide the familiarity and friendly support required for newer musicians to thrive.

we make it very clear here that we encouage people to purchase or listen to whatever they like and explore whaever they like.

Diversity in vinyl: Austin’s culture has always been diverse, depicted through the music featured at local record stores. There are many different music lovers to account for, and employees focus on curating a wide variety of artists for people to browse. The world of vinyl is broad, and it is always exciting for people to discover records from new artists or underground musicians they weren’t sure others could recognize. Plunkett finds a “big variety or choice of stuff that nobody knows about,” exciting, especially one’s opportunity to expand their music taste.

Each record store is unique in the records they promote; some feature appeal to a wide range of people, and others focus on obscure jazz or other niche music their employees are interested in. Record stores often have employees that specialize in specific

Two girls browse for records at Antone’s Record Shop.

sections, but that “ebbs and flows a little bit,” says McCrory, “I feel like whoever we’re targeting kind of changes based on who’s working here.” Monsees reflects on the informative aspect of vinyl diversity in Antone’s Records. “I think for all of us here, we learn a lot by listening to different records that come in. We come across all different times of music all the and buy used collections a lot.” While record variety shifts from city to city, Austin’s culture harbors a unique appreciation for all kinds of music, and people travel across the country to visit our musically diverse city.

Vinyl is considered a staple of one’s childhood, an artist’s career, and the local community.

The local music scene thrives due to the support, connection, authenticity, and diversity that record stores provide. Austin’s long-standing record stores have played an immeasurable role in the authenticity defining the city as unique.

Pictured smiling above, freshman record-store-frequenter, Erica Lan beautifully summarizes their unique attraction.

“Record stores always have a friendly, calm atmosphere. I find

vinyl absolutely fascinating and love grabbing coffee and browsing through some records. Record stores are so cute, and I quite enjoy spending weekends there with my friends. They are such a fun way to relax in my free time. ” When asked about her favorite store, Lan ponders for a moment, then mentions “End of an Ear,” because of a past experience where “[she] recieved a free Mitski poster from a friendly employee, [which] has been hanging over [her] bedframe for over a year.”

787 A Musicians Heaven | 23

High school is Musicool!

Teens select top artists from each genre By: Sonya Kraizman

38 Austin highschoolers were polled on their favorite artists in each genre. There were 6 categories, and 7-8 artists for each. The results are shown below along with a brief description of the artist with the most votes.

Listed at the bottom of the poll was the option to include a favorite song. These are some of the songs that were mentioned:

hip- hop

Thinking Bout You - Frank Ocean Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2 - Pink Pantheress, Ice Spice Les - Childish Gambino

37.5% 16.7%

20.8%

rap 29.6%

14.8%

787 A Musicians Heaven | 24

25.9%

In his youth, Tyler Gregory Okonoma, taught himself how to play the piano and began his music career on the internet. This led to the music collective Odd Future, made up of famous members such as Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, and more.

Top 3: Tyler the Creator, MF DOOM & Madvillan, A Tribe Called Quest Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in Compton, California in 1987. Under the rap name K-Dot, Lamar began his music career by releasing a series of mixtapes. Lamar has won 16 grammy awards and is still active in the music industry today.

Top 3: Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Kanye West

rnb/soul

46.9%

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, otherwise known as The Weeknd, was born on February 16, 1990, in Ontario Canada. Tesfaye quit school in grade 11 and fell into a life of unhinged partying, greatly influenceing the topics of his music. Tesfaye has won 4 grammy awards and remains active in the current music industry.

Top 3: The Weeknd, Stevie Wonder, SZA

25%

rock 18.8%

34.4%

The Beatles are the most well-known and best-selling band, greatly influencing the rock ‘n’ roll movement. The Beatles were made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, who came together in their teens and became famous in their 20s. From their short time involved in the music industry, they left a lasting impact on the modern world, and many continue to listen to their music today.

Top 3: The Beatles, Mitski, Foo Fighters

alternative/indie 28.6% 17.9% 25%

Top 3: Lana Del Rey, Mac De Marco, The Smiths

pop 20% 30% 26.7%

Lana Del Rey was born as Elizabeth Woolridge Grant on June 21, 1985, in New York. After graduating college, Grant realized that music was her true passion, and released her hit single “Video Games”. Her most widely known albums are Ultraviolence and Lust for Life, which have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Grant has not won any Grammy awards but has had 6 Grammy nominations.

Conan Gray, born in Lemon Grove, California, began his music career in 2013 with his self-titled Youtube channel.

His most well-known album is Kid Krow, featuring popular songs “Heather” and “Maniac”. Gray has over 4.33 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and remains widely relevant in the popular music scene today.

Top 3: Conan Gray, Taylor Swift, Ice Spice britannica.com biography.com thefamouspeople.com biography.com blackpast.org teachrock.org

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Learnin’ in Austin Georgia Fink

Band at Band Aid School of Music 787 A Musicians Heaven | 26

A look inside Austin’s music schools.

D

o you have an instrument sitting in the corner of your room that you have always wanted to learn to play, but it was always so intimidating to look for somewhere to learn? Are you planning on getting an instrument and don’t want to end up like this?

Austin Texas has been the Live Music Capital of the World since the 1970s, so it’s a very popular place for people who want to make it big in the music industry. This also means that there are lots of music schools.

From people moving to Austin to play and opening music schools along the way, to people already living in Austin wanting to teach music. This makes it so that there are tons of options to choose from. However, this also makes it very intimidating to choose one. So the question is, where should you go?

One of your many options is Red Leaf School of Music, a music school in South Austin that offers a multitude of instruments, from guitar, bass, and piano, to violin and music theory.

Geno Stroia, the owner of the school, started Red Leaf in Austin 16 years ago, back in 2007, but he hasn’t always lived in Austin. Storia grew up in Alliance, Ohio and went to College in Arkon, playing guitar through college. During the late 80s and early 90s, the Austin music scene was buzzing with big bands and musicians and guitar magazines talking about famous clubs in Austin like Antone’s.

So moving to Austin as a musician was a must. “I came to visit Austin and that’s how I fell in love with it. And that’s how I chose Austin”.

In the ‘80s, when Stroia moved here, and throughout the time that he’s

lived in Austin, he feels as though the music scene hasn’t changed too much. There are still many places for playing music, and many young bands performing. The biggest changes that he has seen are the music club’s names and locations. People are still wanting to learn to play instruments, “we’re still in business after 16 years, so somebody’s still playing and learning, you know. And so I haven’t really noticed that so much” Stroia said.

Before he opened the school, Stroia was teaching privately out of his house for 5 years. He said that “Once I discovered that I liked it and it seemed like I was getting better at it, I was like, well, I don’t want to just keep teaching out of my house. I’d like to have something.” Then, over those years he decided to open a music school. It took years of planning to put the school together. “It’s not like I woke up one day and went, oh, a music school, great idea!” he said.

When Red Leaf first started Stroia was the co-owner with Dan Barrett, a local Austin musician and producer. Stroia said that “the biggest challenge was that and then just learning how to be a business”. Another challenge for them was having the finances, as it was tough with no financial backing.

One accomplishment for Stroia, though, was that they never went into debt. In the process they learned about what they had to do while running a business, “We bumped our heads a few times like, oh, didn’t know about that. Oh, you have a franchise tax. You didn’t know about that.” Barrett eventually left and Stroia bought out Barrett, leading to Stroia being the sole owner of Red Leaf.

Stroia says the biggest achievement throughout the 16 years of Red Leaf being around is “surviving it” and “staying in business”. Another accomplishment was when Red Leaf used to do semester-long group lessons for both kids and adults. For

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10 years straight Stroia would book a gig at the end of the semester for the students to play. Stroia said that he “love[d] seeing these kids, you know, when people work really hard at something and then you get them there at a gig and they get the lights are on and they play in front of people” because this was something that they worked so hard for, and he was proud of them.

When you come to Red Leaf after a long, hard day of school or work, Stroia said that he “never want people to feel like when they have a lesson here that they’re going to a job, it should be a place that they want to come.” He feels Red Leaf should be more like a getaway from boring, stressful life.

Another option you have is Austin Guitar School. This school is located on Burnet Rd. and is the oldest one in Austin, being around for about 35 years. Some of the different instruments offered here are guitar, electric bass guitar, banjo, keyboards/ piano, drums, but there are many more, most being string-based instruments. They also have a teen after-school band camp.

It was 1987 when Ted Hall, the owner of the school, opened it. Before this, he was a traveling musician and a manager of a music store up in Houston, though he has been teaching guitar part time since he was 15. The owner of the store in Houston wanted Hall to come down to Austin and open a store there, so he did.

Throughout the time that Hall has been in Austin and teaching, he has seen the music scene grow very proportionally. When he first moved to Austin, there weren’t too many music magazines, only the Austin

here every day. They still come here all the time, and it’s a melting pot of creativity”.

While working at the store, Hall always wanted to teach guitar again, so a few years after he moved to Austin, Hall decided to open up a music school. He started with 15 students in the back of a music store.

The name, Austin Guitar School, was then registered. “Within about a year and a half, I left the music store I was in and I got a space. And Willie Nelson was my landlord and I rented a 500 square foot space and they gave me

“The balance of the two is what kept me going for so long and probably not gone completely crazy. That balance is a big deal.” - Geno Stroia Chronicle and a few others. On top of that, most of the music scene was downtown. He has now been able to witness the music scene diversify and spread out. Although it is still downtown, it also has spread into Sixth Street, which was somewhere you didn’t want to go in the ‘80s.

Hall says that now “Musicians flock

and they gave me a carpenter and a bunch of building supplies and then said, build your rooms out any way you wish, and here’s a carpenter.”

When the school was opened, Hall put an ad in the Chronicle. He then suddenly had 75 students and needed more teachers. He moved around Austin for a little bit, being in the Austin Opera House from ‘89 to ‘95, he’s currently on North Lamar and Burnet, but he moved buildings there a few times.

The school only taught guitar when it first opened, since that is the instrument that Hall knows best, but then as it got bigger he was able to hire more teachers, so there were more instruments available to teach.

The first two instruments other than guitar available were bass and banjo.

Geno Stroia teaching at Red Leaf School of Music 787 A Musicians Heaven | 28

When you go to the school, something Hall wants the students to experience is to “enjoy playing

Band camp at Austin Guitar School

an instrument and playing their instrument so much that they never stop learning,” To learn enough so that you can keep teaching yourself.

After keeping the school open for about 36 years, Hall says that “I’ve kept it open so long, and I’ll just keep it open and. Until I can give it away or let somebody else take it.” and the biggest accomplishment is him “giving people the lifelong passion to play music.” He has seen this multiple times, once when he was called by an old student from 1987 to jam and visit with him, and another time with a bassist that took lessons at the school about 21 years ago and wanted to get a job teaching at his school.

There is one aspect of this school that is the make or break for some people; the dogs. At the Austin Guitar School, Hall brings the Guitar Dogs, Rufus and Ferris, to the school with him every day. There was a dog before Rufus and Ferris that he started bringing to the school due to her tearing up the home. Everyone loved her, so he kept bringing her to the school. Rufus later came and everyone loved him too, so he decided to keep bringing his dogs to the school.

along with teaching you how to play an instrument, there are a lot of opportunities to learn how to perform. Many of these opportunities come 3 times a year when “the school organizes three performance events per semester, so like six a year. Those performance events are designed to help kids, like, get on stage and perform in front of people and get comfortable in front of people on stage”

One more of your many options of schools is BandAid School of Music, another local music school with two locations in South Austin and Westlake. They have both private lessons and a band program for both kids and adults (8 years and older). They teach many instruments including piano, guitar, voice, brass, woodwind, and more.

Kayla Altemus, the marketing coordinator, said that they “really love to focus on bands, which is why we’re called Band Aid and we like to take our students that are in private lessons and put them together in bands.”

Band Aid was opened in 2009, so it is the youngest school on the list, but it isn’t to be disregarded. Band Aid was founded by owner James May. May is from Austin and before starting his school, worked as a producer at South

By Southwest and many other places, he is also currently a musician along with owning the school and teaching since 1991.

Altemus said that Band Aid is a “performance-based school”, so

The biggest mission of the school, with it being a performance school, is to be “teaching people how to make a living in the music industry, doing what they love” The teachers want the students to have a living in the music industry, and there are many opportunities for students to learn how to do this from Band camps and Band classes, to music video summer camps.

If you ever miss a lesson, instead of rescheduling it (which is a big hassle) you can instead get credits for this program called Band-Aid Extras. They are virtual lessons like videos usually made up of subjects that you wouldn’t normally cover in a normal lesson.

Band Aid also has something big in the works. As they are “striving to be one of those big name brands” their goal is to create an online music education platform to reach people all over the world so they don’t “just reach people locally” It is an exciting thing for Altemus and the rest of Band Aid, but also a little daunting. This is a goal that they are getting closer and closer to every day.

These are just three of the many other, cool, good, music schools in Austin.

They offer many things from private lessons to group band programs.

There are many other fun music schools that you can find, these are just some of the best ones.

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Est. 1975 Guitars

Guitar Resserection

Capital Music

Est. 1979 Drums

Tommy’s Drum Shop

By Georgia Fink

Austin, being the live music capitol of the world, has a lot of instrument stores. These are a few local Austin instrument stores, including a variety of different instruments, from guitars and drums, to pianos and other string instruments.

Rockin’ in Austin

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Est. 1997 String Instruments

Westbank String Shop

Est. 1988 Drums and Pianos

Center

southaustinmusic.com; capmusic.com; austinstrings.com; tommysdrumshop.com; switchedonaustin.com; austintexas.org; westbankstringshop.com

Est. 1986 Guitars, banjos, and more

South Austin Music

Est. 2001 orchestral instruments

Austin Strings

Est. 2010 Keyboards & synths

Switched On

Picture by Bob Coyne

The Dark History of Ticketmastar It isn’t that dark

By Georgia Fink 787 A Musicians Heaven | 32

T

icketmaster, a website that you’ve probably used before and most likely got upset about because of how high the prices for tickets are. Why can’t you get tickets anywhere else? Why doesn’t Ticketmaster lower their prices? Are the prices really that outrageous, or are they reasonable and Ticketmaster is just hated?

Ticketmaster was opened on October 2nd 1976 by some Arizona State University staffers. This is when there were multiple different ticket companies, like Ticketron, which was the most popular ticket company until 1990, when Ticketmaster overtook them.

Ever since then Ticketmaster has been the main place to buy tickets from. The reason for this is in their business model. It used to be that ticketing companies would charge venues to sell their tickets, but with Ticketmaster, things move the other way. Instead the venues are paid by Ticketmaster to sell tickets. In return, the venue is a partner of Ticketmaster and can only mainly use them.

This is the reason for the “service fees” put on the tickets and and this is why people hate them so much. Since 2019, ticket prices on Ticketmaster have risen about 17%. It was bound to happen, with inflation, but this is an exponential rise in prices. Too much in a too short period-of-time. Luckily there are other people, like bands, that see this and have tried to get Ticketmaster to lower their prices, or not use it all together. Though it hasn’t always been successful.

One of the first ones to do this was Pearl Jam. When they were planning on giving a free Labor Day concert to 30,000 of their fans in Pearl Jam’s hometown of Seattle.

Ticketmaster instead sought a $1 service fee. Pearl Jam also tried to

tour without Ticketmaster, though that didn’t work and they had to cancel the tour half-way through due to many venues being partners with Ticketmaster.

Many other bands have shown their disdain for Ticketmaster.

One of the most recent ones is The Cure. The band was purposely trying to keep the ticket prices low, the cheaper ones being as low as $20. The issue, though, is that Ticketmaster was raising the prices by $5-$10.

In the end, the lead singer, Robert Smith, saw this and was outraged. He eventually got Ticketmaster to refund everyone with a verified fan account and who bought the cheapest tickets.

There are many more bands and singers that hate Ticketmaster.

A few more examples include Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Metallica, AC/ DC, Iron Maiden, Foo Fighters, and Radiohead. Some of the most popular artists of all time.

As you can see, Ticketmaster has this long history of making people hate them, but there are no other companies that you can use.

Ticketmaster has no competition so they can do whatever they want, almost like airline companies.

As someone that likes to go to concerts, Ticketmaster is my enemy. When me or my parents go to checkout, we want to see the final cost the same as it is advertised and shown as, not a higher price. I feel like if Ticketmaster showed the ticket prices as the price with the “service fee” then there would be no issue, since there is no difference between the prices. But they don’t do that, so this annoys people like me who want to pay as little as possible for concert tickets.

There isn’t that much to the “situation” though. It is really only about the rise in prices by a lot. You

would pay $500 for a good ticket, but at checkout you end up paying $700, all due to “service fees.” This is an outrageous mark-up in the price.

Paying $200 more for a ticket that you expected to pay $500 on, and $500 is already a lot of money!

Though, Ticketmaster can get away with this for many reasons.

One of them is the fact that there is no competition with them. There are smaller ticketing companies, but Ticketmaster is the biggest one out there and no one is catching up any time soon since they have their partners. Because of this, Ticketmaster can get away with marking up the prices however much they want. There is no one else to buy from.

Another reason is that people really want to see the musicians going on tour. When someone comes to your city, town, or state, it’s usually a once in a lifetime experience. The superfans won’t usually go searching for the best deals, instead they want to get the ticket as soon as possible so they can get as close as they can to their favorite musician(s).

One last reason is that the venues are contractually obligated to sell tickets with Ticketmaster. For venues to sell with Ticketmaster, they sign a contract and then that’s the only ticketing company that they can use. Therefore, other ticketing companies can’t get enough tickets to even compete with Ticketmaster, and this puts Ticketmaster at the top.

With all this being said, I feel like, on the business side, that it’s understandable. If a company can earn more money, they will, and Ticketmaster is just one example of this. But on the consumer side, the price mark-ups are just too much.

When I see a concert I don’t want to pay much more than what they are showing it as. It’s basically a scam.

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