Odd Austin

Odd Austin Autumn 2017 The political side of Austin.

Austin’s favorite festival.

Is Austin losing its weird?

Austin’s oldest restraunts.

Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

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Table of

CONTENTS

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A Day at ACL

A day in the life of an ACL festival goer.

Austin’s Oldest

An indept look about how population growth is affecting Austin’s older restraunts.

Austin’s Favorite Art

The stories behind some of Austin’s most famous murals

The Political Side of Austin Politics through an everyday citizen’s eyes.

Traffic JAM!

How traffic has increased as urbanization has invaded the city

Austin City Limitless

What Austin City Limits means to Austin teens

Political Poll

A diagram of LASA students’ political views

Urbanization’s Tearing Down Creativity How are new developments in Austin affecting the weird side of the city?

Who Are WE?

A closer look at the editors of Odd Austin

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Who are we?

My name is Olivia Gilbert and I am a ninth grade student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. I enjoy playing soccer and reading works of literature. I have spent my entire 15 years of existence in Austin–a true Austinite as a I like to say. As I’ve grown up over the years I have evolved into a conscious individual aware of her surroundings. The ‘local changes’ my parents have been discussing over the years are no longer passed off as ‘adult topics.’ In past years when I would have ignored them, today I actively engage with them by discussing the growth occurring in our city. As a student I wanted to explore these changes and the repercussions they are having on our city, and E-Magazine presented me with a platform to do that. My group decided to focus our magazine on all things Austin, Throughout the process I not only gained knowledge of Austin, but I also learned about time management and working with other people. I learned how to utilize the different attributes my teammates brought to the group and how to compromise to create a magazine that reflected each of our unique personalities.

Feature Editor 4

Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

My name is Anna Thomas and I am a student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, Texas and I took part in writing this magazine about living in Austin. I spend most of my free time with friends, riding horses, listening to music, and taking pictures. My team chose to write about Austin and key characteristics of Austin because we all love the city and think others should know about it’s unique features. I wrote about the Austin City Limits festival because it’s something I go to every year and I believe it’s an important part of Austin, considering we are the capital of music. Austin City Limits is by far my favorite event of the year, and I’ve been going since I can remember. I think for many people the festival brings an almost euphoric feeling. Practically all of austin goes so you see everyone you know and listen to many popular artists while enjoying the crowd and live ambiance.

The festival is ranked in the top fifteen best festivals in the country and is a really amazing experience, and I chose to write about it because I enjoy being a part of the Austin City Limit crowd and watching the performers each year.ustin City Limits and the politics of Austin.

Layout Editor

An inside look at the editors of Odd Austin

My name is Hayden Prairie and I am a student at LASA High School. I enjoy snowboarding and biking in the mountains of Colorado, but also enjoying living in Austin. I have lived in Austin all of my life, so it is an important part of my life, which is why I am conserved about how the increase in population has affected the local communities already rooted in Austin. I am specifically interested in how local businesses are being affected by the increase in the population of Austin. I will try to cover a wide variety of population effects that are occurring Austin, including the effects of traffic and new businesses on the already sustainable community that is been ongoing. I think that is important to help preserve Austin’s oldest businesses, by informing others about the positive and negative effects of population growth and they can play an important role in their lives. I think that I was able to accomplish this goal by using this E-Magazine to show the effects of population growth. I also believe that the magazine, has allowed my group to show a wide range of things that are affecting including Austin City Limits and the politics of Austin.

Content Editor

My name is Luke Sylliaasen and I am a freshman student at LASA High School and I helped write this magazine about life in Austin. I enjoy playing baseball and hanging out with my friends. I have lived in Austin all of my life with my family. I have lived in South Austin all of my life and I know a lot about the area and the people that live in South Austin. I went to Kealing Middle School and graduated from there in 2016. My team chose to focus on Austin for our magazine because we all like the city and we all wanted to capture Austin’s uniqueness and creativity in our magazine. Individually, I chose politics as my topic in the magazine because politics has always been interesting to me and politics in Austin is different from politics in other, more rural, parts of Texas. Most of us have lived in Austin for a long time and know a lot about Austin and the type of businesses that are attracted to Austin’s environment and ideals. I thought that this difference would make an interesting topic for our magazine. I have enjoyed helping create this magazine and writing this article about politics. I hope that you will enjoy reading it.

Photo Editor

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urbanization is tearing down

CREATIVTY

On a Saturday morning in 2002, Red Wassenich, a 52-year-old librarian, coined the popular phrase “Keep Austin Weird” as he was listening to “The Lounge Show.” As Wassenich recalls, he called into the station to make a donation and the person on the other line asked,“‘Why did you support the show?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.

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Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

It helps keep Austin weird.’”

From that moment on, the phrase spread like wildfire throughout the entirety of the city. It gave new meaning to the graffiti that adorns the Austin sidewalks, to Leslie Cochran, Austin’s cross-dressing homeless man who ran for mayor three times, and to the bars that regularly have turtle racing competitions. The expression was quickly adopted

by the public, appearing on bumper stickers, t-shirts, and even getting it’s own festival. Today, “Keep Austin Weird” is the battle cry of Austinites all over the city who are fighting to keep their city a vibrant oasis of creativity and funkiness in Central Texas.

In the past decades, Austin has grown into one of the most

(Olivia Gilbert / 2017)

By: Olivia Gilbert

prominent cities in the country.

As Austin has experienced exceptional growth in the last few years, becoming the 11th largest city in the country, it has been harder and harder to resist urbanization and condo developments. From an increase in traffic and the cost of living in Austin to a large influx of hate groups to the Austin area, local

businesses have begun to suffer and Austin has lost some of its distinct charm. With the new growth, Austinites have been pressed to support the “Keep Austin Weird” ideology, a movement that is fighting to keep Austin a unique and weird city, even more than ever before.

The most noticeable growth that Austin has experienced is in its

population. According to a census recorded by the City of Austin government, Austin’s population has just about doubled in the past 20 years. With this influx of people many concerns have arisen. Austinites are concerned that incoming people are not going to maintain the beloved cultural aspects of Austin stated Joshua Long, an assistant professor of environmental studies Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

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affected by this rising dilemma.

“People are less willing than they used to be to make the commute for downtown shopping, due to heavy traffic and lack of parking,” Turner stated. “The City isn’t requiring the many new hotels and office buildings to have parking, which makes it very hard for [customers] to find parking.”

Along with traffic, affordability in Austin has developed Hatbox: A Modern Haberdashery is a into a prominent local business found on Congress in downtown Austin, Texas. Lauri Turner, the owner and CEO, problem. As Long has been running the business since 1980, when stated, “People she first moved to the Austin area. used to live in (Olivia Gilbert / 2017) Austin because it was an affordable place to live and they can at Southwestern University. “My no longer afford to live attitude is, I hope Austin will be there.” In fact, it seems able to grow in a very smart and just way so that it treats its citizens that affordability may equally and it reaches out to those be one of the biggest communities that have not benefited factors that is limiting the artistic aspects of Austin. from the growth as much.”

According to Long, “a lot of artists and musicians From the rapidly growing population, many problems, such as and creative people, an increase in traffic, have emerged. who spent a lot of time creating and pursuing Rush hour has become so bad all kinds of artistic that many people are unwilling to drive their car during 5 p.m. traffic. expression, no longer can afford to live there. They can’t afford Though the traffic takes a toll on commuters, the cultural aspects of health insurance. They can’t afford Austin are suffering, specifically local rent.” As a direct result, “music businesses. Lauri Turner, the owner and art, which is such an important part of the city’s identity, are really and CEO of Hatbox: A Modern hurting,” said Long.

Haberdashery, has already been

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Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

Affordability just an issue of homeownership either, local businesses are finding themselves greatly affected by the increased cost of living in Austin.

Many local businesses have gone out of business because they are no longer able to keep up with the cost of renting retail space. Turner said, “We lost our flagship store on 6th Street in 2014, when our entire city block was sold. It took us two years to find another downtown lease space, and when we did, it was with a significant increase to our monthly rent costs.”

is not

Hatbox has been in the Austin area for

more than 30 years, but recently, due to the Austin’s increased urbanization, it has been experiencing various setbacks. The store has been steadily losing customers due to the

increase in traffic and has been force to relocate due to expensive rent.

(Olivia Gilbert / 2017)

With the increasing population in Austin, many hate groups have been drawn to the Austin area, specifically because of the openminded and accepting mentality

“

many Austinites have.

According to Jeremi Suri, a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, hate groups are attracted to this mentality for three reasons.

“First, they see it as threatening because it’s not accepting one way of doing things—it challenges the traditional ways of living and experiencing yourself. Second, it encourages people from diverse backgrounds to come to Texas.”

Suri said, “And third, it’s popular and they don’t like that. They’re jealous.”

However, as major as these problems may be, there are ways that Austinites can go about addressing them. Firstly, and most prominently, living by the “Keep Austin Weird” ideology can make a huge impact on our city and help to address these problems as a whole. “It’s really important that young people are involved in these issues and young people provide an example and model what it means to Keep Austin Weird,” said Suri. According to Suri, the best way Austinites can go about stopping the spread of hate groups is to remain strong in their weirdness and diversity-oriented ideologies. As students, “that means that at school and elsewhere if someone says hateful words, even if they don’t understand them, they should be corrected,” said Suri.

Additionally, it’s important that you have a clear understanding of what

And problems you want to focus on solving. According to Long there are many different ways that you can get involved in the issues you care about. If you’re concerned about affordability problems or the dwindling population of local businesses in Austin there are many different programs you can volunteer with. One of these is the Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA) . The AIBA is, as Lauri Turner stated, a “membership organization whose mission is to promote and support locally owned businesses through advocacy, consumer education and services to our members.”

They have officially adopted the “Keep Austin Weird” mantra and use it to continue to promote local businesses and their services.

ultimately, remember that in the end it’s the little things that matter. Long believes that in order to sustain a weirdness loving city, the best thing Austinites can do is “get to know [your] neighbor[s].” Long said, “get to know the people in your community, and have good open dialogue that isn’t divided by politics or any other kind of divisions we may have.” Because in the end, the best way to sustain weirdness is to spread weirdness, whether it’s through conversations across the fence or marches downtown against hate. While Austin continues growing, the “Keep Austin Weird” mentality will continue to be a beacon of hope for Austinites who are fighting to maintain the various cultural aspects of their city.

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Joshua Long is an assistant professor of Environmental Studies at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. In 2010 he published the book Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas which is about the ongoing struggle between the city’s soul and the rapid urbanization taking place.

(Joshua Long)

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We The People This survey was given to 59 students at LASA high school 1. Who did/would you vote for in the 2016 election?

A. Hillary Clinton B. Donald Trump C. Jill Stein D. Another Candidate/No One 2. Do you agree with what President Trump has been saying and doing?

A. Yes B. No C. Sometimes 3. Do you ofter talk about your political opinions with others, including talking through social media?

A. Yes B. No C. Sometimes 4. Do you think that Austin has been greatly affected by the 2016 election?

A. Yes B. No 5. Should illegal immigration and deportation laws be less strict A. Agree B. Neutral C. Disagree 6. Do you feel like you live around people with the same political ideals as you?

A. Yes B. No C. Don’t Know

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Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

By: Luke Sylliaasen

Results Here Is How They Responded Jill Stein 1.7%

4.

1.

VOTE

Donald Trump 5.1%

VOTE

Hillary Clinton 66.1% Yes 49.1% No 50.9%

Another Candidate/ No One 27.1% Sometimes 12.1% 2.

EE VOOTT V

5.

Yes 1.7% Disagree 1.8%

Neutral 43.9%

EE VOOTT V

Agree 54.4% No 86.2%

No 10.3% Yes 28.8%

3.

VOTE

6.

Yes 60.3%

VOTE

Sometimes 35.6%

No 35.6%

Know 29.3% 11 Odd Austin • AutumnDon’t 2017

Austin City Limitless The importance of music in Austin cutlure.

By Anna Thomas

Source: adobestock/2017

Thousands of people come together at Zilker Park in Austin every year to celebrate all things music. It is ranked 11th biggest music festival in the US and hosts some of the most popular artists every year.

dressed in their best festival outfits and there is glitter everywhere.

Every day, seventy five thousand people are expected for two weekends in a row. Endless lines of people stream into the park, each of them with a huge smile across their face. Everyone gets

Although Austin City Limits brings a lot of traffic and extra people to the city for the week, most everyone benefits from the experience.

As the festival gets more attention, more popular artists have begun to make an

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appearance on the lineup. Although Austin City

The mood is always cheerful and excited, as most of the people have been waiting for this day since the end of last years festival.

Kelly Morledge Kealing yearbook photo

spend time with old friends.”

Limits started in 2002, it was only a one- weekend event until 2012.

These two weekends for Austinites bring many memZilker Park is a year-round ories. “My happiest moplace for Austinites to ment at the festival is always hang out and play sports, and host a festival.

Charlie Arscott, a former Liberal Arts and Science Academy student, said, “I like Austin City Limits because of the festival aspect. It’s of course mainly about the concerts, but the fact that it happens in such an iconic place such as Zilker Park, filled with all the Austin eats and local Austin-y things, you really feel like a free spirit, perambulating around a city that can give you anything.” Kelly Morledge, a

Nadine Sauer posing. when I enter the gates for the first time on the first day of the festival. The grass is still green and luscious, the crowd usually is not too big yet and you hear the first song begin to play and automatically it brings a smile because it means it is the start of a great three days!

It is a feeling that only happens at Austin City Limits which is what makes it most memorable,” said Morledge.

Charlie Arscott at a petting zoo

US History teacher at Kealing Middle School, who has been attending Austin City Limits for the last fifteen years, said, “It is a great way to celebrate the unique culture of Austin, find great new music and

people you love to be around.

It is really a great atmosphere and well defines th Austin lifestyle,” said Beckett Schmeil, a LASA student. Sauer said, “Everything about it just combines to make this one of the best experiences I could ask for. There is always an amazing vibe and it brings great memories.

Austin City Limits weekends are definitely one for the books.”

“Every year new memories are created. It is always such a fun and energetic experience which makes each and every year memorable for me,” said Schmeil about his favorite thing about Austin City Limits. “I really like spending the weekend with my

Nadine Sauer, a LASA student who has been attending the festival since she was four, said, “It is one of Beckett Schmeil at ACL the few times everyone I know comes together to just have fun and celebrate mu- friends and having a good sic.” time along with the crowd.

The music, for the most part, is great so there is “It is always fun to go to a festival where you can just that as well. It is a really watch live music with the great opportunity and privOdd Austin • Autumn 2017

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ilege, ” he continued.

charger.”

“Most of the changSchmeil said, “Every year es I have noticed in the new memories are created. music have been fine.

It’s always such a Some years are better fun and than others but overall, enI think the lineups have gotten better. Especially since last year was their 15-year anniversary so they had some really big artists come out and Gwen P. Markert in Wimberly, Texas perform,” said Sauer.

Talking about her favorite memory from Austin City Limits, Morledge said, “I have a lot of great memories from over the years, but one that stands out right now is when the UT marching bandcame on stage with Ghostland Observatory.

It was the first time I was seeing Ghostland live, my favorite band at the time, and during their song “Band Marches On”, they were joined onstage by UT’s marching band who finished the song with them. The band was in their burnt orange band uniform and got really into the performance and it was something I will always remember.”

Sauer’s most memorable memory “One year, one of my friends got his phone stolen and my phone had died so we got stranded for hours trying to find friends while eating snow cones and listening to music.

We had a lot of laughs, but the next day I made sure to bring a portable

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ergetic experience which makes each and every year memorable for me.”

Arscott said, “Last year I remember the schoolboy Q concert was one of the best of my life, other than that though it is pretty overall great.”

Overall, prices of local products go up every year during Austin City Limits in order to make more profit from the desperate festival goers. “The food and prod-

that gets way overpriced for the time period as well,” said Sauer.

Gwen Park Markert, a student at McCallum High School, said, “The vibe from the festival always gets me and my friends really hyped up. Getting ready together in it of itself is full of bonding and many memories are made. I’ll never forget the first day I went with my friends as we arrived to the entrance and saw another group

Madigan and Chloe in Wimberly.

of people we knew and everyone started screaming and jumping around… by far one of my favorite times”.

Erica Moomaw, a student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, said “I always enjoy walking

Erica Moomaw posing.

ucts tend to get more expensive and traffic increases significantly so it takes a Grace McGrath (left) at ACL. long time to get anywhere.

There’s always a lot of people everywhere as the festhrough crowds when tival gets closer. I feel like going to another stage many popular stores have a and seeing all of the section for “Festival Looks” amazing outfits so many

Source: adobestock/2017

people have on. Everyone dresses up and expresses themselves in a different way and it’s really interesting to me to see them”.

Madigan Clements posing.

Markert said, “The best memory I took home was from the Chance the Rapper concert. Me and my friends were in one of the first rows singing along to all of his songs, since we’re all huge fans. My friend, Diana, standing next

to screamed “I love you” and he made eye contact with all of us and told us he loved us back. My friend started crying from joy.”

Chloe Mizenheimer, a student at Ohenry Middle School, said, “Just seeing all my friends makes the experience worth it. Most if not all my best memories come from Austin City Limits. I love the lineups every year and I’ve been going since I can remember.”

festival is one of my favorite times of the year and it’s filled with so many great memories.”

Madigan Clements, a student at Deer Park, said, “The memory that stuck to me most at Austin City Limits was a few years back when Kendrick Lamar was performing and I got on my friend’s shoulders. As soon as I knew it I was body surfing in the crowd.

When I got down, I noticed a group of my friends next to me and spent the remainder of the night with them”.

◉

Grace McGrath, a student at St. Andrews School, said, “I love music so much. I’ve been going to Austin City Limits since I was a baby with my dad. It’s something I can’t live without. The Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

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Austin, TX

I-35 is the most congested road in Austin in 2013.

By Hayden Prairie

4th worst traffic in the country.

Austin has the 37 worst traffic in the World.

This study was conduted by the Inrix in 2008. Each year they conducted test on the verage amount of time that is wasted in traffic per year. This year showed that people wasted an average of 48 hours in a year in traffic. This is equivalent to about 800 SxSW songs.

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Austin’s single family home sales have increased a total of 6% in the past year. The average value of homes in Austin, comes out at a total of 330,000 dollars has gone up by 7%. Austin is growing quickly, and as the increase in homeowners go up, so will the value of homes.

The value of the total amount of home sales of Austin in the past year is 236,000,000 USD.

Current Homesales New Listings The average New Listings is 2,897 and has increased 6% in the past year.

Active Listings

Pending Sales

The average Active Listings is 5,077 and has increased 9% in the past year.

The average Peding Sales is 2,316 and has increased 3% in the past year.

Gardener, Selby W. “Steve Adler Says Austin’s the 4thMost-Congested U.S. City, Worse than New York.” @ Politifact, Politifact, 28 Apr. 2015, 9:48, www.politifact.com/ texas/statements/2015/apr/28/steve-adler/steve-adlersays-austins-4th-most-congested-us-cit/. vvielmann@abor.com. “February 2017 Market Report.”

The Austin Board of REALTORS®, ABoR, 15 June 2017, www.abor.com/statsfeb17/.

Inrix. “INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard.” INRIX - INRIX, Inrix, 2017, inrix.com/scorecard/.

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Photo By: Statesman (Statesman)

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The Political Side of Austin The Politics Of Austin By: Luke Sylliaasen

Six exonerated death row survivors lead the 16th annual march to end the death penalty on October 24, 2015 (Oscar Ricardo Silva).

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the depth of involvement in political and civic issues by residents, you see there is a very strong sense of community engagement among those who are engaged.”

Kitchen feels like the people in Austin are extremely involved in the politics of the city. She believes that those who do get into politics in Austin are very passionate about them and try as hard as they can in order to make their opinion heard.

The yearbook photo for Kelly Morledge (Kealing Yearbook).

People from all over the city gather in one place in order to stand up for what they think is right. Young adults yell chants and hold up signs painted in bright colors.

Counter protesters line up, ready to defend what they believe in. It is like a war fought with words. People from all ethnicities and genders lose control of their everyday personality and become more purer forms of themselves.

Politics in Austin, Texas, are extremely diverse and a lot of political changes are happening in the city. They have always had a level of involvement from the people that live there. People that care about politics strongly support and advocate for what they believe in Austin. All across the city, people are involved. They are involved in everything from small neighborhood meetings in order to vote for a new playground to citywide votes and making sure that their opinion is heard by going to rallies and voting in elections.

People care about their city and are invested in it as well as the environment surrounding it.

The politics of Austin are very unique and to Ann Kitchen, the District 5 city council member in Austin, Texas, “Our politics is characterized by a significant level of involvement among residents. If you look at

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Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

According to Marc Karch, a world geography teacher at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy high school, the biggest change in politics in Austin and around the nation is when everyone is voting and standing up for what they believe in.

Kelly Morledge, a U.S. history teacher at Kealing Middle School, believes that “Austin is a small city compared to Houston and San Antonio and I think our politics are impacted by that. Our demographic makeup is also different than Houston and San Antonio so the voting base is different in each of the cities.” Austin is smaller than other cities in Texas like Houston and San Antonio. This has an impact on the cities politics because as the city grows into one of the larger cities in Texas, it will attract more types of people with differing opinions and levels of involvement in politics.

Karch states that Austin’s politics are mirrored from other cities in Texas and the U.S. which are mostly progressive views while small town politics are mostly the same around the county. For most big cities, this is mostly true and for most small towns this is also true. Austin is a small city that is adopting large city customs while also trying to maintain some of its older small-town politics.

According to Morledge, “Austin’s economics are based more on the tech industry while other Texas towns have an economy based largely on oil and gas. I think the interests of those two industries differ drastically and

therefore the politics do as well.” The difference in industry also attracts different consumers to the cities in towns which plays a role in what type of people move to these areas. The economies of the cities also have a big role to play in politics because cities with wealthier economies will attract more people which creates a larger, more diverse voting base.

Local area groups make up a large part of Austin’s active political enthusiasts and when they know who is responsible for they community, they are able to “establish and maintain relationships with council offices as well as city staff and, more importantly, cultivate leadership. These neighborhood, grassroots leaders are the future leaders of our city, and that energy and knowledge will serve us very well indeed.” Kitchen states that these “grassroots leaders” will continue to be the basis of Austin’s political base and as these leaders get older, they will be able to contribute more to making Austin a better city.

The contrasting landscapes of the Blackland Prairie farmland in the east and the Balcones Fault and Edwards Plateau in the west create a unique environment in Austin. Kitchen states these environmental differences frequently make social and economic inequities. The mix of these two distinctly different environments create a economic blend in Austin and make the political bases on the west and east sides of the city completely different.

“As Austin continues to grow with new people moving here daily, I think Austin politics will shift more towards the middle. I think people that move to Austin know it is a liberal city and therefore highly conservative individuals are not as drawn to move here, but with more people there comes more ideas so it seems inevitable that there will be a shift within the next five years,” Morledge says.

Morledge is proven correct in

this statement; politics are always changing. It is also true that Austin is known as a mostly liberal city and that tends to keep conservatives out. But as politics change, Austin could have an increase of conservative individuals moving into the city.

“Very talented people of diverse backgrounds are drawn to serve in state, county and local government and in our booming industries. These people bring a variety of views and opinions, but they share a dynamism that energizes our political landscape with new ideas and a desire to be involved in shaping our future.” Kitchen described how the people drawn here to serve in state and local governments in Texas are bringing a multitude of opinions. These opinions create a diverse political landscape that makes Austin unique.

Austin’s politics are mostly progressive, but at times, can be conservative.

There is a wide variety of different political opinions and they help

to create a constantly evolving and diverse political base for the city. Political events and community involvement make up a large part of Austin’s politics so get involved. Go to the Women in Advocacy and Politics Workshop on February 10 in 2018 at the Courtyard Hotel Austin Downtown Convention Center or the Tech Town Hall with Austin City Council member Ellen Troxclair on November 8, 2017.

◉

An example of a Tech Town Hall meeting (Austin Tech Alliance).

The Texas Capitol Building (Steve Dunwell/Getty Images).

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“I love you so much” is an iconic Austin attraction, located on the exterior of Jo’s Hot Coffee in the SoCo neighborhood. In 2010, Amy Cook, a local musician took to the wall to spray paint the loving message for her girlfriend Liz Lambert, the owner of the shop, during a fight they were having.

(Olivia Gilbert / 2017)

United Way for Greater Austin, a charity group with a branch in Austin, is the reason behind the East Austin mural “You’re My Butter Half.” During their 2012 rebranding efforts, the non-profit organization revealed the mural that adorns the exterior of their offices.

(Olivia Gilbert / 2017)

The “Hi, How Are You?” mural lesser known as “Jeremiah the Innocent,” made its debut on Daniel Johnston’s 1983 album cover of Hi, How Are You: The Unfinished Album. Ten years later, Daniel Johnston was commissioned to create a mural of Jeremiah by Sound Exchange record store.

(Olivia Gilbert / 2017)

Austin’s Grafitti The backstories behind Austin’s favorite art By: Olivia Gilbert 22

Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

(Olivia Gilbert / 2017)

(Olivia Gilbert / 2017)

(Olivia Gilbert / 2017)

“Greetings From Austin Capitol of Texas” is a mural located on the exterior wall of Roadhouse Relics. It first appeared on the side of local business in 1998 when owner Todd Sanders and his friend Roy Skagen recreated the Austin postcard to add light to the neighborhood.

Gary Clark Jr. is an American musician from Austin Texas who has been dubbed as ‘The Chosen One.’ He has played along with many rock and roll legends such as Eric Clapton, B. B. King, and The Rolling Stones. Gary Clark Jr. is best known for fusing blues and rock and roll with elements of hip hop music.

.

The HOPE Outdoor Gallery is an abandoned construction site once intended to become a condominium that has been reborn into a graffiti hub in downtown Austin. It is a graffiti hodgepodge open to graffiti artists from all over the city to come and mark the concrete slabs with their paint..

Sources: http://austinot.com/best-murals-in-austinaustinist.com/2014/03/04/heres_the_musical_story_behind_the.php; http://do512family.com/some-of-ourfavorite-street-art-in-austin/; http://hopecampaign.org/ hopeprojects/hope-outdoor-gallery/

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Austin’s Oldest How population growth is affecting Austin’s oldest restraunts.

By Hayden Prairie

When driving through downtown Austin’s long roads, the sidewalks are speckled with businesses, people shifting between them. A huge yellow “M” jumped out at a car passing by a McDonald’s. Their fake, sizzling patties burned within the Austin heat, yet people still go to eat there. A little bit farther and small business can be seen covering the concrete with a collage of brilliant smells. Fresh tacos waft into cars as eggs are drenched in salsa and placed into warm tortillas to be served

up at The Frisco. Farther down the road is Austin’s second oldest restaurant, Dirty Martin’s, as they serving old fashioned hamburgers made from scratch.

Throughout Austin, many local businesses have been affected by the increase in the population. For instance, Dirty Martin’s has been affected

by Austin’s increase in fast food restaurant in the past 20 years, causing it to lose some of it customers. Dirty Martin’s also been affected positively

by the increase in customers.

Austin’s oldest businesses have been affected negatively by the increase in traffic and chain restaurants, but has also benefited from the increase in the amount of people that are willing to go and eat at their restaurants.

Most businesses have points in their careers where they experienced growth that led them closer to success.

However, this can be hard for many local businesses in Austin Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

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Dirty Martins at nigth on Guadalupe Ave. Photo taken on June 19, 2015.

Image taken by Dave Young

who are trying to get started or have already been here, due to the increase in the amount of chain restaurants in their area.

“The population growth has hurt because with more population comes more restaurants, and especially in our case, more fast food restaurants–which definitely makes it harder. The more P. Terry’s and Whataburgers there are in this neighborhood, the more it will affect our business because more people will go out and eat there due to convenience,” says Dave Young, manager of Dirty Martin’s Place.

These chain restaurants allow customers the convenience of quick cheap food that they can access comfortably without leaving their car. They are an extremely easy way to get food if someone is hungry or is out of time. Despite the seeming innocent way of accessing quick food, eating at chain

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Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

restaurants has already started to drive out some of Austin’s local businesses.

However, on the up side, as Austin’s population has increased the amount of people that go eat at a local restaurant

“The population growth has hurt because with more population comes more restaurants, and especially in our case, more fast food restaurants which definitely makes it harder. ” -Dave Young also has increased. These extra customers have ‘boosted’ many local restaurants in Austin, and can even compensate for the new chain stores. “Early 2000s was one of our highest points because we were one of the

only burger restaurants in Austin, and Austin wasn’t that big. There were no P. Terry’s and only a couple Whataburgers and not as many restaurants as there is now, so people came to Dirtys more often,” said Dave Young.

In this situation, Dirty Martin’s has experienced growth even with the chain restaurants nabbing a few people away from their restaurant.

Another factor that helped increase the amount of business that small, local restaurants desperately seek, is UT. UT draws in students all around the country to study at the school.

“Getting UT students to come here is competitive too, because there are sixty other restaurants that are around here. Older parts of Austin and the people that love Dirty’s are pretty loyal and come once a week,” says Dave Young.

“Getting the newer students in here instead of a fast food is really important and we do this by getting the students excited to go to Dirty’s,” said Dave Young.

As more UT students come to the Austin area, they prefer some of the fast food restaurants because they are familiar to them. Dave Young’s goal is to try to get them interested in Austin and in Dirty’s by trying to get them into new experience where they could learn about Austin, thus getting them more interested in eating at local restaurants such as Dirty Martins.

of traffic,” said Dave Young.

Still, many problems face these small restaurants as the increase in population affects the traffic levels of the area. “Some restaurants have problems getting business because no one can get to the restaurant without sitting in a half an hour

here on Guadalupe during rush hour, because Mopac can get backed up, so there is always congestion in the arteries like Lamar. ” said Dave Young.

This traffic is one of the major problems that is created by this

“Generally, the traffic annoys me here. There is always a significant amount traffic right

“The more P. Terry’s and Whataburgers there are in this neighborhood, the more it will affect our business because more people will go out and eat there due to convenience” -Dave Young

increase in population of Austin and has taken a toll on places like Dirty Martins.

Without the growth of Austin, many local businesses would not do as well as they would because there would be fewer people that would want to dine out. It is important to understand that this increase also brings new factors that will limit the business of the stores, but will not counteract the steady grow in customers. This growth can be seen at Dirty Martin’s where the manager is thinking about putting another Dirty Martin’s out in Lakeway. Dave Young said that this idea only came to mind after Austin experienced its heavy growth, and why it is important to understand how this growth can both positively and negatively affect businesses in Austin.

◉

Dirty Martin’s employees standing outside of the restaurant a few months after opening in 1926.

Photo taken by Dirty Martins

Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

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Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

Locate the stages

Arive at 11 am

Fill up water bottles at Camelbaks free refil center

Make sure to drink lots of water

By: Anna Thomas

A Day

Enjoy the shows!

Stay hydrated

Visit the food trucks and buy food

Go home and get rest for the next day!

Prepare for little or no cell service; plan ahead

at ACL

55.7% 44.3%

Has the music taste for ACL gotten better or worse overall through out the years?

Austin City Limits

Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

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people who think the music taste has gotten better

people who think the music taste has gotten worse

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Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

like the fact that “ IAustin’s the first place

I’ve ever lived where there’s a real sense of community. People care about their neighbors.

- Ian McLagan, instrumentalist

”

Odd Austin • Autumn 2017

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Odd Austin • Autumn 2017