Most of you already know I just took a weeklong vacation back to my ol' stomping grounds of Austin, Texas (for the few of you who don't already know, I'm from Texas and lived in Austin for 6 years). It was wonderful to see friends, eat copious amounts of Tex-Mex (I consumed more butter, eggs and cheese in one week than I have this entire year), wear a dress and sandals all day long (without having to carry a jacket around), move at a snail's pace, and never have to fight for a parking spot. Austin's airport is probably the best one I've personally been to (which isn't saying a whole lot) and before I got out the door I was talked up by three different people, and not in a single-girl/sitting-duck kind of way. I forgot that most people in Texas are just friendly. They talk to you. For no reason at all. After having spent the past 7 years in San Francisco and NYC, the random friendliness is almost shocking.
My rental car was a surprising shade of Longhorn burnt orange, so a few people on the street gave me the hook 'em horns sign. It was of course really hot there - in the 90s during the day but getting down to around 75 at night - but it felt really nice. Not a whole lot was going on the week I was there, oh except for a gigantic biker rally, which meant the city was overtaken by roaringly loud motorcycles with burly dudes at the front wheel and their scantily clad women sitting on the back. I guess there's no helmet law in Texas, but some women really tempted fate by riding around in a bikini top and short shorts. I said a silent please-don't-wreck prayer for all of their exposed skin. Oh yes, and the big news was the private party played by Prince, which three different people told me three different stories about before all swearing me to secrecy, ha. My friend Chad's neighbor was the only person I knew who got in, by donning a catering outfit for his friend's company, and he said the setlist was meh because he only played two recognizable songs. (Sorry Anil.)
Speaking of Chad, I stayed at his adorable two-bedroom house just north of Hyde Park, and plotted the entire time about how I could somehow steal the house out from under him. We made pretty good roommates though. Chad and I have been friends for probably ten years now, and he's always game to chat for hours, swap music, and suggest really good shopping trips. I think his beagle Eno took a shine to me after all that togetherness.
One afternoon Chad and I visited Trail of Dead's Mob House Studio to see my friend Mike McCarthy. He's currently recording The Sun, but also played us recent tracks he's done with my friend Booher's band Zykos and Spoon.
I did a lot of driving around, drinking coffee, eating, shopping and hanging out with my pretend-boyfriend Jeff Klein (who's been on a rare break from constant touring before heading off to LA to record with the Gutter Twins). He is also great for hours of chatting, talking about music and shopping. I think I see a pattern here. Last Sunday night Chad, Jeff and I went to Chuy's for more Tex-Mex and then saw the film Once which was fantastic. It's the most accurate depiction of music and musicians that I've ever seen in a non-documentary film (usually movies with a 'musician' in them are chock-full of eyeroll-worthy cliches and implausible situations), but aside from the great music in the film (made by the main actor/musicians themselves) the story itself is brilliant, understated and believable. Go see this film before it leaves the theaters, especially if you love music or tear up at any sort of live performance (I'm looking at you, Patty.)
Austin hasn't changed much, but there is a lot of new condos going up and the East side is really growing. I also saw three or four scooter shops; I guess scooters are popular there now. I had some oats-cream at a vegan bakery, which tasted like soft serve ice cream without all the sugar. Chad also took me to a great vintage store called Feathers on South Congress, and Jeff took me to Allen's Boots to look at fancy $500 cowboy boots. Alas, neither of us bought a pair.
I did break down and buy a digital camera while I was there though, a Casio Exilim with a discount courtesy of my friend Chris. It came with some truly frightening software that I finally uninstalled after a few days (see photo). I obviously still haven't gotten the hang of how to use it though, and Chris tried to school me when I met up with him and his wife Elise for dinner. My dear friend Julia joined us and Chris obliged my request for him to get a good shot of Julia's bacon wallet. Later on Julia and I had a bottle of wine in the
Hotel San Jose courtyard with my friend Richard. For you pop culture aficionados, Julia is the real-life inspiration for the character
Jungle Julia in Quentin Tarantino's films. If you knew her, you'd know why - she's six feet of self-assured sass.
That's all for now. Austin is friendly, colorful, laid-back, genuine, hot, inspiring, and the only city to ever visit in Texas.
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