Times of change and upheaval always bring me back here. Or at least back to writing. Although it hasn't been months, I've also left my journal unattended for a couple of stretches that span several weeks. Those periods of change encourage me to write in order to help process events and also to record them for future reflection. It's always kind of fascinating to think about where we've been, how we got through situations, ways in which our thinking has changed, etc.
I'm moving into a duplex with a friend early tomorrow and it's gotten me thinking about a lot of things. It'll definitely be a different yet welcome pace of life, particularly because I've been living in my own apartment for the past two years. Having a roommate will take some adjusting but I'm really looking forward to it. I really like our new space even if we can't paint the walls - we'll get creative with curtains and art work and who knows what else! It feels as though living on my own served its purpose and I'm ready to share a space with someone else, if that makes any sense.
We got our keys earlier this afternoon, but I just didn't have the energy to do as much moving as I would have liked before the end of the day. Which means the brunt of the hard work will be tomorrow morning! Or this morning, rather. I want to sleep but my body/brain isn't quite ready for it yet. It feels like it's the night before a big trip where you know something exciting and big is happening the next day and the anticipation is killing you because you just want to start. That's how it feels.
I'm in a state of limbo once again since I graduated in May. I'm looking for full-time jobs, but I'm also trying to leave Austin for a while. I love the support network I've built for myself yet I want to know what else is out there. There is so much more to do and see and learn out there, away from home and my comfort zone. I hope the Fulbright comes through. I was on the fence about applying, but after I talked to a friend I felt more determined than ever to go for it and see what happens. I'm ready. A change is gonna come.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Abriendo Brecha: Activist Scholarship Conference
My life presently consists of working to meet deadlines, event planning, protesting, writing, and laughing with friends. You can't forget to laugh if you want to stay sane amidst chaos. So that's basically my way of explaining my absence around these parts.
On February 17th - February 19th, a group of UT students organized the 8th Annual Abriendo Brecha Activist Scholarship Conference. As the website describes it:
"Abriendo Brecha is an annual conference at the University of Texas at Austin dedicated to activist scholarship; i.e. research and creative intellectual work in alignment with communities, organizations, movements, and networks working for social and economic justice. Abriendo Brecha VIII calls for a renewed discussion on the meanings and practices of activist scholarship, particularly as it relates to solidarity between groups and overcoming power inequalities through alliance. Some themes for this year’s conference include: struggles over land, resource distribution, gentrification, prisons, cross-racial alliance, and immigrant rights."
Not only does this conference focus on bridging the gap between theory and practice, it also highlights the importance of accountability and ethicality when conducting research. It's a way for community members and "academics" alike to continue asking who will benefit from research and how we can make our research accessible and therefore useful to the communities we work with. To that end, the conference is absolutely free and everyone is invited to attend AND submit proposals.
This year I was actually a panelist and next year I hope to present the work I did for my thesis. To open the conference there's usually a party on the evening of the first conference day and this year's party was even better than the last. It was held at the Orun Cultural Center and featured Riders Against the Storm and Las Krudas (pictured above). Good times, good people, and the sharing of many ideas - a great experience over all.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Snow day!!
I've seen and stepped in snow no more than 6 times in my life. Thanks to global warming, it snowed in Austin last year and now this year as well. When it snows in Austin you definitely do not want to miss out on the action! One of my neighbors made a snow person but I forgot to take a picture before its tiny little body melted into nothingness.
In the end, I took the lazy route and let the sun melt the snow on my car rather than scrape it off. Thankfully I didn't have to be anywhere this morning and thus was able to stay in my apartment and off of the icy roads. I wish I had been able to get more work done than I actually did, but I haven't felt that great these past few days. Time to rest and recuperate...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Austin's Free Day of Dance
A week ago I hadn't heard of Austin's Free Day of Dance and now I'm surprised that it's only been around for three years. It's still rather new which would explain why there weren't as many people at Esquina Tango as I had predicted. Or perhaps people decided to take an earlier dance class at one of the other studios offering free dance classes around Austin. I opted for Esquina Tango because I took Samba classes there about a year and a half ago and therefore had some familiarity with the place. The experience was still a little scary, but the familiar surroundings and smallish class size made it more bearable! Thankfully there were a few others there who went alone and so we got to pair up when the time came to dance with partners. The instructors were sensitive to that and tried to show us how to do steps that we could practice alone if we didn't want to dance with a partner.
Esquina Tango offered classes for various styles of dance and I decided to go with "Latin rhythms", salsa and merengue. Just for the record, I find classifying things as "Latin" pretty annoying. With that said, the class was fun and a little scary. The fact that I have two left feet means that I was operating wayyy out of my comfort zone for that hour-long lesson. It didn't help that the instructors were going fast and doing complicated moves that super beginners such as myself can only hope to stumble along to. After the class ended one of the instructors reassured me that they normally don't go as quickly in the Salsa classes that Esquina offers, but they did it for show and to make it fun/interesting for the people there today. I'm thinking about taking some dance classes there since it's close to where I live, a super relaxed environment, and fairly affordable. Who knows, maybe a year from now when the next free day of dance rolls around I'll be able to do some of that fancy footwork too.
http://www.freedayofdance.com/
Esquina Tango offered classes for various styles of dance and I decided to go with "Latin rhythms", salsa and merengue. Just for the record, I find classifying things as "Latin" pretty annoying. With that said, the class was fun and a little scary. The fact that I have two left feet means that I was operating wayyy out of my comfort zone for that hour-long lesson. It didn't help that the instructors were going fast and doing complicated moves that super beginners such as myself can only hope to stumble along to. After the class ended one of the instructors reassured me that they normally don't go as quickly in the Salsa classes that Esquina offers, but they did it for show and to make it fun/interesting for the people there today. I'm thinking about taking some dance classes there since it's close to where I live, a super relaxed environment, and fairly affordable. Who knows, maybe a year from now when the next free day of dance rolls around I'll be able to do some of that fancy footwork too.
http://www.freedayofdance.com/
Friday, January 28, 2011
Emo's!
I wish I could remember the first show I saw at Emo's, but I can't. It must have been in junior high or high school, that's for sure. My first live music show was at the Erwin Center when I was in 7th or 8th grade. My dad worked at the Erwin Center at the time and he got my sister and I free tickets to see the Wallflowers and the Counting Crows. I think these blog entries are turning into walks down memory lane more than anything else! I suppose it's bound to happen since I'm from this city and this city's streets and people and landscapes are etched into my happiest and saddest memories.
I went to Emo's pretty often when I was in high school. At the time I worked for an online music magazine and I got to see live shows and interview bands that I was listening to. None of them were really big names, though. I think the biggest band I interviewed was OK Go, who won a Grammy a couple of years ago. They obviously weren't Grammy winners at the time I interviewed them since I scored the interview as a 15- or 16-year-old. But I digress...
Wavves and Best Coast brought me to Emo's on Tuesday night (yes, I'm late posting again). I saw both bands during SXSW last year, also at Emo's. I think I might have also seen Wavves at Emo's during SXSW in 2009, but I'm not sure. All I remember was that I had just lost my job in early March of 2009 and therefore suddenly had Spring Break completely open and was able to overdose on live music, much to my heart's content.
These lovebirds also played at FunFunFun Fest this past November and they put on a pretty good show. It's fun, it's high-energy, some of it is a little poppy, and Best Coast in particular is also fun to sing along to.
Something that I realized as I was squished next to all of those people at this sold out show was that I was about 10 years older than a good number of the kids there. How the hell did that happen?
I think my long history with Emo's and just getting older in general has made it more tolerable in many ways. I used to feel pretty disgusted/put off by all of the people who go there and just try really hard to look and act a certain way. These days I don't notice as much, which makes it a hell of a lot easier to just enjoy the music.
Emo's
603 Red River
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 505 8541
I went to Emo's pretty often when I was in high school. At the time I worked for an online music magazine and I got to see live shows and interview bands that I was listening to. None of them were really big names, though. I think the biggest band I interviewed was OK Go, who won a Grammy a couple of years ago. They obviously weren't Grammy winners at the time I interviewed them since I scored the interview as a 15- or 16-year-old. But I digress...
Wavves and Best Coast brought me to Emo's on Tuesday night (yes, I'm late posting again). I saw both bands during SXSW last year, also at Emo's. I think I might have also seen Wavves at Emo's during SXSW in 2009, but I'm not sure. All I remember was that I had just lost my job in early March of 2009 and therefore suddenly had Spring Break completely open and was able to overdose on live music, much to my heart's content.
These lovebirds also played at FunFunFun Fest this past November and they put on a pretty good show. It's fun, it's high-energy, some of it is a little poppy, and Best Coast in particular is also fun to sing along to.
Something that I realized as I was squished next to all of those people at this sold out show was that I was about 10 years older than a good number of the kids there. How the hell did that happen?
I think my long history with Emo's and just getting older in general has made it more tolerable in many ways. I used to feel pretty disgusted/put off by all of the people who go there and just try really hard to look and act a certain way. These days I don't notice as much, which makes it a hell of a lot easier to just enjoy the music.
Emo's
603 Red River
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 505 8541
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Space 12
I'll fess up right away - technically I went to Space 12 yesterday, but I'm writing about it today anyway. I know I'll return to Space 12 in the near future because it is a community space that's working towards providing more events/services in the East Austin community. Space 12 hosts everything from skillshares to film screenings to poetry slams to yoga classes. One of the things I appreciate about this space is that its wide range of events/services allows for varied types of interactions between people and therefore contributes to the development of a deeper and richer sense of community. There's still a lot of work to be done in attracting native/long-time residents of East Austin, but it appears that the folks behind Space 12 are trying to head in the right direction.
I'm really intrigued by this idea of having a co-working space, such as what Space 12 mentions on its website. Essentially, anyone can go into Space 12 during its hours of operation, use their free wi-fi, and work on whatever it is they need to get done. People can pay as much or as little as they can afford in order to use that space. It seems like the ultimate goal is for the space to serve as a resource to the community. I haven't visited Space 12 in that capacity, but I really want to try that now and just see who else is there and what the experience is like. I'm also just getting tired of the fact that Dominican Joe is packed all the time now that classes are back in session. I love DoJo and spend too much time there, so I also don't want to grow tired of that place. Now back to Space 12...
I saw a documentary at Space 12 last night, Race to Nowhere, that in many ways is the antithesis to Waiting for Superman because of the questions the film raises. Although I appreciate the film's critique of the high-stakes culture plaguing our schools, there are still a lot of points that the film misses because it was told from a white, middle-class perspective that doesn't problematize capitalism and our existing social order. The underlying philosophy of education should be the biggest focus because it guides the expectations that are normalized in schools. There is a discussion on the need to nurture children so that they are happy and healthy human beings, but I don't really believe that's possible in a capitalist society. There was also no mention of the people whose lives and landscapes the U.S. is ruining in order to strive for the happiness and well being of Americans.
One point the film stresses is the fact that many children are over-scheduled by their parents and involved in a million different activities. During the discussion following the film, someone expressed their worry at how under-scheduling of kids is just as big of a problem because it could lead to youth getting into trouble without the existence of structured activities. Something that I didn't think about until after my friend brought it up (and that I very much agree with because it reflects my parents' experiences) is that there are children from working-class backgrounds who have family responsibilities and obligations that don't allow for "structured activities" in the traditional sense. What about kids who have to babysit their siblings, help their parents run the family business, or help run other errands? Those children are just as "over-scheduled" even though they are not involved in activities that will help them become the kind of "well-rounded" individuals that college admissions officials are looking for.
This talk of over-scheduling and anxiety couldn't have come at a better time because the same is still true when you're in college and when you're an adult within this society. Case in point: my anxiety attack a few days ago. Granted, it was also a result of my coping mechanisms (or a lack thereof) when it comes to stress, but we live in a world in which people compete to see who can be the most stressed out, the busiest, the most accomplished. When I was talking to a friend about how stressed I was, she said that she had resigned herself to accepting that she was just going to be stressed out and would find a way to cope. I don't want to cope with being stressed out every day, I want to have the ability to breathe and enjoy my time on this planet and the company of others who also aren't stressed out. Shortly after my conversation with said friend I talked to my advisor and fiddled around with my schedule precisely so that I can take care of myself. If you don't have your health, what's the point in all of this? How healthy you are (physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually) determines how much of yourself you are able to give and your ability to engage with others. It's taken me a long time to learn this and put it into practice and I'm still a work in progress. And for me, something that brings me happiness is music - you can expect to see more of that here. I'm also just going to make more time for the people in my life. My friends, family, and loved ones make everything that I do meaningful.
Space 12
3121 E 12th Street
Austin, TX 78702
Tuesday to Fridays
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Phone: 512-524-7128
I'm really intrigued by this idea of having a co-working space, such as what Space 12 mentions on its website. Essentially, anyone can go into Space 12 during its hours of operation, use their free wi-fi, and work on whatever it is they need to get done. People can pay as much or as little as they can afford in order to use that space. It seems like the ultimate goal is for the space to serve as a resource to the community. I haven't visited Space 12 in that capacity, but I really want to try that now and just see who else is there and what the experience is like. I'm also just getting tired of the fact that Dominican Joe is packed all the time now that classes are back in session. I love DoJo and spend too much time there, so I also don't want to grow tired of that place. Now back to Space 12...
I saw a documentary at Space 12 last night, Race to Nowhere, that in many ways is the antithesis to Waiting for Superman because of the questions the film raises. Although I appreciate the film's critique of the high-stakes culture plaguing our schools, there are still a lot of points that the film misses because it was told from a white, middle-class perspective that doesn't problematize capitalism and our existing social order. The underlying philosophy of education should be the biggest focus because it guides the expectations that are normalized in schools. There is a discussion on the need to nurture children so that they are happy and healthy human beings, but I don't really believe that's possible in a capitalist society. There was also no mention of the people whose lives and landscapes the U.S. is ruining in order to strive for the happiness and well being of Americans.
One point the film stresses is the fact that many children are over-scheduled by their parents and involved in a million different activities. During the discussion following the film, someone expressed their worry at how under-scheduling of kids is just as big of a problem because it could lead to youth getting into trouble without the existence of structured activities. Something that I didn't think about until after my friend brought it up (and that I very much agree with because it reflects my parents' experiences) is that there are children from working-class backgrounds who have family responsibilities and obligations that don't allow for "structured activities" in the traditional sense. What about kids who have to babysit their siblings, help their parents run the family business, or help run other errands? Those children are just as "over-scheduled" even though they are not involved in activities that will help them become the kind of "well-rounded" individuals that college admissions officials are looking for.
This talk of over-scheduling and anxiety couldn't have come at a better time because the same is still true when you're in college and when you're an adult within this society. Case in point: my anxiety attack a few days ago. Granted, it was also a result of my coping mechanisms (or a lack thereof) when it comes to stress, but we live in a world in which people compete to see who can be the most stressed out, the busiest, the most accomplished. When I was talking to a friend about how stressed I was, she said that she had resigned herself to accepting that she was just going to be stressed out and would find a way to cope. I don't want to cope with being stressed out every day, I want to have the ability to breathe and enjoy my time on this planet and the company of others who also aren't stressed out. Shortly after my conversation with said friend I talked to my advisor and fiddled around with my schedule precisely so that I can take care of myself. If you don't have your health, what's the point in all of this? How healthy you are (physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually) determines how much of yourself you are able to give and your ability to engage with others. It's taken me a long time to learn this and put it into practice and I'm still a work in progress. And for me, something that brings me happiness is music - you can expect to see more of that here. I'm also just going to make more time for the people in my life. My friends, family, and loved ones make everything that I do meaningful.
Space 12
3121 E 12th Street
Austin, TX 78702
Tuesday to Fridays
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Phone: 512-524-7128
Monday, January 17, 2011
Koriente
It's about that time in my degree program in which the end is so near that it is exciting and anxiety-inducing. Which reminds me, I don't recommend thinking about your to-do list while you're working out on an elliptical, or any machine for that matter. Instead of focusing on my workout or the magazine in front of me, I started thinking about everything I have going on. My heart beat was already elevated and thinking about deadlines and graduation (and the possibility of not graduating on time) made my heart beat a lot faster and my stress went through the roof. Within five seconds or so I had to slow down and take a break because I was literally gasping for air. Not a good sign!
For now I'm reminding myself to take it one day at a time and keep taking care of myself. If I let myself get easily stressed out, it'll only make things worse. Thankfully I have friends I can meet up with at terrific restaurants like Koriente to get my mind in a better place.
Koriente is practically right down the street from me, although it's almost easy to pass by and miss due to all of the construction going on along E. 7th St. I had heard great things about this place and I wasn't disappointed on my first visit. It's a very small restaurant but they do have outside seating that's perfect on days with beautiful weather. They have a framed picture up on the wall of one of the Rolling Stone covers John Lennon and Yoko Ono did that I really like. There's just something about that embrace! And apparently Annie Liebovitz took that picture the day he was killed, which makes it really tragic.
I was tempted to try the Japchei (sweet potato noodes!!) but I decided on the Koriente Curry (A) with brown rice and tofu. It was sooo good and incredibly spicy in the best possible way. The portions are large which means you essentially get another day's meal with the leftovers. The next time I visit Koriente I'll have to try one of their teas, either a bubble tea or an eternal love tea. And I will be back. For the Japchei.
Koriente
621 E 7th St
Phone: 512-275-0852
For now I'm reminding myself to take it one day at a time and keep taking care of myself. If I let myself get easily stressed out, it'll only make things worse. Thankfully I have friends I can meet up with at terrific restaurants like Koriente to get my mind in a better place.
Koriente is practically right down the street from me, although it's almost easy to pass by and miss due to all of the construction going on along E. 7th St. I had heard great things about this place and I wasn't disappointed on my first visit. It's a very small restaurant but they do have outside seating that's perfect on days with beautiful weather. They have a framed picture up on the wall of one of the Rolling Stone covers John Lennon and Yoko Ono did that I really like. There's just something about that embrace! And apparently Annie Liebovitz took that picture the day he was killed, which makes it really tragic.
I was tempted to try the Japchei (sweet potato noodes!!) but I decided on the Koriente Curry (A) with brown rice and tofu. It was sooo good and incredibly spicy in the best possible way. The portions are large which means you essentially get another day's meal with the leftovers. The next time I visit Koriente I'll have to try one of their teas, either a bubble tea or an eternal love tea. And I will be back. For the Japchei.
Koriente
621 E 7th St
Phone: 512-275-0852
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Greenling
Greenling is a home delivery service of organic and sustainably produced local food. They're still relatively new, but it looks like they're doing well and expanding their customer base. Greenling first got on my radar thanks to those FB ads that appear on one of the sidebars. After seeing their name listed for so long, I decided to check and see what they were all about. I guess that FB advertising works after all...
The major reason why I finally decided to go for it was that they were offering a 40% discount during the holidays. I knew I would kick myself later for not taking advantage of such a great deal! As you can see from the picture, I ordered the local box (which included butternut squash, carrots, green onion, tangerines, apples, beets, green bell peppers, lettuce, and parsley that week), the chocolate lover's box, and a couple of bottles of wine.
When I opened that bright green container I was greeted by the lovely sight of colorful produce and delicious chocolate and wine nestled in shredded newspaper. I appreciated that Greenling includes a couple of recipes that incorporate the produce in the box, which is helpful if you've never cooked with a particular vegetable before. It makes the process of experimenting with new foods a little less daunting and more approachable. If you've signed up for the Greenling newsletter, you'll also have access to other recipes as well as the contents of the local box every week.
As much as I love what they have to offer, I likely won't order from Greenling again. It is a bit expensive for me and I think I'd much rather enjoy the experience of going to one of the many farmer's markets here in Austin. It's definitely a convenient service for those who have the money and want to support locally grown food and don't necessarily have the time to make it to the farmer's markets.
The major reason why I finally decided to go for it was that they were offering a 40% discount during the holidays. I knew I would kick myself later for not taking advantage of such a great deal! As you can see from the picture, I ordered the local box (which included butternut squash, carrots, green onion, tangerines, apples, beets, green bell peppers, lettuce, and parsley that week), the chocolate lover's box, and a couple of bottles of wine.
When I opened that bright green container I was greeted by the lovely sight of colorful produce and delicious chocolate and wine nestled in shredded newspaper. I appreciated that Greenling includes a couple of recipes that incorporate the produce in the box, which is helpful if you've never cooked with a particular vegetable before. It makes the process of experimenting with new foods a little less daunting and more approachable. If you've signed up for the Greenling newsletter, you'll also have access to other recipes as well as the contents of the local box every week.
As much as I love what they have to offer, I likely won't order from Greenling again. It is a bit expensive for me and I think I'd much rather enjoy the experience of going to one of the many farmer's markets here in Austin. It's definitely a convenient service for those who have the money and want to support locally grown food and don't necessarily have the time to make it to the farmer's markets.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Get involved in community forums
Being an active participant in your community should be encouraged and should happen globally, but if you're breathing and awake you know this is not the case. Select members of the population are recognized as political subjects and valid participants in "democracy." Some people are able to speak louder than others and their voices easily reach the ears of those who have a certain kind of power that is used to dominate and subjugate. Authentic community involvement in which community members are both the leading visionaries and decision-makers is grossly discouraged. Case in point: AISD's Facilities Master Plan Task Force.
With that in mind, I attended a "community meeting" tonight in which members of our local school district's Facilities Master Plan Task Force congregated to receive community input regarding their recent suggestions to close at least nine AISD schools (eight elementary schools, one middle school) for the sake of "efficiency." These measures would allegedly maximize efficiency in that they would shuffle students to different schools and re-draw school boundaries in order to decrease the number of empty seats in a school. The task force's plans also call for the construction of three new elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school in the suburbs in order to meet the needs of the growing population in those areas and the forecasts for a decrease in the population in the centrally-located schools.
Although this is just the beginning, the arguments that I feared would be heavily used were in fact popular. Some community members rejected the closures of all of the schools while most spoke about a specific school and argued against that particular school's closure. What is especially frustrating to these parents is that there is talk that their school may be closed despite its being "exemplary."
(1) How is exemplary defined in AISD? Every school district uses different metrics in order to avoid incurring the wrath of NCLB/high-stakes-testing-related penalties.
(2) If a school is NOT "exemplary," does that justify its being put on the chopping block?
By arguing over which school is more or less worthy of getting the axe, the real culprits are not placed under the microscope and criticized for their failure to educate all children. In any case, all of these happenings are new to me and I'll do my best to play catch-up before classes start next week. I plan on attending tomorrow night's community forum as well and hearing what other folks have to say. My connection to this issue is personal in that I'm an Austinite, I went to one of the elementary schools that might be closed, and the junior high I attended is also under scrutiny. I'm interested in better understanding what accounts for the apparent drop in student enrollment in centrally-located schools and the growth in suburban-area schools.
With that in mind, I attended a "community meeting" tonight in which members of our local school district's Facilities Master Plan Task Force congregated to receive community input regarding their recent suggestions to close at least nine AISD schools (eight elementary schools, one middle school) for the sake of "efficiency." These measures would allegedly maximize efficiency in that they would shuffle students to different schools and re-draw school boundaries in order to decrease the number of empty seats in a school. The task force's plans also call for the construction of three new elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school in the suburbs in order to meet the needs of the growing population in those areas and the forecasts for a decrease in the population in the centrally-located schools.
Although this is just the beginning, the arguments that I feared would be heavily used were in fact popular. Some community members rejected the closures of all of the schools while most spoke about a specific school and argued against that particular school's closure. What is especially frustrating to these parents is that there is talk that their school may be closed despite its being "exemplary."
(1) How is exemplary defined in AISD? Every school district uses different metrics in order to avoid incurring the wrath of NCLB/high-stakes-testing-related penalties.
(2) If a school is NOT "exemplary," does that justify its being put on the chopping block?
By arguing over which school is more or less worthy of getting the axe, the real culprits are not placed under the microscope and criticized for their failure to educate all children. In any case, all of these happenings are new to me and I'll do my best to play catch-up before classes start next week. I plan on attending tomorrow night's community forum as well and hearing what other folks have to say. My connection to this issue is personal in that I'm an Austinite, I went to one of the elementary schools that might be closed, and the junior high I attended is also under scrutiny. I'm interested in better understanding what accounts for the apparent drop in student enrollment in centrally-located schools and the growth in suburban-area schools.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Waterloo Records Listening Party
Waterloo Records is an Austin gem. I love this independent record store and it's one of those spots in Austin that I return to again and again. I think I first started going to Waterloo when I was in high school and I've been a customer/supporter since then. Speaking of record stores, I wish Sound Exchange were still around, but I digress. My trip to Waterloo today was motivated by a listening party, a used CD, and a ticket to an upcoming show.
Waterloo is great about consistently scheduling events at the store and making it a very customer-friendly space. Where else can you listen to an entire album before buying it in order to decide whether or not you really want to take it home? The store also regularly has listening parties on New Release Tuesdays (i.e. today), which include free pizza! Although some of the listening parties have featured questionable albums in the past (think tween pop stars...), in general they feature pretty neat albums. Today's visit to Waterloo was new to me in the sense that I actually hadn't been to a listening party before despite being aware of which albums are being featured.
Throughout the year, the store also hosts musicians who are touring and stopping in Austin. This is a great opportunity to catch FREE, brief, and sometimes acoustic, sets by artists that you love. During SXSW the store gets packed but there's something about the environment that still makes it feel like an intimate performance. They've recently started to move the larger shows outside to accommodate for a larger audience, which makes it less cozy, but allows for more folks to get in on the free action.
I'll never be able to say enough great things about Waterloo. I love this place.
Waterloo Records & Video
600A. North Lamar Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78703
phone: (512) 474-2500
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