i got the wake-up call i been waitin' for and headed down to crystal clear sound. there was a typical snag with my credit card, which had me on hold with customer service for what seemed like hours in matt's office while he went about his business, but i eventually just conked the unwary proprietor over the head with the fax machine and bolted out with a big box of 120 discs.
the first stop was xl, the second was the chron, and the third was sxsw.
i felt like the time zuniga and i left vegas 80 dollars up. i was feeling like mr. lucky and everyone was around who i wanted to be around. I shot the shit with a lot of old friends that day, believe me. they all wanted to know more about deep sombreros.
then i went to work, where the distribution list grew exponentially fatter and longer. there were friends and family galore to share a cigar with a proud papa.
that night, like every night following since, has been a joyous journey through the Austin nightlife in search of people to accost with the new disc. Sixteen Deluxe was awesome at the Lunch that Friday night, and I passed out a ton of free passes to our cd release for the following week. I went through that box so fast that weekend i barely had a dozen CDs left to take to the free for all sunday night. those too were gone by 3 am. did i mention it's a promotional item? like a business card only slightly cheaper.
Saturday was a great day to walk down the drag with a box of cds under your arm. I hit the hole, tower, kut, soundexchange, texan, kvrx, technophilia, lesamisrip, and jeff's house.
then i worked a12-hour, overtime, overnight substitute weekend security shift at the school that was a real toetapper i tell you what.
sunday i slept til 5, and i was a sad little plant when i got to the hole that night. i need lots of sunshine and water. i just kicked back and checked out the bands; young gothic garage rockers pottyavollama were especially sensational. then at around 1:15, e-rock and the rest of superego jolted me awake for a few precious minutes, then another gig was over. it was cool distributing some more cds, especially since the paper had mentioned the giveaway.
with regard to "best bets," an astute regular at the hole recently observed "people read that shit and go." the owner, doug, loves when the hole is mentioned, he gives me a hard time, but he keeps meticulous statistics on the column-inch/business volume ratio. At 3 am we did a boring sleepy kut interview with andy langer; jeff and earthpig were hilarious trying to goad a langer/mark rubin rivalry brewing at the kut control room, mostly regarding the politics of the d.j.s' mailboxes.
Monday after work, i was at Ego's, located in a south austin parking garage, delivering discs to Ted Roddy and the manager of the club, Kimi. She gave me a business card with gold foil print on it a few weeks ago that gave me the idea for the foil inlay on the cover of My Bad, and i wanted to give her a copy for the jukebox. I would love to do a gig there, but in spite of the name thing, she is a tough one to convince.
I had to say: "damn girl, let me hit it one time."
the troubadors show on monday nights is a HOT ticket and i don't know why i never caught on before. ask Kimi for "the uze" there some monday night. it's better than sweaty old hip hop night at nasty's for sure. at ego's i found myself fraternizing in a booth in a thatch hut with some good company, wannabe's mouthpiece kevin carney and the illustrious chris gray. i spotted a gorgeous woman who i had met at an argyles gig at the lake this past summer. turns out she's doing a late-night talk show on cable access these days.
i dropped CDs off at several stops last tuesday afternoon. KGSR, KLBJ, KVRX, The Daily Texan, etc. At every stop, the person most crucial to the cause seemed to be waiting at the door for me. the music director of KLBJ happened to be using the fax machine in the lobby. Jody Denberg, KGSR Program Director, an old co-op pal of my late brother Jack, was reading the paper by the receptionist desk at his station. the daily texan entertainment editor passed me on the stairs. the new promotions director at KVRX was in his office and glad to receive the passes.
then i went to work.
tuesday night was earthpig at the hole with ant man bee. more passes and cds and good conversation.
Allyson and I were on AM-15 live on Wednesday afternoon, and i watched the repeat of it later. it was pretty smooth i guess. My mom and Maria Strom liked it. We performed Get me Through and Waydown in front of a storage closet gate in the basement of the city studios, on a show called "reality tv."
Long live the Am-15!
The network sure has helped superego's quest for noteriety, and the hardworking underpaid staff of the network have proven to be loyal supporters of the free for all and ALL austin musical endeavors for the long haul. Tim Hamblin is a true videot.
here's some random correspondence from my laptop document file:
to: russ smith, chocolate records
1-20-98
i got the sleeves back from austex wednesday afternoon and matt sent the job in. i meant to tell you that the film positive proofs looked awesome, and you should see the finished sleeves with the groovy foil stamp. you do great work my man. let's talk about distribution.
PM
To: Matthews Properties
454-0170
Date: 1-29-98
From: Paul Minor
fax #206-9450
Dear Nancy,
HELP! TERMITES!
I give your associates permission to enter the premises and treat for termites at any time including when I am not home. Please use the most toxic and dangerous chemicals available.
thanks,
Paul Minor
1-29-98
My dad called me on thursday, when the rags came out with recommended notices for the big liberty show. he said i hit a home run on page four.
the cool thing about a home run is getting to round the bases and get high-fives from the team at the plate.
then you go back to the dugout, drink some gatorade, and get back in the game.
it was nice getting the message on that thursday morning after a great block of sleep. i took it easy the night before and it paid off. i had intended to see kathy z's open mic at la zona wednesday night but i was too pooped. I lay down after work and once the boots were off, fuggedaboutit. maybe next week.
thursday afternoon, jon and i ate delicious tacos at tamale house with our last two dollars worth of change until payday. We sat and read the papers.
then i went to work.
You can't walk around the job wondering if people have read your clippings. If you want to show your boss or a close friend, just do it without false modesty, get your pat on the back, and get back to work.
thursday night after tom snyder transition time i caught morningwood's
stubb's show, where i traded the manager a cd for a pint, ran into bruce
robison and had a laugh with him about jerry jeff walker's almost-gig at
the free for all, and socialized some at Club Devil with Jacob and crew.
then i drove up red river and arrived home to lay out my stuff and make
some last minute plans for the big show.
The discs came back to sound recorders last friday, exactly one week
before the liberty lunch cd release, and exactly when i needed them in
order to get them in the right hands right under deadline. it was also
exactly one night after a dismal gig in houston at a dank ratty dive where
i decided once and for all i don't give a damn about houston. i would not
mind hitting that satellite lounge one time, however, if you're out there
listening mr. david beebe of banana blender and houston scene kingpin.
you have to be crazy to play antone's six hours straight. i heard you playing
farfisa for 40 lousy minutes in helltown the other night and it was so
smokin' that i needed a shower afterward. hathead is a cool band that should
come do a free for all.
Made some big posters for the show at reprographics, gave sharon
dunne a hug/cd. picked up the remaining boxes of discs from matt's and
wrote a hot check for the balance to crystal clear.
prizefighter sonya was supposed to sub for me, but she has a hurt ankle from a training mishap, so i worked the first half of my shift and made the rounds locking buildings so she wouldn't have to. i had my amp and clothes and camera and cds and guitar and posters and stickers all loaded up. i went by the house for a few minutes to touch base with Jon, and then stopped by ruby's for a big gracious pile of backstage grub for the show, courtesy of the owners pat and luke who i have known forever. ask me about the "sperm warriors/roman candles incident of '89" when the candles practiced in the basement of what is now spiderhouse, a basement shared with the wannabes.
anyway, i stopped at waterloo and cashed a check for my previous consignments
(free for all vol. 2 has sold nearly 100 copies at waterloo) then went
to the lunch and rocked on.
Onstage, Orange Mothers stole the show. ethan had tears of joy on his precious cheeks as the crowd welcomed him home. the kids in the ego all stepped up, especially eric, who was adorable giving himself a little pep talk backstage before the set. the climax was the gourds' jimmy witherspoon backed by the diaz brothers and travis on drums wailing through the most joyous rendition of "a quick one" since the original rock and roll circus. i grabbed the mic just long enought to announce Ivor the engine driver's entrance in the grand opera. afterward, all i could comment was that it was remarkably like i had expected when looking forward to it. low expectations = low disappointment. good advice for people dealing with alot of pressures. i settled up with everyone and then went to the most delightful 6-person soiree i have ever been to, at a location too sacred to divulge indiscriminately. ask an earthen swine to show it to you sometime. i was in bed before dawn.
I got up at 11 and went to a super mundane argyles gig, slightly toxic and mainly exhausted. the highlight of those gigs is when we are packing up the gear and we get to use our new multi-colored twist-ties.
superego has a full calendar through sxsw, and the argyles have a few shows, too.
after that, Europe.
I got the mailing labels all addressed and the press kits all assembled, the cover letters are typed, and the airmail postage gets licked tomorrow. wish us luck, i hear it's a tough nut, unless you're calvin russell.
oh yeah, everybody involved in the production friday got paid, thank the lord.
with the cash from waterloo records on friday afternoon for my earlier releases, i even ended up with a little travel stash for the weekend. lucky for the other argyles because they were mooching off me the whole way to saturday's wedding gig at the lakeside country club. kevin's drum stool rolled into the lake there last 4th of july. i was pretty exhausted from the previous night's revelry, so the houston highlights were few. rick did introduce me to a great little taqueria called "la michoacana" in west houston where we ate great pork tacos on corn tortillas with lime and cilantro, and coconut juice to drink. the gig was smooth and uneventful, the proceedings were kind of stiff but mercifully short. don't let the photographers run or ruin your reception. let the band.
Sunday i slept late, didn't answer the phone when the school was fishing for subs. did 3 loads of laundry on 29th st., settled up with ruby's for the incredible spread, during my weekly ritual gorgefest there, and then went and got a few groceries. it was (practically) payday after all.
i was rested and ready for the free for all, which proved to be a relaxed occasion, climaxing with tom cuddy rushing back in from the alley to wail "wanna be your dog." we discussed later how alejandro plays the wrong chords on the chorus, and subsequently does andrew, but it sounded great to me from the bathroom of the club. those creepy descending guitar riffs go right up my spine. grandma kathy z even stayed up late. Joel was simply heroic filling in on drums with Erik out of town. Joel and Jacob's roomie Matt supplied the electric piano I used on Breeze, fyi.
John Croslin has been crossing my path alot, he's been slavedriving
those damnations in the music lane studio and haunting the hotspots to
unwind like the rest of us. Slattery from shoulders hit me with some european
networking advice at that show. Lipkin confirmed more my bad airplay
on KLBJ's Local Licks that night before the free for all.
i love my name in big bold angry print.
i'm feeling kind of hyper-extended today. it's been a helluva spell. sxsw is next month and i look forward to the not-too distant future when the ego can lay low for awhile. at least until the 4th annual free for all music festival in september. but the sunday night tradition will roll on, this open letter to the world (and to myself) will not flip the sign around, we serve 24-7-365. Just like Ms. Johnson's Donuts. Pull up there some time around 3 am and ask the chef "what'cha got that's hot?" You won't regret it.
this webpage is like those daily post-it notes scrawled with things to do like "pay bills" and "spay pets." i can write it down and then clear my mind for more significant things like charles barkley.
My life is like Gatti-town, a Chuck E. Cheese style pizza playground
for kids in Oak Hill. They teach children how credit cards work. You put
the "gatti-card" in the video games and rides instead of tokens. You deplete
your card's cash value at the rate of about a dollar a minute, but you
rack up points toward glamorous but ultimatley disappointing prizes.
February 8 - Jet Jaguar, Lonesomes, Metzlers, and Los Magnetos (aka fastball)
February 15 - Mittens, Skillet, Seed
February 22- Shine, Doenuts, 10 percenters
March 1 - Experimental Aircraft, Tin Roof, Cuddy vs. Ethan, Shoestring
8- Zero Skills, Preverts, Golden Arm Trio
15- Futants, Powersquid, Sexy Finger Champs
Hey all you mods, rockers, tickets, and faces. SXSW has confirmed a special South by Southwest showcase presentation at the Hole in the Wall on Sunday, March 22nd, the closing night of the festival. An all-star line up of Austin mods and rockers and many international guests will pay tribute to the world's loudest rock & roll band.
"WHO GIVES A HOOT" will feature members of Fastball, the Gourds, The Wannabes, Morningwood, Earthpig, Prescott Curlywolf, Spoon, Silver Scooter, Jon Dee Graham and many more, abusing the equipment provided by free-for-all house band Superego in true Who style. No confirmation as yet on whether Simon Townshend will judge the "windmill" contest.
****lineup subject to change.
29 - tearjoint troubadors hoedown with ted roddy, crystal pistol, and more (NOT FIRM)
and in April:
99 pounds with Chris Gates (ex-Big Boys, Poison 13)
SPEER (seed side project)
and more...
Friday the 13th of February - Electric Lounge with Silver Scooter
and Wookie
Friday, Feb. 27 - Rudyard's, HOUSTON, (with Orange Mothers?)
Friday, March 6 - Green Onion, SAN ANTONIO, with Jet Jaguar
Thursday, March 19 - SXSW: Superego showcase 9 pm Bates Motel
Saturday, March 21 - Superego In-Store ABCDs and barbecue at Headquarters
Sunday, March 22- Superego hosts "WHO GIVES A HOOT," Hole in the Wall
2-2-98
Hiya Leslie,
Thanks for calling and especially for saying you love the p.a. at the hole. I love it too. We played LIberty Lunch on Friday night, and I must admit it's a thrill to be on that big stage with all that power, but nothing sounds as good to me as center stage at 2538 Guadalupe. Liberty Lunch has some weird staticky gremlins in the mains but it's only noticable if you're near the speakers between songs. The sound man didn't notice at all. It figures.
I am thrilled that you agree that the hole in the wall system should be "augmented" instead of replaced for the festival. Here is what we have: A 6 channel Fender rackmount mixer, QSC 1.4 1400 watt stereo power amp for the mains, which consist of two 2-way Klipsch 15 and a horn cabinets, and a QSC 400 for the pair of 2-way peavey wedge monitors. A 16 band peavey stereo eq is split between the mains and monitors, knotched out heavily around 630k. We use 5 identical SM-58 microphones in various states of disrepair. In my opinion, all we would need to add in order to accomodate these fancy-pants touring bands is:
1. A 16 channel board with 4 mixes
2. a couple of extra wedge monitors + one extra 200 watt amp and an eq for each extra mix.
3. a half-dozen more mics and stands, 4 direct boxes, a 30 foot snake, and a decent soundman.
Last night I had the bass player for Scarlitt (Andy who also plays with Kathy McCarty) going direct in the house mix and it was BIG. I also like to mic up the kick drum sometimes. Our main downfall is micing acoustic instruments. I wish i had a couple of lavaliers or clip-on transducers, but sometimes the musicians bring their own.
Thanks again for listening to me. It has been on ongoing investment for a couple years now and it's nice to get some good feedback (har,har).
It's a pleasure working with you. Let me know how I can assist you further with any matters. In your esteemed position, I assume you must have an intriguing background of experience in the tech field, i would love to hear about it over a beer at the hole some sunday night.
Seeya..
pm
Fri, 30 Jan 1998 14:17:04 -0600
I did have someone there to talk to you, but you wouldn't talk to him.
-----Original Message-----
what meeting? were you at the lunch friday night?
why are you stalking me?
make it stop!
i don't know what you're talking about.
shhhhh they might hear you...
pm
From: Scott Adair paul, the record sounds great. good lyrics. fuck studios. fuck labels.
this is diy at its best. in the immortal words of steve albini, seond hand
from marcy from Scrawl: "compression is the key to good 4 tracking."
maybe i am just another flaky musician coon-ass slacker freak
after all.
2-3-98
thanks for the wake-up call. one of life's simple pleasures is sitting
at tamale house #3 eating a couple of bean/cheese tacos and reading about
your band in the paper.
i thought riemenschneider's review was dead on
the money. i was not blessed with the most angelic voice for sure, though
i can recognize some pals like kathy z and jeff johnston who definitely
were. i think my ears are much more evolved than my vocal chords.
but i also think that the best 20th century music has always been about
embracing and overcoming your limitations. again, chris r. summed up exactly
what i could once only dream of being recognized for. now i can't wait
to see what the chron says. it's been a narcissist's wet dream.
PM
Allyson was just reminding me of john coltrane's tendency to use whatever
beat-up old rusty horn he could find, because he couldn't keep his sax
out of hock. it doesn't matter what kind of instrument you are given, it's
what you do with it.
When I was 16, I met an old bass-playing gentleman in a dixie land band
at a wedding at green pastures where i was a busboy. I told him innocently,
"One of the waiters told me that last week, Charlie Parker's bass player
was here in a jazz band. He used to hold on to Bird's sax between gigs
so he wouldn't hock it. "
Then the late great Gene Ramey replied, "Yeah I know, that was me."
i purged out about 2000 honest words on the website last night. a lot
of it might look a little familiar. i have taken to using my correspondence
for journal material, ala my fave fictioners. it makes things flow faster.
having updated the website compulsively this week in a burst of late-night
nervous energy, i don't expect to post again until after sxsw, but some
other folks have inquired about being published on my site with local gossip.
watch this space.
now i think i am ready for some routine r and r. you can't ride this
wave year round.
people are going to get sick of me soon, it's time to lay low. i'm just
about there myself.
but you should hear me sing roy orbison, dad. he and pearl jam got three
stars too.
the knobs came in the mail yesterday for the new ac window unit recently
installed with the help of eager helpers beaver, kathy, and scott ross,
as did as the sears bill. stevie ray mars and irene
goodnight get fixed wednesday morning, thanks to the insistence of
pet godparents amy and max. congrats to melissa and erin for their new
journalism jobs. They are writing professionally for the XL tabloid at
the age of 17. sounds familiar.
and now, after the culmination of the most rock and roll long lost weekend
of my life i am slapping together this stream of consciousness trash, getting
it out of my psyche and growing sleepier and sleepier. So it's been a good
week. Full, for sure. I promoted the show and the album and kind of had
a fun time doing it. Now things are kind of like a shaggy hair cut, be
patient and it gets better.
"trouble ahead, trouble behind, and you know that notion just crossed
my mind..."
Compliments of Mr. Lucky.
From: Brian Busch
To: "'superego@io.com'"
Maybe you can get some free press some other time.
From: Paul Minor [SMTP:superego@io.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 1998 8:51 AM
To: Brian Busch
Subject: Re: Austin Rocks
To: superego@io.com
4 am tuesday.
i sent a one year lease renewal in with my rent check today. i also
told housemate jon we couldn't stay married forever, but he has a home
here as long as he needs it. i like to be associated with old flambeaux,
but not necessarily mistaken for my beloved partner. we got different deals.
we are square in my mind, especially considering his enormous contribution
to the new record. we reflect on eachother, and off eachother.
jackanddminor@juno.com
