Austin Sound

It’s been a tough year for some of our local icons in Austin. Already we have lost Stephen Bruton and Tina Marsh, and last Friday, Rusty Wier succumbed to a two-year battle with cancer. Wier was among the leading lights of Austin’s Seventies progressive country scene, helping define the original Austin Sound with his rockin’ country vibe. Though he never had any breakout success beyond Bonnie Raitt’s hit with his song “Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance,” he was a local institution and a definitive Austin music lifer who for years held down a residency at the Saxon Pub. Wier was 65 and survived by four children, and a memorial will likely take place at the Saxon Pub soon. You can watch a video of Wier performing “Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance” in 1990 below.

Ah, we hate to see these guys go. We’ve been following and impressed by Peel from the beginning, and the band even kicked off our first Austin Sound compilation. The local pop slackers, though, are transforming into a new era as Josh Permenter heads off to San Francisco, where he’ll presumably hook up with fellow Tone Wheel Collective member and recent Bay area transplant Mark David Ashworth. Dakota Smith and Allison Moore will still be around, however, and working on other projects. At least they’re going to go out with the same laid back, communal attitude that they emerged from, playing their final show at Bill Baird’s new Baby Blue studio in East Austin (1522 East 12th St.). We assume, like the old Big Orange shows, this is a BYBO, sit on the floor kind of deal. Also helping Peel say goodbye are Baird’s phenomenal Sunset, and the song and dance darlings Little Stolen Moments. Party kicks off at 9:00pm.

As we told you last month, Room 710 is shutting down due to, well, being a music club in Austin. This weekend will be their grand finale of shows before they lock up the doors, but they’ve got some good ones. If you’ve missed Tia Carrera’s last happy hour, or the Dicks bringing their insanity to the venue over the last month, you can make up for it before it all fades away. Tonight, some familiar 710-ers take the stage with SuperHeavyGoatAss, Split Hoof, Burn Heavy, Scraps of Life, and New Orleans’ Hawg Jaw, with the onslaught beginning at 9:00pm. Saturday night promises to be even more fun, however, as the ridiculousness that is Hug unloads starting at 8:00pm, followed by locals Pong and Foot Patrol. Too bad they couldn’t book Bankrupt and the Borrowers! (Zing!) We actually expect that Room 710 owner Asher Garber will turn the space into something new with some added investors, maybe even as soon as next year, but in the meantime we can celebrate the hardcore legacy of Room 710 by going out with a bang.

Yesterday word came that Sky Saxon, who had moved to Austin only a couple weeks ago, had been admitted to St. David’s Hospital on Monday and was in critical condition. The cause was suspected to be an infection of the internal organs. This morning, the Statesman sends word that Saxon has passed away.

Sky Saxon (born Richard Marsh) was a legendary space cadet, fronting the Sixties garage rockers the Seeds, and recently finding an appreciative home here in Austin. He had already been playing with a number of local bands backing him, including Shapes Have Fangs at this year’s Psych Fest. The post from his wife, Sabrina, on her Facebook page offered the following this morning: “Sky has passed over and YaHoWha is waiting for him at the gate. He will soon be home with his Father. I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep him here with us.” We wish we had had the time to welcome him to Austin more fully.

The Statesman reports that on Tuesday evening, one of the matriarchs of the local jazz scene, Tina Marsh, passed away at her home after long battle with cancer. She was 55. Marsh founded the Creative Opportunity Orchestra in 1980, which served as an outlet for and helped launch the careers of a number of local artists. CO2 was renowned for its progressive musical compositions, melding contemporary avant sensibilities with a traditional jazz grounding that emphasized improvisation and originality, and producing shows that were transcendent and spiritual affairs. CreOp Records was established to record the group’s music and release many of the side projects that it spawned, and Marsh has also arranged music for choreographer Sally Jacques and created the popular multi-cultural holiday celebration “Circle of Light.”

The Austin music scene lost one of its giants this past Saturday when Stephen Bruton passed away at age 60 after a prolonged fight with throat cancer. Bruton left his mark all across Austin music, perhaps best encapsulated by his role as bandlander for 2007’s all-star blowout “Road to Austin” concert. When the Ft. Worth native moved to the city in the mid-1980’s, he was already heralded as one of the guitar greats, lending his eclectic range to backing Delbert McClinton, T-Bone Burnett, Kris Kristofferson, and Bonnie Raitt. Bruton was influential as a producer as well, helming a number of acclaimed local albums that included Alejandro Escovedo’s solo debut, Gravity, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s After Awhile. He released five of his own albums as well, the final three, including 2005’s From the Five, for New West Records. He had also recently finished an as-yet-unreleased album with his long-running local supergroup, the Resentments. No word yet on funeral arrangements, but expect constant camaraderie and comfort this week Bruton’s home club, the Saxon Pub. Watch the video for Bruton’s poignant “Getting Over You” below.

It’s been quite a ride for the Unbearables, giving Austin some fantastic pop over the past six years, not to mention brilliant Zombie rock operas! But now the band has decided to move on and they are throwing down with one last bash TONIGHT! at Lambert’s. We got in touch with the members to ask why their deciding to call it quits and what their plans are moving forward. The good news: you can still catch most of the Unbearables in their other projects around town, most notably 100 Flowers. And of course given their history with the undead, we might just see them again before we know it! Marshall Escamilla explains the decision thusly:

Our Thursday night favorite the Cornell Hurd Band has lost another much-loved member. Following rubboarder Danny Roy Young’s passing last year, the Statesman reported that guitarist Paul Skelton succumbed to lung cancer this past Sunday at age 55. Skelton energized Hurd’s herd since the 1980’s, as well as playing with Wayne Hancock, the Texana Dames, Ted Roddy, and Libbi Bosworth. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Austin Memorial Park.

We’re not sure exactly why the Statesman was shocked this week to announce that the South Austin Jug Band is cashing in its chips, at least for the time being. The talented stringers, while always commanding a popular following here in Austin, have been increasingly moving on to other projects - the band has had any number of lineups with only frontman James Hyland remaining the constant core. Still, we’ll guarantee one helluva a send off show at Momo’s for their final local engagement on New Year’s Eve. (We also won’t be surprised when some form of the band reunites to make some major performance money within the next few years).

Danny Young was an incomparable fixture of Austin. From his former restaurant the Texicalli Grille on Oltorf to his fantastic rubboard with the Cornell Hurd Band, Young embodied the spirit of South Austin. Sadly, the Statesman is reporting today that Young passed away Wednesday of a heart attack at age 67.