MUSIC SCENES: AUSTIN, HOUSTON, NEW ORLEANS

It's weird how I make outrageous statement after outrageous statement here at Real Art about Jesus, or education, or capitalism, or America, you know, whatever, but what gets a little controversy going are my throw away comments about music that I'm not even thinking about when I make them. Like the Brian Eno/U2 stir I caused a few weeks back. (Click here for "In Defense of Brian Eno" and here for part 2, "In Defense of U2.") Yesterday, I created another little mini-controversy with this casual statement tossed in at the very end of the third installment of my New Orleans photoblogging series:

You know, for such a small city, New Orleans has a really kickass music scene, the likes of which I haven't encountered since I was living in Austin. I guess it's just the city's history, but why the hell are local bands in Houston so vanilla?

My buddy Mike who writes the wonderful This is not a compliment blog responds in comments:

as a local Houston musician I have to say you obviously didn't pay much attention while you here...I could go on and on about our undergound jazz/improv scene, our noise scene, bands like the medicine show, the gypsies, gun crazy, the linus pauling quartet...ah hell, there is so much variety and freedom here in the Houston music scene...what's so vibrant about the austin music scene? 250 blues bands in a 5 block radius? great austin bands like Les Saucy Pants can't even get gigs in Austin...don't hate on H-town man...I didn't even mention our local hip-hop scene which is huge and has a very distinct identity...

Well, if you want to mention hip-hop, you should also mention Houston's cool jazz and blues scene, which goes way back--indeed, Ronnie and Hubert Laws are from Houston. For that matter, Houston also has a pretty lively Tejano scene, as well. I have to agree, Houston does produce some good music and it has been doing so for years. I guess what I was talking about was, well...actually another blogger friend of mine posted a comment right after Mike's, making a good point. Adam (at least I think it's him; he signed as "houstonian") of Shattered Soapbox writes:

I think what Ron means is that local music is easier to find in New Orleans and Austin, its just the way those cities are designed. And I think he may be poking more fun at Houston's "rock scene" which consists of the most unoriginal bands you'll ever find. And come on, NEW ORLEANS vs. Houston, music-wise? You know Houston doesn't hold a candle to the Big Easy.

I think it's fair to point out that Adam is also a Houston musician. Anyway, I think his explanation of my statement is fine by me. Like I said, I wasn't really thinking about it when I wrote it. Really, my ideas about these three music scenes are based on how I feel about my experience with them. I haven't actually tried to do any kind of analysis about why I feel how I do. However, Mike's defense of the Houston music scene challenged me to do so, and I started to post my thoughts in the comment section, but then figured this would make for a good main page post. Here's what I came up with this afternoon, but didn't post:

Mike, I mean you no offense. In fact, if it means anything, the best local musical performance I saw during my most recent tenure in Houston was the IBP cabaret show that you were in last summer or late spring--you know the one with "War Pigs" and "Working Class Hero" and other cool covers that you guys really made your own. I was really blown away.

Now here's why I have the opinion that I have. My experience in Austin was such that virtually every band I saw there, and I saw many, was, at the very least, really tight. I was amazed by the quality of work at even frat parties. And it wasn't just blues, either. Austin has a kickass punk scene. Remember, in Austin, the Butthole Surfers are a local band. The hilarious Rockbusters are also an Austin band. I can't forget the Bad Livers, either. And those are just a few. There was something always going on it seemed when I was there.

And that's what I've got so far. This is probably a good point to note that my Austinite buddy Shane, also a blogger (Archon of Amble), was quick to jump to Austin's defense in comments:

Austin also has two of the country's (if not the world's) largest music festivals in the forms of South By Southwest and the Austin City Limits festivals. No bragging, just truth.

Not to mention Daniel Johnston. Okay, I really did love the Austin music scene when I was there. There seems to be a concentration of really good rock and blues bands there the likes of which I've only found in New York City. But then, that's New York; it's supposed to be like that. New Orleans seems to have a similar kind of concentration, a vibrant, well supported, living, grass roots concentration of jazz, blues, and rock bands, most of them quite talented and experienced. And that's why I think Adam hit the nail on the head when he said that "local music is easier to find in New Orleans and Austin." The music scenes in those two cities are visible. Adam thinks it has something to do with the design of the two cities, and there may be something to that because Houston is so god-awful sprawling, but my sense is that Austin and New Orleans, as cities, support their local artists: Houston, as a city, imports big dollar artists from other cities; consequently, the grass roots scene is left to fend for itself.

I believe Mike when he says there's some great stuff going on in Houston, because he's in a position to know. But, as far as rock music goes, I was totally out of the loop during my last eight or nine years back in H-Town. That may be my fault for not trying hard enough, but the point is that in Austin and New Orleans, I don't have to try. Great music seems to be oozing out of the air in those places. In Houston, all I hear is cars zooming down the freeway. As for what to do about that, I have no idea. This isn't a problem faced simply by musicians. Visual artists, dance companies, theater troupes, all these great local artists have been trying desperately for years to get some support from the powerful institutions comprising Houston's elite, but mostly to no avail--all the support goes to the Houston Ballet or the Alley Theater or the Museum of Fine Arts, bigtime stuff brought in like professional ringers on a softball team.

There is so much talent in Houston, which should be no surprise given the city's gargantuan size, that it's local arts scene should be the envy of both the South and the Southwest. The Houston Chronicle should be pushing local stuff every day, as the Statesman in Austin or the Picayune in New Orleans does, but no. Houston's artists deserve more; actually, the entire city deserves more. Maybe someday.

Okay, that just about covers it, but there's one question left for which I have no answer. As Shane commented:

Please educate the uninformed: what is a "noise scene"?

Yeah, what is a "noise scene?" Sounds like fun.

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