Every year, during the sweltering late summer months, bands from across the country converge on Austin, Texas for one weekend of music, food and hot, sweaty fun. Thousands upon thousands of people, young and old, flock to Austin each year for the massive music event that is the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Some of the biggest names in music show up every year. The festival's eight stages, spread out across Zilker Park, host more than 100 bands over the course of the weekend, each playing for sold out crowds. In recent years, music legends such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, The Flaming Lips, Beck, The Foo Fighters, N.E.R.D., Gnarls Barkley and many others have graced the ACL stages.

Ideally situated in downtown Austin, Zilker Park closes down each year for the massive three-day event, and the music can be heard throughout downtown. But ACL isn't just about music. A local artisan village is set up each year to allow Austin's local businesses and artists to showcase their work to the thousands of attendees, who hail from across the nation. Likewise, many of Austin's top local restaurants have booths set up selling menu favorites at the expansive food court on site. With the coveted three-day passes selling often selling out six months before the festival, ACL poses a prime opportunity for Austin businesses of all kinds to showcase their products and reach new (and substantial) audiences.

But, really, it's all about the music. With a wide range of genres represented, including country, bluegrass, rock, hip hop, folk, and pretty much anything else you can think of, ACL truly offers something for everyone. There is even a dedicated children's stage. Attendees of all ages, races, and musical interests can be found here, making it one of the most unifying music festivals in the country.

And it's not just the biggest names in music that grace the stages at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. In fact, many ACL provides many up and coming groups a break out opportunity. It's the holy grail of every struggling Austin musician's career, which adds one more reason Austin thrives as the self-proclaimed live music capital of the world. Competition for a spot in the lineup is cut-throat, yet each year the array of artists manages to remain strikingly varied and comprehensive. From funky bands like G. Love and the Special Sauce and breakout stars like Vampire Weekend, to old school legends Asleep at the Wheel and gospel groups like the River City Christianettes, ACL is quite literally a melting pot of musical talent and expression (and the 100 + degree heat makes the analogy all the more appropriate).

In 2008, Austin City Limits is being held on the weekend of September 26-28. Three day passes have been sold out for months, but stragglers can purchase single day passes on the festival web site for $80 apiece. With almost 50 bands playing daily, starting at 11:00 am and running until the headlining show wraps up at 10:00 pm, Austin City Limits is the place to be in Austin, Texas, (and many would assert, the entire country) for one raging weekend each year.

Ki is an Austinite that enjoys the local music scene. He works as a realtor in the Austin real estate market. His internet site has a tool that graphs mortgage interest rates along with a search for Austin Homes.

What do music, chili peppers, bamboo, wine, watermelon, ice cream and Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh have in common?

They all have festivals devoted to them in Austin or nearby towns. In fact, there are so many festivals of all kinds in the Austin area that it is difficult to keep track of them. The Austin American-Statesman apparently gave up trying to keep count back in 2004, judging by a recent visit to the festivals page on their current website a quick count there reveals there were more than 50 festivals in existence then, and the compilers of the list noted that those were just some of the festivals.

Other festivals have appeared since then. The first-ever Pachanga Latino Music Festival, for instance, was held on May 31st of this year. The second annual Ice Cream Festival will take place on August 9.

Of course, everyone knows about the Austin City Limits Music Festival and the South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals. Those events feature what Austin has become known for around the world; great live music. Tens of thousands of music lovers flock to these events to see the international, national and regional acts that they showcase. These events bring in huge amounts of money to the Austin economy. In fact, SXSW is Austin's highest money-making public event, as reported by Wikipedia.

There are many more music festivals in the Austin area as well. The Old Settler's Reunion in nearby Driftwood, Texas attracts some of the premier national bluegrass and Americana acts, as well as many of the best regional Texas music groups and songwriters. This festival happens every April and attracts thousands of music fans to the beautiful grounds at the Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch.

The Reggae Festival, also in April, and the Austin Celtic Festival in November are just two more of the events held in Austin that feature music as their main raison d'etre. Of course, many other festivals include music in their programs as well. Some of these include Viva Cinco de Mayo in late April/early May, the Austin Fine Arts Festival, at the beginning of April, and the Old Pecan Street Fall Arts Festival in late September.

This latter event began more than 30 years ago to provide family friendly, free admission venue to collect arts and crafts from local and national artists and artisans, experience live music, theater plays, comedy, magic, poetry, film, parades, and take part of a long standing Austin tradition. More than 300,000 people attend this event every year, and festival promoters estimate it generates more than $43 million for the local economy.

Another long-standing, grass-roots festival is Eeyore's Birthday Party which occurs every year in late April at Pease Park. According to Austin American-Statesman writer Anita Powell. The party has grown considerably since its inception in 1963 by a group of University of Texas students. The free-spirited celebration usually features Maypole dancing, costume contests, a hippie queen pageant, food, birthday cake and entertainment by local bands. This festival, perhaps more than any other, reflects the spirit that Austin is famous (or infamous) for and that inspired the unofficial slogan for the city: "keep Austin weird".

What about bamboo, wine, watermelon and chili peppers? The Bamboo Festival is presented at Zilker Botanical Gardens in late August every year and features "all things bamboo". There are at least two important wine festivals in the area: the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival in early April and the Austin Wine Festival in late May. The Chili Pepper Fiesta is held in the town of Elgin, just east of Austin, on the second Saturday in September. The Luling Watermelon Thump in June garners national attention every year with its watermelon seed spitting contest.

All these festivals reflect what the city of Austin has been about through most of its history. It fosters and encourages creativity, diversity, freedom of expression and the celebration of the hard work and enterprise of its citizens.

If you are looking for a home in the Austin real estate market Escapeso Realty can help. Their site provides information on mortgage rates along with a search of the Austin Texas MLS.

One of the most quintessentially "weird" Austin festivals, Eeyore’s Birthday party was first held in 1963, and hasn’t missed a year since. A costume party, festival, fund-raiser and all around good time, this annual event is marked by games and contests, and lots of drumming. Although a hippie-atmosphere prevails, families and lots of children always enjoy the maypole, face-painting, and other family-friendly activities. Usually held the last Saturday in April, before the heat of the summer sets in, this is one of the most pleasant and fun experiences, and for many it is a spring time tradition.

Named for the adorably depressive donkey in AA Milne's classic children's book Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore’s Birthday Party began as a celebration of spring for UT English students and faculty, who would set up a Maypole and borrow a live donkey – a tradition that persists to this day. Originally held in the tiny Eastwood Park close to the UT Campus, the celebration’s popularity soared early on, and in 1974 the party moved to Pease Park, where it continues to be held.

As the attendance swelled to the thousands, Austin's Friends of the Forest Foundation got involved, both to provide much needed food and drink concessions to the participants, and to utilize the proceeds to distribute among Austin charities. This humanitarian aspect of the festival, for which admission has always been free, differentiates it from the other commercial festivals, engendering a feeling of longevity and community. The foundation has raised as much as $15,000.00 in one festival, making grants to a diverse number of charitable organizations including the Green Corn Project, Groundworks Music Project, Hearts and Hooves, Hospice Austin, and the Mother's Milk Bank.

The party usually begins mid-morning, and lasts until the sun goes down, and a dedicated children’s area is manned until 4PM. One of the hallmarks of this event is the drum circle, an amorphous group of drummers that constantly expands and ebbs and splinters and regroups during the course of the day. Although costumes are not mandatory, many take the opportunity to don colorful and festive outfits, trimmed with feathers and sequins, with big hats and silly masks. Musicians are invited to bring their acoustic instruments, and groups, both established and spontaneous, entertain throughout the day.

Parking is scarce, so the Friends of the Forest Foundation organizes shuttle service from designated parking lots downtown. No bottles, cans or coolers are allowed, but visitors will find countless food and drink concessions, including Texas beer and BBQ turkey legs. Crafts, commemorative tee-shirts and other curios are also for sale in the kiosks. Eeyore’s Birthday Party is a celebration of spring, but also a celebration f Austin. The things that have made Austin unique – music, food, counter-culture, whimsy – these are the backbone of this long lasting event. This festival has been doing its part to keep Austin weird for over forty years, and will likely continue for 40 more.

Ki is a realtor in Austin Texas. His website has a search for Austin Homes along with general information on Austin real estate. His blog also has detailed statistics on the Austin Texas real estate market.

Every year, Austin is descended upon by thousands of music, film, and web industry professionals, artists, and fans, all attending the annual South by Southwest Festival. Although it started as a local music festival, as it now enters its third decade, SXSW has become one of the premier industry conferences, and has gained a reputation for launching the careers of the artists involved.

SXSW is comprised of three components – music, film and interactive, but this being Austin, the music events are among the most popular, and it has become one of the most famous music festivals in the world. Dozens of local clubs are enlisted to become dedicated SXSW venues, and local residents can participate by volunteering for tours of duty at the different venues, or at the conference. Besides the talent and the local volunteers, the attendees at the music event number over 12,000 registrants. With this many people visiting downtown Austin, SXSW always heralds an exciting, vibrant time for our fair city, and locals often find themselves dining alongside people from New York, London, Tokyo and Australia – all at once.

Over the last two decades, the number of musical acts featured at the festival has grown to over 1,400, all playing during the four days of the music festival. Although impossible to see even a fraction of the offerings, many of shows are grouped with themes, featuring acts from a country such as Norway, or Japan, or featuring acts that share a label or genre. Headline acts including Morrissey, Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, and Amy Winehouse are featured alongside up-and-comers including UGK, Blonde Redhead and The Gossip. Local acts must pass muster, but SXSW stays true to its roots by featuring a great number of the best Austin has to offer.

Austin’s burgeoning film industry gets its fair share of attention at the film festival, which features panels, screenings and discussions. Focusing on independent offerings including documentaries, animation, fictional drama and comedy, the film festival hosts many world premieres. The interactive festival shows Austin at its cutting edge finest, featuring top new media and technology entrepreneurs alongside visionary artists, designers and digital creators.

One aspect of the week is the number of free, renegade concerts that take place. No need for a wristband, and often advertised only in fanzines and through word-of-mouth, many of the artists participate in these under-the-radar shows to give back to the community that helped launch them. After all, Austin is the live music capital of the world all year round, not just for SXSW!

Whether you are a local, visitor, musician, auteur or fan, SXSW week is always an exciting one in Austin. Restaurants are jumping, stores are hopping, and music can be heard throughout the city.

Ki helps people looking for Austin real estate and land. His site allows users to search the Austin MLS and provides information on current mortgage interest rates.

Austin is known as the Live Music Capital of the World. One of the best parts about having that distinction is that even if you aren’t necessarily into the club scene, you can still hear live music at restaurants throughout the city. Whether you feel like hearing Cajun, blues, country, Latin or rock, you can almost always find a great meal enhanced by a great band playing.

Threadgill’s is legendary not only for their chicken fried steak and cheese grits, but for also being the place that gave Janis Joplin her start. With a newly refurbished north location, and their World Headquarters just south of the river, Threadgill’s features the best in bluegrass, country, and soul music, as well as hosting a delicious and rejuvenating Gospel Brunch. Steaks, seafood po-boys, and the best vegetable side-dish selection in town, this is the quintessential Austin food and music spot. 301 West Riverside Drive, Austin, Texas 78704 // 6416 North Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78752

Artz’ Rib House is another gem of a music/food venue in Austin. As their name suggests, their specialty is smoked ribs, with country style pork, baby backs, or big beef ribs to choose from. They also make one of the better burgers in town, offer the Texas BBQ staples of brisket and sausage, and even have an inventive vegetable kabob on the menu. Their musical offerings are just as tasty, with an emphasis on western swing and a monthly Old Time Fiddlers Jam. Artz is located in the barton hills neighborhood at 2330 South Lamar, Austin, TX 78704

Quality Seafood is both a seafood market and a restaurant, serving some of the finest and freshest fish in town. Three days a week they feature music along with food and drink specials. Mondays they usually feature a hot jazz combo, and offer a great deal on succulent king crab legs, and on Wednesdays a folky blues duo entertains while the crowd feasts on peel and eat shrimp. A DJ holds forth on Thursdays, sometimes with live instrumental accompaniment, and the special rotates – recent Thursday food specials include spicy Texas crawfish and soft shell crab po-boys. 5621 Airport Blvd., Austin, TX 78751.

Las Palomas serves some of the finest Mexican food in the city, and features one of Austin’s best kept musical secrets. When they aren’t on tour with a major Texas country star, you can find the cream of Austin’s crop of pickers joining a gypsy jazz violinist for some jaw-dropping jazz every Wednesday night. Famed for their enchiladas “Tres Marias,” Las Palomas also offers ceviche, chicken mole, and other specialties. 3201 Bee Caves Road, Austin, TX 78746.

Having survived the ups and downs of Austin’s East Side, the Victory Grill is truly a piece of Austin history, but is just as vibrant today. Built in 1945, the club has hosted acts including B.B King, Ike and Tina Turner, and Billie Holiday, and today features Austin’s finest blues acts. With a rotating menu of down home cooking, the Victory Grill is a slice of Old Austin.

Ki works in Austin Texas with clients interested in Austin real estate. He keeps people up to date on his Austin real estate blog and has a free search of the Austin Texas MLS.

Austin families are lucky indeed to have a facility such as the Austin Children’s Museum. With 7,000 square feet of interactive and educational permanent exhibits, inventive traveling features, story-times and public events, this museum serves as a hub of Austin’s family community. Upon entering, kids are delighted to board a scaled down Austin Metro bus. Sitting in the driver’s seat or holding a strap in the passenger section, this exhibit is cleverly planned to distract the kiddos as the adult pays admission and learns about the day’s events. Other permanent exhibits include the dairy cow, an oversized milk-cow statue with a looping video about dairy farming, with a doll-house sized barn and toy cows to play with. The Rising Star Ranch provides a wonderfully varied sensory experience especially designed for the under-two set, while the Tinkerer’s Workshop allows older kids to experience creating their own structures by inventing, designing, building and testing their ideas. This being Austin, music is emphasized in the amazing Austin Kiddie Limits. Fun for all ages (including adults), this room is a kid-oriented interactive version of the acclaimed live music television show Austin City Limits. With toy instruments, cowboy hats and other costume pieces, a stage and a video monitor, kids can play along with their favorite Austin musicians including Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Miss Lavelle White, Asleep at the Wheel, Kelly Willis, Flaco Jimenez, and Toni Price. The best part is that the kids can see themselves on the video monitor, making it a real rock-star experience. Their program offerings include something for every age group. Baby Bloomers is a weekly opportunity for kids under three to explore the entire facility with only toddlers and their caregivers in the museum. Discovery Time offers daily, hands-on activities that enhance the permanent and changing exhibits. Storytime, held in their large foyer, is offered for different age groups, and often includes music making, bubble blowing, and other interactive elements. Gallery programs include the popular Wednesday Community Night, featuring different performances, storytelling, music and activities, and Science Sundays, featuring hands-on activities led by real honest-to-goodness scientists. Checkout the Childbloom guitar program for a cacophonous and hilarious take on combining story telling with accompaniment by the kids, or the Austin Keyboard Orchestra program to learn how to build and play an instrument. Located in downtown Austin the Austin Children’s Museum is centrally located for people in different areas of the city. It is also located close to other Austin attractions like Zilker Park the famed bat bridge so that visitors can see a number of fun Austin attractions in an afternoon. The Austin Children’s Museum offers camps during the summer and spring break, for ages 4 to 10. They offer seasonal programs including the popular Gingerbread House workshop in December. The facilities are available for birthday (and other kids of) parties, including sleep-over parties. Special events can also be held on the premises. With a stated goal to help Austin’s kids and families become more creative, more inventive, and more competent, the Austin Children’s museum combines fun and education in a world-class facility. Ki lives in Austin and enjoys the local music scene. He works as a realtor in the Austin real estate market. He also regularly writes on his blog about updates on Austin Texas real estate. His site features a graphical search of the Ausin MLS.

One of the challenges we faced as new parents was what to do on those nights when you just need to go out and grab a quick bite – no time to plan for a sitter or make reservations. Nothing in the fridge, too tired to slice and dice, or an all too common scenario in our household: “Wait, I thought YOU were doing dinner tonight!?” When our child was a baby, this was fairly easy – pop him in the car seat, pop him into a high chair, and keep the zwieback coming. As he got older, it got harder. We of course insist on good manners, but what three and half year old (or four, five or six, for that matter) can sit perfectly still and quiet, even with crayons and a funny menu?

Lots of them you say? Good on ya! Not ours! To preserve the family dining night out tradition, we learned quickly that a place with a playscape could accommodate our need for dinner out with a three year old’s need to get his ya-ya’s out. Austinites are particularly lucky in this regard, because so much of the year is outdoor weather for us, and so many great places for family dining are out there. Here are our current favorite places to eat that have playscapes.

Southpark Meadows: I had, shall we say, “issues” with finding good food and play in a shopping center, but this place rocks. The playscapes are HUGE and inventive – woven through enormous shade trees, with slides galores. There is a fantastic little area where water shoots up from the ground – so perfect for letting the little guys cool off. They even have live music outside, periodically. The best part, though, is that the playground is in the center of a bunch of GREAT restaurants, most of which have patio dining so you can watch them play while you linger over your food. Mama Fu’s does great pan-asian good, Austin Java is perfect for lunch or brunch, Waterloo Ice House will fill your burger needs, and at Jason’s deli you can even get a box lunch and sit on a bench under the trees. I35 and Slaughter, across from Supertarget

Freddie’s Place: Freddie’s makes one of the greatest burgers in town, and its outdoor area is right next to a babbling brook, under big oak trees. Their playscape isn’t huge, but they have around 5 picnic tables right next to it, all with great sightlines to the stage, so you can integrate your meal, play and music. The atmosphere is South Austin cool, and the food is terrific, and although parking can be an issue, it is worth it to get their early and let the kids play while you and your friends (or spouse, unless , as in my case, he’s on the stage) catch up on adult talk. 1703 S 1st St Austin, TX 78704 (512) 445-9197

Patsy’s Cowgirl Café: Patsy’s playscape is outside of the dining area, but it is still a great help in burning off steam. Sometimes we get a drink and hang out while he plays and slides and runs around with the other kids that are bound to be there. The décor inside is really fun, and since we are usually there to see a band, we can usually work it to where he starts winding down and wanting dinner as the music starts. 5001 E. Ben White Boulevard, Austin TX 78741.

If you go out to eat and bring the some children along it always nice to have a place for the kids to run around. This article details which restaurants in Austin provide playscapes for the kids.

Ki runs a site focused on Austin real estate which has a search of the Austin MLS along with a Austin related updates on his Austin real estate blog.

With over 50,000 students there are numerous entertainment venues around the University of Texas. Austin is frequently referred to as the live music capital of Texas. And although when people talk about the music scene in Austin they usually think of downtown the campus area also reflects this saying with nightspots such as the Hole in the Wall, which is an Austin institution and has been the home of many local recording artists for more than twenty-five years, as well as the U.T. campus itself, which hosts regular live music performances in the Cactus Café, which is adjacent to the student union and which is located in the West Mall area. There are also faculty-oriented clubs and restaurants such as the Campus Club, at the corner of 24th and Guadalupe, which offers a daily special and a variety of top-notch choices in a buffet-style setting.

Other notable establishments in or around the campus area include the Frank Erwin Center, which hosts Longhorn basketball, and many other national as well as local sporting events and concerts and is located on the eastern rim of campus, adjacent to Interstate 35. The Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium, which is a few blocks north of the Erwin Center, is home to the University of Texas Longhorn football team, and nearby Disch-Falk Field hosts U.T. Longhorn baseball games, and is directly across the highway from Royal Memorial Stadium on Interstate 35. One of the largest Austin metropolitan area hospitals, Brackenridge-Seton Hospital, is also just a few blocks south of campus, and is the oldest public hospital in Texas. The hospital complex includes the Children’s Hospital of Austin and the University Medical Center, all of which offer first class medical treatment for acute as well as long term care, ample parking, and many other facilities in a very convenient location.

In addition to football and basketball, the university sports and recreation department provides track facilities, including one of the only lighted intramural fields in the country, at the intramural fields complex, which is situated along the intersection of 51st and Guadalupe Streets in the North Loop neighborhood. The complex is about a mile north of the campus itself, and the intramural fields are home to the U.T. Rugby team. In the neighborhood of Hyde Park, just north of the University of Texas, there are also museums and golf courses including the Elizabet Ney Museum, which is one of the oldest museums in Texas. The Hancock Golf Course, which was established in 1899, is just a few blocks away as well, and allows golfers to play the course on a daily fee basis. All and all, the University of Texas campus area in Austin offers something for everyone, and is one of the most popular destinations for locals, University students and tourists alike. There is always something to do on or near campus.

Ki works as a realtor in the Austin Texas real estate market. His site provides visitors a free search for Austin Homes along with updated market commentary on his blog covering Austin real estate.

There is more live music going on in Austin, Texas on any given night than there is in any other city in the world. That’s why the city has put a trademark on it’s slogan “Live Music Capital of the World.”

There are hundreds of live music venues in the city and its immediate environs. Many are situated in three main entertainment districts: Sixth Street/Red River, the Warehouse district and South Austin. Sixth Street/Red River is the famous sector in downtown Austin that is known around the world for it’s live music scene and often boisterous crowds that fill Sixth Street on the weekends when it is closed to traffic. The Warehouse district runs west from Congress Ave. along Fourth and Fifth Streets. That’s where Antone’s is located, the venue that USA Today has named the best blues club in the country. In South Austin, there are a number of clubs on South Congress, South First St. and South Lamar that offer up some of the best new and original music in town.

The road to its live music capital status began way back in the 1960’s when a spirit of eclecticism appeared with the hippies and anti-war protesters of that era. Inclusion was in and exclusion was out, no pun intended. With the 70’s, this eclectic spirit gave birth to a form of music that was often called progressive country. Joe Ely, along with co-Lubbockites Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, brought this music down to Austin and hooked up with Marcia Ball and Delbert McClinton and cosmic cowboys like Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphy, Rusty Weir and Ray Wiley Hubbard. Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings came back from Nashville during that time to settle in Austin where they could take control of the production of their songs. A wild and powerful musical vortex formed that saw psychedelic rock and roll mix with straight out country and blues at venues such as the Armadillo World Headquarters, Threadgill’s, the Soap Creek Saloon and the Broken Spoke. It was cool to dig the psychedelic sound of the 13th Floor Elevators and the uncompromising country licks of Alvin Crow at the same time.

Then, in 1975, a 30-minute University of Texas music program was accepted by a number of PBS affiliate stations and Austin City Limits was launched and has become the longest running program in the history of PBS. It has propelled Austin to the forefront of the music industry’s consciousness in the US and around the world. That first program featured Willie Nelson, but has since put Texas music notables such as Marcia Ball, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, Asleep at the Wheel and many, many others in the national and world spotlight.

In more recent years, the South by Southwest showcase every Spring that brings nearly 1500 musicians and musical acts to town to be seen and heard by industry executives and AR types, along with the Austin City Limits Festival in September, have kept the city on the national music map. In addition, dozens of other smaller festivals are held each year, as well as a number of nationally significant ones in the surrounding Hill Country such as the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Old Settlers Reunion in Buda, just south of town.

The Austin music scene has always been a free-wheeling, break-the-mold, think-out-of-the-box kind of affair. That early eclecticism lives on in the current scene, although some characteristics of the town’s soundscape seem to have become entrenched. Sixth Street/Red River attracts a younger, party animal type of crowd with it’s rock and roll, blues and punk scene. The Warehouse district caters to a bit older and more professional crowd in general. And South Austin retains the feel of Austin in the 70’s with its nouveau hippie coffeehouses and crowds and its preference for good singer/songwriters. Still, there are always exceptions to those general tendencies just about anywhere you go.

Austin remains a city where musical creativity and talent thrive and defy expectations. That can be experienced close up and personal in any number of live music venues on any given night.

Escapeso Austin Real Estate is a small company working in the Austin Texas real estate market. They provide a graphical search of the Austin MLS along with commentary on their blog about changes in the Austin real estate market.

The South by Southwest Music Festival has been running strong, and getting stronger, since it originated in 1987. Austin considers itself the live music capital of the world, and though cities would like to battle that claim, musicians and music industry types clamor to the capital of Texas every March from around the globe. Austin has had an entertainment district for several decades. As the home of the state government and the University of Texas, Austin has always had lively nightspots, some of which date back to the 1800s, when many of General Custer’s troops poured into clubs after the Civil War. The majority of these clubs were located along 6th street and 4th street, where the entertainment district is still located today, and the musical styles varied widely due to the mix of Mexican, colonial and German settlers. The area today hosts the highest concentration of original music nightclubs of any other city worldwide. In 1986, the New Music Seminar in New York invited many of Austin’s local bands to their popular music convention, and discussed having another one in Austin the next year, and it would be called the New Music Seminar Southwest. Though the New Music Seminar group pulled out shortly after their announcement, Louis Black and his cohorts ran with the idea, and started up their own festival and conference, calling it South by Southwest. In 1986, those working on the festival announced the idea at a BMI seminar at the Hyatt, and the buzz began. A few of those working on the event were also working at The Chronicle at the time, and they began getting the word out to other alternative newspapers around the country. Knowing they didn’t have the serious industry connections on the east or west coast, an ad and story was run in Billboard magazine, which really fueled the fire. Executives from major record and publishing companies from New York, Nashville and Los Angeles began to register for the conference. Though the South by Southwest crew originally shot for 150 registrants their first year, more than 700 turned up. Having the SXSW Music Festival in Austin was beneficial for the music industry as well as the local musicians: the music business was curious about Austin’s live music scene and had a reason to visit the city, and the musicians, who are normally isolated from the rest of the country in the middle of Texas, get a chance to do business with the industry from the comfort of their own backyard. In 1988, SXSW fever had hit the international stage, after the hometown bands found some success in Europe, and the interest from those attending the festival in seeing international acts perform. Now SXSW has offices in Europe, Australia, and Japan to help those international bands with their travel arrangements, get their visas in order, and find housing upon arrival. As Austin changed and grew, hi tech companies moved in and the film industry deemed Austin as “The Third Coast.” In 1994, SXSW added a film festival and an interactive festival that tied into their music festival, stretching SXSW over two weekends during spring break, when many students have left the town. Now the festival, which started with 700 in attendance, has grown to 10,000 participants this past year. Ki works as an Austin realtor in the central Texas real estate market. His website provides a Austin MLS search along with up to date details on the Austin Texas real estate market.

So every so often I like to spike my blog up with something different to take a break from real estate. And since Austin is the live music capitol of the world sometimes I like to talk about a pet interest of mine music and music instruments. Analog synthesizers have regained some degree of popularity in recent years, as electronic dance music has become more widespread and successful. Although analog technology has become replaced by cheaper digital modeling technology with more features, the goal of VA (virtual analog) synthesis is to be able to recreate the warmth and nuances of the highly variable analog circuits of yesteryear. The ability of digital components to accurately model is the subject of great debate and beyond the scope of this article, but a general consensus is maintained that they are becoming more and more difficult to tell the difference between. With that in mind, the assumptions that this article works under include the following: That you possess an analog or virtual analog synthesizer with at least one oscillator (VCO), a low pass filter with resonance (LPF) and key tracking (also called key follow on some models), one or more standard ADSR-type envelope generators (EG) that can be routed to affect amplitude, filter cutoff frequency, and preferably pitch, and a white noise source. Even with such a relatively limited palate of sound-sculpting tools, a large number of exciting sounds can be achieved. Furthermore, these articles will make the following assumptions about the default settings (an initialized patch, if you will) of your synth in the interest of consistency. First, the oscillator footage (or octave) should be an intermediate setting (16' or 8'). The filter should be wide open (all the way up so as to let all sound pass through unaffected) with no resonance. The envelope(s) should have zero attack, decay, and relase with %100 sustain. With these parameters adjusted to the preceding values, most basic synth sounds can be easily realized. In this article we will examine classic analog percussion sounds similar to the drum machines and synths of the 80's through modern techno and house music. Let's start with a basic snare-type sound. Use a relatively mellow waveform such as a triangle wave, blended with however much white noise is appropriate to your ears. The key here is to find a good ratio between the sound of the shell of a snare drum (the oscillator) and the crack of the "drum head," which is approximated with noise. Keep the filter open for now. Set the amp envelope to have zero attack and sustain and quick decay (a third or less) with a little bit of release. These parameters can be adjusted, depending on whether you are going for a more or less realistic sound. This should put you comfortably within the realm of the classic Roland drum machines of the 80's, which used ringing oscillators excited by a noise source to achieve their classic sound. For a more Kraftwerk-esque thwipp-type snare, use the filter in conjuntion with an envelope with similar parameters to the amplifier EG. Set the filter cutoff frequency fairly low with resonance to taste (try at every setting, but watch your speakers and ears at high resonance settings!). Use a healthy amount of envelope modulation to keep the transient bright, with a more muted decay. Now you can make some sweet synth-pop snares. Ki is a real estate agent in Austin. Whether you are interested in Austin real estate for investing or simply relocating Ki can help. His site has a search of the Austin MLS along with a real estate blog to keep up with the market.

In a time when even Clear Channel is being bought by another radio conglomerate, commercial radio is becoming less regionally distinct, with a handful of radio announcers beaming their voices across the country from one central location, and losing all local flavor in the process. Luckily for Austin, there are three different noncommercial radio stations to choose from:KVRX, KOOP, and KUT. KVRX is the only Austin-based radio station operated and managed solely by UT students. The station began in 1988 as KTSB, after a couple years of lobbying the university. Though KUT is also run by UT, it has very little student involvement. KTSB originally was only available via an audio feed through cable television, but in 1994 the station officially changed its call letters to KVRX, and purchased the last remaining FM band. As opposed to commercial stations, KVRX promotes diversity in musical genres, with their motto being, “None of the Hits, All of the Time.” The only programming stipulation the station requires is for the on-air staff to play a minimum of five different music genres and two Texas artists every hour. The station also works closely with many local clubs, promoting up and coming bands, and releases a series of annual CDs called “Local Live”, featuring artists the station captured playing live in their studios throughout the year. They have since dumped the awkward cable casting for web casting, so new DJ’s get their feet wet working over the internet before they hit the air waves. The same year KVRX went live on the last FM frequency, so did KOOP, Austin’s community radio station, which actually shares the same 91.7 frequency that KVRX uses, with KOOP mostly broadcasting during daytime hours, and KVRX during the evenings. Though KOOP has had its fair share of internal struggles, the programming is wildly diverse, with shows dedicated to different music genres, talk shows on many topics, and some Spanish speaking programs as well. Any member of the Austin community can apply for their own radio program. Many shows, such as the swanky Saturday morning favorite, “The Lounge Show” and the garage rock and power pop stalwart “Stronger Than Dirt”, have been on the air since the station’s inception over 13 years ago. Recently KOOP radio has had an unfortunate rash of fires, with the second one in February of 2006 taking out the entire downtown building that contained their offices. In January of this year, a disgruntled volunteer was charged with arson after he admitted starting a fire causing $300,000 worth of damage, from which KOOP is still recovering. KUT has been the radio station for the University of Texas since 1922. Today, it is Austin’s National Public Radio station, and also hosts several music programs throughout the day. John Aielli was hired on in 1965, and his show Eklektikos is one of the station’s most popular. Along with playing a wide array of musical styles, Aielli has many guests drop by the studio for an interview, from Carol Channing to Timothy Leary. The station has a live performance from local and touring acts drop in almost every day. In November of 2007, NPR chose KUT as one of twelve national stations to launch NPR Music, a new music discovery website. All partners will provide content including live concerts, studio sessions, features and reviews. Through this new site, KUT will be able to provide worldwide insight on Austin music, and help promote local acts in front of a much wider audience, something that seems harder and harder to find through local commercial radio. Ki is a real estate agent in Austin. His site has information about Austin real estate. His real estate blog has up to date analysis on Austin. He also provides a free search of the Austin MLS.

I post about real estate alot. Every so often I want to mix it up with other stuff. Espically when I am getting burned out over constant real estate stuff. Pop music is often described in cycles: retro music becomes cool, then gets reprocessed and digested by listeners, until the next big thing comes along. While the 80's are (some would say thankfully) long behind us, the sounds from classic records from the era have likewise experienced a reincarnation. The second installment in this series aims to show how to most easily recreate a classic sound heard on many famous songs from the 80's through today: the unmistakable sound of analog brass. While a sample-based approach is often most useful for some applications, there are times when you need that ambiance that can only be achieved through using traditional subtractive methods. Let's go step by step through the programming process. First, let's establish default settings: Lowpass filter all the way open (100%), envelopes off, and whatever waveform is selected by default. By the way, these sounds should all be achievable on a modern softsynth or any piece of polyphonic hardware (although for a monosynth lead brass sound the same settings will apply. As far as the oscillators are concerned, a rich waveform is best. Start with a sawtooth waveform, and if one (or more) oscillators is available, set them also to this waveform. It should sound nice and bright. For a two-plus oscillator synth, detuning each oscillator by a few cents (5-10 maximum) will make a bigger, denser sound. This is because the oscillators will now be beating against each other, which our ears interpret as adding harmonic content. Remember to detune one oscillator up and the other down (or in a similar fashion for more oscillators) in order to make the mixed oscillators sound in tune! Now for the filter. This is the most critical part of the classic 80's brass sounds, as the harmonic content tends to be an important aural "cue" for a listener that makes a sound more readily identifiable. Set the cutoff at about 50%, with a mild (10-20% maximum) amount of resonance. These parameters, and those which follow, are all subject to taste, of course. Use the keyboard tracking parameter in moderation, as you only want the filter to open up some as you play higher up the keyboard. This is designed to emulate the characteristic muted sound as you play higher notes on many brass instruments. Other parameters related to the filter will be discussed below, so ignore any other filter modulation parameters (envelope, LFO, etc.) for now. If there is a highpass filter, pull it up in moderation to thin out the brass some. This is optional, but often makes a big patch sit better in a mix. On to the envelopes. If you are using a two-envelope machine, so much the better, but really only one envelope is neccesary to achieve many of these sounds. As technology has progressed further, often times one is tempted to use more oscillators, more filters, effects, etc. to make synthesizer-based music. However, working within the limitations offered by some of this now-ancient equipment can still result in very satisfying sounds, if a bit simple by modern standards. With this in mind, set your filter envelope to have the following parameters: medium attack (about 35-50%), a fairly quick decay (around 15-20%), sustain at half, and a moderate release (depending on your playing style and needs, adjust this to quicker values for a more percussive, horn stab-type sound). Play around with the attack and decay settings to optimize your envelopes (which vary in terms of speed) to get a sound with a quick swell in brightness, followed by a more muted sustaining sound. Now, for LFO modulation(may also be called Vibrato), you may want to use a small amount of modulation on the oscillator pitch. If a delay parameter is available for the LFO, pull it back to about 50%, so as to smoothly transition from an initially in tune sound, to a progressively more quavery sound as you continue to hold notes down. This can add a bit of 80's cheese, so use it tastefully. Also, if a chorus is available, brass sounds can benefit greatly. Enjoy, and hopefully these instructions will put you on the right track to achieving some great 80's brass. If you are interested in purchasing Austin Texas real estate ki can help assist you in your search. His site has a search of Austin homes and he provides a blog about Austin real estate to help people keep up with market developments.

Festivals have been steadily gaining popularity all over the world in recent years, and the larger ones have expanded tremendously. However, as a result of the high ticket prices and relatively remote locations, a few oppurtunistic entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the backlash against the inaccesibility of events like Bonaroo, Lollapalooza, and other big-draw, weeklong festivals.

One notable example of this comes in the form of Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest, which is now in its second year. Last year's event featured over 30 bands on three stages, for a modest charge of $10. Many local and nationally acclaimed acts were featured, from punk rock bands like the venerable Circle Jerks to Austin favorites such as the Octopus Project and the Riverboat Gamblers. Large festivals aim to please as many music fans as possible by providing an incredibly diverse cross-section of acts, thereby minimizing the liklelyhood of alienating a potential customer.

However, the drawback to this approach is that booking such a large number of acts means paying all of them, and providing a substantial amount of infrastructure. Even in the case of events like South By Southwest, which use mostly existing clubs to showcase the artists, the number of people who can see a given act is compromised by, if nothing else, fire codes which restrict how many people can be inside a club safely at a given time. On the other hand, festivals like Fun Fun Fun Fest serve as an intermediary between the larger festivals and one-off club shows by serving a relatively small subset of the musical crowd with a lot of bands. Thus the "bang for your buck" of a large festival is preserved, while many people are still more satisfied by the relatively low ticket price, which is more in line with a club charge for seeing at most four to five bands in one night.

Fun Fun Fun also brings a somewhat different aesthetic to the standard "carpet bomb" approach discussed earlier. By appealing to a more specific (some would say discerning) crowd, the fans are more likely to be happier with the experience, therefore making them likely to return. Since their acts do range from relatively unknown to national touring acts, new musical introductions are welcome and often. The 2006 festival was (somewhat hilariously) divided into three stages according to loosely defined genres: Rock, Punk, and Electronic. While these definitions seemed a bit inaccurate, (for example, anyone who has seen Peaches live would probably have placed her in the Punk or possibly the Electronic stage before the largest Rock stage, but the genre-based stage distinctions are no longer quite so brazen in the upcoming 2007 iteration) most would have considered the 2006 Fest to be quite a success.

This year's festival has expanded quite a bit, most obviously in that it is now a 2-day affair. It still takes place in Austin's own Waterloo Park, and there are still three stages (their genres still based along the previous year's lines, without calling them such outright) but the tickets are a bit pricier at $54 a pop (which does fall in line with the 75 bands now playing). This festival now appears to be in direct competition with the Austin City Limits (ACL) Festival, but with a narrower focus. I enjoyed last year's show immensely, and the acts seemed much more tailored to my tastes than ACL, not to mention costing less than a tenth of the hard-to-obtain ACL day passes. Also, since FunFunFun happens in November, the absurd dust storms and (this year) fires are no longer a threat. "What!" you say, "A festival in Texas that's comfortable and, well, fun?" I say check out the bands and see what piques your interest. If punk rock, electronic dance music, or just plain old rock-and-roll seems up your alley, then FFFFest is a good bet.

Ki works in Austin Texas the live music capitol of the world. His website provides information about Austin Real Estate. If you are looking for a property in Austin his site has a search of the Austin MLS along with information on Austin Neighborhoods.