I've wanted to add a lifestyle category to this blog since its inception, something to lighten up the nonstop, 24/7/365 workaholism that pervades the micro/semi/nano industries.
I almost called the category "After Hours," but that had kind of a porn ring to it (although some among the readership might welcome that). Instead, I'm calling it "Get A Life!"
As many who know me know, I am a certifiable musichead. I've been a freelance music journalist for even longer than I've been covering the chip-fab world, and a music fan since birth. So a big chunk of "Get A Life!" postings will likely have a musical bent, while others might discuss books, movies, sports, travel, or other odds and ends. But the inaugural blogging in this new category comes from a recent musical experience.
One thing that amazed--and disturbed--me during my years as MICRO's editor was the number of people who traveled to amazing destinations all over Planet Silicon (apologies to Pete Dunn for copping that phrase) and yet have barely seen any of the sights. Yeah, I know, everyone's busy, but c'mon, Get A Life! And one of the best semiconductor-related destinations for checking out music is, of course, Austin, TX.
Although some of the luster and excitement has diminished since the 1980s and '90s heyday of the self-proclaimed "Live Music Capital of the World," on a good night, Austin can still rock your world. I had one such night last Saturday (Oct. 14) at the tail-end of a week in Texas that included the ISMI symposium and a visit at my cousin's in Abilene.
First off, I checked out a band that I'd wanted to see for awhile, Austin's own Grupo Fantasma, at Threadgill's. The rain stayed away, and the band blew the roof off (at least figuratively speaking, since it's an outside venue there). Grupo Fantasma plays a rockin' funked-up, extremely combustible combination of cumbia, merengue, salsa, cha-cha, and other Latin grooves, with as tight a horn section as you are likely to hear. Dancing broke out on a large scale, and who was I to resist the pull of the grooves?
My friend David (who's a musical booking agent based in Austin) showed up in time for Grupo Fantasma's second set, after which we adjourned (at his suggestion) to the legendary Broken Spoke. This charming, low-ceilinged, rough-and-ragged country-music roadhouse has been a part of the Austin scene for longer than there has been a scene. Playing there was long, tall Bruce Robison, who's achieved some notoriety lately for his antiallergy-drug commercial with his wife Kelly Willis. This was Bruce's own band's night (no sign of Kelly), and his lonesome-cowboy baritone croon cut right through the dancefloor of two-stepping couples.
There aren't many places on the planet, Silicon or otherwise, where you can go from the superheated sounds of a Grupo Fantasma to the cool running stream of a Bruce Robison in the course of a night out. Luckily, Austin is still such a place.
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