Music and Culture of Austin Texas

The downtown venue at which he performed, The Elephant Room, attracts an older, upper middle class crowd, by making their drink prices high and having a cover price. This stated, it was not surprising that this show contained the least diverse crowd of all the performances I went to. At the time I arrived, there were 30 people at the show, and 27 of them were white, two were Hispanic and only one was black, 20 were male and 10 were female. When I asked the lone black man there, Jim a 38 year old, what attracted him to the show he told me, "My parents raised me on jazz, and John Abercrombie is one the best jazz guitarist out there". Andy, a white 27 year old male said to me " I"m here because I enjoy the dark and quiet environment, and they have so many beers on tap." when I asked about the music he replied "Yeah, I guess it is good, I like it as background music". Andy's opinion seemed consistent with a lot of the people's attitude at the show, who would talk loudly over the music, and leave before a set was over. Jim, it seemed, was a minority not only when it came to his race but also when it came to his attitude toward the music. The next night I went to The Saxon Pub to see W.C. Clark, where they proudly displayed a sign above the stage area that read "Best of Austin 2002, Best South Austin Music Venue". W.C. Clark is known as "The Godfather of Austin Blues", and says of the blues "If blues is played right, it makes your soul feel clean". The audience at the show was a nice mixture of black, white, and brown, and of young and old, and it seemed like indeed the crowd had come to have their souls cleansed. When I arrived at the show, there were approximately 45 people in attendance 20 were white, 15 were black, and 10 were Hispanic, 30 were male and 15 were female. Of the five people I interviewed only one had not been to see W.C. Clark before, Erin a white 22 year old, but even she was convinced of his ability to cleanse with the blues, when I asked her what she thought of the music she said, "He plays the blues very well, it puts you in a better mood and makes you want to dance".