[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:04]
TO CALL THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE MUSIC COMMISSION TO ORDER.
UM, UNDER, SO SH SHELBY, UH, BOTH THE SPEAKERS ARE FOR ON THE TOPIC, RIGHT? WE DON'T HAVE ANY, UH, NO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY GENERAL PUBLIC
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
COMMUNICATION.IF EVERYBODY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE MEETING MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER COMMISSION MEETING, UH, I THINK SOMEBODY COULD MOTION TO APPROVE.
WE HAVE A MOTION FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER CARVALHO, A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER CASADA.
AND MOTIONS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY,
[MUSICAL PERFORMANCE]
UH, MUSICAL PERFORMANCE.WE HAVE, UH, FINGER PISTOL, UM, SHELBY, UH, WHICH, UH, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON.
IS THIS YOUR RECOMMENDATION? UH, DID YOU WANT TO SHARE ANYTHING BEFORE WE VIEW THE PERFORMANCE? YEAH, SO THIS IS, UM, A WELL-KNOWN BAND FOR PLAYING IN MY DISTRICT, E SEVEN.
UM, ALTHOUGH THEY PLAY ALL OVER TOWN AND OUTSIDE OF TOWN, IT'S, UH, COUNTRY BAND.
THEY'RE GREAT MUSICALITY, WONDERFUL SINGERS.
UM, JUST LIKE EVERYBODY IN THE BAND IS SUPER TALENTED.
THEY'RE REALLY FUN, REALLY NICE GROUP OF PEOPLE.
AND, UH, THEIR KIND OF HOME BASE IS JENNY'S LITTLE LONGHORN, WHICH IS A, YOU KNOW, JUST A ICONIC HONKY TONK.
MY HUSBAND AND I LOVE TO DANCE TO THEM, AND LOTS OF PEOPLE ALL OVER AUSTIN DO.
SO LEMME SHARE WITH YOU THIS, IT WON'T MAKE YOU,
[00:05:08]
I THANK YOU.THANKS FOR, UH, BRINGING THIS COMMISSIONER PATTERSON, UH, SHELBY, UH, AND THE TEAM.
UM, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? YEAH, JUST ONCE AGAIN, SO NICE TO HAVE THIS WAY TO, UH, SHOWCASE TALENT DURING THE MUSIC COMMISSION MEETINGS AND HAVE LIKE, YOU KNOW, ALSO JUST THESE REALLY NICE RECORDINGS SAVED.
UM, SO A BIG APPRECIATION TO SHELBY AND THE REST OF THE PRODUCTION TEAM FOR CREATING THESE.
AND OF COURSE, I THANK YOU, UH, TO FINGER PISTOL FOR PARTICIPATING AND, AND BEING PART OF THIS ENDEAVOR.
COMMISSIONER PATSON, COMMISSIONER EXCITED, BIG FAN OF FINGER PISTOL AND, UH, THAT'S GREAT.
THE INFAMOUS DAN HARDICK, WHO'S WORKED AT THE CHRONICLE FOR OVER 30 YEARS.
SO, BIG LOVE, BIG LOVE TO FINGER PISTOL.
THANK YOU ANN CHARLOTTE FOR BRINGING THEM TO THE COMMISSION.
YEAH, JUST WANT, SO WITH, TO YOUR POINT, WITH THESE RECORDING EVERY WEEK, I MEAN, EVERY MONTH IT, IT IS JUST BEAUTIFUL MUSIC.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE THE VIDEO WITH, WITH, WITH GREAT, UM, AUDIO RECORDINGS.
BUT IS THERE A PLAN TO DO LIKE A COLLECTIVE ALBUM WITH THIS MUSIC? OR WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR, FOR THE ACTUAL, JUST THE MUSIC ALONE? A GREAT IS, THAT'S SUCH A IDEA.
I FEEL IT'S SUCH A IDEA, SUCH A, A CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE I THOUGHT WHAT WE WERE WORKING WITH WAS PRETTY COOL.
UM, THIS PROJECT IS BASICALLY LIKE IN OUR COMMISSIONER PATTERSON, EXCUSE ME, Y'ALL BROUGHT TO THE TABLE.
UM, WE WERE DOING THIS TO BRING LIVE MUSIC TO OUR MEETINGS.
JUST STARTED OUT AS THAT WAY IN A TXN SHOUT OUT TO BURTON.
UM, THERE, HE'S JUST A VISIONARY AND WE GET TO WORK WITH THIS MAN.
AND SO IT WAS A PART OF HIS IDEA TO ACTUALLY MAKE IT A SERIES.
AND SO WE WERE GONNA START THERE.
UM, AND WITH IT BEING ON YOUTUBE, WE CAN ALSO MAKE IT INTO A PLAYLIST, BUT AN ALBUM, I THINK WE'D HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT WE ARE CONSIDERING DIFFERENT WAYS TO WORK WITH OUR ARTISTS AND HAVE PEOPLE DISCOVER THEM.
UM, SO FROM YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS TO HOPEFULLY SOME MORE, UM, PLATFORMS WE CAN WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE.
HOPEFULLY THAT'LL SUFFICE FOR NOW.
NO, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA THOUGH.
[2. Live Music Fund collections briefing by Kim McCarson, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Economic Development Department.]
ALL RIGHT.UH, WE'LL, UM, WE HAVE STAFF BRIEFINGS, LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTIONS, BRIEFING BY KIM MCC CARSON PROGRAM MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
KIM MCC CARSON PROGRAM MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.
AND, UH, LET'S HAVE THE, UM, THE PRESENTATION THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS ONE.
YEAH, THERE WE HAVE, THERE WE HAVE OUR COLLECTIONS REPORT, UH, FOR 2024, AND THE LATEST IS AUGUST.
UH, SO OUR AUGUST, UH, UH, SO THE PRINTOUT IS THE LAST MONTH ONE.
ANYWAY, THE AUGUST AMOUNT IS 472, UH, 660, UM, THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE COLLECTIONS FOR AUGUST, WHICH BRINGS US TO A, UM, YEAR TO DATE OF 4,440,522.
IT'S THE, WHAT IS THAT TEAL COLORED BOX AT THE TOP OF OUR COLUMN OF COLORS THERE.
ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, QUESTIONS.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTIONS REPORT.
[3. FY24 Austin Live Music Fund briefing by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music and Entertainment Division.]
THANK YOU, KIM.UM, NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS A 5 24 AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND BRIEFING BY IKA SHAMLEY, DIVISION MANAGER OF MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.
[00:10:02]
GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.ERICA SHAMLEY, MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGERS.
UH, JUST A QUICK UPDATE ON OUR CURRENT AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, UH, PROGRAM.
UH, IF YOU GO TO THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND WEBPAGE, YOU CAN ALWAYS GET THE LATEST UPDATES, INCLUDING A FULL LIST OF THE 2024 AWARDEES, AS WELL AS THE SUMMARY DASHBOARD ABOUT THE 2024 GRANT APPLICANTS AND AWARDEES, WHICH I HAD SHARED WITH YOU LAST MONTH.
UM, FOR THE NEXT STEPS, UH, THIS IS JUST THE AWARDEE NEXT STEPS, UH, CREATE AUSTIN REPORTED TODAY.
UM, ALL 136 GRANT AWARDS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED, AND GRANT AGREEMENTS OF 120 HAVE BEEN SIGNED SO FAR.
UH, AND WE'VE ALSO GOTTEN 85 FIRST PAYMENTS OUT THERE, WHICH IS WONDERFUL.
AND THREE SECOND PAYMENTS ALREADY.
'CAUSE PEOPLE ARE, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST MOVING AND GOING REALLY FAST AND GETTING THEIR PROJECTS DONE, WHICH IS GREAT.
AND THEN A COUPLE PEOPLE HAVE JUST ASKED BECAUSE THINGS ARE KIND OF MOVING RIGHT ALONG ABOUT MARKETING.
UM, SO DON'T YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A PUBLIC EVENT, PLEASE ADD YOUR PUBLIC EVENTS TO THE VISIT AUSTIN EVENT CALENDAR.
AND THEN JUST A REMINDER OF WHAT THE MARKETING, UM, YOU KNOW, REMARKS ARE, LIKE WHAT YOU'RE REQUIRED TO SAY FOR PROMOTIONAL TOURS AS WELL AS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
JUST MARKETING STATEMENTS, DEPENDING, IT'S, IF IT'S A POSTER LINER NOTES, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE A SOCIAL MEDIA POST.
UM, THESE ARE THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO USE, AS WELL AS THE LOGO SAMPLING THERE FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, WE'LL FIND OUT WHERE THE LOGOS ARE LOCATED IN SUBMITTABLE FOR EVERYBODY.
PRETTY SURE THAT, UH, THOSE ASSETS ARE THERE OR WILL BE EMAILED TO ALL AWARDEES ALONG WITH THEIR, UH, GRANT AGREEMENTS.
UH, BUT JUST REACH OUT TO US IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THE MARKETING ASSETS THAT ARE REQUIRED, UH, JUST AS YOU KNOW, AS THINGS ARE MOVING, MOVING ALONG.
SO ANOTHER JUST UPDATE, UH, UH, MENTIONED LAST MONTH THAT WE WOULD MEET WITH ANYONE WHO HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR SCORES FROM THEIR APPLICATIONS IF THEY WERE DECLINED AND WANTED TO UNDERSTAND MORE AND TO LEARN FOR NEXT YEAR.
AND SO, UH, 14 APPLICANTS HAVE ASKED FOR THIS FEEDBACK SO FAR, UH, OF WHICH NINE HAVE EITHER ALREADY MET WITH OUR MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION STAFF, OR CONFIRMING A MEETING TIME NOW.
AND THEN WE'VE JUST GOTTEN FIVE NEW REQUESTS THAT HAVE JUST COME IN, LIKE IN THE LAST WEEK OR SO, AND THEY'LL BE CONTACTED NEXT.
UM, ALSO WORKING WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, UH, COMMUNICATIONS TEAM, UH, AND THE REST OF OUR CULTURAL FUNDING TEAM TO WORK ON A SURVEY FOR ALL THE APPLICANTS TO GO OVER A VARIETY OF QUESTIONS.
AND SO, UM, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
UM, IT'S STILL BEING COORDINATED, AND I THINK THAT IS IT.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, KIM.
UH, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSION? ANYBODY? OKAY.
I KNOW, UH, THERE'S FEEDBACK, UH, SOME FEEDBACK COMING IN FROM THE COMMUNITY.
UH, I THINK, UH, MR. PAT VICTOR FROM A TXM IS GONNA BE PRESENTING, UM, NEXT MONTH.
UM, ALSO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, I'M SURE THE COMMISSIONERS ARE HEARING SOME FEEDBACK AS WELL.
UH, I'VE BEEN JUST DIRECTLY GETTING SOME, UH, FEEDBACK AT MY END AS WELL, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE CAN COLLECTIVELY SHARE THAT AT THE COMMISSION AND, UH, WITH STAFF AND SEE HOW WE, UH, MIGHT WANNA MOVE THINGS FORWARD IN THE, IN NEXT YEAR'S ROLLOUT.
I THINK, UH, THAT FEEDBACK COULD BE CONSIDERED, UH, FOR, UH, NEXT YEAR'S ROLLOUT.
ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, INTERESTINGLY, UH, MR. PAUL SCOTT HERE DID POINT OUT, UM, FROM HIM, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS, UM, HOW, UH, HEALTH INSURANCE WAS ONE OF THE CRITERIA, RIGHT? AND, UM, ACCESS TO HEALTH INSURANCE.
AND WITH HIM, I THINK WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED IS IT'S, IT'S, YOU ALREADY HAVE TO BE BELOW A CERTAIN THRESHOLD TO GET INSURANCE, UH, AND WITH THEM.
BUT IF THAT NOW BY ANY CHANCE COMES AGAINST YOU IN ACCESSING THESE FUNDS OR KIND OF, YOU KNOW, YOU LOSE SOME POINTS, UH, THAT MIGHT DISCOURAGE FOLKS FROM GETTING HEALTH INSURANCE THROUGH HIM, RIGHT? SO, SO THOSE KIND OF THINGS, IF WE HAVE FEEDBACK, PLEASE DO SHARE, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST A LEARNING IN THAT, OKAY, HAVE WE THOUGHT OF THAT SCENARIO, RIGHT? THESE ARE, WE'LL HAVE SOME EDGE CASES, SOME USE CASES LIKE THAT.
UH, SO IF YOU HEAR STUFF LIKE THAT, PLEASE DO, UM, SHARE IT DIRECTLY WITH STAFF, SHARE IT HERE AT THE COMMISSION, WHICHEVER WAY YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH PLUS, BUT PLEASE DO BRING FEEDBACK.
UM, AND I THINK, UM, YEAH, UH, SO YEAH, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE KIND
[00:15:01]
OF KEEP OUR EARS AND MINDS OPEN, UH, TO FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY, UH, IN, IN MAKING THIS BETTER FOR EVERYONE.BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, PUBLISHING THE LIST.
UM, AND, UH, OBVIOUSLY, UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO, UH, RECEIVED THESE GRANTS THIS YEAR.
AND, UH, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO ALL THE PROJECTS, UH, AND THE WORK THAT IS, UH, GOING TO, UH, COME OUT, UH, UH, FROM THESE, FROM THESE GRANTS, UH, OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
UM, ANY LAST COMMENTS, QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT TOPIC? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.
[4. Presentation on House of Songs by Ali Ishaq, Board Secretary, House of Songs and Russell Tanner, ATX Manager, House of Songs.]
ALL SO MUCH.UH, MOVING ON TO DISCUSSION ITEMS. WE HAVE A PRESENTATION ON HOUSE OF SONGS BY ALI SHARK, BOARD SECRETARY, UM, HOUSE OF SONGS, AND RUSSELL TANNER, ATX MANAGER, HOUSE OF SONGS.
UM, YOU COULD, UH, PLEASE COME UP AND SPEAK HERE.
I AM, UM, DEFINITELY VERY EXCITED TO SEE, UH, HOUSE OF SONGS HERE TODAY.
UM, JUST VERY QUICKLY, I MEAN, THIS, THIS, THIS ORGANIZATION, AND SINCE WE, UM, ALSO TALK SO MUCH ABOUT DIVERSITY IN THIS FORUM, UH, WAS STARTED BY, UH, TROY CAMPBELL, A ASIAN AMERICAN, UM, MUSICIAN WHO HAS OPERATED, UM, IN AUSTIN FOR A LONG TIME.
AND, UM, UM, IF I QUICKLY MAY, UH,
I KNOW TROY, UH, WAS IN ITALY WITH CHARLIE SEXTON AND, UH, JANE JANE BRYANT.
JANE ELLEN BRYANT, UH, THEY HAVE PRESENCE IN, UH, HE, HE, I THINK, UH, HE WAS GOING THERE FROM, UH, UH, SCANDINAVIA IS GOING TO INDIA AT SOME POINT, UH, NEXT YEAR.
SO THIS IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT I'VE SEEN THAT WITHOUT ANY COST TO THE CITY OR THE MUSIC SCENE IS, HAS ACTUALLY BUILT NATURALLY BY NATURE OF HOW THEY WORK.
BUILT A, BUILT AN EXPORT PROGRAM FOR AUSTIN MUSICIANS.
UM, AND, UM, SO THAT'S JUST QUITE AMAZING TO SEE.
UM, AND, UM, UH, BENTONVILLE, I MENTIONED BENTONVILLE PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THE, IT'S HOME TO THE WALMART, UH, THE WALTON FAMILY.
AND, UH, THEY HAVE BEEN REALLY INVESTED IN CREATING A MUSIC SCENE, A CULTURAL SCENE, A TOURISM SCENE IN, UM, IN, IN BENTONVILLE.
AND, AND, AND HUBS OF SONGS IN TROY ARE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT, CREATING, UH, CREATING THAT SPACE IN BENTONVILLE.
AND AGAIN, IT DIRECTLY BENEFITS AUSTIN MUSICIANS THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING.
THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME THERE,
YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK I NEED TO SPEAK ANYMORE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, BEFORE I MOVED HERE, I'VE BEEN VISITING AUSTIN FOR, FOR YEARS, COMING TO LIVE MUSIC SHOWS AND COMING TO FESTIVALS.
SO WHEN I HAD A PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY MAKE THE MOVE, I JUMPED ON IT.
I PREDICT YOU'D FIND SIMILAR THEMES AMONG SO MANY OF THE HUNDRED THOUSAND PLUS PEOPLE WHO'VE MOVED TO AUSTIN OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, UH, AND APPEAL TO THE ART AND THE ARTISTRY AND THE MUSIC THAT CHARACTERIZES THIS CITY AT THE SAME TIME, AS MANY OF YOU ARE.
AND ALL OF YOU ARE INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH THE EXACT MOVING OF SO MANY PEOPLE HERE, HAS MADE THE CITY LESS HOSPITABLE FOR ARTISTS WHO'VE GIVEN THE VERY CHARACTER THAT HAS ATTRACTED FOLKS LIKE ME AND MANY OTHERS HERE.
YOU'RE ALL HERE BECAUSE YOU HEAR DEEPLY ABOUT ISSUES LIKE THIS.
AND I'M HERE TO INTRODUCE AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS BEEN DOING FANTASTIC MUSICIAN LED WORK, UH, IN A CREATIVE AND ORGANIC WAY TO SUSTAINABLY SUPPORT MUSICIANS IN AUSTIN.
MY NAME IS ALI ISAK, AND I'M THE BOARD SECRETARY FOR THE HOUSE OF SONGS AND ORGANIZATION.
COMMITTED TO BUILDING A GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF ARTISTS AND FOSTERING ORGANIC SUSTAINABLE TIES BY CONNECTING AUSTIN ARTISTS WITH ARTISTS ACROSS THE GLOBE, TRULY PERSONIFYING THE AADE THAT MUSIC IS A UNIVERSAL AND INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE.
I'M HERE TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF SETUP, AND MY COLLEAGUE, UH, UH, RUSSELL IS GONNA GIVE YOU SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
AND I'M SO, UM, HAPPY AND HUMBLE THAT WE HAVE LOCAL MUSICIANS LIKE GRAHAM AND SHAWNEE, WHO WILL COLOR IN ADDITIONAL DETAILS, UH, BASED ON THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH THIS ORGANIZATION.
I'D LIKE TO BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT WHAT APPEALED TO ME ABOUT THE HOUSE OF SONGS BEFORE WE'RE SHOWING YOU VIDEOS FROM OUR FOUNDER AND THE MUSICIAN WHO YOU REFERENCED, UH, JANE ELLEN BRYANT FROM THEIR TIME IN FLORENCE.
FOR ME, WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION, SOME ASPECTS THAT APPEALED TO ME INCLUDED THE ARTIST CENTRIC FOCUS.
THIS IS AN ARTIST FACING, ARTIST LED ORGANIZATION, DRIVEN BY COLLABORATION AND FOCUS ON CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL ARTISTS THAT ARE RARELY AVAILABLE.
ON TOP OF THAT, THE ORGANIZATION TAKES NOTHING AT ALL FROM ARTISTS ENABLING INTERNATIONAL SONG PLACEMENTS, TOURING, AND OTHER BENEFITS THAT ARE SOLELY FOCUSED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ARTIST.
NEXT IS WE HAVE A PROVEN THEORY OF CHANGE.
WHEN TROY CAMPBELL STARTED THIS ORGANIZATION UP 15 YEARS AGO, HE WAS WORKING WITH JUST TWO COUNTRIES, DENMARK AND THE US OVER THE 15 YEARS OF THIS ORGANIZATION, THAT COLLABORATION HAS EXPANDED TO 30 PLUS COUNTRIES, IMPACTING MORE THAN A THOUSAND ARTISTS, AND CONNECTING AUSTIN ARTISTS WITH MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS FROM
[00:20:01]
PLACES AS DIVERSE AS EGYPT, IRELAND, AND PAKISTAN.I CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND ONE OF OUR UPCOMING EVENTS BECAUSE THERE'S NO BETTER WAY TO LEARN AND EXPERIENCE YOUR ORGANIZATION THAN THAT.
AND I DO PLAN TO SEND A DETAILED LIST OF THOSE EVENTS AFTER, AFTER MY REMARKS THAT WE CAN SHARE BY EMAIL.
ONE, ONE, UH, EXAMPLE OF AN EVENT IS WE HAVE THESE LISTEN OBSESSIONS, WHICH ARE, UM, WHERE WE, THIS, THIS HEARKENS BACK TO THE TIME WHEN I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS YOUNG GOING TO, GOING TO THE RECORD STORE.
SO I'D GO OVER TO THE RECORD EXCHANGE WHEN, WHEN ONE OF MY FAVORITE ALBUMS WAS COMING OUT, I'D GO BUY THAT CD, COME HOME ON RAPID, PUT IT IN THE CD PLAYER, AND LISTEN TO IT FROM START TO FINISH.
THE LISTEN OF SESSIONS ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANY ARTISTS IN THE COMMUNITY AND FOLKS AMONG ARTISTS HERE TO INTRODUCE RECORDS OF IMPORTANCE TO THEM.
WE GET TOGETHER IN AN AREA THAT, IN A, IN A A SPOT THAT HAS A GREAT SOUND SYSTEM, WE HAVE SOMEONE INTRODUCE AN ALBUM THAT'S MEANINGFUL TO THEM, AND THEN WE SIT DOWN AND WE JUST LISTEN FROM THE ALBUM, FROM START TO FINISH AND GET TOGETHER TO, UH, REFLECT OUR FEELINGS AND, AND WHAT WE GOT OUT OF IT, INCLUDING LOCAL ARTISTS AND EVENTS THAT RELATE TO IT.
NOW, THE NEXT EVENT THAT'S COMING UP, WE WILL BE DISCUSSING THE RADIOHEAD ALBUM, UM, UH, KING OF LIMBS.
SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THAT, PLEASE JOIN.
AND THE NEXT MONTH WE'LL HAVE A PAKISTANI ARTIST, ALI K, WHOSE ALBUM I'LL BE PRESENTING, UH, IN NOVEMBER.
NOW, I HAVE TWO REQUESTS TO YOU.
ONE IS THAT ALL OF YOU ON THIS COMMISSION ARE OUR EYES AND EARS.
ALL OF YOU REPRESENT AND HAVE YOUR OWN RESPECTIVE NETWORKS, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO BETTER AND FURTHER DEEPEN OUR CONNECTIONS WITH ARTISTS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
IF YOU HAVE ARTISTS WHO YOU THINK WOULD BENEFIT FROM BEING ASSOCIATED OR WORKING WITH AN ORGANIZATION LIKE HOUSE OF SONGS, PLEASE SEND THEM IN OUR DIRECTION.
WE'RE LOOKING TO MAKE THOSE SORTS OF RELATIONSHIPS AND INTRODUCE FOLKS TO US WHO WE HAVEN'T PREVIOUSLY BEEN EXPOSED TO.
ON TOP OF THAT, UM, AS WE APPROACH OUR 15TH ANNIVERSARY, WE ARE SEEKING CITY SUPPORT, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE HAVE NOT HISTORICALLY SOUGHT OUT, UM, WITH, UH, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY, WE BELIEVE WE CAN FURTHER GROW AND SUSTAIN THE CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM THAT'S ESSENTIAL FOR THE SURVIVAL OF ARTISTS.
UM, WITH THAT, I WANNA THANK YOU AGAIN FOR GIVING ME A CHANCE TO SPEAK TODAY FOR WHAT I HOPE IS GONNA BE THE FIRST IN AN ONGOING LONG-TERM COLLABORATIVE, UH, SET OF ENGAGEMENTS.
I WANNA GIVE A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO, UH, SHELBY AND KIMBERLY FOR ALL THE BEHIND THE SCENES WORK THEY DID IN SETTING UP THE VIDEOS.
YOU'LL SEE, AND I WILL GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR FOUNDER, UM, WHO SENDS HIS APOLOGIES FOR NOT BEING HERE TODAY, THOUGH HE DOES PLAN TO SPEAK AT AN UPCOMING, UH, UH, SESSION.
UM, TROY CAMPBELL IS AN AUSTIN AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BASED ASIAN AMERICAN ARTIST.
HE'S A, HE'S AN INFLUENTIAL FIGURE IN BOTH LOCAL INTERNATIONAL MUSIC.
AS A FOUNDER OF HOUSE OF SONGS CO-FOUNDER IN 2009 WITH HIS LONG-TERM MUSIC MANAGER, THE LATE ROBIN SHIVERS, WHO, AS YOU KNOW, IS THE FOUNDER OF HAM.
UH, TROY HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN BUILDING CULTURAL BRIDGES THROUGH MUSIC.
HIS LYRICS AND A PHOTO WITH ROBIN ARE THE CENTERPIECE OF THE NEW ROBIN AND BUD SHIVERS, UH, HAM BUILDING, UH, WITH TROY BEING THE ORIGINAL INSPIRATION FOR ROBIN'S VISION OF HEALTHCARE FOR MUSICIANS AMONG HIS MUSICAL ACHIEVEMENTS, TROY WAS BOUGHT TO AUSTIN IN 1989 AT THE REQUEST OF THE TEXAS LEGEND ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO.
IN 1992, BRUCE AND PATTI SPRINGSTEEN DISCOVERED TROY AND HIS BAND, LOOSE DIAMONDS, PERFORMING AT TIPITINA'S IN NEW ORLEANS, WHICH LED TO AN INTERNATIONAL PRESS AND A RECORDING CONTRACT AND INTERNATIONAL TOURING, UM, AMONG IN FILM AND TELEVISION.
HE'S A PRODUCER AND CREATOR OF THE TV SHOW, CITY OF SONGS, AND THE WINNER OF ONE EMMY AWARD, ALONG WITH OTHER HONORS, INCLUDING AN AUDIENCE AWARD AT THE AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL AND SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.
SPECIAL JURY MENTIONED IN CULTURAL LEADERSHIP.
HE'S BEEN AN ADVISOR TO OVER SEVEN MAYORS AND ARTISTS SUCH AS ROCKY ERICKSON AND BJORN OF ABBA, INSTRUMENTAL IN THE RETURN OF TEXAS MUSIC, PIONEER ROCKY ERICKSON, AND A KEY FIGURE IN NUMEROUS AUSTIN INSTITUTIONS.
AMONG HIS INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS, HE'S FACILITATED AUSTIN CULTURAL PARTNERSHIPS, UH, WITH CITIES INCLUDING NAIROBI AND KENYA, EAST LONDON, OTA IN JAPAN, UH, LULU AND SWEDEN.
AND HE'S COLLABORATED WITH ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS A SWEDISH MUSIC EXPORT, D-G-B-F-A AND NOPA NORWAY.
HE ALSO HAD A WALL STREET JOURNAL COVER STORY WHERE, UH, WHICH TALKED ABOUT HOW HE LED A GROUP OF ASAN ARTISTS TO THE SWEDISH ARCTIC CIRCLE TO COLLABORATE WITH INDIGENOUS ARTISTS PERFORMING IN AN IGLOO WITH INSTRUMENTS MADE OF ICE.
AS A CULTURAL VISIONARY, TROY HAS FOSTERED GLOBAL CONNECTIONS THROUGH THE HOUSE OF SONGS, WHICH WILL CELEBRATE ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY THIS OCTOBER.
HIS WORK CONTINUES TO BE PIVOTAL IN UNITING DIVERSE VOICES, BUILDING ESSENCE'S CULTURAL IDENTITY, AND ADVANCING ARTIST INNOVATION GLOBALLY.
WITH THAT, I WANNA MAKE WAY FOR A COUPLE OF, UH, VIDEOS THAT WE SHARED.
I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE HOUSE OF SONGS.
I WANNA APOLOGIZE TO THE MUSIC COMMISSION FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO BE WITH YOU IN PERSON, BUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING NIGHT AND DAY HERE IN FLORENCE, ITALY.
WE'VE BROUGHT SEVERAL AUSTIN TOP TALENTED MUSICIANS HERE TO COLLABORATE AND WRITE WITH SOME OF THE TOP TALENT IN ITALY AND ESPECIALLY FLORENCE, ITALY.
UH, WE FINISHED OUR FIRST PERFORMANCE LAST NIGHT OF THE NEW WORKS AND WENT OVER AMAZINGLY.
TONIGHT IS THE BIG SHOW IN FLORENCE, AND IT'S ALSO ON THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOUSE OF SONGS SINCE 2009.
[00:25:01]
PROGRAM WITH, UH, MY LATE MANAGER, ROBIN SHIVERS, THE FOUNDER OF HAM, THE VISION WAS VERY SIMPLE.IT WAS TO BRING TOGETHER TALENTED ARTISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO COLLABORATE, CREATE NEW WORKS, FIND NEW FRIENDSHIPS, AND HELP EACH OTHER EXPORT THEMSELVES.
UM, IT'S NOW TURNED TO OVER 30 COUNTRY PARTNERS, UH, SEVERAL LOCATIONS, INCLUDING BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS, AND OUR NEW LOCATION IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, IN CHERRYWOOD IN EAST AUSTIN.
I'M GOING TO JUST GO AHEAD AND ROLL SOME FILM AND SHOW YOU A BIT OF SOME OF THE EXAMPLES OF THE SUMMITS, THE PROGRAMMING OF A PLAYER TO PLAYER, OUR VEHICLE FOR CHANGE.
AND JUST SIMPLY, THE FACES SAY IT ALL THE HOUSE'S, SONGS IS ACTUALLY A PHYSICAL HOUSE, WHICH YOU'RE STANDING IN NOW, BUT IT'S, IT'S AN IDEAL AS WELL.
I WANT IT TO BE LIKE THE HOUSE I HAD IN 1989 OR 90.
WE LIVED ON NOTHING, BUT WE SHARED EVERYTHING.
I OWN THIS HOUSE AND, AND IT'S ONLY USED FOR ART.
IT MADE ME NERVOUS AND FEEL REALLY VULNERABLE.
THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I KNEW I WANTED TO DO IT, FEEL SO ENERGIZED, AND I NEVER WANNA GO HOME
SO YOU REALLY, YOU LIKE LIVE MUSIC HERE.
I'VE CREATED A SPACE WHERE WE CAN BRING ARTISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO COME LIVE HERE, AND THAT THEY CAN COLLABORATE WITH OUR BEST WRITERS.
WE GO AND ASK QUESTIONS, AND WE COME BACK AND WE BRING THOSE GREAT IDEAS BACK HERE.
YOU DO LEARN, I THINK, AS MUCH, IF NOT MORE FROM, FROM THE FAILURE OF THINGS SOMETIMES, THAN FROM, YOU KNOW, A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME.
SONGS AREN'T INSTANTANEOUS, BUT WHEN THEY DO GET ROLLING, IT'S, IT'S LIKE, IT'S LIKE A, A BEAUTIFUL STORM COMING THROUGH AND CLEANING THE AREA AND CHANGING THE AIR.
WE, WE CALL OURSELVES THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL, BUT THE PART OF THE WORLD IS THE MOST VITAL PART TO ME.
AND TO BE OF THE WORLD IS TO BE INTERESTED IN THE WORLD.
AND BY DOING ACTS LIKE THIS SIMPLE, ACTS LIKE PUTTING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND BEING INTERESTED, WE BECOME A, A TRULY INTERNATIONAL CITY.
I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL IN OCTOBER, WHERE WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO DO A SERIES OF SHOWS, UM, AND CONCERTS AND LIVE RADIO BROADCASTS.
AND WE'RE GONNA BRING TOGETHER SOME OF THE HUNDREDS OF ARTISTS, UH, TO JUST EAT SOME CAKE.
AND REMEMBER THAT THIS WAS ALL STARTED WITH A SIMPLE IDEA IN A SIMPLE ROOM.
THAT, THAT WAS JUST A, A BEAUTIFUL PRESENTATION.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, UH, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS.
THE HOUSE OF SONGS HAS BEEN SUCH A GIFT TO ME.
THE HOUSE OF SONGS HAS BEEN SUCH A GIFT TO ME.
UM, I NOW HAVE SONGWRITER FRIENDS ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT IT'S REALLY ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT I'VE MADE AND, AND THE SONGS THAT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BECAUSE OF IT.
I MEAN, DEEP, DEEP FRIENDSHIPS ARE FORMED WHEN YOU SIT DOWN IN A ROOM TO WRITE TOGETHER WITH A STRANGER.
YOU JUST LEARN SO MUCH ABOUT EACH OTHER.
HOW AMAZING IS THAT TO BE, UH, A LOCAL AUSTIN MUSICIAN, BUT HAVE THAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE WITH PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD? IT'S FORGED A PATH FOR ME THAT I NEVER KNEW WAS POSSIBLE.
AND I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR THE HOUSE OF SONGS.
IT HAS COMPLETELY CHANGED MY LIFE.
I HAVE, UM, SO MANY BEAUTIFUL SONGS TO SHOW FOR IT, AND A LIFETIME WORTH OF MEMORIES AND RELATIONSHIPS TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND ON.
UM, ARE THERE MORE SPEAKERS OF ON PRESENTING? OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD.
I'M THE A TX BRANCH, UH, MANAGER FOR HOUSE OF SONGS, UH, AND, AND EVENTS COORDINATOR.
UM, I FIRST BECAME AWARE OF HOUSE OF SONGS BACK, UH, WHEN I WAS RUNNING SOUND, UH, WORKING AT, UH, THREADGILLS WORLD HEADQUARTERS DOWN ON RIVERSIDE.
AND, UH, EVERY YEAR THEY WOULD HAVE A BIG SHOWCASE IN THE INSIDE ROOMS. AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME, TROY WOULD BE RUNNING, UH, THE ROCKY ERICKSON ICE CREAM SOCIAL AND SOME OTHER DAY PARTIES OUT THERE.
UH, SO I GOT TO KNOW HIM THAT WAY, AND HE WAS ALWAYS, UH, JUST A BLAST TO BE AROUND.
AND, UH, I ALWAYS, I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HIM AND ALL OF THE KIND OF MADNESS THAT HE WOULD BRING TO THE, THE ICE CREAM SOCIAL.
UH, SO ABOUT A YEAR AGO, HE CALLED ME TO ASK IF I'D BE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE HOUSE OF SONGS TEAM.
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I WAS HONORED, REALLY, AND I, UH, SO I JOINED ON AND OVER THE LAST YEAR, WE'VE BEEN PUTTING A LOT OF WORK INTO BRINGING BACK, BRINGING THE HOUSE BACK TO, UH, AUSTIN.UM, WE'VE BEEN UPDATING THE HOUSE ITSELF, UH, AND RAMPING UP AUSTIN SPECIFIC PROGRAMS. UH, SO KIND OF OUR AIM FOR THE AUSTIN BRANCH ON MORE OF THE LOCAL LEVEL, UM, IS TO BE A COMMUNITY BUILDER FOR AUSTIN ARTISTS, UH, AND ALSO A RESOURCE FOR THEM.
SO WE'RE DOING, UH, CURATED CO-WRITE SESSIONS, THE, UH, PLAYER TO PLAYER SESSIONS THAT TROY MENTIONED IN THAT VIDEO, UM, WHERE WE, WE PICK HANDPICK ARTISTS TO COLLABORATE TOGETHER AT THE HOUSE, AND WE PAY THEM FOR THE TIME.
UM, WE'RE ALSO HOSTING MONTHLY SONG CIRCLES THAT ARE KIND OF AIMED AT MINGLING, UH, ARTISTS FROM DIFFERENT GENRES AND BACKGROUNDS.
UH, WE'VE ALSO BEEN, INCLUDING THEN THESE, THESE FOLKS IN OUR MONTHLY SHOWCASES.
WE'VE BEEN DOING, UH, SHOWS EVERY MONTH AT GUERRERO'S, UH, OAK GARDEN.
AND, UH, SO WE'RE, SO WE'RE PROVIDING THOSE PEOPLE A PAID GIG THERE, AS WELL AS BRINGING THEM TO THE PLAYER, TO PLAYER.
UM, WE'VE HAD, UH, FOLK ACTS LIKE MIRANDA HANEY OR MARSHALL MOON.
WE'VE HAD ROCK SONGWRITERS LIKE ROBIN MORDECAI AND CHRISTINE RENNER, AND A COUPLE OF R AND B ARTISTS AS WELL WITH LO GENTRY AND KIND KEITH.
AND, UH, I WANNA CONTINUE DIVERSIFYING OUR ARTISTS AND, UH, YEAH, JUST GET, JUST GET DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT STYLES, DIFFERENT SOUNDS, ALL KIND OF MIXED TOGETHER AS, AS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MYSELF OUT OF, OUT OF THE, UH, PROGRAM.
UM, WE'VE ALSO GOT A PROMPT WRITING GROUP THAT, UH, OUR GOOD FRIEND AND HOUSE OF SONGS VETERAN SHAWNEE KILGORE IS RUNNING, AND SHE'S GONNA SAY A COUPLE WORDS, UH, HERE IN A COUPLE MINUTES.
SO WE'RE ALSO A RESOURCE FOR ARTISTS, UH, AND WHICH BEING A NONPROFIT KIND OF GIVES US THE SPACE TO DO THIS.
UM, SO THE MAIN THING THAT WE PROVIDE FOR PEOPLE IS, UH, THE SPACE.
SO WE LET PEOPLE COME INTO THE, THE HOUSE WITHOUT ASKING FOR A FEE OR ANY KIND OF RIGHTS OR ROYALTIES FROM THE SONGS THAT THEY CREATE IN THE HOUSE.
UM, WE'VE HAD, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, UH, CHRIS HAWKS, MIRANDA DAWN, AND JOHN MOOK DID A, A A COUPLE OF CO-WRITING SESSIONS.
NATALIE PRICE IS BRINGING CO-WRITERS TO WORK ON HER NEXT RECORD.
UH, MADISON BAKER, LILY HICKMAN AND KAYLIN ARE WRITING FOR THEIR NEW BAND, UH, CALLED NEXT OF KIN.
UM, AND WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS THIS PAST YEAR TOO, FROM SWEDEN, FINLAND AND SPAIN COME TO STAY WITH US.
UH, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE STARTING IS, UH, WE HAVE A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH A BAR HERE CALLED THE DEAD RABBIT THAT JUST OPENED, UH, MAYBE A MONTH OR SO AGO, TWO, TWO MONTHS AGO MAYBE.
UM, IT'S AN IRISH PUB, UH, AND THEY, UH, SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE WELL KNOWN IN NEW YORK CITY, UH, AND IN IRELAND.
AND, UH, SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY SENDING IRISH ARTISTS TO COME PLAY AT THEIR, AT THEIR US LOCATIONS.
AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THEIR MUSIC DIRECTOR TO BE THE GO-TO PLACE FOR THE IRISH ARTISTS THAT ARE COMING INTO TOWN.
WE'VE GOT, UH, TWO MORE GROUPS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH IN THE NEXT, UH, THE NEXT TWO MONTHS.
SO, UM, I'VE ALREADY SEEN IN THE LAST YEAR, INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIPS MADE IN THE SHORT TIME SINCE WE'VE REOPENED THE AUSTIN BRANCH.
UM, I HOPE TO KEEP EXPANDING ON WHAT WE GIVE TO THE COMMUNITY, BEING A NONPROFIT, WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO OUR GENEROUS DONORS, BUT WE DO NEED SUPPORT FROM THE CITY AS WELL.
UH, AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE WORKING WITH THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
'CAUSE PROVIDING THESE RESOURCES TO ARTISTS, BOTH LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, IS ONE OF THE VITAL THINGS TO HELP KEEP AUSTIN, UH, UH, KEEP, KEEP AUSTIN'S TITLE OF LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.
UM, BEFORE WE, UH, KIND OF OPEN THIS UP TO QUESTIONS, UH, I HAVE, UH, UH, LET ME, LET ME INVITE, UM, UM, COMMENTS FROM, FROM THE PUBLIC HERE.
I HAVE, UH, MR. GRAHAM WEBER, PLEASE COME UP AND SPEAK.
UH, YEAH, THANKS FOR, FOR LETTING ME TALK.
UM, UH, THE HOUSE OF SONGS IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT, UH, I STARTED WORKING WITH AS A SONGWRITER ABOUT 11 TO 12 YEARS AGO.
UM, UH, AND THEN FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS,
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UP UNTIL ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I WAS THE PROGRAM AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE ORGANIZATION.UM, I JUST WANTED TO COME HERE TODAY AND TALK ABOUT, UH, HOW SPECIAL THAT ORGANIZATION IS AND THE MISSION OF INTRODUCING OUR ARTISTS AND, AND OUR COMMUNITY AND MY COMMUNITY, UM, TO ARTISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND FROM OTHER CITIES, AND, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST IN DOMESTIC CITIES AS WELL.
UM, I'VE BEEN, I'VE HAD A FRONT ROW SEAT TO, UM, AMAZING COLLABORATIONS AND A LOT MORE FRIENDSHIPS AND PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS BEING MADE BECAUSE OF THIS ORGANIZATION.
UM, AND IN MY TIME, UM, ON STAFF, I, I KNOW THAT WE, WE NEVER REALLY ASKED AND WE NEVER, WE DEFINITELY DIDN'T REALLY RECEIVE ANYTHING FROM THE CITY.
UM, IT WAS ALL VERY CREATIVE IN FUNDING, OR WE HAD TO BE CREATIVE IN HOW TO FUND IT.
UM, BUT I'M, I'M SO HAPPY THAT, UH, POST PANDEMIC, UM, COMING BACK WITH THE PLAYER TO PLAYER PROGRAM AND, AND COMPENSATING ARTISTS FOR THEIR TIME.
UM, I THINK ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT THIS ORGANIZATION IS THAT IT, IT IS AN ARTIST FORD ORGANIZATION.
AND, UM, I KNOW THAT Y'ALL UNDERSTAND THIS, UM, THE GENERAL PUBLIC GENERALLY DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THAT MUSIC IS A JOB.
AND A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT THE HOUSE OF SONGS WORKED WITH, UM, THEY ARE PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS, AND THEY, IF IT'S NOT THEIR SOLE INCOME, IT DEFINITELY TAKES A LOT OF THEIR TIME AND IT, AND IT DOES, UM, MAKE UP PART OF THEIR INCOME.
SO IF CREATING OPPORTUNITIES, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUNDING ARTISTS OR FOR COMPENSATING ARTISTS FOR THEIR TIME AND THEIR TALENT, UM, IF THAT'S, IF THAT CAN SOME WAY BE, UH, LOOKED UPON IN A POSITIVE WAY, UH, BY WHOEVER'S ALLOCATING THE MONEY, UH, IN THE CITY, UM, I THINK IT, IT DEFINITELY DESERVES, UM, A LOOK AND THEN A SECOND LOOK AND MAYBE A THIRD OR FOURTH LOOK AS WELL.
UM, THEY'RE DOING GOOD THINGS AND THEY'RE GOOD PEOPLE AND, UM, IT, IT, THAT ORGANIZATION REALLY DID CHANGE MY LIFE.
AND, UH, I'M HAPPY TO SUPPORT THEM AND I KNOW HUNDREDS OF ARTISTS, UM, THAT I PERSONALLY WORKED WITH THAT WOULD SAY THE SAME THING.
UH, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME, UH, SHAWNEE KILGO TO COME UP AND SPEAK.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE AND LISTENING.
AND, UM, I GUESS I JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT MY PERSONAL, UH, EXPERIENCE WITH THE HOUSE OF SONGS.
I'VE WORKED WITH 14 DIFFERENT ARTISTS, UM, FROM FIVE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, SIX, IF WE COUNT THE US, UM, OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS OR SO.
AND, UM, SOME OF THOSE SONGS HAVE BEEN, UH, RELEASED PROFESSIONALLY, UM, IN OTHER COUNTRIES.
AND IT'S BEEN SUCH A, UM, I THINK EVERYONE WHO DOES CO-WRITING KNOWS THAT IT'S, UM, CAN BE KIND OF A REALLY SCARY THING.
YOU'RE COMING IN AND YOU'RE NOT SURE IF YOU'RE, ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BRING THE IDEAS AND WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS? AND I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, THE HOUSE JUST PROVIDES A REALLY SAFE SPACE.
UM, AND THERE'S NO, I MEAN, THEY WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU WRITE A SONG, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO WRITE A SONG IN ORDER TO GET PAID.
UM, AND THE FACT THAT THEY DO COMPENSATE FOR THAT TIME MAKES ME FEEL LIKE IT'S NOT JUST MY PRODUCTIVITY AS A SONGWRITER THAT IS WORTH SOMETHING, BUT ACTUALLY MY TIME, UM, MY TIME ITSELF AND, UM, I JUST FEEL LIKE SUCH A VALUED MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, SO MANY LIFELONG FRIENDS THAT I'VE MADE.
AND I WAS TAKEN TO GRANDMA AND I ACTUALLY GOT TO GO TO SWEDEN TOGETHER.
UM, THEY PAID FOR OUR FLIGHTS TO GET THERE.
THEY PUT US UP, UM, THEY CONNECTED US WITH SONGWRITERS OVER THERE AND, UM, UH, MUSIC FESTIVAL AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND JUST OPPORTUNITIES THAT I NEVER WOULD'VE HAD OTHERWISE.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, THIS MORE RECENT, UM, ITERATION CONNECTING A LOT MORE LOCAL PEOPLE TOGETHER.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL KIND OF DOING OUR OWN THING AND IT'S SORT OF HARD TO CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER.
AND, UM, IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE CONNECTED WITH, UM, OTHER, OTHER LOCAL ARTISTS THAT WE CAN FORGE, UM, MORE FRIENDSHIPS WITH AND COLLABORATIONS WITH.
AND, UM, I AM SO, SO GRATEFUL.
SO I'M REALLY GLAD FOR ALL THE WORK THAT, UM, THEY HAVE DONE AND GRATEFUL FOR EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL DO TOO.
SO, THANKS FOR LETTING ME SPEAK.
UM, I WOULD OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSION IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, AND IF YOU WANT TO REQUEST ANY OF THE SPEAKERS TO COME AND ANSWER, UM, ANY, ANY QUERIES YOU MIGHT HAVE.
AND, AND AGAIN, BEAUTIFUL PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR SPEAKING.
CAN SOMEONE JUST GIVE A, JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW.
WHAT IS THE WALKTHROUGH PROCESS FOR A FIRST TIME? OR YOU, YOU LEARN ABOUT HOUSE OF SONGS, YOU WANNA GO VISIT THE HOUSE, YOU WANNA CO-WRITE? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT'S THE PROCESS OF
[00:40:01]
THE BARRIERS TO ENTRY TO DO THAT? I GUESS I SHOULD COME OVER.SO, UM, IT CAN HAPPEN A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS.
YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE, UH, SOME PEOPLE MESSAGE US DIRECTLY AND SOME ARE JUST FOLKS THAT WE KNOW OF FROM AROUND TOWN.
UM, WE DO KIND OF OUR JUMPING OFF POINT, THE WAY I SEE IT IS SORT OF OUR JUMPING OFF POINT FOR NEW PEOPLE COMING IN IS WITH THIS KIND OF SONG CIRCLE THING THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE HOSTING.
SO, UM, WE'RE INVITING, WE'RE INVITING FOLKS TO COME TO THIS THING.
AND IT'S, IT'S ESSENTIALLY, IT'S JUST KIND OF SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND, KIND OF LIKE AN OPEN MIC STYLE.
YOU CAN COME IN AND PLAY WHATEVER YOU WANT, BUT IT'S NOT FOR AN AUDIENCE, IT'S JUST SONGWRITERS.
WE LIKE TO KIND OF ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TRY OUT NEW MATERIAL AND DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, IF THEY, IF THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, WANTING FEEDBACK ON STUFF, YOU KNOW, WE CAN KIND OF, UH, HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF DISCUSSION.
SO THAT'S KIND OF, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I'VE BEEN, UM, BRINGING IN NEWER ARTISTS WHO ARE, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE PROGRAM BEFORE WE START BOOKING THEM IN SHOWCASES.
UH, 'CAUSE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE ARE, ARE NOT EVEN, NOT FOLKS THAT I HAVE NEVER NECESSARILY SEEN BEFORE.
SO TO BOOK 'EM AT A, AT A SHOW, OF COURSE, WE WANNA SEE, YOU KNOW, WHO THEY'LL FIT WITH AND, AND WHAT KIND OF AUDIENCE THEY'LL, UH, YOU KNOW, BE, BE GOOD FOR.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF THE, THAT'S KIND OF THE ENTRY PROCESS.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS, THEY WILL, UH, THEY'LL USUALLY COME TO US, UH, AFTER RECEIVING, UH, USUALLY GRANTS LIKE, UH, UH, SWEDEN AND, UH, UH, FINLAND AND OTHER SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES HAVE A LOT OF ARTISTS GRANTS WHERE THEY WILL SPONSOR PEOPLE TO GET SENT OVERSEAS.
UH, AND SO, UH, THAT CONNECTION USUALLY COMES THROUGH TROY.
SO I USUALLY GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM KIND OF AFTER THEY'VE ALREADY MADE CONTACT.
UM, BUT, UH, YEAH, SO THEY WILL, THEY WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY HAVE A GRANT TO COME STAY AT THE HOUSE, AND WE WILL INVITE 'EM TO EVENTS.
UM, IF WE'VE GOT A SHOW GOING ON, WE'LL INVITE THEM TO PLAY AT THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND, UH, IF THEY, DEPENDING ON WHAT THEIR GRANT AND WORK VISA SITUATION IS, WE'LL SET THEM UP WITH CO-WRITES OR, UH, JUST KIND OF HELP THEM FIND OTHER, OTHER GIGS THAT THEY CAN DO AROUND TOWN.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER CARVAL HAD FIRST A COMMENT, AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR THE AWESOME PRESENTATION AND THE, IT LOOKS LIKE AMAZING WORK YOU GUYS ARE DOING.
IT'S REALLY COOL TO HEAR ABOUT IT NOW.
UH, IT'S JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
ONE WAS, HOW ARE FUNDS COLLECTED CURRENTLY FOR YOUR PROGRAM BESIDES THESE INTERNATIONAL GRANTS? UM, AND DO YOU HAVE OH, YEAH, NO.
UH, AND THEN JUST THE SECOND THING WAS, DO YOU HAVE A WORKING PLAN CURRENTLY FOR, TO PROMOTE LIKE DIVERSITY AND EQUITY AND INCLUSIVITY IN YOUR, IN YOUR PROGRAM? AND, YEAH.
SO, UH, IN TERMS OF FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAM, AND THIS MIGHT ALSO BE GOOD COMMENTS FOR, UH, ALI OR, OR, UH, JOHN WHO ARE OUR BOARD MEMBERS, BUT, UM, IT'S, WE'RE, WE'RE PRIMARILY, UM, DONATIONS AND GRANTS BASED.
UM, SO WE ARE, WE ARE A 5 0 1 C NONPROFIT.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE MAIN INCOME IS, IS DONATIONS AND GRANTS.
UM, SO WE'VE, WE'VE APPLIED, UM, BEFORE FOR CITY GRANTS.
UH, I DON'T THINK WE GOT ANY OF THEM THIS YEAR.
I THINK THEY, I THINK THEY MAYBE HAVE IN THE PAST.
UM, AS FAR AS I KNOW, ALI, YOU HAVE ANY INPUT ON THAT? YEAH, SO THE SPECIFIC QUESTION WAS ABOUT, UM, DIVERSITY AND EQUITY AND HOW THAT'S INCORPORATED INTO
THAT'S THE SECOND ONE, BUT YEAH.
YEAH, THAT'S, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT.
YEAH, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE A DIRECT ANSWER TO THAT, SO IF THAT'S OKAY, I'D LIKE TO, UM, GET THAT ANSWER FROM TOUR AND THEN, AND THEN SHARE THAT WITH YOU IN MORE DETAIL.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? YEAH.
UH, DO YOU HAVE AVENUES FOR, UH, VENUE PARTNERS TO ENTER YOUR PROGRAM AND TO MAYBE BE ABLE TO LAND, UH, THE SPACE OR BE ABLE TO BE A PART OF IT OR HELP? SURE, YEAH.
UH, YEAH, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN PARTNERING UP WITH GUERRERO'S, UH, THE LAST FEW MONTHS TO, UH, HAVE OUR MONTHLY SHOWCASES THERE.
UH, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER SHOW WITH THEM, UH, OCTOBER 23RD, I THINK IT IS, WHICH IS
[00:45:01]
ACTUALLY ALSO PARTNERED WITH, UM, SUN RADIO, UH, WITH THEIR, THEIR LIVE BROADCAST THAT THEY DO FROM THERE, UH, WE ARE ALSO, UH, WE'VE ALSO GOT, UH, SAXON PUB FOR, I THINK OCTOBER 27TH, IF I REMEMBER RIGHT.UM, SO, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN WORK, WORK MORE WITH THEM AS WELL.
UH, WE'VE TALKED TO, WE'RE TRYING TO REACH OUT TO MORE PARTNERS TO TRY TO FIND TIMES THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE LIKE TO TRY TO BOOK KIND OF, UH, MAYBE NOT OFF HOURS, OFF HOURS IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TRY TO BOOK MAYBE A SHOWCASE ON LIKE A WEDNESDAY NIGHT OR A THURSDAY NIGHT, OR THE G**O THINGS WE'VE BEEN DOING, UH, SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
SO INSTEAD OF TRYING TO GET THE, THE PRIME TIME SLOTS, UH, WE'LL KIND OF WORK OUT WITH THEM WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY CAN HAVE MUSIC AT A TIME WHERE THEY MIGHT NOT ALWAYS HAVE A REALLY GOOD SHOW.
UM, AND THEN WE GET TO KIND OF, UH, SPEND A LITTLE BIT LESS MONEY ON THE PRODUCTION TO, UH, TO BE HOSTED THERE.
MM-HMM,
YEAH, AND IF IT, IF IT'S OKAY, CAN I ADDRESS PART OF YOUR QUESTION? UH, YOUR PREVIOUS QUESTION? YEAH, I'D LOVE THAT.
UM, SO A, A BIG PART OF WHAT APPEALED TO ME ABOUT THE HOUSE OF SONGS WAS, UH, IN MY CONVERSATION WITH TROY, UM, HIM MENTIONING THE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST WHO'D BEEN A FREE SHIRT OVER HERE, UM, I'M OF PAKISTANI DESCENT, AND I WAS IMPRESSED THAT HE HAD A LOCAL ARTIST FROM AUSTIN WHO'S UP PAKISTANI DESCENT, WHO'S PART OF THE, WHO'S BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE ORGANIZATION, ZOE VIJI.
UH, I, HE ALSO MENTIONED AN ARTIST, UH, FROM EGYPT WHO I WAS SURPRISED BECAUSE HE'S A VERY PROMINENT DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST, AND THAT'S SOMEONE WHO ALSO HAPPENED TO BENEFIT FROM HOUSE OF SONGS BEING OVER HERE, UM, LOCALLY, I KNOW BECAUSE OF HIS OWN IDENTITY AND WORK IN THE COMMUNITY, THAT THERE IS A, THERE, I THINK AS A FUNCTION OF TROY BEING PART OF THE ORGANIZATION, THERE'S A NATURAL ELEMENT TO RECRUIT AND INCORPORATE DIVERSE ARTISTS OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS.
UH, AND TO RUSSELL'S PART EARLIER, WE ALSO TRY TO DELIBERATELY LOOK FOR DIFFERENT GENRES, UM, UH, TO GET ARTISTS WHO CAN REPRESENT DIFFERENT SORTS OF COMMUNITIES.
SO I OWE YOU A MORE DETAILED ANSWER THERE, BUT I AT LEAST WANTED TO GIVE YOU, UH, A PREVIEW OF SOME OF WHAT, UH, APPEALED TO ME IN THE ORGANIZATION, BECAUSE THAT WAS DEFINITELY A PART OF IT.
AND, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE RESPONSE.
IT, IT FEELS LIKE IT, AND I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THERE, THERE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHERE THAT CAME FROM, BECAUSE FROM YOUR PRESENTATION, IT DOES FEEL LIKE IT IS DIVERSE, AND YOU GUYS ARE DOING A REALLY COOL THING, SO THANK YOU.
YEAH, I, UM, ON THAT ACCOUNT, I MEAN, THIS IS ANECDOTAL OF COURSE AND PERSONAL, BUT, UM, I'VE NOT, UH, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH, UH, HAVE OF SONGS.
BUT, UH, COUPLE OF YEARS BACK WHEN I THINK AROUND THE TIME I RELEASED MY SECOND ALBUM, UM, I WAS, I WAS APPROACHED, UH, BY, BY GRAHAM, UM, TO BE A PART OF, UM, UH, ONE OF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK MORE THAN ONCE ACTUALLY.
IT'S JUST SCHEDULES DIDN'T WORK OUT UNFORTUNATELY AT THAT TIME.
AND, UM, UM, ESPECIALLY IN SINGER SONGWRITER WRITER CIRCLES, UH, THAT IS NOT VERY COMMON FOR ME TO GET AN INVITE LIKE THAT.
SO I DID, UH, I DIDN'T WANT TO, UH, SHARE THAT, THAT, UH, I WAS, UH, I WAS JUST VERY GRATEFUL FOR, UH, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THRILLED ABOUT GETTING THE INVITE, SO THANK YOU.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, COMMENTS I HAVE TO ASK BECAUSE I HEARD THE WORD AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT GENRES AND DIVERSITY AND EQUITY INCLUSION, AND WHEN WE'RE DOING THESE SINGER SONGWRITER CIRCLES, HAS HIP HOP IN ANY FASHION POPPED UP IN THESE CIRCLES? UH, NOT YET, BUT I DO WANT TO GET MORE, GET MORE HIP HOP ARTISTS.
I WANT, I WANT HIP HOP, I WANT JAZZ.
UH, AND THAT'S JUST A MATTER OF, I NEED TO, I'M TRYING TO KIND OF BRANCH OUT MY CONNECTIONS AND, AND FIND PEOPLE TO INVITE AND, AND GET PEOPLE FROM THOSE GENRES TO KNOW WHO WE ARE.
AND, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, IF I WERE TO REACH OUT WITH THEM, THEY MIGHT RECOGNIZE, OH, I'VE HEARD OF THIS ORGANIZATION.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF.
BUT YES, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WE HAVEN'T, HASN'T HAPPENED YET WITH THESE.
WE'VE ONLY DONE REALLY A HANDFUL OF THOSE SONG CIRCLES SINCE WE HAVE STARTED THEM.
UM, BUT I DEFINITELY, I DEFINITELY DO WANT TO CONTINUE BRINGING THOSE PEOPLE IN.
UM, WE DID HAVE A COUPLE OF, UH, KIND OF MORE R AND B AND HIP HOP ARTISTS AT ONE OF OUR G**O SHOWCASES, UH, LO GENTRY AND, UH, KIND KEITH.
THAT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS FOR SURE.
AND I BELIEVE, I KNOW THE, THE OWNERS, THEY, THEY WERE ACTUALLY MY NEIGHBORS, SO, UH, JOHN AND TROY OR TREY, I THINK IF THEY STILL, UM, RUN WORLDS, BUT WE'LL BE IN TOUCH THOUGH FOR SURE,
[00:50:01]
YEAH, I MEAN, EVEN, EVEN AN EXAMPLE THAT I WAS SHARING, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, UH, I, I I SAY THAT IT'S NOT VERY COMMON BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I KIND OF DO BLENDED STYLES OF MUSIC.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY I WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, I WAS, UH, HAPPY TO SEE THE INVITE, UM, THAT JUST FOR ME JUST SHOWED A CERTAIN, AN OPEN-MINDEDNESS, YOU KNOW, TO, TO WELCOMING PEOPLE, PLAYING DIFFERENT, UH, DIFFERENT STYLES.
UH, AND, UM, UM, ALSO, UM, I, I, I WAS IN BENTONVILLE FOR THE FORMAT FEST, AND THAT'S WHY I, I, I KIND OF MENTIONED THAT BEFORE AS WELL, IS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT, WHAT TROY AND TEAM ARE DOING IN BENTONVILLE AS WELL IS WHAT, UH, AND, AND ALONG, YOU KNOW, WITH OF COURSE, UM, THE ENVIRONMENT THAT HAS, UH, BEEN CREATED THERE IS WHAT GOT ENTITIES LIKE LIVE NATION INTO THAT PLACE IN THE, UH, TO, TO CREATE FORMAT FEST THAT NOW HAS A WHOLE WIDE RANGE OF GENRES, RIGHT? SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, FOR ME, I ALSO AM KIND OF LOOKING AT IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE WORK THE ORGANIZATION IS DIRECTLY DOING, BUT ALSO WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE IMPACT IT IS HAVING IN THE CULTURAL SCENE AROUND THEM? UH, BECAUSE, BECAUSE, UH, IN VENTRAL VILLE, I SOLVED FORMAT FEST, WHICH IS, UH, FROM A VERY LARGE ENTITY, UH, BUT ON THE GROUND, UH, IT'S ORGANIZATIONS, UH, SUCH AS HOUSE OF SONGS THAT'S DOING THE WORK AND THEN BRINGING AUSTIN ARTISTS INTO THOSE SPACES.
AND THAT'S WHERE I KIND OF SEE HOW, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S HAVING A BROADER IMPACT DIRECT AND INDIRECTLY.
UH, THANK YOU, UH, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS.
COMMISSIONER KEDA, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE INCREDIBLE, UM, PRESENTATION.
I'VE MET WITH, UM, TROY BEFORE AND GRAHAM THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
UM, AND I DO FEEL THAT THE HOUSE OF SONGS KIND OF PROVIDES, UM, A SPECIFIC KIND OF LIKE NICHE SERVICE FOR, UM, MUSICIANS TO KIND OF LIKE CROSS POLLINATE IDEAS IN A SAFE SPACE OF A HOME, LIKE HOUSE OF SONGS.
UM, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO HEAR FROM STAFF IN TERMS OF LIKE A CALENDAR TIMELINE OF WHEN YOU GUYS ARE ACCEPTING GRANTS FOR THE, UH, A ASSOCIATED WITH A NON-PROFIT, JUST SO WE HAVE LIKE A LITTLE MORE LIKE TIMELINE DATA THAT WE COULD PROVIDE THESE COMMUNITY WORKERS? YEAH, I'LL LET ERICA SPEAK TO THAT.
HELLO, ERICA SHANLEY, MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER.
SO THE GRANTS THAT JUST PASSED FOR CULTURAL FUNDING WERE THE, THE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOUSE OF SONGS, UH, SPECIFICALLY BOTH THRIVE AND ELEVATE, AS WELL AS NEXUS.
SO THOSE WILL BE RELAUNCHING IN THE SPRING OF 2025.
SO PLEASE APPLY, AND YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE NOW.
UM, WELL ATX MUSIC.ORG, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, THE SHORT URLS FOR, UH, CULTURAL ARTS, BUT JUST, UH, YOU CAN LOOK UP, UH, CULTURAL FUNDING AUSTIN, AND, UH, THOSE ARE THE GRANT PROGRAMS. THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, UH, IS MOST LIKELY NOT GONNA HAVE NONPROFITS BE ELIGIBLE SO THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY CAN ROUTE TO THE CULTURAL ARTS GRANTS.
UM, AND SO PLEASE LOOK THERE, BUT ALSO GO TO ATX MUSIC.ORG, CLICK ON THE RESOURCES BUTTON AT THE VERY TOP, AND IT LISTS ALL THE DIFFERENT GRANT OPPORTUNITIES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE THROUGH GOVERNMENT, LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL, AND THEN ALL THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ALSO HAVE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
SO PLEASE CHECK IT OUT AND YOU CAN, UH, MEET UP WITH US ANYTIME IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
SO THERE, IT SOUNDS LIKE I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT WE'RE ALREADY IN OCTOBER, 2024, SO SPRING OF 2025 IS ESSENTIALLY RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE APPLICATION AND WHAT THE CRITERIA IS FOR FUNDING.
UM, BUT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN A KNOWN ORGANIZATION FOR, AS Y'ALL SAID, 15 YEARS IN THIS TOWN.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, AND I'M GLAD STAFF IS HERE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF A TIMELINE AND SOME ACTION ITEMS FOR YOU GUYS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CASDA.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS? UM, ANYBODY ONLINE? OKAY, THANK YOU.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
UH, EVERYONE FROM HOUSE OF SONGS, UH, THIS WAS JUST A FANTASTIC, UH, PRESENTATION ALL AROUND.
AND IT'S, UH, GREAT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT, UH, UH, WHERE CAN WE CHECK OUT WHAT'S THE, THE OCTOBER EVENTS, UH, WHERE, UH, YEAH, IS THERE, IS IT JUST A WEBSITE THAT YOU CAN SHARE? I'LL, UM, WE'LL EMAIL YOU THE FULL LIST OF EVENTS AND, UM, THE WEBSITE INFORMATION TO GO FROM.
AND WE'LL SHARE IT FORWARD WITH EVERYONE THROUGH SHELBY HERE.
[5. Community update on Health Alliance for Austin Musicians for 2024 (HAAM) by Paul Scott, CEO, HAAM.]
ON.THE NEXT, UH, AGENDA ITEM IS COMMUNITY UPDATE ON HAM FOR 2024
[00:55:01]
BY PAUL SCOTT, CEO HAM.UM, PAUL, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE.
I, UH, THANK YOU FOR, UH, TAKING THE INVITE UP AND, UH, COMING HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT HAM.
SO, UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR LETTING ME GIVE YOU A BRIEF UPDATE ABOUT, HOPEFULLY IT'S BRIEF, UH, ABOUT HAM.
UH, AND ALSO I WANNA SAY IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE INTERSECTION WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS LIKE HOUSE OF SONGS, UM, WITH TROY BEING THE NUMBER, THE FIRST HAM MEMBER ACTUALLY WHEN, UM, HE AND ROBIN, YOU KNOW, UM, CONNECTED AND SHE FOUNDED THE ORGANIZATION.
SO IT'S KIND OF COOL TO SEE KIND OF HOW THE ECOSYSTEM OF MUSIC IS DEVELOPING IN AUSTIN.
SO, UM, GREAT ORGANIZATION, THE HOUSE OF SONGS AND WHAT HE'S DONE THERE.
UM, I JUST WANNA, UH, FIRST OF ALL KICK OFF AND SAY THANKS TO THE MUSIC COMMUNITY FOR SUPPORTING AN INCREDIBLE EVENT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, HAM DAY, UM, WHERE WE HAD OVER 250 MUSICAL PERFORMANCES, UM, WITH 300 MUSICIANS AND UM, A HUNDRED VENUES, UM, PERFORMING ALL, YOU KNOW, LIVE MUSIC ACROSS THIS ENTIRE CITY, CELEBRATING THIS RICH CULTURE WE HAVE OF MUSIC OF ALL DIFFERENT VARIETIES AND GENRES.
UM, AND IT WAS JUST AN INCREDIBLE DAY.
UM, WE WERE ABOUT 95% TO OUR GOAL OF $875,000 AT THIS POINT, SO WE'RE STILL COLLECTING MONEY IN.
UM, AND ALL THIS GOES TO SUPPORT THE OPERATIONS OF HAM AND PARTICULARLY OUR PREMIUM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UM, AS WE NEAR KIND OF THE, THE NEXT SEASON OF OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR PEOPLE TO ENROLL IN HEALTH INSURANCE.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT, UM, UM, KIND OF IN A FEW MINUTES.
UM, ALSO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID THIS SUMMER, UM, FOR OUR MUSICIANS WAS HAD OUR, I THINK IT WAS OUR THIRD ANNUAL HAM LOVES YOU EVENT, WHERE WE BROUGHT IN, IN NUMEROUS OTHER OF OUR PARTNERS.
I THINK WE HAD 12 OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT CAME IN TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND INFORMATION ABOUT HEALTH SERVICES IN THE COMMUNITY.
WE HAD 168 OF OUR MUSICIANS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THIS.
AND, UM, WE HAD SERVICE DELIVERY AT THE SAME TIME.
SO IT WAS OVER $150,000 WORTH OF SERVICES THAT WERE PROVIDED TO OUR MUSICIANS ON THAT DAY.
AND IT'S, IT'S PROVEN TO BE THIS REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO GET CONNECTED WITH SERVICES MAYBE THEY DON'T KNOW THEY NEED OR AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH, AND SO THEY CAN GET CONNECTED WITH DIFFERENT PROVIDERS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, AROUND WELLNESS, UM, PREVENTION, AS WELL AS OTHER HEALTH SERVICES.
UM, AND THEN AS, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO THAT OPEN ENROLLMENT SEASON THAT'S GONNA BEGIN ON NOVEMBER 1ST.
UH, I THINK THE KEY THING I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO KIND OF DISCUSS, UM, ON THE FOLKS HERE IS AS WE GO INTO THE OPEN ENROLLMENT SEASON, UH, WE ARE, WE'RE ABOUT TO START OUR APPOINTMENT PROCESS FOR OUR 3,100 MUSICIANS AND NEW MUSICIANS COMING INTO THE COMMUNITY AS WELL, UM, TO START SIGNING UP FOR THESE APPOINTMENTS SO THAT WE CAN GET THEM, UM, THE SURVEY, THEY CAN GET THEIR INFORMATION IN, AND WE CAN GET THEM CONNECTED TO FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES SO THEY CAN CHOOSE THE RIGHT HEALTHCARE PLAN AS THEY GO INTO 2025.
UM, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RATES ARE GONNA LOOK LIKE YET FOR 2025.
THOSE HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED YET BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, ON FOR THE A CA.
WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE INDIVIDUAL PLAN KIND OF NUMBERS COME OUT EITHER YET.
AND SO, UM, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE IMPACT THAT'S GOING TO BE AS WE GO INTO NEXT YEAR IN TERMS OF HOW MANY MUSICIANS WE CAN SERVE, UM, WITH PREMIUM ASSISTANCE IN PARTICULAR.
UM, AND SO WE'RE, WE WILL BE LOOKING AT THAT.
UM, THAT'S ONE REASON WHY WE CONTINUE ALWAYS TO KIND OF INCREASE OUR, OUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS.
UM, KNOWING THAT TYPICALLY WE'RE GONNA SEE SOME SORT OF PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN THE COST OF HEALTHCARE INSURANCE.
UM, WE'RE HOPING THAT'S GONNA BE MITIGATED.
UH, ONE OF OUR LARGER PROGRAMS THAT WE TAP INTO IS SENDERO, UM, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THROUGH, UM, THE CENTRAL HEALTH AND CENTRAL HEALTH, UM, PREMIUM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AS WELL.
SO WE'RE FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO TAP INTO THAT, UH, FOR OUR MEMBERS THAT ARE EARNING BETWEEN 100 AND 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
AND SO THAT'S A LARGE MAJORITY OF OUR MUSICIANS THAT ARE IN THAT POOL AND CAN GET ONTO SENDERO, AND THEY NEED WANT BETWEEN 200% AND FOUR OH PERCENT.
UH, WE CONNECT THEM INTO THE A CA AND INDIVIDUAL COMPREHENSIVE PLANS FOR THEM OR FOR THEIR FAMILIES, FOR MUSICIAN FAMILIES.
UM, SO JUST A KEYNOTE NOTE FOR YOU TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT A COUPLE THINGS.
ONE IS THIS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9TH, THAT IS WHEN WE GO LIVE WITH OUR APPOINTMENTS FOR PEOPLE TO GET READY FOR THE OPEN ENROLLMENT.
SO WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO CALL IN STARTING AT 10 O'CLOCK ON OCTOBER 9TH, AND WE'LL START SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS FOR OUR MUSICIANS.
SO, UM, THE EARLIER YOU GET IN, THE BETTER, UM, SO WE CAN GET YOU CONNECTED.
UM, ALSO, UM, WE HAVE ON OUR, THAT DAY AT 11 O'CLOCK THIS WEDNESDAY AS WE HAVE OUR PANCAKES, UM, PANCAKE BREAKFAST THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR MUSICIANS EVERY OTHER MONTH.
AND SO WE WILL BE ABLE TO WALK PEOPLE THROUGH THE PROCESS IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, THE APPLICATION PROCESS, UH, AT 11, WE CAN START WORKING WITH THEM AT, AT THE OFFICE AS WELL.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF DOING A DOUBLE DIP ON THIS PANCAKE DAY, FEEDING PEOPLE AND HAVING A JAM SESSION AT THE SAME TIME, GETTING PEOPLE KIND OF, UM, FAMILIAR WITH THE SURVEY AND THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR OPEN ENROLLMENT.
UM, ONE THING I'D LIKE TO CHALLENGE THE COMMISSIONERS AND CHALLENGE ANYONE IN THE ROOM, ANYONE LISTENING AND, UM, BAND MATES, UM, VENUE OWNERS, ET CETERA, IS SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT OPEN ENROLLMENT, BECAUSE THAT IS REALLY KEY FOR PEOPLE TO GET CONNECTED INTO
[01:00:01]
HEALTH INSURANCE AND COMPREHENSIVE HEALTHCARE.AND SO WE WANT YOU TO SPREAD THE WORD WORD.
UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE STICKERS TO PUT OUT IN VENUES, UM, DIFFERENT PLACES.
IF ANY OF Y'ALL ONE OF THESE STICKERS, I'VE GOT A PACKET OF THESE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF STICKERS, PLEASE TAKE 'EM, USE THEM, PUT 'EM OUT, STOP 'EM FROM THE GREEN ROOM.
UM, WE REALLY WANNA ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO SIGN UP.
UM, IT'S ALSO PART OF OUR OUTREACH EFFORTS THROUGH OUR GRANTS OF THE EPISCOPAL HEALTH FOUNDATION, AS WELL AS THROUGH CENTRAL HEALTH TO REACH OUT TO DIVERSE AUDIENCES AND DIVERSE MUSICIANS, UH, SO WE COULD PULL IN MORE DIVERSE MUSICIANS INTO ACCESSING HEALTHCARE.
UM, WE JUST FOUND OUT A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT WE WERE AWARDED A GRANT THROUGH ST.
DAVID'S FOUNDATION FOR EXPANDING AND KIND OF ENHANCING OUR OPEN ENROLLMENT AND OUR PREMIUM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
UM, AND SO WE RECEIVED A, A $500,000 GRANT OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD TO HELP WITH THAT.
AND IT'S SUPPORTING A COLLABORATIVE MEANING THAT, UM, AS PART OF THAT COLLABORATIVE, WE'RE WORKING WITH OTHER MUSIC ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES TO GET THE WORD OUT AS WELL AS TO ENROLL PEOPLE IN HEALTH INSURANCE.
AND SO WITH THAT, LIKE WITH EQ AUSTIN, WITH AUSTIN, TEXAS MUSICIANS, WITH DAWA, UM, EAST AUSTIN CREATIVES, UM, SONIC GUILD AMONGST MANY, SEVERAL OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, IN, UM, WORK WITH THEM TO DEVELOP OUTREACH CAMPAIGNS THAT ARE UNIQUE TO THEIR AUDIENCES, AND THEN NOT ONLY ASKING THEM TO DO THAT, BUT ALSO PROVIDING COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT WITH THEM FOR INTRODUCING VIDEOS OR PRODUCING CAMPAIGNS.
AND SO AS PART OF THAT GRANT, WE ACTUALLY HAVE MONEY NOW THAT WE CAN GIVE BACK TO OUR PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS, UH, FOR THE CAPACITY THAT THEY'RE DEDICATING TO OPEN ENROLLMENT AND DOING OUTREACH TO THE COMMUNITY MUSICIANS.
SO, UM, IT'S EXCITING THAT ST.
DAVID'S FOUNDATION IS SUPPORTING THIS.
UM, AND AS WE, AS WE DO THIS WORK AND, AND MOVE INTO OPEN ENROLLMENT AND SEEKING TO GET MORE MU MUSICIANS SIGNED UP TO HEALTHCARE, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE SOME CHALLENGES RELATED TO, UM, ACCESSING OUR PROGRAMS JUST BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, OR IN SOME CASES WE DON'T HAVE AVAILABLE.
UH, ONE OF OUR MAJOR CHALLENGES RIGHT NOW IS WITH OUR DENTAL PROGRAM.
UM, WE'VE HAD AN EXPANDED, UM, UM, UM, NEED IN TERMS OF OUR MUSICIANS NEEDING DENTAL CARE.
AND SO THIS YEAR WE'VE HAD TO CLOSE OUT OUR PREVENTATIVE DENTAL, UM, CYCLE 10 WEEKS EARLIER THAN USUAL BECAUSE OF THE DEMAND THAT WE HAVE FOR DENTAL SERVICES.
AND SO FOR, TO MEET THAT COMPLETE NEED, IT WOULD PROBABLY TAKE ABOUT ANOTHER MILLION DOLLARS TO MEET ALL THE NEEDS OF THE 3,100 MUSICIANS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED.
AND SO WE ARE, WE ARE CONTINUALLY LOOKING FOR OTHER RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THAT DENTAL PROGRAM.
UM, BUT THAT IS KIND OF SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SEEING KIND OF YEAR OVER YEAR.
AND SO, AND WE ALWAYS HAVE TO RESERVE SOME MONEY BACK FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES.
SO WE DON'T WANT SOMEONE TO BE IN PAIN OR HAVING A DENTAL EMERGENCY.
SO WE DO HOLD BACK SOME FUNDS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE YEAR, AND THEN WE MOVE BACK INTO O OPENING UP THE DENTAL PROGRAM BACK IN JANUARY.
BUT, UM, THAT'S A KEY PROGRAM THAT CONTINUES TO BE, UM, UNDER, UNDER-RESOURCED, UNDERFUNDED.
AND, UM, IT'S HARD TO FIND MONEY FOR DENTAL SERVICES, UM, IF ONLY THAT THEY WOULD INCORPORATE DENTAL AS PART OF HEALTHCARE AND AS PART OF COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE.
UM, THAT WOULD HELP EVERYBODY IMMENSELY.
NOT JUST MUSICIANS, BUT EVERYONE THAT, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF DENTAL BEING A KEY PART OF ALL OF OUR HEALTHCARE.
UM, THE OTHER BIG GAP OBVIOUSLY CONTINUES TO BE, UM, UM, AROUND OUR PREMIUM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE HAD A GREAT, WE HAVE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH CENTRAL HEALTH, UM, FOR THOSE PERSONS EARNING LESS THAN 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
UM, SO THEY CAN GET, UM, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THEIR INSURANCE, UM, COVERED THROUGH, UM, WITH SENDERO.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT FALL BETWEEN 200% AND 400% OF, OF THE FEDERAL PARTY LEVEL, UM, THAT'S WHERE HAM STEPS IN WITH OUR OWN FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, TO PROVIDE PREMIUM ASSISTANCE.
AND, UM, AGAIN, NOT KNOWING HOW THEIR RATES ARE GOING TO POTENTIALLY INCREASE THIS YEAR, WE DUNNO HOW FAR THAT'S GOING TO STRETCH.
SO THAT'S AN AREA THAT WE CONTINUE TO, TO LOOK AT IN TERMS OF EXPANDING THE ST.
DAVID FOUNDATION WILL HELP SOME.
WE WERE ALSO WRITING OTHER PRIVATE GRANTS.
WE WERE HOPING TO, GONNA GET SOME TRACTION WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN BUDGET THIS YEAR GOING INTO, YOU KNOW, THIS MONTH, STARTING THIS MONTH, UM, THAT DIDN'T WORK OUT.
WE'RE GONNA TRY AGAIN AND NEXT YEAR TO SEE ABOUT GETTING INTO THE GENERAL BUDGET TO HELP SUPPORT THIS AS A KEY NEED OF THE COMMUNITY AND KEEPING OUR MUSICIANS HEALTHY.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE SERVE OUR, HOW DO WE SERVE OUR COMMUNITY MUSICIANS? AND WE ARE WRAPPING UP OUR CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN THROUGH 2025, WHICH IS ALSO OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY.
SO WE'LL BE HEARING A LOT ABOUT OUR HISTORY, UM, GOING INTO NEXT YEAR AND CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF WHEN WE FOUNDED BY ROBIN SHIVERS.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT, WE ARE, WE'RE LOOKING TO KIND OF RECONNECT AND KIND OF EXPAND, UM, OUR, OUR OUTREACH INTO OUR DONOR COMMUNITY AT LEAST TO SEE HOW CAN WE CAN DO, UM, KIND OF FILL IN THESE GAPS OR RESOURCES, UH, PARTICULARLY FOR THE DENTAL AND FOR THE PREMIUM ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. AND LASTLY, I I WANT TO KIND OF TOUCH
[01:05:01]
BASE ABOUT, UH, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER NOW, UH, COMMISSIONER, UM, ABOUT THE, UH, LIVE MUSIC FUND AND THE SCORING METRIC.UM, AND I, I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT UP FOR THIS CONVERSATION.
'CAUSE UM, I THINK THE, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE LIVE MUSIC FUND AND WITH A FOCUS ON EQUITY IS REALLY LAUDABLE AND IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT AS, AS WE LOOK AT THE STATISTICS THAT I JUST READ, YOU KNOW, IT'S DEFINITELY WORKING IN TERMS OF REACHING A DIVERSE SET OF MUSICIANS.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO KIND OF CONSTANTLY REVIEW THE PROCESS.
UM, BECAUSE THE CONCERN IS, WE HEARD THIS FROM A COUPLE MUSICIANS.
UM, THEY FELT LIKE IT WAS A DISINCENTIVE POTENTIALLY FOR PEOPLE TO JOIN HAM IF FOR SOME REASON THAT THEY HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE THROUGH HAM, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO RECEIVE LESS POINTS OR NOT RECEIVE EXTRA POINTS, UM, THAN THE PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE, UM, ACCESS TO HAM OR HAVE NOT JOINED HAM FOR WHATEVER REASON THAT MAY BE, THEY MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT IT.
AND SO WE REALLY, REALLY WANT TO GET PEOPLE INTO, UM, JOINING HAM AND GET ON HEALTH INSURANCE SO THEY CAN BE HEALTHY.
UM, AND, AND AS WE, ME, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, YOU KNOW, 75% OF OUR MUSICIANS ARE EARNING LESS THAN $30,000 A YEAR.
50% ARE EARNING LESS THAN $25,000 A YEAR.
AND SO LIVING IN AUSTIN AND, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN $30,000 A YEAR, THAT'S LESS THAN, THAT'S LESS THAN 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
SO WE KNOW THAT THE MUSICIANS WE ARE SERVING ARE LOW INCOME.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE WANT TO INCENTIVIZE PEOPLE TO, IF THEY ARE LOW INCOME, TO JOIN HAM SO THEY CAN GET ASSISTANCE, YOU KNOW, WITH HEALTH INSURANCE OR GET IT COMPLETELY COVERED IF THEY'RE QUALIFIED FOR THE SENDERO HEALTH INSURANCE IN PARTICULAR.
UH, THAT IS A GREAT THING FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
WE REALLY ENCOURAGE SOME WAY FOR, UH, US TO KIND OF FOCUS ON THAT IN TERMS OF BEING A HAM MEMBER, EXCUSE ME, BEING A HAND MEMBER AND NOT POTENTIALLY DISINCENTIVIZING PEOPLE TO BECOME A HAND MEMBER.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH EDD ON THIS AS WELL.
AND JUST MAKING SURE, UM, THAT THE GREAT INTENTIONS FROM TRYING TO EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTE THESE FUNDS IS NOT NECESSARILY KIND OF PULLING A STRING SOMEWHERE ELSE THAT INHIBITS PEOPLE FROM GETTING HEALTH INSURANCE AT THE SAME TIME.
AND SO WE CONTINUE, WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK AND TO IDENTIFY MUSICIANS OUT THERE THAT ARE LOWER INCOME, UM, WORKING THROUGH OUR VARIOUS GRANTS, UM, WITH THE EPISCOPAL HEALTH FOUNDATION AND CENTRAL HEALTH, UH, FOR DIVERSE MUSICIANS TO BE ABLE TO GET INTO HAM AS WELL AND TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT.
UH, AND SO THAT'S A CONSTANT CHARGE THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SERVING THE COMMUNITY THAT'S MOST IN NEED, PARTICULARLY OUR MUSICIANS MOST IN NEED.
UM, SO THAT'S KINDA A SHORT SUMMARY OF WHAT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, HAPPENING AT HAM.
UM, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, GOING INTO OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY AND STARTING OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS AND KIND OF WHERE WE GO NEXT AS AN ORGANIZATION AND, UM, HOPEFULLY GETTING SOME INPUT FROM ALL THE COMMUNITY HERE AS WELL AS OUR MUSICIANS AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, PAUL, UH, FOR COMING AND SHARING ALL THAT HERE TODAY.
I MEAN, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING WHAT A VALUABLE ORGANIZATION YOU, UH, HAVE IS, UH, FOR OUR MUSICIAN COMMUNITY.
UM, FOR JUST QUICKLY, FOR THE TEN NINE, UH, GO LIVE, UH, ON, ON THE OPEN ENROLLMENT, IS THERE A, IS THERE A LINK THAT YOU CAN SHARE, UM, THAT IF ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS WANT TO PROPAGATE FORWARD THAT WE CAN USE? YES, YOU CAN GO TO MY HAM.ORG AND SO YOU'LL LINK DIRECTLY RIGHT THERE FROM THE, FROM THE SLIDER ON THE FIRST PAGE AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO LINK THERE.
SO I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO, UH, SO I CHALLENGE YOU TO REACH OUT TO FIVE MUSICIANS THAT ARE NOT HAM MEMBERS TO GET THEM TO SIGN UP.
I THINK WE ARE ALL UP FOR THAT.
UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, PRESIDENT.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT, UH, MUSICIANS EARNING BETWEEN ONE AND TWO TIMES THE POVERTY LINE COULD GET, UH, INSURANCE COMPLETELY COVERED THROUGH SENDERO.
AND I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THAT MECHANISM.
WHO ACTUALLY ENDS UP PAYING FOR THAT INSURANCE AND WHO, WHO PROVIDES THE, UH, THE COVERAGE? YEAH, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE, UH, YOU KNOW, HAM, I THINK STEM'S FOUNDATION AND SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ACCESS TO THE CENTRAL HEALTH PREMIUM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AND SO THAT IS ALL THROUGH CENTRAL HEALTH.
AND SO IT'S A SEPARATE, SO IT'S NOT HAM'S MONEY, IT'S THE CENTRAL HEALTH'S DOLLARS.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE ABLE TO TAP INTO THAT PER OUR ARRANGEMENT WITH THEM.
AND SO THOSE ARE TAX DOLLARS THAT WE ALL PAY, UM, PROPERTY TAX DOLLARS THAT COME INTO THE CENTRAL HEALTH SYSTEM, UM, TO HELP SUPPORT THAT PROGRAM.
I THINK IT RANGES LIKE FROM ANYWHERE FROM TWO TO $3 MILLION IN TERMS OF AVAILABILITY OF THAT FUND.
IT'S NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, MUSICIANS.
UM, IT'S FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, BUT MANY OF OUR MUSICIANS THAT FALL IN THAT CATEGORY, AS YOU MENTIONED, A HUNDRED, 200% ARE ABLE TO ACCESS THAT.
AND SO HAVE, AND HAVE COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE THROUGH SENDERO.
DID COMMISSIONER PATTERSON HAVE A HANDBOOK OR NO? OH, UH, OKAY.
[01:10:01]
THAT THE OPEN ENROLLMENT IS, UM, OCTOBER 9TH.IS THE DEADLINE CONTINGENT ON HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE SERVED OR IS THERE A DEADLINE ALREADY SET IN STONE OR IS IT JUST A MATTER OF HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE SERVED AND THEN THERE WILL BE A DEADLINE? OR COULD YOU ARTICULATE, UM, A DEADLINE SCENARIO? OFTENTIMES, SOME MUSICIANS SEEM TO WORK MORE LIKE, NOT WHEN IT FIRST STARTS, BUT WHEN DOES IT END
SO, UH, THE, THE, THE FIRST KIND OF, UM, PROCESS IS SCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT, UM, WITH HAM.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE DO IS WE SEND OUT OUR ANNUAL HEALTH SURVEY, AND SO YOU HAVE TO COM EVERYBODY.
THAT'S TO BE CONSIDERED FOR, UM, HAM MEMBERSHIP AS WELL AS FOR, UM, THE HEALTH INSURANCE ACCESS.
I MEAN, NEED TO COMPLETE THE HEALTH SURVEY.
SO THAT HELPS, THAT HELPS OUR TEAM DECIDE, YOU KNOW, HELPS, HELPS OUR TEAM KIND OF WORK WITH THE MUSICIAN, DETERMINE WHAT PLAN IS BEST FOR THEM POTENTIALLY.
UM, AND SO THEN WE SET UP THOSE APPOINTMENTS, UM, AND WORK WITH MUSICIANS TO GET THAT INFORMATION.
AND THEN WE CONNECT THEM TO FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES THAT THEN ACTUALLY DOES THE, UM, THE, THE FULL ELIGIBILITY PROCESS AND GETS THEM ONTO THE A CA.
AND SO WE KIND OF WORK TOGETHER WITH, UM, FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES AND HAM TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
WE HAVE THIS KIND OF REALLY UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED, UM, UH, TO, TO KIND OF SUCCESSFULLY WORK WITH A MUSICIAN TO GET THEM SIGNED UP.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, THE EARLIER YOU GET IN, THE BETTER, UM, 'CAUSE WE'RE AT THE POINT NOW, LIKE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RATES ARE.
WE, WE KIND OF KNOW WHAT OUR POOL OF AVAILABILITY OF DOLLARS ARE THAT HAM CAN PROVIDE.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT FOR THAT 200% OF THE FEDERAL PARTY LEVEL, THINK OF IT AS $30,000 AND UP TO MAYBE $60,000 FOR AN INDIVIDUAL.
UM, THAT'S WHAT THE PRIVATE FUNDS THAT HAM USES TO HELP SUPPORT PREMIUM ASSISTANCE.
IT'S UP TO $200 OR HALF THE PREMIUM, WHICHEVER IS LESS.
UM, BUT FOR THOSE THAT WERE FOLLOWING THAT A HUNDRED AND 200%, UM, THAT'S WHERE WE CAN CONNECT THEM INTO THE CENTRAL HEALTH PROGRAM AND THE PREMIUM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UM, THROUGH SENDERO.
AND SO I, SO I BASICALLY WOULD SAY IT THIS WAY, IF YOU FALL IN THAT 102%, YOU GO AHEAD AND SIGN UP AT THE SAME TIME WE, WE, THERE ARE FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, ANYTHING ABOVE 200% OF THE FEDERAL PARTY LEVEL, THAT'S WHERE MAYBE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THE SOONER YOU GET IN, THE BETTER BECAUSE THERE ARE LIMITED RESOURCES.
AND SO IF SOMEONE, WE WILL TRY TO GET EVERYBODY IN.
LAST YEAR, WE WERE ABLE TO GET EVERYBODY IN THAT APPLIED.
I THINK IT'S THE TWO YEARS IN A ROW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT THOSE RATES LOOK LIKE.
UM, IF THEY, IF THE RATES GO AT 20%, THAT'S GONNA MAYBE BE A DIFFERENT STORY.
HOPEFULLY TO GET EVERYBODY COVERED.
UH, BUT WE MAY, WE MAY HAVE TO KIND OF, UH, LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF, OF PEOPLE.
SO WE, WE TELL PEOPLE, DO NOT SELF-SELECT OUT EVER.
'CAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT PREMIUM ASSISTANCE THAT WE PROVIDE.
WE HAVE A WHOLE HOST OF SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THAT WE PROVIDE TO OUR MUSICIANS.
SO, UM, AND FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT MAYBE YOU DON'T NEED HEALTH INSURANCE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU HAVE IT THROUGH WORK OR MAYBE YOU HAVE IT THROUGH A SPOUSE OR SOMETHING, UM, WE STILL HAVE PROGRAMS FOR YOU THAT CAN HELP YOU AND HELP MITIGATE KIND OF LIKE, HELP YOU KIND OF EX, YOU KNOW, USE YOUR DOLLARS WISELY SO YOU COULD PAY FOR YOUR HOUSING, PAY FOR YOUR, YOU KNOW, UM, OTHER NEEDS.
AND THEN WE CAN HELP YOU WITH SAY, FOOD ASSISTANCE OR WITH DENTAL ASSISTANCE, UM, AND SOME OTHER, UM, PROGRAMS THAT WE PROVIDE.
UM, UH, TWO THINGS THAT KIND OF GO HAND IN HAND.
UM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO SHARE, I GET A LITTLE LOST WITH THE, UM, PERCENTAGES OF LEVELS LIKE 200 OR 100% OF A POSITIVE POVERTY LEVEL.
WHAT IS THE POVERTY LEVEL RIGHT NOW? WHAT, WHAT IS THAT AMOUNT? WHAT IS THE NATIONAL POVERTY LEVEL? I THINK HUNDRED.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO DESCRIBE THAT NUMBER? YEAH, I MEAN, I'M GONNA, I LOOKED AT IT UP EARLIER.
I THINK WE'RE ROUGHLY AT ABOUT 15,000 PLUS 400% OF FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
AND SO THAT'S WHY 200% IS LIKE AROUND $30,000, 30,512 OR SOMETHING LIKE IS WHAT THE 200% OF FEDERAL PARTY LEVEL IS.
I CAN'T GIVE YOU THE QUOTES NOW ON HOUSEHOLDS OF 2, 3, 4, 5.
BUT, UM, IF, IF YOU WANT TO, IF ANYONE WANTS TO LOOK AT THAT, YOU, ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS GOOGLE 2024 FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL AND YOU BY HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND YOU CAN SEE IT THERE.
UH, AND THE OTHER THING I JUST KIND OF, I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF REACTION
IS IT, COULD YOU SPEAK TO ANY KIND OF RECOMMENDATIONS
[01:15:01]
TO MUSICIANS IN TERMS OF IF THERE'S CASH INVOLVED TO TRY TO CLAIM CASH? DO YOU FIND THAT IN YOUR LINE OF WORK AS WELL? YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR NAVIGATORS COULD PROBABLY ANSWER THAT A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN I, UH, IT'S, THEY WORK ON THAT DAY TO DAY, BUT WE DO ACTUALLY WORK WITH THE MUSICIANS.SO THEY COME IN TO, UM, DETERMINE KIND OF ALL CASH, THAT'S ALL INCOME THAT'S COMING IN, WHETHER IT'S CASH OR, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A SALARY, THEY HAVE A SECOND JOB OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO WE, WE DO ASK THEM TO REPORT ALL OF THEIR INCOME.
UH, I THINK AT THE SAME TIME, WE AGREE WITH YOU, I, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER CASADA, THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE ABLE TO KIND OF, UM, SHOW KIND OF WHERE THEIR INCOME'S COMING IN, THAT THAT COULD ALSO POSITIVELY IMPACT THEIR ABILITY TO FIND HOUSING, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, AND MAYBE SOME OTHER PROGRAMS AS WELL.
SO IT'S, IT IS NOT, WE DON'T WANNA DISINCENTIVIZE PEOPLE FROM DISCLOSING.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSION? NO, I JUST, LOTS OF INFORMATION.
UM, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR WHAT YOU DO, PAUL.
BUT HAM DAY, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW THAT I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO PLAY MY BROTHER PAT BACK THERE ON BEHALF OF, UH, AUSTIN, TEXAS, MUSICIANS AT SARAH HALL.
AND, UM, IT, IT'S JUST GORGEOUS.
WE PLAY AT ST MEDICAL, UH, EXCUSE ME, UM, DELL CHILDREN'S MEDICAL, AND IT WAS THE WARMEST RECEPTION, I'M SORRY, I PLAYED THERE LAST YEAR.
YOU PLAYED THERE LAST YEAR? WELL, WE'VE CLAIMED IT NOW.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE HAMM AFTER PARTY, AND THEN ALSO, UM, JUST THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND THE CONNECTION.
UM, I BROUGHT UP, UH, LAST MEETING SOMETHING ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH THAT I KNOW THAT THERE'S JUST THIS REQUIREMENT TO, UH, THE ELIGIBILITY FOR 18 AND UP, BUT I BELIEVE THAT THE, THE, THE PERSON THAT PLAYED THERE WAS JACK BARKSDALE AND I BELIEVE HE'S 16.
AND I THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS JUST REALLY, REALLY AWESOME TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOMEBODY PLAY SUCH WONDERFUL MUSIC ON BEHALF OF, OF AN INCREDIBLE EVENT.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW JACK BARKSDALE, PLEASE LISTEN TO HIS MUSIC.
HE'S JUST AN, JUST AN INCREDIBLE SOUL, OLD SOUL AT 16, ACTUALLY.
UM, AND SO, UH, I THINK WE, AND PART OF HAM DAY ACTUALLY WAS TRYING TO FOCUS ON OUR YOUNGER MUSICIANS TOO.
UM, SO WE, WE DID HAVE THOSE FEATURED AS WELL AS PART OF THE, THE NEXT GENERATION OF MUSICIANS COMING, COMING UP.
AND I, I JUST WANNA, I WANNA SAY I HAVE NEVER, EVER, AND I'M GLAD I CAN SAY THIS PUBLICLY, THIS IN THIS FORUM, I HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED IN MY CAREER AS A NONPROFIT EXECUTIVE, A GROUP OF MORE GRACIOUS AND APPRECIATIVE RECIPIENTS OF SERVICES THAN MUSICIANS IN AUSTIN.
UM, IT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF MY JOB EVERY SINGLE DAY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ENCOUNTERING LIKE I CAN BE AT CENTRAL MARKET AND SOMEONE YOU SAVE MY, HEY, I'M SAVED MY LIFE, YOU KNOW? AND IT'S LIKE, OH, SURE.
THEN THEY TELL ME, OKAY, WE DID SAVE YOUR LIFE
UM, BUT IT'S JUST THE SHEER GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION AND SUPPORT, UM, IS JUST AMAZING TO OUR TEAM.
AND IT REALLY MOTIVATES US EVERY DAY TO CONTINUE TO STRIVE AND WORK AND SUPPORT THE JUST INCREDIBLE CREATIVITY THAT OUR MUSICIANS ARE GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND ALSO JUST THE APPRECIATING THE GRIND.
SOMETIMES IT TAKES IN THE DEDICATION IT TAKES, AND THEN, AND I TRY TO REMIND PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY AND EDUCATE PEOPLE.
LIKE I'VE HAD PEOPLE'S TELLING ME, IT'S LIKE, WELL, WHY SHOULD I BE SUPPORTING A MUSICIAN? WHY SHOULDN'T I BE SUPPORTING THE SINGLE MOTHER IN EAST AUSTIN THAT HAS TWO CHILDREN? AND I SAID, THAT'S WHO OUR MUSICIAN IS.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR MUSICIAN.
AND I WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A PASSION, BUT IT'S ALSO A CALLING.
AND IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT'S, THAT'S KEY TO PEOPLE'S LIFE IN TERMS OF LIVING THE, A LIFE THAT'S MEANINGFUL TO THEM.
AND THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO SUPPORT OUR MUSICIANS ACROSS THE BOARD IN EVERY SINGLE WAY.
AND IT'S, UM, BEEN ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING PARTS OF, OF MY LIFE TO HAVE JOINED THIS ORGANIZATION.
I'VE SEEN IT FROM THE OUTSIDE, BUT TO BE PART OF IT, I HAD NO IDEA JUST HOW INCREDIBLE OUR MUSICIANS ARE AND JUST HAVE, JUST WHAT A GIFT THEY ARE TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN, I MEAN, A LOT OF US, I MEAN, WE HAVE, WE HAVE FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES THAT, I MEAN, UH, THEY HAVE SHARED WITH US THAT THEY COULD NOT HAVE TIED IT OVER THEIR HEALTHCARE CHALLENGES WITHOUT, WITHOUT THIS ORGANIZATION IN AUSTIN.
UM, SO WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK, UH, THAT HAM DOES FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, SYNERGIES EARLIER, AGAIN, ANECDOTALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM TROY TO, UM, HAM, HAM HERE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WHEN, UH, SOUTH BY OFFERED, UH, FREE APPLICATIONS, UH, DURING A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME FOR HAM MEMBERS, UM, THERE WERE ABOUT 80 LOCAL MUSICIANS WHO USED THAT, UH, UH, FACILITY TO APPLY FOR SOUTH BY, THROUGH HAM, BASICALLY, I THINK IT WAS OVER 80 FOLKS THAT DID THAT.
SO IT'S, IT'S ALL, IT'S VERY, UH, COOL TO SEE ALL THE, HOW DIFFERENT ENTITIES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY
[01:20:01]
KIND OF SYNERGISTICALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, WORK THAT WAY.IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT ECOSYSTEM OF, OF, OF ORGANIZATIONS AND WORK VERY WELL TOGETHER.
ANY LAST QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FOR, UH, FOR PAUL OR JUST IN GENERAL ON THIS TOPIC? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I, I'LL LEAVE THESE, UH, WHERE SHOULD I LEAVE THESE FOR Y'ALL TO PICK UP? THANK YOU.
[6. Presentation on Sunday Sessions by Cierra Madison, Founder, Sunday Sessions ATX.]
HAVE PRESENTATION ON SUNDAY SESSIONS BY, UM, SIERRA MADISON, FOUNDER, SUNDAY SESSIONS A TX.THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU.
UM, I JUST WANNA ECHO THE SENTIMENTS THAT I, TOO LOVE HAM.
UM, I AM GETTING LASIK SURGERY NEXT MONTH FOR FREE.
I DON'T HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING, AND I'M SUPER GRATEFUL TO Y'ALL FOR THAT, SO THANK YOU.
UM, SO YES, UM, MY NAME IS SIERRA MADISON AND, UM, I AM THE FOUNDER OF SUNDAY SESSIONS.
I'M A DJ, A WELLNESS CHAMPION, AND, UM, EVENT CURATOR, COMMUNITY BUILDER.
UM, I'M NOT FROM AUSTIN, BUT I'VE BEEN HERE FOR FIVE YEARS.
AND, UM, DEEPLY CARE ABOUT THE LANDSCAPE OF THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY, UM, WITHIN THE DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, SO IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE OR THE, THE NEXT ONE AFTER THAT.
UM, JUST WANNA TELL YOU ALL A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SUNDAY SESSIONS.
UM, IT IS AN EVENT THAT COMBINES, UM, MUSIC, WELLNESS AND NATURE.
UM, IT'S ABOUT RELAXING AND CONNECTING WITH ONE ANOTHER WITH OUR ENVIRONMENT, UM, WITH THE BACKDROP OF MUSIC.
MUSIC IS REALLY, UM, KEY TO THE EXPERIENCE AND, UM, EXPOSING PEOPLE TO NEW GENRES OF MUSIC, UM, DIFFERENT STYLES.
UM, AND ALL OF THIS IS, UM, EXPERIENCE THROUGH, UM, A DJ.
WE DON'T HAVE LIVE MUSIC YET, ALTHOUGH I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THAT.
BUT, UM, I DJ AND SOME, UH, I'VE INVITED A DIVERSE RANGE OF DJS, UM, FROM THE COMMUNITY TO PLAY AS WELL.
UM, CAN WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? UM, SO YES, I MENTIONED THAT THIS IS ABOUT, UM, THESE ARE OUR FOUR PILLARS.
UM, UM, COMMUNITY CONNECTION TO NATURE, MUSIC AND WELLNESS.
UM, MUSIC IS, IS KIND OF CORE.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THIS EVENT FOR ME IS LIKE AN OUTSIDE GREEN SPACES, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT CONNECTION TO NATURE AND BEING ABLE TO GROUND AND BEING IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, UM, DOES SOMETHING FOR OUR NERVOUS SYSTEM.
UM, AND AS I SAID, UH, WELLNESS IS A BIG PART OF THIS AS WELL.
UM, IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, I'VE SHARED THIS, UM, WITH THE COMMISSION, SO I WON'T BORE YOU WITH THE DETAILS.
UM, BUT THAT'S OUR MISSION AND OUR VISION.
UM, AND NEXT, THIS IS SOME PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS EVENTS THAT WE'VE HAD.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, UM, DIVERSITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, I'M AWARE THAT THERE ARE SOME, UM, MUSIC EVENTS THAT TAKE TAKE PLACE IN GREEN SPACES AT THE PARK, LIKE BLUES ON THE GREEN AND, UM, AND OTHERS.
BUT HAVING ATTENDED THOSE, ALTHOUGH I KNOW THAT THEY CONSIDER DIVERSITY, I STILL FIND THAT THE AUDIENCE IS MAJORITY WHITE.
UM, SO I'VE BEEN VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT CURATING A SPACE THAT FEELS INCLUSIVE OF THE BROWN AND BLACK COMMUNITY.
UM, I WILL SAY WE BRING IN A RANGE OF DJS.
UM, SO THAT'S REFLECTED IN THE PEOPLE THAT WE BRING IN.
UM, A RANGE OF BUSINESSES, UM, LOCAL SMALL, UM, BROWN AND BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES, PRACTITIONERS.
WE OFTEN HAVE, UM, IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE OFTEN HAVE, UM, OUTLET DISPLAY FROM A PREVIOUS EVENT.
[01:25:26]
OKAY.UM, AGAIN, UM, I WANT THIS TO BE A SPACE OF, OF SELF-CARE EXPRESSION AND CONNECTION.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD PEOPLE COME AND BRING THEIR FAMILIES.
UM, WE'VE HAD A RANGE OF AGES AND, UM, BACKGROUNDS.
WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY, UM, A LOT OF HISPANIC AND LATINOS AS WELL AS BLACK, UM, AUDIENCES.
UM, A LOT OF WOMEN COME TO THIS EVENT, UM, AND AT DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS FROM THE ELDERLY TO, UM, CHILDREN.
IT'S ABOUT LIKE RELAXING, EXPRESSING PEOPLE, DANCE, PEOPLE BRING HULA HOOPS SOMETIMES, UM, PEOPLE HAVE BROUGHT LIKE TYPEWRITERS AND DO LITTLE POEMS ON THE SPOT.
AND, UM, IT'S JUST A REALLY GREAT COMMUNITY GATHERING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, CONTINUE TO REGULARLY DO.
UM, WE HAVE, WE OPEN UP THE EVENT OFTEN WITH PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA, QIGONG, MEDITATION, UM, SOUND HEALING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AND SO YEAH, IT'S KIND OF BECOME, UM, A HUB FOR THESE COMMUNITIES THAT, UM, I'VE FOUND IN MY FIVE YEARS OF BEING HERE AND I KNOW HAS BEEN HAPPENING LONGER.
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DISPLACED AND PUSHED OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, ESPECIALLY IN THE BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR ME TO, FOR THIS EVENT TO BE CENTRAL, UM, CENTRALLY LOCATED IN PUBLIC GREEN SPACES IN AUSTIN, UM, SO THAT PEOPLE FROM ALL AROUND THE, THE CITY AND THE SURROUNDING CITIES, UM, CAN ACCESS IT.
UM, AND YEAH, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE IN THE NEXT, UM, THIS IS SOME OF THE FEEDBACK I'VE GOTTEN FROM PEOPLE ABOUT HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO THEM NEEDS.
I'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF OTHER FEEDBACK FROM TALKING TO PEOPLE IN PERSON, AND I'VE JUST SEEN THROUGH THE GROWTH OF THIS EVENT, HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO PEOPLE AND HOW MUCH THIS SPACE IS, IS NEEDED.
UM, AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THIS IS, SHOWS SOME OF OUR GROWTH.
I STARTED DOING THE EVENT LAST YEAR, UM, IN THE SPRING.
WITHIN A FEW MONTHS WE HAD ALMOST 500 PEOPLE, AND THEN IT IS KIND OF LEVELED OUT TO NOW WHERE WE HAVE ABOUT 250 ON AVERAGE.
UM, IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO NOW I JUST WANNA TALK TO YOU ALL ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES I'VE HAD, UM, WITH THIS EVENT.
UM, I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO GET PERMITTING AND, UM, INITIALLY GOING THROUGH THE PARKS AND RECREATIONS DEPARTMENT AFTER GETTING DENIALS, I WENT AND TALKED TO THEM, UM, TO SEE WHY THAT WAS THE CASE.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY TOLD ME DIRECTLY WAS THAT DJ EVENTS ARE DISRUPTIVE AND THAT THEY WANNA BE MINDFUL OF THE CROWD THAT'S BEING ATTRACTED, UM, TO THESE KINDS OF EVENTS.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW, I FELT IT FELT LIKE, UH, A LOSING BATTLE TRYING TO GET PERMITS THROUGH THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, BUT THEN I FOUND OUT THAT WE'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH ACE, UM, WHICH IS A DIFFERENT PROCESS FOR PERMITTING.
AND, UM, IT'S PRETTY INACCESSIBLE.
UM, THE APPLICATION FEE ITSELF IS AROUND $200.
AND, UM, WITH ALL THE, THE PERMITTING FEES, SOUND FEES, REVIEWS, TENTS AND ALL THAT STUFF, IT'S ALMOST, UM, EIGHT OR $900 PER EVENT JUST TO GET THE PERMITS.
UM, SO THAT'S BEEN REALLY A CHALLENGE FOR A FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC COMMUNITY EVENT THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY REVENUE COMING IN.
SO, UM, YEAH, I JUST, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED SUPPORT WITH.
UM, THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING SOME SCREENSHOTS FROM RESOLUTION, UM, 23 THAT WAS SIGNED, UM, EARLIER THIS YEAR IN FEBRUARY IN RESPONSE TO BLUES ON THE GREEN POTENTIALLY SHUTTING DOWN.
AND, UM, IT SPEAKS TO, UM, THE CITY'S INTENTION TO SUPPORT EVENTS LIKE THIS.
UM, THOSE LIKE BLUES ON THE GREEN THAT HAVE BEEN LONGSTANDING, BUT IT ALSO SPEAKS, UM, ABOUT SUPPORTING NEW TRADITIONS.
AND, UM, THEY SPOKE ABOUT POTENTIALLY CO-SPONSORING EVENTS
[01:30:01]
AND OR, UM, WAIVING FEES ASSOCIATED WITH PUTTING ON EVENTS LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S REALLY CHALLENGING TO DO IT WITH, AGAIN, NO REVENUE COMING IN AND, UM, US BEING JUST DONATION BASED, IT'S HARD TO EVEN PAY ARTISTS OR PRACTITIONERS AND PEOPLE WHO COME AND, AND IT'S, IT'S BEEN A GRASSROOTS THING THAT PEOPLE HAVE GLADLY LENDED, UM, THEIR TIME AND ENERGY TO.BUT, UM, I THINK THAT PEOPLE DESERVE TO GET PAID, AND I WOULD LOVE TO START TO DO THAT.
BUT, UM, FIRST, UM, IT NEEDS TO BE LEGITIMATE.
I'VE HAD TO MOVE THE EVENT INTO MORE PRIVATE SPACES BECAUSE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH PERMITTING.
SO, UM, IF WE COULD JUST GET SOME SUPPORT WITH, UM, AT LEAST, UM, TAKING CARE OF THOSE PERMITTING FEES, THEN WE CAN MOVE TO GETTING OTHER PEOPLE PAID AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, SO I HAVE BEEN TALKING, I'VE APPLIED FOR GRANTS.
I'VE BEEN TALKING TO THE EQUITY OFFICE, UM, ABOUT POTENTIALLY DOING SOME KIND OF, UM, UM, YEAR LONG SPONSORSHIP.
BUT, UM, IT'S BEEN KIND OF JUST SITTING AT THE TOP.
UM, I THINK THE CHIEF IS WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM THE CITY MANAGER ABOUT HIS INTENTIONS.
UM, I'VE ALSO BEEN TO OTHER COMMISSIONS AND HAVE BEEN SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT THE EVENT AND OUR NEED FOR SUPPORT.
UM, BUT AT THIS POINT, UM, WITH THE HELP OF COMMISSIONER JERRY BENSON FROM THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE, UM, I'VE DRAFTED A RECOMMENDATION, UM, RESOLUTION THAT I SHARED WITH YOU ALL.
UM, JUST REQUESTING THAT WE AT LEAST START WITH THE CITY OFFERING TO WAIVE THE PERMITTING FEES FOR THE EVENT NEXT YEAR.
UM, HOPEFULLY WE CAN HAVE THE EVENT ONCE A MONTH THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M GLAD TO ANSWER.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, BEING HERE AND, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, SHARING INFORMATION WITH US.
UM, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DID PUT THIS UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS AS, AS I'D ALREADY RELAYED TO YOU, UM, BECAUSE I DEFINITELY WANTED, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMISSIONERS TO ASK QUESTIONS TODAY, UH, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, KIND OF BE ABLE TO, UM, JUST, JUST GET SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED, SPEND SOME TIME GIVING IT THOUGHT, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SEE HOW WE MIGHT WANT TO PROCEED WITH IT.
UH, BUT FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR DOING, UH, IT'S THE AMAZING WORK, ALL THE, ALL THE LARGE EVENTS ALONGSIDE ALL THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MEGA EVENTS THAT HAPPEN IN TOWN.
IT'S REALLY GREAT TO SEE GRASSROOTS, UH, EVENTS, UH, HAPPENING SUCH AS THESE.
AND, AND, UH, YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE.
AND, AND, UH, IF I MAY QUICKLY JUST, JUST EVEN TOUCH UPON EQ AUSTIN, AND I'M JUST ON THE BOARD FOR EQ AUSTIN, WE TALK ABOUT AUDIENCES AND THERE ARE, UH, VERY SELDOM DOES IT HAPPEN THAT, UH, FOLKS TALK ABOUT THE AUDIENCES THAT ARE PARTICIPATING IN OUR LIVE MUSIC EVENTS IN, IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND YOU REALLY, UH, TOUCHED UPON, UH, THE RIGHT POINT, WHEREAS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES WE ARE SEEING INCREASING DIVERSITY ON STAGES, INCREASING DIVERSITY ON, IN, IN GENRE REPRESENTATION, BUT YOU TURN AROUND AND YOU DON'T NECESSARILY SEE A, A MAJORITY, UH, BIPOC, UH, UH, PARTICIPATION.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S VERY UNCOMMON ACTUALLY.
UH, SO, SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S VERY, UM, JUST HEARTWARMING AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, YOU, YOU JUST HIT HIT, HIT THE, HIT THE NAIL THERE.
UM, I WOULD OPEN IT UP TO THE, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, UH, COMMISSIONER PRICE.
AND YOUR PRESENTATION IS AWESOME.
I THINK IT WAS LIKE, CAN OR SOMETHING.
THANK, UM, BUT WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE AT THE PARK ZILKER, RIGHT? YES.
UM, WE'VE STILL, TO BE TRANSPARENT, WE STILL HAVE DONE SOME EVENTS AT THE PARK, UM, THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
UM, BUT AGAIN, WE TRY TO LIMIT THAT AS BECAUSE OF THE ISSUES WITH PERMITTING AND HAVE HAD TO MOVE INTO MORE PRIVATE SPACES, UM, IN CAHOOTS.
AND WE'VE WORKED WITH THEM QUITE A BIT.
AND, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT DOING AN EVENT AT THE CARVER, UM, THIS MONTH.
SO, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE, TO HAVE REPRESENTATION IN SPACES LIKE THOSE, UM, SO THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING FOR SUPPORT.
AND SO I BELIEVE THAT I SAW, UH, A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE, ACTUALLY, MALCOLM, HE USED TO RUN FLO.
IMAGINE, I THINK HE DID AN EVENT, A RECENT EVENT ACTUALLY, AND IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS AT THE PARK.
BUT WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF ANOTHER COLLECTIVE PARTNERING WITH YOU TO HOST AN EVENT SOMEWHERE? OR ARE, ARE THEY JUST COMING UP AND SAYING, HEY, I HAVE AN EVENT AND LET'S JUST GET TOGETHER.
WE'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE FUNDING RIGHT NOW, LET'S JUST MAKE IT HAPPEN.
HOW ARE YOU GENERATING SO MUCH TRACK TRAFFIC? UM, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
[01:35:01]
TALKING TO PEOPLE THAT WE ARE GENERATING TRAFFIC BECAUSE OF THE AUTHENTICITY AND ORGANIC NATURE OF THE EVENT, I THINK IT KIND OF ATTRACTS PEOPLE ON ITS OWN.BECAUSE I'M NOT DOING A LOT OF OUTREACH OR MARKETING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
I'M REALLY DOING THIS BY MYSELF WITH ONE OTHER PERSON WHO HELPS.
SO I JUST DON'T HAVE THE ENERGY.
BUT, UM, YEAH, I GET APPROACHED A LOT ABOUT COLLABORATIONS AND IT'S SOMETHING I'M VERY OPEN TO, UM, IF IT ALIGNS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE, UM, INTENTION AND MISSION OF THE EVENT.
UM, BUT, BUT YEAH, I'M, I'M, I'VE BEEN APPROACHED BY A LOT OF PEOPLE ABOUT COLLABORATION AND I'M VERY OPEN TO THAT.
I HAVE COLLABORATED WITH OTHER, UM, ORGANIZATIONS, UM, A GROUP CALLED FLOWER POT COLLECTIVE, WHO, UM, FOCUSES ON HISPANIC AND, AND THE BIPOC, UM, MUSIC COMMUNITY AND NURTURING CREATIVES.
WE COLLABORATED ON A EVENT AT IN CAHOOTS AND BROUGHT IN, UM, LIVE MUSIC FOR THAT ONE.
AND A LOT OF LOCAL VENDORS, UM, SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO, UM, YEAH, I'M, I'M VERY OPEN TO IT.
UH, IN TERMS OF THE DIVERSITY, UH, I ALSO WANNA COMMEND YOU BECAUSE YOU BRING IN A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, IT'S NOT RIGHT THAT YOUNG PEOPLE IN AUSTIN SHOULD BE GROWING UP HERE AND NOT HAVE ACCESS TO MUSIC.
AND THE FACT THAT YOU'RE HAVING IT RIGHT IN ZILKER, I KNOW MY SON USED TO GO AND, YOU KNOW, HE WOULD SAY, HEY, I'M GOING DOWN TO ZILKER WITH MY FRIENDS.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS GOING FOR.
UH, SO YEAH, MAKES, MAKES PERFECT SENSE.
MY QUESTION IS REALLY FOR THE EDD, THERE HAS BEEN THINGS LIKE BUSKING PROGRAMS WHERE WE PAY PEOPLE TO MAKE MUSIC IN PUBLIC SPACES.
UH, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GOT AROUND THE PERMITTING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT, UH, COULD WE APPLY THAT SAME, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHATEVER CITY MAGIC YOU HAVE
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU NEED TO SEE ME ON CAMERA, BUT, UM, SO FOR THE, THE PUBLIC PERFORMANCE PROGRAM, WE HAVE NOW, YOU KNOW, REBRANDED, IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, THE STREET PERFORMANCE PROGRAM, IT'S OUR PUBLIC PERFORMANCE PROGRAM.
SO FOR THE ONES, AND OF COURSE, BUSKING IS LEGAL, IT'S YOUR FIRST AMENDMENT, RIGHT? UH, THERE ARE NO PERMITS.
IF YOU ARE IN A PUBLIC SPACE AND YOU'RE NOT BLOCKING A RIGHT OF WAY, YOU'RE NOT BLOCKING ANY KIND OF OFFICIAL PEOPLE.
SO THAT COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE IN THIS CITY.
UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT, UH, SIERRA'S DOING IN A PARK WITH A LOT MORE PEOPLE COMING IN, THERE IS A PROCESS OF PERMITTING AND IT'S ALL DUE TO SAFETY.
YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY CAN GET IN AND OUT SAFELY AND THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING ALL COMPONENTS.
SO ONE THING WE COULD LOOK AT IS, UM, OTHER LIKE PLACES LIKE BRUSH SQUARE THAT HAS BEEN REDEVELOPED RIGHT OUTSIDE THE CONVENTION CENTER AS WELL AS REPUBLIC SQUARE.
AND THESE ARE SPACES THAT ARE EITHER CONTROLLED BY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND CONVENTION CENTER, OR THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE THAT MAY HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY SINCE THEY DO EVENTS DAY IN AND DAY OUT, TO CONSIDER A PARTNERSHIP LIKE THAT.
SO THAT IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE KIND OF ROLLED IN INTO THE USE OF THE SPACE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ZILKER OR AUDITORIUM SHORES OR ANY KIND OF MAJOR PARK WHERE YOU HAVE TO BRING IN A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PEOPLE TO BE THERE AND TO BE SAFE.
AND THERE'S ENOUGH TRASH CANS AND PORTA-POTTIES AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AND DEPENDING ON WHERE THE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE WHEN IT COMES TO SOUND, WE CAN'T GET AROUND THE ACE PROCESS FOR THAT.
AND SO I AGREE THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO EXPLORE WAYS TO GET THOSE FEES PAID FOR BECAUSE THEY DO PAY THE SALARIES OF THE FOLKS ACTUALLY DOING THE PERMITS.
AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UH, DIRECTOR HOLT RAB AND, AND MYSELF AND OTHERS ARE TALKING ACROSS DEPARTMENTS TO SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE.
UM, BUT I'M WONDERING FOR BRUSH SQUARE, THEY HAVE A BRAND NEW STAGE OUT THERE.
I THINK WE WERE JUST WAITING FOR ELECTRICAL TO GET INSTALLED, BUT THAT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT COULD BE REALLY GREAT FOR THIS EVENT.
AND I'M HAPPY TO PUT YOU IN CONTACT WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE OVER AT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
AND SO WE WOULD LOVE TO ACTIVATE THOSE TYPES OF SPACES A LOT MORE.
UM, 'CAUSE IT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE TURNKEY AND EASIER.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN, YOU KNOW, WITH BUS LINES AND PARKING NEARBY, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCESSIBLE, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BRING IN A LOT OF THE, THE STUFF YOU WOULD HAVE TO BRING INTO THE MIDDLE OF A BIG PARK.
SO, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL FOLLOW BACK UP WITH YOU, BUT, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER SPACES THAT, LIKE I SAID, ARE MORE TURNKEY FOR THESE TYPES OF EVENTS.
[01:40:01]
JUST KEEP WORKING ON THE ACE PERMITTING FEES.I KNOW THEY'RE EXPENSIVE, BUT THEY'RE, THEY ARE THERE TO KEEP US ALL SAFE, YOU KNOW, AND KEEP THE PEOPLE COMING TO OUR EVENTS SAFE.
YES, THANK YOU FOR OFFERING THAT.
UM, AND FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS, DEFINITELY WOULD LOVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU.
UM, I HAD BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, UM, ABOUT REPUBLIC SQUARE.
I MET WITH THEM, UM, TO SEE ABOUT DOING EVENTS THERE.
AND, UM, I LIKE REPUBLIC SQUARE.
IT'S JUST, UM, LIKE SURROUNDED BY SKYSCRAPERS AND CRANES AND SO IT KIND OF FELT LIKE IT DETRACTED FROM THAT NATURAL ELEMENT OF THE EVENT.
BUT, UM, REGARDLESS, I AM OPEN TO SEEING HOW, HOW WE CAN MAKE IT WORK.
I'LL, I'LL, ALRIGHT, THANKS FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
UM, MOSTLY JUST REALLY WISH YOU SUCCESS AND HOPEFULLY THIS YOU CAN GET SOME RELEASE WITH THESE DAYS.
I HAVE A VENUE IN SOUTH AUSTIN THAT PLATFORM CONSTANTLY AND I THINK WE'RE AT LIKE $50,000 A YEAR ON ACE PERMITS.
UM, IT'S PRETTY CRAZY, BUT IF WE CAN OFFER YOU ANY RELIEF, IT'S NOT DOWNTOWN.
UM, IT'S A TWO ACRE VENUE IN SOUTH AUSTIN.
WE GOT THE COUNTRIES AND THISTLES AND HACKBERRIES AT THE WAZOO IF YOU WANNA BE AROUND TREES.
UM, YOU'RE WELCOME TO USE IT FOR YOUR EVENT UNTIL YOU DO FIND YOUR ALTERNATIVE DOWNTOWN OR EAST SIDE SPOT IF YOU'D LIKE.
WHAT DID YOU SAY IT WAS CALLED? IT WAS CALLED THE FAR OUT LOUNGE AND STAGE FAR OUT LOUNGE.
I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU, YOU CHECK THAT OUT AND THIS COOK, YOU'RE QUITE AMAZING WHEN SOMEBODY FROM THE COMMISSION CAN DIRECTLY
I DUNNO IF I ALREADY SAID THAT.
IT WOULD JUST, YOU COULD JUST USE IT.
COMMISSIONER ADE, UM, I HAVE BEEN TO YOUR EVENT AT ZILKER.
I WAS WALKING MY DOG AT ZILKER ONE BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY NIGHT AND STUMBLED UPON YOUR EVENT AND I WAS LIKE, AM I IN HEAVEN? LIKE, WHAT'S HAPPENING? IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.
'CAUSE IT WAS REALLY INSPIRING.
UM, MY, I WANNA GIVE MY SUPPORT, UM, TO YOU AS YOU'RE HEARING FROM OTHER PEOPLE HERE AS WELL.
UM, UH, YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HERE VERY LONG, SO I, I APPLAUD YOUR HUSTLE FOR COMING UP TO THE MUSIC COMMISSION AND, UM, STRATEGICALLY MAKING ALLIANCES AND ALLIES FOR YOUR EVENT.
'CAUSE IT'S A REALLY SPECIAL EVENT.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
AND I, UM, I, A COUPLE OF IDEAS, UM, COME TO MIND OF, UM, PLACES THAT MAY BE WELCOMING FOR YOU.
UM, BUT I THINK WHAT YOU HAVE, AND I, I DID LOOK AT YOUR PRESENTATION BEFORE THE MEETING AS WELL AND I WAS LIKE, AH, OKAY, I GET IT.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING IS, IS HARD WORK FOR SURE, BUT I I ALMOST WONDER ABOUT LIKE A LOCAL STATE PARK AS WELL.
UM, I KNOW THAT THEY'VE BEEN REALLY, UM, DEVELOPING SOME RELATIONSHIPS WITH MUSICIANS, UM, UH, RECENTLY, BUT IT, IT WILL PROBABLY TAKE LIKE GRANTS AND SOME INFRASTRUCTURE 'CAUSE YOU, ONE, ONE BAD THING THAT WOULD HAPPEN WITH SOME KNUCKLEHEAD LITTLE MINOR COULD NOT, YOU KNOW, WOULDN'T BE FUN.
MOM OF TWO TEENAGERS, UM, THAT HANG OUT AT ZILKER EVERY NOW AND THEN.
BUT, UM, BUT I'M A FAN OF YOUR WORK AND I'M SO GLAD TO, UM, SEE YOUR PRESENTATION AND OFFER OUR SUPPORT OR MY SUPPORT AS, UM, AS A MUSIC COMMISSIONER.
I WILL SAY THIS HAS BEEN A LABOR OF LOVE AND WHAT KEEPS ME GOING IS FEEDBACK LIKE THAT AND FROM THE PEOPLE WHO COME TO THE EVENT THAT IT IMPACTS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT MAKES ME WANNA GIVE MORE TO IT AND POUR MY HEART INTO IT, SO THAT'S WHY I'M HERE IN FRONT OF YOU.
MS. PATON, HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE, THE PARKS BOARD YET? THE WHAT? THE PARKS BOARD, UM, TO PRESENT THIS? I HAVEN'T, I HAVEN'T.
I'VE BEEN CAREFUL ABOUT TALKING TO THEM ABOUT IT JUST BECAUSE I JUST DON'T WANT ANY COMPLICATIONS.
BUT I, I WILL, I'M OPEN TO THAT.
I, I THINK PRESENTING, UH, UH, ALL THE, THE, THE POSITIVE, I ONLY SEE POSITIVE HERE OF THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
UH, TO THE PARKS BOARD, I THINK WOULD BE, UH, WOULD BE WORTHWHILE.
AND, UH, OR PART OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, UH, NAVIGATING, UH, THE SYSTEM THAT'S, THAT'S COMPLEX.
AND I ALSO WANNA JUST GIVE A QUICK SHOUT OUT TO ERICA AND, UH, THE DIRECTOR RA HERE FOR, FOR YOU AND BEING AVAILABLE TO KIND OF JUST GUIDE, UM, OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH THAT SYSTEM, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT, I
[01:45:01]
CAN'T IMAGINE IT BEING EASY.UM, SO THANK YOU FOR OFFERING THAT AND FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WILLING TO, UH, CONNECT ON THAT AND, AND, AND GUIDE, GUIDE US FURTHER ON THIS AND GUIDE YOU FURTHER ON THIS.
UM, ANY OTHER, UH, COMMISSIONER CARVAL? SORRY, I DON'T WANNA DRAG THIS TOO LONG.
I'M SORRY FOR TAKING TOO MUCH OF YOUR TIME, BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE BREWERIES IN TOWN THAT I THINK WOULD BE SO COOL FOR THIS EVENT BECAUSE THEY ARE SO OUTDOORSY AND, UM, THERE'S, THE NEW AUSTIN BUREAU WORKS A LITTLE BIT NORTHEAST.
UH, IT'S STILL TECHNICALLY EAST SIDE, BUT THEY JUST BUILT LIKE THE BIGGEST, UM, FRISBEE GOLF COURSE IN TEXAS.
IT'S LIKE A WORLD, I, I DON'T REALLY KNOW THE SPORT TOO WELL, BUT JUST GO, IT'S LIKE A WORLD COMPETITION AREA OR WHATEVER.
SO IT'S COVERED IN TREES, HUGE OUTDOOR SPACE, AND YOU CAN HAVE A BEER AFTER THE EVENT, MAYBE
AND THERE'S ALSO A LIVE OAK BREWERY, WHICH IS AN OLDER AUSTIN BREWERY.
THEY'VE BEEN AROUND FOR ABOUT 25, 30 YEARS, I THINK.
AND THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL OUTDOOR SPOT.
UM, A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE OF TOWN, BUT DEFINITELY APPROACHABLE AND REALLY COOL PEOPLE.
MEANWHILE WOULD BE, AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY FRIENDS TOO I CAN CONNECT TO WITH, MEANWHILE I COULD JUST RESPOND TO THAT EMAIL.
UM, I KNOW THOSE, I, I BUY BEER, SO THAT'S WHY I KNOW THESE BREWERY GUYS.
BUT ALL THREE OF THOSE BREWERIES WOULD BE AMAZING PLACES FOR AN EVENT LIKE YOURS, I THINK.
I'LL DEFINITELY LOOK INTO THEM.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, MY DESIRE IS DEFINITELY TO BE IN COMPLIANCE AND FOR THIS TO WORK WELL FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED.
SO I APPRECIATE THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I'M GONNA KEEP PURSUING SOMETHING THAT'S, UM, A GREEN SPACE AND CENTRALLY LOCATED SO PEOPLE CAN ACCESS IT.
AND, UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT.
I THINK, UM, FUNDING WOULD BE A, A MAJOR HURDLE FOR US TO GET OVER TO HELP KEEP THIS GOING.
I JUST WANT TO QUICKLY CHECK IN WITH COMMISSIONERS ONLINE IF ANYBODY HAD ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, PATTERSON.
UH, SO I WANTED TO REMIND EVERYONE, WELL, FIR FIRST OF ALL, SIERRA, THANK YOU SO MUCH AND FOR THE EVENT, SOUNDS LOVELY.
I HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED IT, BUT I REALLY ENJOYED YOUR DECK AND YOU SENT IT EARLIER IN THE WEEK AND WE, I TOOK SOME TIME TO REVIEW IT.
AND, UM, ONE THING THAT WAS REALLY GREAT THAT YOU POINTED OUT IS THAT WITH THE BLUES ON THE GREEN, UM, THERE WERE CITY PROPOSALS OR CITY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE PASSED REGARDING MAKING IT EASIER FOR SMALL EVENTS THAT DON'T HAVE SPONSORSHIPS LIKE BLUES ON THE GREEN FROM BIG LAW FIRMS AND HEB OR WHATEVER.
UM, BIG DONORS, WHICH IS AMAZING THAT THAT BLUES ON THE GREEN IS SUPPORTED THAT WAY, BUT SMALL COMMUNITY EVENTS DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THAT KIND OF SUPPORT.
AND, AND SO, UM, WHEN NATASHA HARPER MADISON'S OFFICE WAS TAKING UP THAT, UM, PROPOSAL TO SUPPORT BLUES ON THE GREEN, THEY, UM, I SPOKE WITH HER STAFF AND THEY WERE REALLY SPECIFIC ABOUT WANTING THIS TO BE ABLE TO EXTEND TO SMALLER EVENTS AND HOW CAN WE SUPPORT SMALLER EVENTS.
AND, UH, SO, AND ERICA MAKES A GOOD POINT THAT THE PERMITTING SYSTEM IS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S BEEN PUT IN PLACE FOR A REASON, BUT I DO WONDER, YOU KNOW, HOW HOW WE CAN MAKE IT EASIER AND WHAT PROGRESS, IF ANY, HAS BEEN MADE BY THE CITY BEYOND BLUES ON THE GREEN, UH, TO SUPPORT THIS MISSION OF, UH, STREAMLINING THE PERMITTING SYSTEM SOMEWHAT AND OR FUNDING.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR YOU TO GO BEFORE PARKS BOARD, I WOULD SAY AT, AT THIS POINT PROBABLY, UM, I, I KNOW YOU MAY NOT WANNA LIKE, FEEL LIKE YOU RATTLED THAT CAGE, BUT I'D SAY, UM, THEY PROBABLY WILL KNOW NOW
LIKE, THEY'RE NOT THERE BECAUSE THEY WANNA MAKE THINGS HARD FOR THE COMMUNITY, THEY WANNA MAKE IT EASIER.
UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT NATASHA HARPER MADISON'S OFFICE SHOULD BE A PARTICIPANT IN THIS DISCUSSION TOO.
UH, SO I WOULD LOVE TO INVITE SOMEBODY FROM STAFF THERE TO BE AT OUR NEXT MEETING SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE OR WHAT COULD BE MADE.
AND SO THAT, UM, BECAUSE WE'VE ALL, EVERYBODY HERE HAS HAD GREAT SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR EVENT, BUT I DO THINK THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO SET, UM, A SET UP A PROCESS THAT WORKS FOR OTHER EVENTS AS WELL.
AND, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY FEELS COMFORTABLE COMING BEFORE COMMISSIONS.
LIKE IT MAY BE A STRUGGLE FOR, FOR CERTAIN COMMUNITY GROUPS, YOU
[01:50:01]
KNOW, IF SOMEBODY'S PUTTING ON A, A SMALL FESTIVAL, LIKE THEY JUST, IT'S HARD, YOU KNOW, SO NOT EVERYBODY CAN DO WHAT SIERRA HAS HAS DONE SO ELOQUENTLY TODAY.AND WE WANNA MAKE IT EASY FOR MUSIC EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE, THE CITY, YOU KNOW, WITHIN, WITHIN THE GUIDELINES.
SO THAT'S WHY I ASK FOR GOING TO THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS IS HOW DO WE LOOK AT THIS HOLISTICALLY? UM, I APPRECIATE THAT COMMENT.
UM, AND TO YOUR POINT, UM, THE RESOLUTION THAT THEY PASSED EARLIER THIS YEAR WAS A BIG REASON WHY I CAME TO THIS COMMISSION MEETING BECAUSE IT CHARGED THE CITY MANAGER WITH SOLICITING THE, THE MUSIC COMMISSION SPECIFICALLY WITH FINDING WAYS THAT THEY COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH THE RECOMMENDATION TO, UM, CO-SPONSOR FOR THE CITY TO CO-SPONSOR EVENTS OR PROVIDE EDUCATION OR WAIVE WAIVE FEES OR HELP TO PAY FOR FEES, UM, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, I APPRECIATE THAT COMMENT A LOT.
IT TOOK, TOOK A LOT OF, UM, BRAVERY TO COME UP HERE AND NOT EVERYONE WOULD BE WILLING TO.
UH, MS. PATERSON, IF I MAY ASK, UH, SORRY.
UH, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON, UH, DID YOU HAVE A FOLLOW UP? WELL, NO, JUST THAT, YOU KNOW, PARK SPACES IN PARTICULAR, LIKE, I I I THINK IT'S GREAT TO, AGAIN, WHEN WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT BEING AS INCLUSIVE AS POSSIBLE, BUT PARK SPACES ARE VERY INCLUSIVE.
LIKE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE WANTING A REALLY DIVERSE AUDIENCE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY MAY FEEL LIKE A CERTAIN SPACE IS FOR THEM, BUT THE PARKS ARE FOR EVERYONE.
AND I, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT IF, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A, A COUNCIL OFFICE THAT'S TAKEN A STEP OF, OF HELPING OUT A LARGER EVENT, BUT DONE IT IN A WAY THAT'S SAID, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA SUPPORT THESE SMALLER EVENTS.
LIKE, I, I WANNA JUST SEE, SEE THE FOLLOW THROUGH ON THAT FOR OUR PARK SPACES, UM, IN A WAY THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA MAKE A DIFFICULT TASK FOR PARKS OR FOR ACE, BUT I JUST THINK THERE'S GOTTA BE A WAY THAT, THAT THEY'VE PROBABLY GOT SOME GREAT IDEAS ABOUT HOW THINGS CAN STREAMLINED AND MAYBE THERE'S TIERS OF PERMITTING COSTS OR, YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST, I'D JUST LIKE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AND, AND SEE WHAT'S POSSIBLE.
UH, COMMISSIONER, SO AS I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE THIS RESOLUTION FOR SUPPORT IN OUR FOLDERS THAT SIERRA WORKED ON WITH SOMEONE FROM YEAH.
COMMISSIONER JERRY BENSON FROM THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE.
SO GIVEN THIS RESOLUTION, WHAT, UM, ARE THE, THE NEXT ACTION ARE ITEMS IN REGARDS TO THIS? WOULD IT BE LIKE WE'RE GONNA READ IT LATER AND THEN REACT TO THIS RESOLUTION? YEAH.
UM, MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE, UH, TODAY IT'S UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS. UH, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, IF, IF THE COMMISSION, UH, SO WISHES WE COULD MOVE IT UNDER ACTION ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING AND, UH, AND, UH, PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION, UM, YOU KNOW, IT GIVES, UH, EVERYBODY, UH, AMPLE TIME TO, YOU KNOW, PONDER ON THE TOPIC, UH, SEE WHAT ELSE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT WANT TO EITHER JUST GO WITH WHAT, UH, WHAT'S BEEN PRESENTED, IF YOU WANNA MAKE ANY MODIFICATIONS, ET CETERA.
BUT WE COULD TAKE THIS UP AS AN, UH, UNDER DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS, UH, WITH AN ACTION ITEM SPECIFICALLY DEFINED, UH, AS IS NEEDED NOW, UH, IN, IN THE NEXT SESSION.
[7. Update on live musical performances for Music Commission meetings by Vice Chair Patterson.]
TO THE NEXT TOPIC.WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE UPDATE ON LIVE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES FOR MUSIC COMMISSION MEETINGS BY VICE CHAIR PATTERSON.
SO THIS IS, UH, JUST, THIS IS TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, EVENT WE'RE PLANNING FOR THE MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING IN DECEMBER.
UH, STAFF IS HELPING LOOK INTO WHETHER OR NOT WE COULD POSSIBLY DO THAT AT THE LIBRARY, UM, IN THE SPACE THAT WE MET IN, UH, LAST MEETING, UH, WHICH IS, UH, UH, OR WE COULD POSSIBLY DO IT HERE IN CHAMBERS, BUT WE'D, YOU KNOW, LIKE TO DO SOMETHING THAT'S CONDUCIVE TO A BIT MORE OF A FREE FLOWING,
AND ALSO, UM, GREG GONZALEZ IS ABLE TO PULL, UM, A LIST OF MUSICIANS WHO HAVE APPLIED, UM, FOR THE PAID PERFORMANCE PROGRAM.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO, WE'LL GET THAT FROM HIM.
I'M SEEING, HE'S TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF HE CAN SORT IT BY DISTRICT COUNCIL DISTRICT OR ZIP CODE, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE REPRESENTATION FROM ALL OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
AND SO THAT WILL, HOW THAT WILL WORK
[01:55:01]
IS I WILL TASK EACH, UH, COMMISSIONER WITH SELECTING SOMEBODY FROM THAT DI THAT LIST FROM THE DISTRICT THAT THEY REPRESENT.AND SO IF THEY, IT CAN'T BE SORTED BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, YOU'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT ZIP CODES AND YOU MAY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHICH, WHICH ARE THE ZIP CODES IN YOUR DISTRICT AND, AND LOOK AT IT THAT WAY.
UM, BUT YEAH, SO THINGS ARE STILL MOVING AHEAD.
UM, I, I THINK WHEN ONCE THAT LIST IS ABLE TO BE PULLED, I'LL SEE HOW THE BEST WAY FOR GREG TO SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE.
COMMISSIONER PATTERSON, WE HAVE ERICA HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE.
ERICA SHAMLEY, MUSIC DIVISION MANAGER.
UM, SO WE DID GET AN UPDATE FROM CORPORATE, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, UH, WHICH OVERSEES A TXN AND, UM, ALL OF THE, UH, IT WORKERS HERE AT CITY HALL AND AT THE LIBRARY.
AND THEY HAVE, THEY ALL AGREE THAT BOTH CITY HALL CHAMBERS AND THE LIBRARY ARE NOT READY FOR A PUBLIC PERFORMANCE, YOU KNOW, LIKE A WITH THE AUDIENCE, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC PERFORMANCE THAT CAN ALSO BE USED FOR A MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING IN TERMS OF ALL THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO TO RECORD THAT, UH, FOR THE MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING ITSELF.
SO, UM, WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO OTHER PARTNERS THAT ARE, UM, PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL GOVERNMENTAL BROADCAST CHANNELS LIKE A TXN, WHICH IS BASICALLY LIKE A CC AUSTIN PUBLIC.
AND SO WE ARE NOW RUNNING THE TRAPS WITH A CC AND UM, KLRU ON THEIR CAMPUS TO SEE IF WE COULD USE THAT FOR DECEMBER.
UM, CTM AND A TXN CAN COMPLETELY MAKE THEMSELVES AVAILABLE AT ANOTHER PUBLIC EDUCATION, GOVERNMENTAL, IT'S CALLED A PEG FACILITY.
SO WE CAN KIND OF TAP INTO THOSE TYPES OF FACILITIES VERY EASILY AS THE CITY AND, UM, AN A TXN CAN BASICALLY JUST PLUG IN AND, AND YOU KNOW, DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO TO STREAM THE ACTUAL MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING, UM, ACCORDING TO HOW IT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
SO WE'RE JUST, UH, GOING BACK AND, YOU KNOW, WE JUST SORT OF HAVE A SCHEDULED MEETING WITH THE, UH, PROGRAM MANAGER AND THE PRODUCER AT A CC TO SEE WHAT'S POSSIBLE.
SO WE ARE, UH, BECAUSE WE NEED A KIND OF A PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR THIS TO HAVE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES THAT HAVE AN AUDIENCE THAT ACTUALLY HAS THE CAPACITY NEEDED TO DO IT.
UM, AND SO WE'RE WORKING ON IT AND WE WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP.
I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE STAFF THAT IS WORKING TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ON THE TOPIC? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON.
[8. Review and approve Music Commission Meeting schedule for 2025 calendar year.]
ON TO DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS, REVIEW AND APPROVE MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULED FOR 2025 CALENDAR YEAR.UH, SHELBY, SOMETHING THAT ONLY, UH, YEAH, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
YEAH, SORRY I FAILED TO PREPARE LIKE PHYSICAL COPIES FOR YOU ALL, BUT WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHOW DATES ON THE SCREEN SHORTLY.
AND SO IF THIS IS SOMETHING EVERYBODY IS INTERESTED IN, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT ANOTHER YEAR OF FIRST MONDAYS.
UM, WE WANNA GET THIS TO, UM, THE CLERK'S OFFICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO WE CAN TRY AND RESERVE THIS ROOM AND WE DON'T HAVE TO HOP TO THE LIBRARY OR AUSTIN ENERGY 'CAUSE WE KNOW HOW THAT CAN BE SOMETIME.
SO THE SOONER WE DECIDE ON WHEN WE WANNA HAVE THESE MEETINGS, UM, IT'S ALWAYS UP TO Y'ALL, JUST SO YOU ARE AWARE.
UM, YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR DATE IF YOU WANT TO, BUT, UH, FIRST MONDAY SEEMED TO WORK FOR MOST OF US AND THE TIME AS WELL, SO IT'S ALL UP FOR CONVERSATION AS WELL AS THE MEETING PLACE.
AND SO, UM, WE'LL HAVE THE DATES ON THE SCREEN AND SO I HIT EVERY FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH EXCEPT FOR SEPTEMBER.
UM, AND FEEL FREE TO DISCUSS, IF EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD, YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD, BUT IF YOU WANNA CHANGE ANYTHING, JUST LET ME KNOW.
YEAH, I MEAN, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY TOPIC.
UH, I THINK FIRST MONDAYS WE COULD CONTINUE, UH, WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION.
AND SEPTEMBER, SHOULD WE JUST MOVE IT TO THE ABSOLUTELY.
AND I THINK THE ONLY CAVEAT TO THAT IS WE MIGHT NOT GET THIS ROOM, WE WOULD BE SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT YEAH, ANY, YEAH, PLEASE GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER AL.
UH, AND I'M NOT EVEN GONNA BE HERE, BUT BEFORE COVID WE USED TO ALWAYS WORK.
WE USED TO ALWAYS MEET IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSION ROOM.
UM, I PERSONALLY PREFER IT, UH, BUT AFTER COVID FOR SOME REASON WE STARTED MEETING HERE AND IT NEVER REALLY OCCURRED TO ME TO ASK TO GO BACK.
UH, WHERE WOULD WE WANNA HAVE THAT ROOM OVER THERE? I'VE NEVER MET OVER THERE.
[02:00:01]
YOU LIKE THE PINK? THIS IS NICE.HAVE YOU, HAVE YOU SEEN THE ROOM? NO.
IT'S, UH, I DEFER TO THE SEASONED COMMISSIONERS.
THE, THE, WELL IT'S, IT'S JUST HUGE.
MONDAYS WORK FOR ME, UH, MONDAYS, SAME AS THIS YEAR, OUR FIRST MONDAYS EVERY MONTH.
AND THEN FOR ONLY FOR SEPTEMBER, WE WILL MOVE IT TO THE SECOND MONDAY.
UH, WE, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSIONER? SOM NINE MM-HMM.
UH, SHALL, COULD SOMEBODY MOTION TO APPROVE? A MOTION TO APPROVE? DO I HAVE A SECOND? OKAY.
WE HAVE A, UM, A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER ADA, A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER PRICE.
ALL IN FAVOR, COMMISSIONER ROSENTHAL? YEAH.
UM, MOTIONS, UH, APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
UH, PLEASE GIVE A THOUGHT ABOUT, UH, IF YOU GUYS WANT A DIFFERENT SPACE.
I, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT WAS UP FOR A VOTE OR NOT, BUT I THINK IT WAS MAINLY THE DATES, BUT YEAH, THAT WILL HAVE TO BE VOTED ON TUESDAY.
SO, DO Y'ALL WANT CHANGE THE SPACE? UH, LET'S GIVE IT A THOUGHT.
LET'S GIVE A THOUGHT A MINUTES.
UH, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE RECOMMENDATION.
DID YOU SAY TODAY WE NEEDED TO DO, WE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT SO I CAN GIVE IT TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE? BECAUSE WHAT WE WANNA DO IS PRIORITIZE WHATEVER ROOM WE WANNA BE IN BECAUSE WE'RE COMPETING AGAINST OTHER COMMISSIONS.
SO, YEAH, I, YEAH, I THINK, CAN WE LEAVE IT AS IS? AND IF WE NEED TO CHANGE IT, WE WILL LATER.
WE'LL FIGURE THAT OUT ON THE OTHER SIDE.
BUT AS OF NOW, CHAMBERS, WE'RE GOOD.
AND WE ALSO, I MEAN, SOMETIMES WE STILL END UP BEING IN THE AUSTRIAN ENERGY OR SOMETHING, RIGHT? WHEN NEEDED.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE THIS HAS BEEN STATIC.
BUT I APPRECIATE THE, THE SUGGESTION AS WELL.
UM, IT'S, UM, UH, SO I THINK, UH, GOOD ON THIS TOPIC, EVERYBODY.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, WE WILL HAVE, UH, LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTIONS BRIEFING BY KIM MCC CARSON, THE 5 24 AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, BRIEFING BY IKA CHALEY, AND THE DISCUSSION ITEMS. UH, WE WILL HAVE, UH, A BELIEVE A PRESENTATION, UH, ON, UH, FEEDBACK ON THE LIVE MUSIC FUND FROM, UH, PATUM, ANYTHING ELSE IN THE DISCUSSION ITEMS FOR WHAT MOVE WITH THIS? DOES THIS FALL UNDER THE, I'LL MOVE IT TO THE DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS. ANYTHING UNDER ADDITIONAL, UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS THAT COMMISSIONERS HAVE IN MIND RIGHT NOW? OKAY.
WE'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT, UH, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS. UH, WE'LL ADD, UM, UM, UH, DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON, UH, SUNDAY SESSIONS AFTER.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF WE PARTICULARLY NEED IN THE PRESENTATION, OR MAYBE WE'LL JUST HAVE, UH, MS. MADISON HERE TO, UM, UM, READ THE ASK OR THE RECOMMENDATION.
BUT, UH, SHELBY, I'LL GET BETTER WORDINGS FOR THIS.
UM, BUT THAT WILL GO UNDER DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS, UH, ON SUNDAY SESSIONS, A TX.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE IN THE DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS FOR NEXT TIME.
SO AGAIN, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT IF WE WANT TO ADD SOMETHING LATER, UH, TO ANY OF THESE UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS OR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTIONS, UM, YOU CAN, UH, SEND, SEND THAT OVER EMAIL.
UH, AND THAT GETS SENT ONTO THE AGENDA WITH A SECOND.
SO THIS CAN, IT CAN COME LATER.
ALSO, UH, SHELBY, UH, I'M SURE YOU CAN SPEAK MORE TO THIS, BUT WE ARE NOW REQUIRED TO FINALIZE AND LOCK THE AGENDA AN ENTIRE WEEK BEFORE THE COMMISSION MEETING.
SO THIS IS NET NEW, UH, THAT JUST STARTED THIS ROUND.
WE HAD A LITTLE MORE LEEWAY THIS TIME, BUT IT'S A WHOLE WEEK AHEAD OF, UH, SCHEDULE.
UH, THE, THE REVIEW, UH, AND THEN ANY ADDITIONS, EVERYTHING AND THE AGENDA NEEDS TO BE FINALIZED.
YEAH, I FOLLOWED UP IN THE EMAIL.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MENTIONING THAT.
I FOLLOWED UP IN THE EMAIL TO YOU ALL ON THE IDEAL SCHEDULE, WHICH WOULD BE AS SOON AS YOU LEAVE HERE, GENERATE THOUGHTS ON WHAT YOU WANT ADDED TO THE AGENDA.
'CAUSE IN THE FIRST WEEK, THAT'S WHEN WE START WRITING IT, ESSENTIALLY.
AND THEN WE'LL SEND IT TO CHAIRS AND WE'LL REVIEW AS A STAFF AND OUR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP WILL TAKE A LOOK AT IT TOO, JUST TO SEE IF WE NEEDED TO ADD ANYTHING.
THEN, WE'LL, WEEK THREE, WE'LL LET YOU CIRCULATE IT AMONGST YOURSELVES.
IF YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING, THAT'S YOUR OPPORTUNITY.
BUT IN WEEK FOUR, THAT IS WHEN WE FINALIZE, UM, TO PROVIDE EFFICIENCY AND
[02:05:01]
REALLY JUST FREE UP Y'ALL'S MINDS FOR THAT WEEK AS YOU PREPARE FOR THE FOLLOW FOR THE MEETING THE FOLLOWING WEEK.SO, IDEALLY, WEEK ONE, AS THIS IS WEEK ONE, WHEN WE LEAVE HERE, WE'RE DRAFTING AN AGENDA, AND THEN THE FOLLOWING TWO WEEKS WE'RE REVIEWING THAT AGENDA AND FINE TUNING IT.
UM, JUST ONE ADDITIONAL QUESTION THAT WE NEEDED CLARIFICATION ON THAT CAME UP WITH THE HOUSE OF SONGS TODAY IS THERE WAS, THERE WAS SOME FOLKS THAT WANTED TO DIAL, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, DIAL IN REMOTELY AND SPEAK AND SIGN UP TO SPEAK ON AN AGENDA.
UH, AND WE WEREN'T VERY CLEAR ON WHETHER THAT IS PERMISSIBLE.
AND IF IT IS, THEN WHAT'S THE DEADLINE FOR THEM TO, FOR ANYBODY FROM PUBLIC AFTER THE, UH, AGENDA GETS PUBLISHED, TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK ON VIDEO, BASICALLY ON A TOPIC, UH, THAT I THINK WE NEED SOME CLARIFICATION THERE.
DIGRESSING FROM AGENDA, BASICALLY.
IT'S THE INSTRUCTIONS LISTED AT THE TOP OF THE AGENDA IF THEY ARE VIEWING THAT.
AND SO THEY'RE CLEARLY GONNA KNOW WHICH AGENDA ITEM TO GO TO.
SO THAT SAME AGENDA WHERE YOU FIND THE ITEM THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SPEAK ON AT THE TOP OF IT, THERE'S INSTRUCTIONS TO HAVE ALL THOSE REQUESTS DONE THE DAY BEFORE BY NOON.
UM, YOU CAN EMAIL ME OR YOU CAN CALL, UM, TO GET ON REMOTELY IS ESSENTIALLY I THINK WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO, TRYING TO DO.
AND ALSO IN PERSON, IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME UP HERE AND PREPARE, UM, WORDS FOR ANY OF THE AGENDA ITEMS, ANY OF THEM IN, IN PERSON, THEY COULD SIGN UP BEFORE THE MEETING.
AND THEY COULD ALSO CALL, THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, EMAIL ME AS WELL.
BUT THIS IS FOR ANY, SPEAKING ESPECIALLY REMOTELY, REMOTELY, THAT DEADLINE IS NOON THE DAY BEFORE, WHICH WOULD BE THE FRIDAY IN THIS CASE.
THAT'S A YEAH, I MEAN, OR SUNDAY.
WHICH ONE IS IT? I I WILL, AS LONG AS IT'S IN MY INBOX BY SUNDAY.
AND SO IF I GET IT BY, UM, MY MONDAY MORNING IS AT THE START OF THAT, THAT'S FINE.
'CAUSE IT'S RIDICULOUS TO, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT IT ON FRIDAY.
IF WE GET IT POSTED BY THAT ON THAT DAY, GIVE PEOPLE AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO REVIEW IT AND SEE.
BUT AREN'T WE POSTING IT EARLIER NOW WITH, WITH THE NEW DEADLINE? WE ARE, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S OKAY WITH ME.
IF ANYTHING CHANGES, I'LL UPDATE AS, YOU KNOW, TOMA GUIDELINES.
BUT IT'S NOT, UM, IT'S NOT CRAZY TO ADD PEOPLE IF THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA DO.
BUT THERE IS A LOT OF, SOMETIMES THERE'S TROUBLESHOOTING WITH THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO YOU WANNA MAKE SURE YOU GET THAT TO ME THE DAY BEFORE BY NOON, AND I WON'T LOOK AT ANYTHING AFTER OR AFTER THAT TIME AS RESPECT TO WHAT'S BEEN ASKED BY, UM, OUR CLERK'S OFFICE.
SHELBY, IF I MAY, UM, I WOULD REQUEST THAT WE, WE CAN, WELL, LET'S DO IT.
IF YOU CAN ALSO JUST SPELL OUT THE EXACT TOMA GUIDELINES AROUND THIS.
ALL I, ALL I KNOW IS THAT WHAT'S AT THE TOP OF, AND WE CAN DO THAT, BUT FOR NOW WE CAN FOLLOW WHAT'S AT THE TOP OF THE AGENDA IS WHAT PEOPLE SEE, UM, THE ACTUAL DAY THAT PEOPLE CAN FOLLOW.
I, I DON'T THINK IT HAS TO BE A BUSINESS DAY.
AND ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO COME HERE PHYSICALLY BE IN PERSON AND SPEAK EITHER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION OR ON AN AGENDA ITEM.
UM, ANY OTHER AGENDA ITEMS TO ADD SIX 30 ON FRIDAY? HMM.
MONDAY, MONDAY, DAY OF MEETING.
YEAH, IF YOU WANNA SPEAK ON VIDEO, UH, I THINK THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO SIGN UP AT LEAST A DAY BEFORE I, I SEE.
AND IT'LL BE CALLING, NOT WEBEX, UNLESS YOU'RE A PRESENTER.
YOU'LL BE GIVEN THREE MINUTES, ESPECIALLY FOR PUBLIC COMMS. I SEE.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HONOR THAT? UM, AND THEN IT'LL BE UP TO YOU ALL AS FAR AS LIKE OTHER AGENDA ITEMS IF THERE'S PUBLIC COMMENT ON RIGHT.
IF YOU WANNA HONOR THE THREE MINUTES OR GO OVER.
SO DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE ALL OF THOSE AGENDA ITEMS? YES, PLEASE.
UM, ANY SECONDS, COMMISSIONER GAR? ALL IN FAVOR? ALRIGHT.
AGENDA IS APPROVED, UH, FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
COMMISSIONER ROSENTHAL, WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER PRICE.
THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR A WONDERFUL MEETING.
AND, UH, THANK YOU EVERYBODY WHO PARTICIPATED TODAY.