Photo: Briana Purser
Each year, as thousands of music industry professionals and tourists flood downtown Austin, Texas, Red River dive Beerland doesn’t exactly roll out the red carpet. Surly bouncers have long posted signs during these times of influx, saying such things as, “I don’t care how many hits your shitty blog gets.” Austinites snatch up Beerland’s signature t-shirt-for-sale, one that simply states “Don’t Move Here.” As simple as the sentiment might read, Austin has struggled for years to find ways to control their own noise – not only during those festival moments, but also due to the recent flood of transplants that are moving into the city, especially into the budding downtown residencies.
Beerland bouncers and some residents alike loathe the idea of new faces in Austin for a simple reason: the city is getting crowded. And with that arrives competing interests around the live music scene, where these new urban cow poke aren’t that stoked about the loud noises coming from the clubs and restaurants.
According to the Austin Chamber of Commerce, the population of the city’s metropolitan area, circa 2000, was 1,249,763. In 2009, that figure rose to over 1.7 million. With that growth, a boom in downtown housing began as the city started approving the construction of high-rise condo projects. The skyline, which for years was that of a sleepy city more famous for its university and the state capital than for its booming population, is now crowded with construction cranes and new towers. Recent additions include the 683-foot high Austonian, the tallest residential building west of the Mississippi, and the 37-story W Austin Hotel and Residences, which also houses the new theater and studio for PBS’ Austin City Limits. In 2000, there were fewer than 4,000 people living in downtown Austin. Today, there are over 10,000 people and growing. On top of that, the construction of lofts, condos and luxury apartments extends south of the river, into long-time mixed-use neighborhoods that previously established their identity as a place full of BBQ joints and Tex-Mex restaurants.
Initial bickering was mostly limited to homeowners fighting with restaurants and other venues with outdoor stages — small scale beefs between locals. But as the development downtown occurs, that same dynamic is likely to play out on a much larger scale and already is to a degree. Instead of complaints about the BBQ joint down the street being too noisy, it’s the development company behind a major residential building feuding with a popular club that’s successful because of the music they play on their rooftop. If both sides have money on the line, then the competition over who controls the noise in Austin is likely to take on a lot more urgency, and there’s a much greater chance that someone is going to come away feeling screwed.
James Moody, who owns Mohawk on 10th and Red River, knew this could be the case when he opened his bar/outdoor club in 2006. He immediately turned the space into a top destination for indie rock fans by booking nationally touring acts and taking advantage of the tremendous outdoor patio. After he started to see some return, Moody learned that a luxury apartment building called Red River Flats was opening across the street. It seemed like the worst example of the problem: a new luxury building, owned by an out-of-town developer from Houston called Greystar, building up in the heart of the live music district and its many outdoor stages.
Instead of grumbling, Moody took action. “We recognized that they would be either a partner or a threat,” he tells Hive. “We know that if we’re playing live music every night, and they market to my Aunt Kathy, she’s gonna be pissed. We told them that we thought it’d be about marketing to the right customer, and that we’d help.” Moody agreed to build a sound wall to dampen the noise from the club, which Greystar helped pay for, and he changed the club’s schedule to end outdoor shows by midnight. In turn, Greystar built the Flats with double-paned windows on the side of the building facing the club and added a disclaimer to their leases. “Renters sign a contract that says, you’re moving into the epicenter of the live music capitol of the world, on the busiest street for it. If you don’t like the way it comes into your apartment, you have sixty days to move out, no fees.”
“[Development partnerships] makes everything convenient, and it makes everyone good neighbors,” adds Freddy Fletcher, longtime Austin music professional and one of the principle minds behind the ACL Live venue/studio at the newly constructed W Hotel. “It’s certainly a lot better than fighting. Austin’s a music town, and you don’t want to kill the golden goose.”
All of this isn’t to say there hasn’t been progress. As more money and foot traffic comes to and through Austin, it’s the spirit of remaining organized and cooperative that’s allowing the commercial interests around live music cope with the global appeal of the city. “The music community has organized now,” Moody says. “Music in Austin isn’t just about music. This is how we market ourselves to the rest of the world. And being organized allows us to have a vote.” Though we doubt the word “cooperation” will spring up on those Beerland t-shirts.
