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One Casa show, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," versity in Denton and its internationally -recognized jazz pro- COUNTRY STRONGHOLDS broke the theater's all -time record with gross ticket sales of gram insures a steady supply of top players, many of whom $450,000. wind up at J.R.'s Place on the affluent West Continued from page T-16 Side. Live jazz is In the recording studio field, multi- faceted Buffalo Sound played there nightly by uniformly good house combos, and pe- has opened a saloon downtown. (The Red River Saloon, which probably is Fort Worth's most active facility. Its state-of -the- riodic festivals feature imported (from Dallas and Denton) also is a chili parlor and specialty gift shop.) art music room is out -fitted with an MCI 538 computer -as- guest stars. Harvey Anderson's 18 -piece orchestra plays one "The Mid -Cities portion of the Dallas -Fort Worth Metro - sisted console, a 24 -track recorder, Dolby noise reduction and Sunday a month. plex is having its share of the action, too. The Red Apple in a 3,300- cubic -foot live stereo chamber. Louis C. Owen, executive director of the Tarrant County Arlington has a marvelous violin duo at brunch. Buffalo uses those tools to produce audio for radio and tv Convention Center, has been host to Elvis Presley, Paul "Membership in the union is stable. Too many of the coun- commercials and to cut LPs and demos for a variety of artists. McCartney, George Harrison and myriad others in his 14,000 - try players fail to join. But the biggies like Don Edwards are in Among them: Rock artist T -Bone Burnett, guitarist Steven seat arena. The days of the super -concert are not over, he pre- the union. And we get our share of the young players entering Bruton, Delbert McClinton, gospel artist Amy Grant and coun- dicts. the business." try singers Johnny Duncan, Red Steagall and Don Edwards. "Rock or contemporary music is going to come back, Foeller, a former big band sax player, is asked frequently if Buffalo president Jim Hodges, the 40- year -old wunderkind through not as strong as it was in 1979," he says. "The artists the big band era will return. whose First Crossing pop -rock group works about 40 private riding on top will be seen in major concerts about once a year. "Until now, I have said it is unlikely. It's not like it was in the gigs a year, says there is room for more full- service audio "Where the really big movement in our area and all of Texas 1940s, perhaps never will be, but there is a definite trend houses like Buffalo. will be is in plays and musicals -anything involved in what we back to larger orchestras playing dance music. Younger "I'd like to se6 others locate in Fort Worth," he says. "There choose to term the fine arts. You'll see more national com- people are enjoying tea dances and swing music, yet they're is some magical ingredient in this city that lends itself to crea- panies discovering Texas as a venue for the ' Evitas' and the not disliking rock or country." tivity. 'Dollys' and they'll be bringing in name stars who wouldn't rn Casa Manana, the summer stock theater -in- the -round The electronic media is going to have its greatest decade have come here several years ago." á15 which is synonymous with musical comedy in the area, just in the '80s," says Hodges, who sees a growing potential here This trend will shift the focus from big arenas to smaller, co ended its 25th season in the best fiscals shapes in several for small record labels. "The majors are becoming more pro- more acoustically precise halls like Owen's 3,000 -seat theater .E years. The Musicians' Union had made concessions for motion and distribution- oriented," he said. which the Fort Worth's opera, ballet and symphony call their o smaller orchestras on two shows, thus reducing overhead. Jazz is a surprisingly healthy hybrid in a city so proliferated performance home. Barynishkov danced there last year, and And ticket sales boomed. with country music. The nearness of North Texas State Uni- "Evita" probably will be booked for a week in December. AUSTIN By KATY BEE 2137 ZERCHER RD. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78209 More than any other Texas city, Austin is known -in fact, is famous for -its music. There is music in clubs, on the radio, along the street, in studios. It would be hard to count Austin's clubs -they seem to spring up at the mere arrival of a guitar -but its numerous stages have given rise to a well -deserved reputation as a town thoroughly in love with music. And, fittingly enough for a town whose people range from Latins to state senators to preppie college students to long- RODEOS haired hippies reminiscent of Haight -Ashbury, Austin has plenty of music to go around. Country, rock, reggae, salsa, new wave, honkytonk, pop, heavy metal ... if it has a beat, rest assured Austinites will love it. Somehow, Austin has never developed into the professional FAIRS recording center many had hoped for. Labels haven't flocked to its sunny streets; neither have management and booking firms. Yet there is an increasing sense of serious professional capability infusing Austin. "I could have settled anywhere when I decided to leave New York," says Michael Brovsky, half MOE BANDY CLUBS JOE STAMPLEY of the multi- faceted Brovsky- Stewart Group. "But Austin had everything I wanted. it's very easy to do business from here, THE RODEO CLOWNS COUNTRY FEELING and the pace is perfect." -Columbia Records- -Epic Records- With or without recording companies and a true business climate, the musical climate continues to flourish in Austin, though the pinch of today's economy has made itself felt even here. As one longtime club manager puts it, "The economy is hurting our clubs. The northern effects are trickling down to the Sun Belt now." But Austin residents raised and spoiled on top -name na- tional talent (and equally fine local and regional acts) refuse to pause long enough to entertain any such considerations. Supporting live talent is what Austin does best. A relative newcomer to the club scene is Cardi's, the latest lynchpin in the Texas -based rock shop chain. Owner Ted Sut- TOP NAME ENTERTAINMENT phin and exclusive booker /promoter Jack Orbin, president of Stone City Attractions in San Antonio, emphasize the facility's commitment to development area acts. With 1,200 seats, contact Cardi's can handle national headliners and regional perform- ers equally well. RONNIE SPILLMAN Other popular nightspots around Austin for locals catching the latest -or the favorites -are Emmajoe's, Club Foot (where GENE WATSON BILL HALL JOHNNY DUNCAN Austin -based Joe "King" Carrasco often fills the 1,000 -seat venue), Liberty Lunch (which alternates between bringing in MELVA MALISH big names like Rick Nelson, Poco, Michael Murphey and THE FAREWELL PARTY THE BOSQUE RIVER BAND Asleep At The Wheel, and local talent), Steamboat, Austex, -MCA Record- (512) 822 -2655 -Columbia Record- Mother Earth, Piggy's, the Continental and Hut's (where Austinite discovery Lou Ann Barton can often be found per- forming songs from her first Asylum Records LP). However, it seems Austin dance halls catering to the boot - and- belt set may be slowing down considerably, especially when summer months deplete the town of its large student contingent. Willie Nelson still lives in Austin. So does Joe Ely. Christo- pher Cross has semi- relocated to California, although his pro- duction mentor Michael Brovsky maintains an active base of operation for his Free Flow Productions in Austin. Other local acts with strong followings include the Fabulous Thunderb- irds, Beto and the Fairlanes, Butch Hancock, Jimmy Gilmore, Tom Pacheco, the Stephen Doster Band, the Cobras, the Aus- tin All- Stars, and the Lotions. Radio in Austin faces new challenges as the market contin- ues to fragment. Stations range from country (as might be ex- pected) to AOR to Spanish. KLBJ -AM has been exploring the success of a news /talk format for a year, while former Latin FM'er KMXX has switched to beautiful music. "Music Of Your DARRELL McCALL DOTTSY Life" is KTXZ's offering on its new AM signal. Country fans -RCA Recorde- -Taaslswood óecord- can select among KASE/ 101, KOKE -FM and KVET (which has "FIDDLIN" the healthiest ratings share of the three). KLBJ -FM, once a free -form AOR station, now plants itself in an adult -oriented FRENCHIE BURKE contemporary vein. And leading the market is KHFI -FM, pro- gramming contemporary hits. THE SOUNDMASTERS Nine months ago, KNOW, an AM station with no identifiable -Data Reorda- direction, undertook a major change as it turned to urban contemporary. It is attracting a favorable share of the black www.americanradiohistory.com.

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