In Austin

I've been hearing and reading some news stories recently, that some prominent New Orleans musicians have decided to permanently relocate in Austin. If these stories are true, it will cause me to place my bid firmly in the Austin marathon camp.

The first thing I heard was a story on NPR last Friday and I've excerpted some of the meat from that story below. You can click on the link if you want to listen to the whole thing.

From: New Orleans Musicians Fearful of City’s Future by David Brown, All Things Considered, Friday, 10/28/05

Cyril Neville: “I wouldn’t want to go back to a place that they’re sayin’ is gonna be a combination of Disneyland and Las Vegas.”

Producer Leo Sacks: “There’s an undercurrent going on here. Their lives are in transition . . . they’re wondering what kind of New Orleans could they potentially be going back to. . . . is New Orleans going to turn into one big, uh, casino or Bourbon Street?”

Reporter David Brown: “It’s a growing concern among New Orleans musicians that, no matter how much is done to rebuild their city, the street music scene may be lost for good, that reconstruction will leave little more than a plastic, family-friendly imitation of what the Crescent City once was . . . one senses that, for some prominent musicians with ties to New Orleans, Austin’s looking like more than just a temporary home.”


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4980270