A list of the Austin locations in Reverend Jacob Fontaine's life reads like a tourist guidebook.  He lived on the Woodlawn plantation of Governor Elisha M. Pease, while his wife Viney cooked meals for the Governor at the chief executive's mansion.  As church sexton, he rang the bells in the tower of St. David’s Episcopal Church.  He swept floors and emptied trash cans in the historic General Land Office Building.  He organized the St. John Regular Missionary Baptist Association while standing in the shade of Treaty Oak.  He founded Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church, the iconic house of worship in the historically black neighborhood of Clarksville. 

And in 1876, in a somewhat shabby two-story building that still stands at 24th and San Gabriel, Fontaine became the first black newspaper owner and editor in Austin.

Jacob Fontaine might even have been present on that fateful October day in 1838 when Texas President Mirabeau Lamar supposedly decided to locate the Texas capital at the Colorado River hamlet of Waterloo.  Jacob took his surname from Edward Fontaine, the white Episcopalian minister and Lamar presidential secretary who owned Jacob prior to Emancipation.  Edward Fontaine had accompanied Lamar on a western campaign swing that brought the party to Waterloo.  The two Fontaines maintained a close relationship both before and after the Civil War, and there is every chance that Jacob was present at Mirabeau Lamar’s shooting of an enormous buffalo at the future intersection of 8th and Congress, as well as his later pronouncement from atop the hill where the Capitol now sits that “this should be the seat of future empire.”

Despite having a decades-long relationship with Jacob Fontaine, Episcopalian minister Edward Fontaine left no written record of his one-time slave. (Photo courtesy of University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, crediting St. David's Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas.)

“The gold dollar is the name of this little Paper,” wrote Jacob Fontaine in the inaugural August 1876 edition.  His wasn’t the first newspaper aimed at blacks in Texas, or even in Austin, that distinction belonging to the short-lived Freeman’s Press of 1868.  It had more staying power than its predecessor, though, lasting at least until 1878 and perhaps until 1880.

A rare copy of the inaugural August 1876 edition of Jacob Fontaine's newspaper, The Gold Dollar.  (Courtesy of the Austin History Center)

Born into slavery in Arkansas in 1808, Jacob later was taken to Mississippi where he was bought by Edward Fontaine.  When Edward subsequently brought his slave to Texas, Jacob left behind a sister named Nelly.  The siblings hadn’t seen each other for twenty years when in 1872 Jacob went back to Mississippi for a visit.  There Nelly gave Jacob a gold dollar.  Over the next six years Jacob parlayed that coin into a savings of $60, which he used to start his newspaper.  He aimed his paper squarely at the concerns of Austin’s African-American community, as evidenced by this notice in that first edition:  “A letter of inquiry from Mr. Elmira Jones for his Sister Judith Jones who came to Austin from Sanaugustine with Dr. Ford.  If found tel Rev Jacob Fontaine.”  Proving that Mr. Jones’ predicament was by no means unique among his contemporaries is the addendum, “Aney one wishing to inquire for thir kinn send ten cents to the gold dollar.”

How Jacob spent his earliest years in Austin is unknown but by the early 1860s he was preaching to fellow slaves in the basement of the Methodist church at Brazos and East 10th.  White observers monitored his sermons; in fact, it was illegal for Jacob to conduct services without such an observer present.  Chafing at such restraint, Jacob and other members of the congregation began meeting secretly in 1864 to plan a split from the white church.  Over the next twenty years Jacob participated in the founding of five African-American churches as well as the St. John Regular Missionary Baptist Association.  Thus, by the time he founded The Gold Dollar, Jacob Fontaine had established himself as a leader in Austin’s black community.

Among Jacob Fontaine's accomplishments is his 1871 founding of Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church, still an integral part of the Clarksville community.  (From the book "Austin, Texas-Then and Now" by Jeffrey Kerr.)

The Gold Dollar did not ignore its readers’ religious needs.  “To the Sabbath Schools,” the paper’s editor wrote, “Remember thy creator in the days of thy youth.”    “Children,” he cautioned, “you must attend your Sabbath schools regular and Soon for it is hoped that our race will be more fully Christianized . . . .”  And to the children’s parents he wrote, “Every Man and Woman of GOD should set their selves against church humbug.”

There is no way to know how many Austin residents regularly read The Gold Dollar.  The newspaper did attract attention from its white-owned counterpart, the Daily Democratic Statesman.  “It is a neat little paper,” wrote Statesman editor L. J. DuPre , “and does credit to the colored man who conducts it.”   The Statesman also reported that “The [Texas Land] Register extends its paw to Rev. Fontaine, the editor and says: ‘Go in, you old Etheopian inkslinger.’”

Jacob Fontaine’s home and newspaper office building at 24th and San Gabriel sits in what was once the African-American community of Wheatville.  The Gold Dollar ceased publication around 1880.  Precisely when Jacob moved away from Wheatville is unknown, but his death came in 1898 at a house on East 16th Street long ago obliterated by expansion of the University of Texas.  As Wheatville was surrounded and absorbed by Austin, Italian immigrants gradually replaced its black residents.  In 1919 one such immigrant, a man named Joe Franzetti, bought Jacob Fontaine’s former Wheatville home and opened a grocery that he operated for the next 50 years.  The building survived a 1977 fire and still looks very much like it did in Jacob Fontaine’s day. (The building will soon be the new home of a bar called Freedmen's run by the former owners of the Scoot Inn.)

Shown here in a 2004 photograph, this building at 2402 San Gabriel Street in the Wheatville neighborhood served as Jacob Fontaine's home and newspaper office.  (From the book "Austin, Texas-Then and Now" by Jeffrey Kerr.)

In addition to his religious and publishing work, Jacob took an active role in politics.  When Austin supporters sought to persuade Texas voters to locate the state university in their city they enlisted Jacob’s help in recruiting black voters to the cause.  Jacob focused his efforts on the state’s black ministers, who in turn strove to convince members of their congregations to vote for Austin.  Reverend Fontaine’s support for Austin rested in part on the state constitution’s promise to establish a black branch of the state university, which voters also elected to locate in Austin.  That promise went unfulfilled.  As the Reverend had written in The Gold Dollar, “O Lord, God of our Fathers, when will such Evels be put down?”

Fontaine's remains lie in Oakwood Cemetery, the city’s first burial ground.  His wife Viney, who preceded him in death by three years, lies beside him.  There are no gravestones but a historical marker stands at the approximate location of the graves.  Slave, preacher, church leader, political activist and newspaper publisher, Jacob Fontaine deserves our attention and respect for his role in Austin history.  And the next time you hold a dollar in your hands, think of what Jacob Fontaine did with the one he held in his.

Jacob Fontaine is buried in the vicinity of his historical marker near the entrance to Oakwood Cemetery at East 16th and Navasota streets.  (Photo by Jeffrey Kerr.)

What’s a self-respecting bohemian, slacker, hippie or hipster to do about the high cost of living in Austin that gobbles up your disposable income? Maybe relocate some 30 miles and minutes south to San Marcos.

After all, our smaller sister city just down Interstate 35 was designated the 10th least expensive city in the nation by the Council for Community and Economic Research. Its mayor boosts its merits:

“This ranking demonstrates that San Marcos not only has a fantastic quality of life and great educational opportunities, we also are highly competitive when it comes to the price of housing, utilities, health care, transportation, groceries, goods and services,” Mayor Daniel Guerrero said in a statement. “Our affordable cost of living adds to the appeal of our community and the benefits of living here.”

It’s a college town that unlike most of Austin actually feels like a college town. It has its own springs (if not as big a pool as Bartons). No skyscrapers. A lovely town square. And speaking of cheap, there's the humongous outlet mall on the south edge of town. It may well be just the place to experience Austin living as it once was.

A KEYE TV news report says that the deal brokered between the Broken Spoke dancehall on S. Lamar and the developer of the two adjacent mixed-use apartment buildings on either side of the legendary Austin nightspot to keep it there and dancing away may be rendered moot by problems stemming from the construction that are hurting its business. Due to the Spoke’s now-greatly-reduced parking, nightly attendance has dropped from 400-600 patrons to 200-300, adversely affecting the income of musicians who play there and the tip income of bartenders and waitpersons. The site clearing process has also been rattling the walls of the nearly 50-year-old structure and cracks have appeared in the dancefloor. Although Transwestern and Spoke owner James White had struck a deal for a 20-year lease for the honky-tonk to remain at its locale (the land was purchased by the developers), employees and musicians fear the club’s business may not weather the downturn for the two years it will take until the new buildings are completed.

Gov. Rick Perry is out there every day, pounding the pavement, for you. He’s trying his best to bring more jobs to Texas, even if that means crossing treacherous international waters in the name of economic prosperity for our great state. For the past week Perry suffered his way through bella Italia on an economic development trip where he apparently discussed investment, trade and tourism with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and Israeli President Shimon Peres. As someone representing not just Texas but the entire United States, we can only hope that he has a firmer grasp on the European economy than he did during his failed presidential campaign.

But really the governor was there for one reason, aside from the country’s world-renowned gelato: To promote Formula One racing. While attending the (clearly inferior) Italian Grand Prix in Milan, Perry touted the U.S. Grand Prix which will be held here in mid-November at the Circuit of the Americas. Perhaps you’ve heard about Formula One. If you haven’t, you will, when the rich and famous—an estimated 1.2 million visitors annually—descend on our fine city amid the roar of the engines at the racetrack in southeast Travis County near Elroy for the next decade. (If you’re not familiar with Elroy, population 125, it’s the brand new site of the Formula One track and that’s about it.) The track, meanwhile, is said to be almost finished. Almost. Fingers crossed.

While Perry’s trip was mostly funded by TexasOne, an economic development marketing firm, his security detail is costing taxpayers what could be tens of thousands of dollars. A small price to pay for the governor’s grand tour of Ferrari headquarters, wouldn’t you say? He also received funding from the Ambrosetti Forum where he spoke about cowboy hats and barbecue.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Perry said he was talking to leaders not just about Formula One but “about the Texas formula of low taxes, reasonable regulation, a fair legal system and a world-class work force.” Although none of the European government or business leaders signaled any immediate intention to relocate to Texas (would you trade Tuscany for Texas?), Perry claimed that their “opportunity to succeed is better in Texas than any other state.” Bringing more jobs to Texas is obviously a good thing. I’m thinking of becoming a professional single-seater race car driver myself. I wonder if they allow Hondas on the track.

Naturally the $350 million project, with an annual cost of $25 million, has experienced some bumps along the way, such as construction delays and lawsuits involving top investors like billionaire Red McCombs. But if you’re looking to make some quick cash off this event look no further than Home Away. Considering that hotel rates at the downtown Super 8 are going for $500 and up a night, you can probably get at least twice that for your charming one-bedroom bungalow with galley kitchen.  

Ciao, Austin!

An aquatic weed that has taken hold in what many of us still refer to as Town Lake has pitted recreational users against the guardians of the environmental health of the body of water in the center of our city, the American-Statesman reports.

Rowers are getting their craft tangled in the flourishing fanwort that also damages the skegs that extend from their boats’ keels, and rental docks want the weed removed so it won’t impede their business. At the same time the City’s Watershed Protection and Review Department feels that the fanwort should remain for its benefits to the lake’s ecology:

It has provided habitat for fish, produced oxygen and trapped sediment that would otherwise cloud the lake.

Fanwort has taken root in Lady Bird Lake due to the reduced flow of water through the Highland Lakes on the Colorado during the recent drought. Both sides are considering solutions that will serve the competing needs.

One of Austin’s truest clichés is the line we hear after we arrive, and later find ourselves repeating: “Man, it was so cool before you moved here.” Last Saturday night’s Grulkefest tribute to SXSW creative director Brent Grulke and fundraiser for his son Graham’s education fund proved not just how cool this city once was, but how amazingly soulful Austin’s music community remains.

The biggest compliment this grizzled old music critic can give the event is that words fail me. And that’s okay: As I read what those who were there and those who watched the livestream from afar said during the concert and on its Facebook page, the words are all there, full of profound eloquence from deep in the hearts and souls of those who posted them. All prompted by the far-too-early passing of Brent Grulke.

Rollicking, intelligent, LOUD, heartfelt, full of hugs and kisses: could there BE a more fitting tribute to beloved Brent? I don't think so. (Kathleen McTee)

This show was like some fantasy come true and it lived up to and far beyond its promise. Everyone was so great and the True Believers were just ridiculous. (Don Radcliffe)

There is no way I could ever say anything, play anything or make anything that is even close to the intensity, the presence or the strength of last night's creation. All that emotion, thought and revelation that came out around this event are a tribute to all who are a part of it... and maybe even a little bit more. At the very least it is a tribute to the lives of women and men who revel in life and love. I have been educated. I thank you. (Pete Whitfill)

This word is way overused, but last night was EPIC. (Leslie Bonnell)

What a night of magic. (Darcie Jane Fromholz)

It wasn’t just a salute or a fundraiser. It was Austin music at its finest ­– especially one era that never got its full and just due ­– and the local music community at its best. Its significance goes beyond Brent Grulke, which made its tribute to him that much greater.

A Star's Farewell

In his remembrance of Brent on the Texas Monthly blog, writer, editor and Grulkefest organizing team leader Jason Cohen nailed the significance of Brent’s shockingly sudden and unexpected death last month to Austin’s music community:

At one of the many gatherings the week Brent died, one friend of ours, Ron Marks of the band Texas Instruments, went so far as to argue that SXSW was the single thing that saved Austin’s economy, bringing it both tourists and its huge creative-class cachet. Another, former Daniel Johnston manager Jeff Tartakov, said the communal grief reminded him of nothing so much as the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan almost exactly 22 years earlier (which was the week I moved to Austin, as it happens).

Jeff’s observation is on the mark, but this reminds me more of the passing of Doug Sahm in late 1999. Where Vaughan shined a worldwide spotlight on the Austin blues scene, Sahm’s music was all over the stylistic musical map just as Grulke’s love and knowledge of music was vast, broad and without boundaries.

Sahm had a way of making everyone among the many and myriad he knew feel like a true and special friend, as did Brent. And both could regale you like a raconteur. With Sir Doug it could be hard to get in a word edgewise. But as Wild Seed and Texas Monthly editor Mike Hall noted in his warm and knowing official Brent Grulke obituary: “Brent loved conversation and would talk for hours about things he cared about…. Brent loved to talk, but he also loved to listen.” Like Sahm, Grulke was a true character, a genuinely independent soul, and someone who managed to make music his life’s entire work.

Sure, Stevie Ray Vaughan imprinted Austin blues onto album rock radio as also did his brother Jimmie’s band The Fabulous Thunderbirds. But even after Sahm saw some country and Latin music chart success with The Texas Tornados, he remained something of a cult figure. Knowing about Doug Sahm was a sign that you were really wired into the heart of what the Austin scene was about.

So was knowing Brent, from when he first started gathering his network of friends out on the road with Austin bands in the 1980s, through his taking over the helm of SXSW in 1994 and in the years to follow.

One accomplishment he hasn't received quite enough public credit for was reviving if not rescuing SXSW from a precipitous downturn in the late 1990s as the American record business suffered a slump it has yet to recover from. I recall in 1998 driving down from the Hole in the Wall to see a showcase at The Speakeasy on Friday night of the festival. I reached the intersection of Congress Ave. and Sixth St. and in the midst of the festival it was as dead as a Monday night. I feared that SXSW could go the way of New York's New Music Seminar and lose the buzz and fade away.

That was not to be, in many ways thanks to Grulke. He caught the wave of the independent labels rising to usurp the grip the majors had on recorded music and drew them firmly into the SXSW fold. He expanded its reach internationally to bring in bands from around the world. Nearly 2,300 artists played the festival last year. As SXSW managing director Roland Swenson points out, “It was Brent who put the music festival in overdrive.”

I recoil from the use of “rockstar” to describe people who excel at their jobs, and even if what Brent achieved in music merits such a comparison he stayed largely out of the spotlight, working backstage and back of the house and behind the curtain at SXSW most weeks of the year. But the response to his death was comparable to that of any Austin musical star now gone. And Grulkefest brought out the rock’n’roll star in all eight bands that played it.

All For the Love of Rock’n’Roll

As KUT music director Jeff McCord (right) took the stage to start the six-hour show by introducing The Wannabes, he recalled how Brent confessed to him as the band played at the Hole in the Wall that they embodied everything that to him was great about rock’n’roll.

It’s somewhere in the mid ‘90s, and Brent and I are sitting at a table in the outer room of the Electric Lounge (for those of you weren’t here then, the spot is now buried underneath the Spring condominiums). We’re having drinks and talking, waiting for The Wannabes to take the stage.

I’ll speculate that rock’n’roll was part of that conversation. It was Brent who first touted The Wannabes to me; in fact, he wouldn’t shut up about them. The mists of memory have him comparing them favorably to The Replacements.

If Brent heard that in The Wannabes, I was certainly going to heed his tout. And I went to see them a few times at the Hole in the Wall. It was obvious that something special was there: smart songs with a rock’n’roll punch sprinkled with mischievously boyish pop sugar. As a group they had yet to coalesce into a true band with that psychic unity that mind-and-soul-melds players and singers into something far greater and more potent than the sum of its parts.

We both came to the Lounge that night to catch The Wannabes at their first show back from a debut tour out of town that, if memory serves, was about three or so weeks long. It was one thing I know we spoke about that night: How there is nothing better for a band than getting out of town and playing for strangers rather than friends and having to win over listeners to whom you’re just another band passing through town. It’s the crucible that can up a group’s musical game like nothing else. Brent had seen it happen on the road.

When The Wannabes hit the stage, our ears perked up and we both stopped talking and smiled at each other. “You hear that?” I said to Brent.

“Yeah,” he replied, nodding his head and smiling.

“They got really good,” I marveled.

“No kidding.” he agreed, a grin breaking out on his face. We grabbed our drinks, got up and strode into the Lounge’s main room and parked ourselves a few feet from the stage. And stayed there for the rest of their set as the band punched out song after song with focus, finesse and crunchy potency, letting the music wash over us and splash our souls with the stuff we live for.

The room was largely empty, but that didn’t seem to matter to The Wannabes, who played like they had something to not just prove but proudly assert: Listen up everyone. We’re gonna rock your butts like we mean it, man.

It was the just the rock’n’roll basics: two guitars, bass and drums; three voices and some no nonsense, hard-charging songs with earworms galore. They fused those elements together to create a sonic atomic blast. From time to time I’d look over at Brent and we’d exchange knowing glances. I recall a grinning nod he gave me that simply said: “Right?” 

Up on the big Moody Theater stage at Grulkefest, a good decade-and-a-half later, The Wannabes looked and sounded like champs: a band that could give the biggest dogs in the rock’n’roll game a damn good run for their money. And it was that way with every act that played that night.

Faith in a Local Scene Redeemed & Repaid

The core of the bill ­– The Wild Seeds, Doctors' Mob, The Reivers and the True Believers – were all part of a movement dubbed “New Sincerity” after local rocker and writer Jesse Sublett actually sniffed at the new local buzz bands, saying, “It's all new sincerity to me…. It's not my cup of tea." Yet the tag got attached to the rockers making a raucous noise in the city’s clubs from the mid-1980s into the early ‘90s, even if it seems to imply something perhaps a bit wimpy and overly earnest. In at least one way the description does fit: the noise they made was also righteous and real rock’n’roll. 

It was the latest in musical movements that had been developing in Austin since the dawn of the 1960s, when Janis Joplin and her crew would gather at the original Threadgill’s on N. Lamar for folk sings. Then came psychedelic pioneers the 13th Floor Elevators and such other trippy groups as Shiva’s Headband and The Conqueroo. As the ‘60s met the ‘70s, progressive country brought sustained national attention to Austin and established its rep as a musical wellspring, and the singer-songwriter scene began to coalesce. In 1975 Clifford Antone opened the first music venue on Sixth St. (where now the Littlefield Quarters apartment building stands), a blues joint bearing his last name which launched the Vaughan Brothers far beyond Austin’s city limits. Later in that decade a thriving punk/new wave scene arose.

Then came New Sincerity. It was a scene Grulke dove into by co-producing the 1985 compilation album "Bands on the Block" on which all four of the aforementioned groups had a track (The Reivers then known as Zeitgeist). He went out on the road with them all as their tour managing shepherd and sonic guardian behind the soundboard. It was his musical community and he was smack dab in the middle of it.

It was music that could and maybe even should have put Austin on the commercial rock music map. The hope was there as The Reivers (pictured left) stepped up from indie DB Records to the majors with Capitol and the True Believers made the same upward shift from Rounder to EMI Records. But none made the critical breakthrough.

The show confirmed that Brent’s faith in those acts was justified, even if none of the bands came close to stardom. The bands that took the Moody stage not just rose to the occasion and the venue. They shined because they rocked.

If you’re looking for a rundown of who played what songs, look elsewhere. What has always mattered more was how it felt, and it was a night to never mind the note taking and step up to the front of the stage to let the music engulf you with its healing powers.

I will say this: the one band that I hadn't yet seen live as they'd broken up by the time I arrived, Doctors’ Mob, wowed me with their postpunk angularity and sprawling muscularity. The groups I saw a number of times in my initial years in Austin like The Reivers, Wild Seeds and Glass Eye (pictured right) were stunningly more assured, fiery and potent than I’d ever witnessed them before.

Sixteen Deluxe demonstrated how Austin rock’n’roll could update itself and generate sonic fury in the post-grunge era. And Fastball proved that a single from one of this city’s bands could even score on the pop charts.

There were special moments like when The Wild Seeds gathered a gaggle of the musicians and FOBs ­– as their badges read for "Friends of Brent" ­– who were working on the event alongside Kristen and Graham Grulke to sing along on the song Brent had co-written, “I’m Sorry But I Can’t Rock You All Night Long” (pictured below). And spontaneous ones like the mosh pit in front of the stage towards the end of the closing set by the True Believers.

People were with me last night that had never seen some of these bands. I think they understand now. (Mike Soden)

And the Troobs, as they were known in short, provided the fitting capstone to the show. As the New Sincerity band with perhaps the greatest potential and expectations (as well as promise unfulfilled), they only issued a solid first album that was still tepid compared with how they sounded in person. A second disc that captured their muscular potency went unreleased when they were unceremoniously dropped by EMI. When both albums came out as a two-fer on CD in 1994, they reunited to ably show their live performance chops at SXSW.

On this night, they were mighty and majestic, roaring and crackling like a wildfire. Every note they played shouted hey hey, my my, rock’n’roll will never die. Nor will the memory of Brent Grulke, a true believer in the music if there ever was one.

When Austin Felt Like a Small Town

The show inside wasn't the only special aspect to Grulkefest. Just outside its doors was a social gathering that felt like a ride in the wayback machine to an earlier Austin.

One of the ironies of the evening was its locale. From the veranda of the Moody you could look out over the site where Liberty Lunch once was, now occupied by the western CSC office building. The W Hotel & Residences rise into the skyline from where there was formerly a parking lot that by day served the old and rather puny City Hall (now replaced by one of the few architecturally unique and significant buildings among the many that have been built since Liberty Lunch was razed in 1999).

The ramshackle Lunch, once an old carriage yard, was the city's prime rock concert venue through the '80s and '90s. The veteran bands on the Grulkefest bill had all performed there more than a few times.

Most of the surrounding blocks when I arrived in ‘89 were just open fields. The boom and bust of the 1980s had leveled the old structures that had stood there, yet nothing had been built in their place. Austin was still a small town of a city that had largely evaded growth and gentrification.

What is now the bustling Sixth Street Entertainment District was still a relatively sleepy street where three original live music clubs ­– Steamboat, the Cannibal Club and Black Cat Lounge – were as much the draw as any of the bars. You could usually find free street parking within a block of Sixth. Or if a space didn’t immediately present itself, parking in a lot was a what the hell two or three bucks.

At those venues as well as the Continental Club, Antone’s and the Hole in the Wall, and soon after new joints such as the original La Zona Rosa, Saxon Pub, Electric Lounge, Stubb’s and Emo’s, you’d see the same faces all the time. It felt like a community, and you knew that everyone was there out of a love of the music. I am certain that during the previous decade, when the New Sincerity bands also ruled at The Beach – now the Crown & Anchor Pub ­– it was even more so.

It was a time when you were never bothered by people talking loudly over the music and cell phones for texting friends and snapping pics were still off in the future. People focused on what was happening onstage. Audiences made Austin such a musical city just as much as the bands.

Over time, even the most rabid fans fade out of regularly clubbing. They get married and have kids, focus on their careers, settle into a comfortably homey existence. Some of them move away. They don’t love music any the less. But their lives have changed.

And so has Austin, radically from those days, all but doubling between 1990 and 2010. Downtown has gone from vast areas of sleepiness after dark to pulsing with energy all but 24/7. Most of the old clubs are gone, and the majority of the faces out there are new. But on the Moody Theater veranda, a social magic was happening. It was like old home week for many, seeing faces in person we now only catch on Facebook.

Last night felt like the old days when clubs were like my living room and I knew everybody there. (Jody Hunt)

I’d like to think that if Brent were there, he’d tell everyone it’s still their town. And their bands continue to rule.

The Man Who Loved Women & Women Who Rocked

Towards the end of his band’s set, Wannabe Kevin Carney said between songs how Brent was like the devil, but without the negativity. It may appear an odd and ironic comment during an outpouring of love and admiration for a man, but I’m certain that I was hardly alone in knowing just what Carney meant.

Former Village Voice music editor and legendary rock critic Robert Christgau at one point in the late 1970s noted how the rock’n’roll life was like extended adolescence. Back when I moved here – before Portland and “Portlandia” nabbed the line – Austin was the original city where the young went to retire, but more so it was and still remains in some quarters a place where you can extend adolescence well into your retirement years.

Up to the moment he died at the age of 51, Grulke kept his adolescent rock’n’roll soul more than alive, even if he had matured into being a father and family man. You could see it in the mischief that frequently glimmered in his eyes. I have little doubt that he got a devilish glee from driving his SXSW partners a bit crazy as he would add more and more venues and a few hundred more bands to the festival, damn the cost and logistics, these artists need to be seen and heard.

He also had a young man’s passion for the opposite sex. He was a romantic with a sometimes teenage and impulsive heart. And it says something about a man that his ex-wife, Kathy McCarty of Glass Eye, would play a benefit for his son by his next wife. And that both an ex-girlfriend and former lover of Brent’s would fly halfway across the country to be at the show.

It’s somewhere in the early 2000s on the patio of Opal Divine’s Freehouse one evening. A bunch of us are seated at a picnic table drinking and talking, including Brent and the new woman in his life, an adorably cute, charming, sharp-witted lass named Kristen. At some point Brent was regaling the assembled and verging into pontification, and as he paused, Kristen piped in with a quick and sharp-as-an-arrow zinger that popped the bubble of maybe-not-hot-but-slightly-warm air he’d been blowing, and everyone cracked up with laughter… except Brent.

He sat there with a sheepish grin and blush of embarrassment like some kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar of pretentiousness. Yet his expression also belied a pride in the woman sitting next to him for doing so. I clearly recall saying to myself: Wow, Brent has finally met his match! And so it turned out to be.

Closing the Circle with a Resounding Chord

If Grulke had connived a way to prove that the music scene he lived and breathed had greatness, he couldn’t have done better than what his friends and associates put together in his honor.

Once again, someone posting on the Grulkefest page said it better than I can: former Austinite Mike Lee, now living in New York City:

While watching the live feed I thought this was a collective completion of the story Brent worked decades to convey. And what a story it was: The Wannabes sounding as perfect as a band could be, Sixteen Deluxe with its Baader-Meinhof bank heist panic attack guitar. Fastball and The Reivers showing they matter, and a lot. Wild Seeds: Mike Hall exposing his heart to the audience, in ways only he could. Glass Eye with Kathy pulling effortlessly from a pocket a note that takes Scott Walker six months to find, and of course Steve Collier's fabulously magic one-dollar pants that transform him into a shaman invoking hi-energy MC5 Rob Tyner and Wayne Kramer combined. Finally, the True Believers. JD finding the voice he earned. Al looking vulnerable and human while Jav stands as a stoic spirit, grinding out one of the most passionate sets I've witnessed in a long time. Yeah, it was a story finally complete.

What Brent started with "Bands on the Block" he finished with bands from that same album, on the stage he’d managed to get Bruce Springsteen to play last March. 

Later in the evening, I asked Swenson how SXSW might replace him. “We can’t,” was all he said, shrugging his shoulders. The same goes for all that knew him. There’s an  hole that in the hearts of everyone who was among the many he made feel like they were sincerely his friends. The memories can’t fill the space, but they are a balm that keeps him, in a way, still alive.

Forget thinking we are old – tonight the music was timeless and the musicians seemed to have drank from the Fountain of Youth. (Debbie Cerda)

As I finished writing this article, the news came in with the final tally from the ticket sales and silent auction: More than $75,000 towards Graham Grulke’s education. And I’ve no doubt that the contributions will continue.

Strange as it may seem, the prevailing emotion of the event was joy, even though every one of us who knew Brent carried a load of sorrow with us into the Moody Theater. This may seem like irony yet again, but no, not really.

At one point I exchanged yet another hey, how are ya? greetings with someone I hadn’t seen in far too long. “I’m good,” she replied, then after a pause added, “It feels kind of weird saying that tonight.”

Naw…. Brent would have wanted it that way.

Further information on the Graham Grulke Education Fund can be found on its Facebook page. Contributions can be directed through PayPal or by mail to: EMG, Inc./6101 West Courtyard Drive/Suite 2-12/Austin, Texas 78730/Attn: Brad Grulke/Please make donations payable to the Graham Grulke Education Fund.

Photos of Glass Eye, the True Believers, Grulkefest Crowd & Flying Guitar by Claudia Parker. Photos of Jeff McCord, The Wannabes, The Reivers, The Wild Seeds/"...Rock You All Night Long" & Carrie Clark by Rafael Rodriguez. Brent Grulke photo courtesy of SXSW.

Krause Springs is one of the most beautiful swimming holes in the Hill Country. Located on private land in Spicewood, about an hour’s drive northwest of Austin, the 115-acre area features camping, day-use barbecue areas, a beautiful garden, a manmade pool and a natural, spring-fed pool.

Krause Springs has been owned by a family of the same name for 50 years. The area features 32 springs, many of which feed the natural pool and swimming hole, keeping them both at a refreshing and constant 70 degrees. Admission is $6 per adult; no dogs or glass allowed.

The area is set out on a slope. At the top of the slope is the old Krause house and beautiful gardens, where you pay admission. The land slopes down, where you can find the man-made, spring-fed swimming pool. From there, you walk down some stairs to get to the creek, which eventually feeds into Lake Travis, and the swimming hole. One beautiful feature is a great waterfall between the manmade pool and the swimming hole. The rock face there is covered by ferns and moss, making it a pretty sight.

Krause Springs is very popular with families. In fact, in the half dozen times I’ve visited, I’ve never set foot in the manmade pool because as the day goes on, it turns into a bit of a kid fest. Our favorite thing to do is get there before noon and set up at one of the few flat packed dirt spots. The earlier you get to Krause Springs, the less crowded it is. Around noon or 1 p.m., the masses arrive and the once-idyllic pool is packed to the brim.

The crowds, however, make for some great people watching. When we went recently, we spent the majority of our time laughing and critiquing jumps made by the kids on the rope swing, many of whom didn’t seem to know how to get the rope back to its launching point. I thought that was a built-in skill every 10-year-old had!

The swimming hole isn’t that large, and in most places, the average adult can touch bottom. However, the best way to do Krause is in a float. We normally set up camp in the middle and then float around the back half of the swimming hole. Most people seem avoid this back part because instead of being enclosed by rocks, it’s enclosed by beautiful Cypress tree roots and plants. It’s home to turtles and looks like it could harbor a few snakes. Both of those animals are terrified of humans and aren’t going to be lurking around while there’s splashing, screaming and swimming going on. But if that fear keeps people out of our spot, I’m A-OK with it!

Speaking of the wildlife there: keep your eyes out for the rock squirrels. They’re black squirrels that camouflage well with the brush and live in burrows instead of up in the trees. The adorable thing about them is that if you sneak up on one, no matter how close you are when he sees you, he’ll just flatten out and then lay completely still until you leave. I’d never seen a squirrel do that before I saw it at Krause Springs, and I found it pretty dang cute.

There’s just nothing better than floating around, beer in hand, with your bottom half being kept cool by spring-fed water and your upper half baking under the sun on an upper-90s-degree day. With the right companion, you can have it all: some conversation, a little napping and some great people watching.

Children of the 80’s, this week’s pick is all for you. Strange Kid Comix Magazine is a little bit Mad Magazine, a little bit Heavy Metal Magazine, and a whole lot of pop culture fun. 

They’re joining the growing number of indie publications who’ve turned to crowdsourcing instead of selling ads in order to raise funds for printing and production. Honestly, I like this trend. The publication gets a good idea how many copies they should print (no need to cut down half a rainforest if you’re only going to sell 500 copies), the content isn’t censored in order to keep advertisers happy, and dedicated fans can get ahold of some fun bonus swag. Everybody wins. 

This issue of Strange Kid Comix Magazine feature art from Brent Engstrom of Garbage Pail Kids fame, Jason Edmiston of Horrorhound, Aaron Blecha of Zombiekins, and a host of other illustrators whose work you probably know but whose names you might not recognize. This issue pokes your childhood with a stick by parodying everything from He-Man to Rainbow Brite to Beetlejuice. 

Their reward levels range from $3 for a thank you to $300 for the original cover artwork, but the sweet spot is a mere $15 for ebook editions of the first two issues and a print copy of issue number three. They already sold out of special pledge levels where you could get a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle or Teen Wolf mini poster, but if you’re willing to donate $65, you can get a special edition Nige Ward postcard, stickers, buttons and a t-shirt in addition to the ebook and print copies of the magazine. 

This is a fun, creative little Kickstarter that not only helps keep Austin certifiably weird, but also plays up our hipster cred by going old school in both form and content. If you miss Mad Magazine, this is your chance to get yourself a hearty laugh and support a creative local endeavor, all for only $15. 

___

Wondering how our previously profiled Austin Kickstarters did?

Jumpshot is over 500% funded! They raised more than $125,000, putting them in the top tier of all Kickstarters.  

My Education was fully funded!  The instrumental band is set for their European tour.

Stabil-i-Case is 27% funded. They have another week to make around $60,000.

The Doctor Who Review Project sadly didn’t reach its goal and therefore didn’t receive funding.

The original Spinferno Kickstarter was cancelled and replaced by a new Spinferno for Android kickstarter.

Volunteers have found two-year old Delores to be calm and gentle, easy on the leash, and eager to follow her human's lead.

Like many dogs, she gets jumpy in her kennel, but calms down once she’s out for a walk. Delores regularly participates in playgroups with other pups - You can watch her doing so below:

She was also featured as KVUE's Pet of the Week, and clearly loves the limelight.

Delores is affectionate without being slobbery, walks well on the leash, is potty trained, spayed, microchipped, bathes easily, rides well in the car, seems healthy and loves humans. Now she just needs an adopter - Could that be you?

You can find out more about Delores at the Hard Luck Hounds website.

Life isn’t all about networking events and making business connections. Sometimes you need to find like-minded geeks for some relaxing fun. Once a week, we round up the best geek social events in Austin.

This month we see the return of Beer Brass and BS for the Steampunks, the Monthly Sci-Fi and Fantasy Social for the movie lovers, and a brand new science fiction themed play at The Off Center. 

Monthly Sci-Fi and Fantasy Social
Sept 14, 7:00 p.m. 
Draught House Pub & Brewery
4112 Medical Pkwy
Join the Austin Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club for their laid back monthly pub night. 

Space Station 1985
Sept 14 - 22, 8:00 p.m. 
The Off Center
2211 Hidalgo St
Space Station1985 is the story of two down-and-out NASA cast-offs who are blasted into space in the year 1985 by a mysterious privately-funded space exploration group. Their mission is to be  the first men to mine the tail of halley's comet. However, while working 30 day alternating shifts, the mission begins to take a dark turn.

Settlers of Catan Meetup
Sept 15, 5:00 p.m. 
Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy
6111 Burnet Rd
Need to scratch your Catan itch? At least six tables of people will be playing at Dragon’s Lair comics on Saturday. Swing on by for some boardgame goodness. 

Geeks Who Drink Meetup
Sept 15, 9:00 p.m.
Opal Divine’s Marina
12709 Mopac
Trivia lovers can join a team for the chance to show off their smarts and win free drinks.

Jedi Training 
Sept 16, 1:00 p.m. 
Location TBD
I’ll admit, this looks potentially scammy. It appears to be a cross between tae kwon do and self help for young people with low self esteem. I’d love to hear from anyone who can either confirm my gut instinct that they’re looking for easy prey or reassure me that these people are just bad at writing. The Jedi Training title, refusal to give you the location until they have your contact info, and vague promises that they’ll reevaluate the way you live and teach you how to do it right all while appealing to hardcore geeks seems pretty suspicious. 

The Terminator 
Sept 16, 7:00 p.m. 
Stompin' Grounds Cocktail Lounge
3801 South Congress Ave
The Austin Fantasy and Science Fiction Book Club is getting together at The Stomping Ground for a free screening of The Governator’s 1985 classic. 

Girl Geeks of Austin Board Games and Brews
Sept 17, 7:00 p.m.
Black Star Co-Op
7020 Easy Wind Dr
Enjoy some microbrewery beers along with Euro style boardgames in the company of your fellow geek girls.

Koumori Comic Creator’s Club
Sept 17, 7:00 p.m.
Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy
6111 Burnet Rd
Koumori Comics is a group of artists and writers dedicated to learning, crafting, and supporting independent comics and the greater Austin community. We're looking for artists and writers of all skill-levels who are excited to develop their skill in a community of other artists and writers.

Pathfinder Society Meetup
Sept 17, 7:00 p.m.
Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy
6111 Burnet Rd
Looking for some new faces around the gaming table?  Delve into ancient dungeons, uncover lost knowledge and advance the secret goals of your faction--whether it be the freedom-fighting Andorans, the good-hearted Silver Crusade, the shady dealings of the Sczarni, or the strict laws of Cheliax--and gain experience and loot for your character no matter where you game!

South Austin Game Night
Sept 18, 6:00 p.m.
Rockin Tomato
3003 S. Lamar
This weekly gathering of gamers regularly hosts over 40 people playing a dozen different games. New people are always welcome.

Beer, Brass and BS Steampunk Gathering
September 18, 7:00 p.m.
Sherlock's Baker Street Pub and Grill
9012 Research Blvd
Join Beer, Brass and BS at their new location, Sherlock’s Baker Street Pub. The first 45 people in the door this month get a special goodie. You’ll also have a chance to learn more about the upcoming Tesla vs Edison weekend long steampunk extravaganza coming up this fall.

Nerdy Knitting and Fiber Arts with the Geek Girls of Austin
Sept 18, 8:00 p.m.
Genuine Joe's Coffee House
2001 W. Anderson Ln
Knitting, crocheting, embroidery - if you're nerdy about a fiber art, you'll love Nerdy Knitting! These geeky girls like anime, sci-fi, and needles with strings. Come enjoy some great coffee and conversation while your fingers get crafty.

Central Texas Boardgames Meetup
Sept 19, 7:00 p.m.
Wonko's Toys & Games
13776 N. Highway 183 #116
If you don’t live down south, this is North Austin’s night to get together for some fun with boardgames.

Austin is the ninth fastest growing city in the United States, averaging a whopping 151 new residents each day, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It certainly means a changing landscape for what was once a small town, and one of those changes may mean fewer families with children.

The number of families with children in Austin’s urban core is decreasing overall, even as the city’s population increased to 824,205 in April 2012. Some blame rising housing prices, lack of housing choices and schools, but others say you just have to prioritize to live with a family in the city.

“As a professional demographer, I think it’s something to be concerned about,” says Ryan Robinson, the City's demographer-in-chief. “A central city completely void of families with children is a type of homogeneity that wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for the steep [housing] price increase.”

This trend has been a long time in the making, Robinson says. Between 1970 and 2000, the central city's families-with-children share decreased by more than half, from 32 percent to 14 percent, but the overall population of families with children was still increasing. Now, within the urban core (inside Loop 360, Ben White and 183), both the share and the overall population of families with children are on the decline.

Click image for full-size version. Red means neighborhood loss of kids.

“It’s complicated,” Robinson acknowledges, “because there are numerous parts of town that are full of young families with children, so it might not feel that way.”

Windsor Park, located north of the new Mueller shopping development, for example, is a popular neighborhood for families with young children and is still considered to be relatively affordable. However, Robinson says, as the children in this neighborhood reach school age, many Windsor Park families leave for a different part of the school district or the suburbs and are replaced by another young family.

Russell Holley-Hurt, a digital asset manager for Whole Foods, moved to Windsor Park almost three years ago with his wife Carrie, when their daughter was 16 months old. He says they chose the area because the houses are great starter homes, “reasonably priced but relatively nice and close to downtown,” and the neighborhood presented cheaper options than South Austin. Holley-Hurt says the family will “definitely” still be in the neighborhood when Harper starts kindergarten, although whether that will be in public or private school is still up in the air.

Although he says being a parent in Austin has its perks – laid back people, fun activities, kid-friendly restaurants – he has questions about how the school system is run and describes the family’s property taxes as “crazy high.” Still, he says they’ll move away from Austin altogether before moving to the suburbs, listing 78704 or Hyde Park as possible destinations down the road.

The area known by its ZIP code, 78704, is bucking this decreasing children trend, says Robinson, calling this South Austin area known for its high-performing schools as a “destination neighborhood.” Contrary to the population in Windsor Park, families are moving to this neighborhood with their school-age children, resulting in a high transfer student enrollment at area schools.

Everybody loves 78704. (Photo courtesy Austinevan on Flickr.)

Andy Elder, a market researcher for Illuminas, is the president of the Zilker Neighborhood Association, a 10-year resident of the neighborhood and the father of a 5, 4 and 1 year old. When the 2010 Census came out, Austin Independent School District noted the trend of decreasing families overall, and talk began of closing some schools, including Zilker Elementary School. Elder, whose 5-year-old daughter is a Zilker student, and others rallied to prevent this closure from happening, saying Zilker’s kid population wasn’t decreasing at all.

The Zilker Neighborhood Association began a survey of its own, to find out if anecdotal evidence of family growth could be proven with numbers. The survey found that although families weren’t growing on main corridors, like South Lamar, there were more families with children in the interior. Between 2000 and 2010, the overall number of families with children increased by 62, Elder says, and this year, Zilker Elementary added an additional kindergarten class.

Living in a neighborhood with excellent schools and parks but that is still close to restaurants and entertainment comes at a price, Elder admits, adding that making a choice on what’s important is a necessary fact of life to afford to live in the neighborhood.

“I’m at a point where my property taxes are close to exceeding my mortgage,” he says. “Now, I have to look at that and think, 'What do I do differently?' … maybe start bicycle commuting. In the future, I will probably have to think about selling my car. But those are the kinds of tradeoffs people make in exchange for the schools and neighborhood. It’s a big incentive.”

Although they’re committed to staying put, as their family has grown, Elder admits he and his wife have discussed the possibility of having to move at some point.

“With a small house, you don’t hang on to a lot of toys because the closet is full,” he says. “When our third child was born, we’d already run out of bedrooms, so we had to decide, ‘Do the kids share bedrooms?’”

The housing size issue is a serious one in Austin, a town where two-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalows abound, and at an increasingly expensive cost. Sale prices for homes in Austin have appreciated by 17 percent over the last five years, according to real estate site Trulia.com. And although multiple vertical-mixed use buildings (which is city planning-speak for multiple-floor buildings with residences, shops and other uses) are planned throughout the central city, especially along the South Lamar corridor, those won’t provide much relief, Robinson says.

The two-bedroom one-bath model.

“Three-bedroom units are more expensive to build,” he explains. “The primary market for those [vertical-mixed use] developments is not families with children. They will give some relief, but I don’t know how much.”

Robinson sites the Mueller subdivision, off Airport, as a good model from the vision of a mixed-income, mixed-family community, but the development has experienced some unexpected popularity. Houses have already gone through four price increases, and although there was a school site originally set aside, the number of families with children that developers expected by this point haven't materialized, at least in part due to the prices, so the site sits empty.

“It’s a universal truth – when families are involved in competition for housing, they’ll lose,” Robinson says. “There’s an excitement of the redevelopment of Mueller and the urban core, but because of that, it’s so desirable and tough for families to keep up.”

An early model of the Mueller development. (Photo courtesy of Cote on Flickr.)

Rob Ryland, who works in client relations with a downtown law firm, experienced that reality when he moved to Elgin in 2006. Ryland and his wife bought a 1,200-square-foot home in 1999 for just over $100,000 not far from where Ryland grew up in South Austin. Although he says they loved the house, when it was appraised for close to $250,000 in 2006, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Looking at other neighborhoods in Austin wasn’t an option, as neighborhoods outside the city presented more land for less money.

“We wanted more space and another bathroom,” he says.  “There weren’t many other kids around us. There were a lot of renters and older folks, and it didn’t seem that many families were moving into the neighborhood.”

Ryland and his family moved out to Elgin, where they bought a 2,200-square-foot farmhouse on a large lot near his sister and her family. “There were a lot of other families in the neighborhood,” Ryland says. “A lot of it was just a ‘birds of a feather’ kind of thing.”

Six years later, Ryland says they’ll probably consider moving back into the city after his 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son are out of school. The 45-minute commute each way gets to him, and although he says they love the house, he misses being close to friends and nightlife.

“We used to like going to shows or out to eat, but with a 45-minute commute, when we get home, we’re not going back [into the city],” he says. “The part I miss most is just not being able to visit with our friends as often, and having to do so much driving. It’d save a good hour of my life every day if I didn’t have to make that drive.”

Ryland certainly isn’t alone there. Robinson says that although employment is starting to decentralize, it’s not decentralizing as quickly as the population is. That, coupled with an already out-of-date and inadequate infrastructure, adds to Austin’s traffic congestion problem. As far as keeping families in the city though, Robinson says there’s only so much the City can do.

“There are loads of families with children that want to be in the central city because of the vibrancy of living here, so many families will make it happen,” he says. As a city, “we have to determine if there’s anything in our codes or regulations that could be adding to this centrifugal effect of pushing people out to the suburbs. “

The City toyed with the idea of giving out low interest loans for house expansions, to keep people put rather than moving to larger homes, but that never got off the ground, Robinson says.

Still, Zilker Neighborhood Association president Elder says there is more that the City can do, especially with Imagine Austin, the comprehensive plan for managing the city’s growth, on the horizon, citing things like more variety in housing and more transportation choices.

“It feels like we’ve run out of tools in terms of zoning and incentives; there needs to be a fresh way of looking at how people live and how our neighborhoods are organized to accommodate families and mixed income and backgrounds,” he says. “We need a healthy mix in our neighborhoods, not a snapshot of either the way housing looked in 1963 or a McMansion. There has to be some other option.”

It’s surprising to hear a paranormal investigator talk about how much she loves physicists. Jackie Milligan, Co-Founder of the Central Texas Paranormal Conference (which runs Oct. 6 - 7), loves modern technology, scoffs at people who think every house more than 20 years old is haunted by demonic spirits, and never expects to see a kid’s head spin around in circles before vomiting epic quantities of pea soup. As an open-minded sort who invites skeptics to her events, she was more than happy to tell the Austin Post what goes on behind the scenes at a paranormal conference. 

Milligan is one of many entrepreneurs who see Austin as a growing “third coast” city. With the majority of paranormal conferences on the East Coast and a handful on the West Coast, she said there was a surprisingly strong pent-up demand for something in the middle. “Between South by Southwest, Austin City Limits and the growing local film industry, Austin is really growing and getting a lot of attention. People want to visit here.”

That was a little surprising, since Austin isn’t exactly known as a hotbed of paranormal activity. Milligan acknowledged that other than the Driskill Hotel, the Governor's Mansion and a few historic downtown bars that used to be anything from private homes to brothels, Austin doesn’t have a reputation for supernatural activity. Luckily, the conference isn’t a TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society, seen on shows like Ghost Hunters) investigation. It’s really a chance for people interested in the paranormal to swap notes on experiences, share stories of their own investigations and spend a couple nights partying in a town known for good music and open minds. 

The Driskill reportedly has ghost issues.

This Isn't TV. A Real Investigation, No One Gets Thrown Against a Wall

“It’s not what people expect,” said Milligan. “A lot of the TV shows are dramatically enhanced for your viewing pleasure. People run around and act insane. In reality, a lot of paranormal investigations are really kind of boring - until you start reviewing the evidence.” 

In addition to panels hosted by Britt Griffith and Kris Williams of SyFy’s Ghost Hunters, Friday night parties and discussions about the most modern ghost-hunting techniques, the Central Texas Paranormal Conference will host three paranormal investigations during the weekend. Since paranormal investigators find Austin a little quiet, two of the investigations will include day trips to nearby sites.

Ghost Hunters Kris Williams and Britt Griffith.

“It’s kind of crazy. The TAPS guys brought us a lot of respectability. If I walked up to a building owner and told them I’d like to just walk around all day, maybe hang out with a dozen friends for a few hours, they’d tell me I was crazy. When I tell them I want to do a paranormal investigation, they open their doors to us and welcome us right in.” 

Once those doors are open, investigations mostly consist of walking around the property, talking about the history of the place, recounting why people think it’s haunted, then sitting down with their equipment and quietly waiting. It’s a bit like curated indoor camping with a spooky edge.

“People are really easily spooked,” said Milligan. “They’ll be terrified of everything. It’s kind of embarrassing at the time, but when you’re reviewing the evidence later, if you hear a child’s voice on the recording and there weren’t any children there or a direct answer to a question you just asked and the voice doesn’t belong to anyone who was with you in the room, that’s when it gets really exciting.” 

Popular culture dictates a lot of the expectations people have who are new to investigations of the ghostly realms. Milligan said in the Victorian era, they expected ethereal transparent apparitions. In the 1960’s, people would make reel-to-reel recordings and play them backwards in search of supernatural messages.

“Now, six out of ten times I’m leading an investigation full of people who’ve never been to a haunted location before, someone is going to start acting like a demon is trying to possess them every time they walk through a doorway. They’ll say they feel hot breath on their neck or something suddenly growing in their ear. It doesn’t matter that no one has ever encountered anything like it at that location before, nothing is showing up on any of our equipment, and no one is else is is having a similar experience. They’re sure a demon is trying to latch on and go home with them.”

Milligan said she’s excited by scientific research indicating that people are experiencing something more than the power of suggestion. “We love physicists. Some of them are asking if quantum physics could explain these phenomena. Maybe we’re hearing something from an alternate dimension. Maybe we’re hearing something from across time or space. Or maybe it’s something more mundane. I’ve read some about infrasound and how it can cause your eyeballs to vibrate and make you think you’re seeing something in your peripheral vision. I’m right there with everyone who is investigating who really just wants to know what’s going on.” 

Edgar Allen Poe, HP Lovecraft, Fritz Lang and others at a seance

The Real World Has More Women and Beer Than You See on TV

In an increasingly secular age, Milligan says people attracted to the paranormal are mostly looking for answers to familiar age-old questions.  “Does it make any difference what I do, what I say, how I treat people? What’s going to happen after I’m gone? My grandma passed away last year. Does some part of her still exist?”

People come to paranormal conferences to hear validation of their own experiences, share techniques they’ve learned and see people in person they only know over the Internet or via other conferences. “Most of the people who come to our event are into some level of ghost hunting. They either belong to an organized ghost hunting group or they’ll go to haunted hotels with friends and family to do their own investigations.” 

Unlike horror fandom, which is predominantly male, Milligan said about ⅔ of the people she meets at paranormal conventions are women. “We get a lot of single women. The men are mostly part of couples or members of an existing ghost hunting group.” Some of the East Coast conventions are starting to mix horror and the paranormal to appeal to a broader audience.

Friday night at the Central Texas Paranormal Conference is just for meeting and partying with fellow paranormal investigators. “It’s nice to unwind with people who have shared your experiences and don’t think you’re crazy,” said Milligan. On Saturday and Sunday, once they’re done with the investigations and reviewing their evidence, people like to kick back with a few drinks and talk about the experience they just shared. “On TV, they’re always trying to build up the dramatic tension. In reality, we’re pretty relaxed about it all.” 

This year’s conference also includes a seance, a vendor room full of everything from T-shirts to custom ghost-hunting equipment, and a few lighthearted horror themed panels, like “Zombie Rights: Are They People Or Things?” 

The 2012 Central Texas Paranormal Conference takes place October 6-7 at the Ben Hur Shrine on Anderson and MoPac.