An Austin Legend Dies - Liz Carpenter

My husband's great Aunt, Liz Carpenter passed away on Saturday. She was a larger than life figure here in Austin and on the Democratic Party scene. Liz graduated from Austin High School and then UT with a degree in journalism and went on to create the Carpenter news with her husband when she was tapped to go work for the Johnson Family as the White House Press Secretary. She worked under four presidents, paved the way for many women, and kept just about everyone on their toes.

My memories of Liz are few having just met her 5 years ago. I'll never forget the first family reunion I went to on the Sutherland side. 250 people! Huge compared to my 6 person family gatherings. The Sutherlands go five generations deep in Texas and even have a relative that fought in the Alamo. I was amazed at all of the documentation, family trees, and more. Merritt and I sang and played guitar after Sid Fly (Liz asked Sid to play at her funeral), we played games, swam in the Uvalde river, and shared a lot of laughs. Liz gave a talk about one of her books and ended with her Democratic flair, you better be voting Democratic!

She also made it to Merritt & I's engagement party at Zilker Clubhouse, a fun gathering with family and friends. We had live music and watched the lights twinkle over the Austin skyline.

I know that she will be missed dearly by her family, friends, and Democrats. But she was a trailblazer and her legacy will continue. Appropriately, her memorial will be held at the LBJ library.

Talent as big as Texas led Carpenter to Washington by Janet Wilson
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/talent-as-big-as-texas-led-carpenter-to-410410.html

SXSW

It's almost here, that time of year where every salon, restaurant, bowling alley, bar, you name it is taken over by musicians. It's SXSW~

Some Austinites flee, renting out their apartments and houses for big bucks. But most buckle down and dive in.

My favorite part of SXSW is finding cool bands in random places. No, I do not splurge for a wrist band when so much can be had for free. I love the showcases along S.Congress and I usually catch a band at Auditorium Shores. The year before last my hubby Merritt and I booked it from Auditorium Shores to a downtown show by Zizek Club, cumbia style beats straight from Buenos Aires. Grant Dull showing us how it's done.

And of course there was the year that the Steep Canyon Rangers made it down. They played an awesome bluegrass show at Threadgills and later my parents invited the whole band over to their house to grill out and go swimming. They're now playing on an album with Steve Martin.

Oh yeah, and there's the year I sang at a showcase downtown on Sixth Street with my brother in our band the SoberThieves. Bro, do you feel a SoberThieves reunion coming on, let's find us a bowling alley!

This year, who knows, there's always a surprise to be found.