LOCAL FLAVOR NEWSLETTER
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First we'll fill you in on the monster moving saga, then a news flash about a GREAT PHOTO EXHIBIT which starts April 27th, then little snippits about our BLUES, COUNTRY, ROOTS, MODERN ROCK and WORLD bands who had a great spring. Last a short (we promise) WARM and FUZZY THANK YOU, memories of the last six years and hopes for the next many more. 

THE MOVE from Austin to Corpus Christi was a nightmare. NEVER MOVE, that's our advice. The very minute that we closed the doors of that little shop and stepped firmly into cyberspace...IT WASN'T THERE. Our monitor died, had to get a new one. Then our computer died. Had to get a new one of those, too. It came with a free trial period from AOL, but there was another localflavor@aol,com so we had to come up with another name (What do you think of IndieTexMusic ?) We checked up on our zShop on Amazon.com and found that there was another zShop named Local Flavor selling chocolate or pots and pans or something !!!!! We also found that the zShop was not at all right for our business. So, we closed that book early this week. The computer gods clearly had our 'nads in a vice on tightening mode for weeks. They have since released the grip and we are settling in nicely. We still have one web site with loads of great Texas Music and are working to get it caught up really soon. Keep an eye on www.austinmetro.com for an even bigger Local Flavor Music Catalog. 

A GREAT PHOTO EXHIBIT opens April 27th at MANUEL'S on Congress Ave in Austin featuring incredible photos of AUSTIN WOMEN IN MUSIC. This is the first public showing of work by photographer GREG SELLS and it's a MUST SEE. A well known face in the Austin Music Scene, Greg volunteered his talent to every SXSW and has snapped shots of the music legends and the future famous for years. His shot of HANSEN, at their first SXSW, became a much sought after photograph when they hit the charts. Published in several magazines, and gracing several web sights, Greg's distinctive photos capture the life of a performance with a magic which comes from his fearlessness and his love for music. The opening party featured performances by SARA HICKMAN, JENNIFER KOURY, LINDA FREEMAN and KIM MILLER. The exhibit will be up through May. 

Man, we have got some RED HOT BLUES on our shelves and it's getting discovered every day. JOHN USSERY orders have been coming in over e-mail and over the cell phone constantly. "Cryin' And Screamin'" is still grabbing big star reviews and massive airplay. And, having just done the taxes, I can tell you that he got the biggest checks from us in '99. While sitting in a South Texas Dairy Queen, we got a call from ROB THACKER, of both the Texas and the New Zealand Blues scenes. He'll be there for lot's of months and has asked us to be his Texas connection and Global Distributor for his new CD! Ran out of napkins before getting the title to RIB EYE'S new release, but will have some in our mailbox in about a week. KAREN TYLER IS COMING for a tour of Texas in May (I think). Longtime friends of the shop know how closely tied to Karen we are. Her new CD "Alone And Blue" is perfect. The photo of her in the Greg Sells exhibit at Manuel's is also perfect. ROB ROY PARNELL burned up a batch of sales tickets this spring with his new CD, "Jacksboro Highway", and LINDA FREEMAN debuted her new band WINE, WINE, WINE with a beautiful new release of the great old blues standards including the Band's name. "Wine, Wine Wine" was a big hit for THE NIGHTCAPS back in the 50''s. Linda's Uncle, DAVE SCHWARTZ was in The Nightcaps. He gave Linda her first guitar. Blues is a family thing. Two of our hot selling Blues CDs are about to become collectors items. ROY COX & THE BLUESKNIGHTS have almost sold out of "Before I Go". Roy has been offered a European release with new art and a new song order and he will almost certainly take that offer rather than re-print as he is burning up to get back in the studio for CD number two. We have the last fifteen copies of the original disc in our hands. All those great photos of Double Trouble and more will disappear from the next printing...so hurry and grab one of these. ALAN HAYNES' "Wishing Well" has been through several re-printings. The few in our fists may be the last, however, as Focus Records owner is under lots of pressure from a divorce and might not print again. Alan is on a new CD by JIM SCHULER, one of Dallas Texas best known Blues Men, and you can be sure that we are working to bring that CD to all of you.

BLIND LUCK kept us running to the COUNTRY shelves to fill even more orders when BUDDY MAGAZINE gave 'em a great review. One of those came in over a cell phone from Utah. (By Golly this here new high tech stuff is cool after all.) We expect to wear out the rug to the Country shelves, in fact, for lots of months as some flawless new CDs are coming out within weeks. WHITEY RAY HUITT has sent "Down Home" to the printers and we'll have it in soon. He advanced demos to press and radio around the world in the spring and we already have orders from four countries. We strongly expect this pure country, awesome and honest CD will get snagged by a label in Europe before we get it on our shelves. If it does we will happily step aside. If that train moves too slowly, though...it won't be our loss. SUSANNA VAN TASSEL stirred up a flurry of requests with her sassy new CD, "The Heart I Wear" and you can expect that flurry to grow. If you're "Looking For A good Time"....you've found it. It's the title of the appropriately subtitled (Infectious Country & Swing Music) first CD from JERRY SIRES And The BUCOLIC PLAGUE and humor is part of the mix. KEVIN FOWLER is hotter than ever since his very successful February tour of England. We're just about out of his "One For The Road". But he promises a follow-up soon. KEVIN DEAL has been finding new fans with his recent "Honky Tonks & Churches" and picking up additional orders for his first CD to boot. Our first music-night-out in Corpus was a visit to The Executive Surf Club where CHARLIE ROBISON played to a happy, packed house. What a showman. And what a city full of music fans. We are really glad we were there and would have been thrilled at any time to see Charlie. The reason we rushed down there before we were even unpacked, however, was because we were nearly out of KEVIN CARROLL's CD. And, we can't let that happen. Kevin plays with Charlie, you see, so we were able to catch him before the gig. Do you have "Redemption Day"? You need it.

ROOTS MUSIC means many things to many people and this spring it meant great sales and wonderful reviews for BLAZE FOLEY's "Live At The Austin Outhouse" and for both volumes already released of BLAZE FOLEY TRIBUTES. Volume three is almost in our hands and four is already in the works. ERIC HISAW's "Thing About Trains" just hit during SXSW and is starting a global buzz. TOM OVANS and BILLY ELI shared a gig and, since both artists are red hot in different parts of the planet...they shared world press as well. Whiskey voiced, gritty and intense fit both artists. Styles are quite different, though. Reports from that show were all cheers. EUGENE CHRYSLER and MARTI BROM made the biggest noise on the Rockabilly shelf. And newcomer BENNETT BRIER is raising lots of eyebrows. A fine songwriter, Bennett also proved to be a very wise businessman. Instead of playing badly and singing off key, he hired first rate talent to sing and perform his songs for "Anthem". Cut one, "Sweet Sixties Song" is performed flawlessly by VAN WILKS and the cuts performed by JOE KING CARRASCO and CHRISTINE ALBERT are stellar.

MODERN ROCK highlights this spring have been 50 MISSION CRUSH, who are this close (-) to getting the big check, MILHOUSE, who are building a huge following, NEVOLUTIO, who are so very strange, and CHRISTY CLAXTON. Christy blends modern folk and pop and has taken it on the road for the LAVENDER LOUNGE TOUR. Expect to see her big lavender van in a city near you. 

Our second night out in Corpus was a WORLD MUSIC treat when ROOTS & WISDOM played at Mulligans Pub and included two of the gals from INKULULEKU.This female accapela group has simply stunned us for three years with their beautiful chanting. Out of discs completely and delayed by the printer having thrown away their artwork, they don't even have tapes at this time. They performed two of their chants, and brought whistles from the crowd in this Irish pub. And, they backed WISDOM as he put on a show we would have never believed if we hadn't seen it ourselves. He is from Ghana and his own disc is very organic Reggae, primarily acoustic and gentle. For this show, however, backed by an electric bass and massive percussion, Wisdom wore four seed pod anklets on each leg so that HE WAS AN INSTRUMENT while he jumped up in the air and pounded his feet on the floor and swung those long dredlocks around....he blew us away. Cameras were clicking.

Finally a WARM and FUZZY THANK YOU just to you. Although this newsletter is going to lots of addresses (if we can figure out how to do that) each one of you who recieve it will have been a huge part of the past six years of our lives. Either you have ordered music from us time and again. You have played our artists music on your radio show or plugged it in your magazine. You have visited with us over e-mail or in our happy, crowded little shop and you have enriched our spirit. We love you guys! WE PROMISE to use this time we are finding, now that we have no physical shop, to bring you more great Texas musiic than ever before.

Mike and Sue 
Donahoe 

Local Flavor
P.O. Box 3866
Corpus Christi, Texas
78463-3866
1-888-304-2960 (US only)
512-695-4408
www.austinmetro.com
localflavor@austinmetro.com
IndieTexMusic@aol.com

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