TALES...TEXAS ARTISTS SERIES
[LIVE, ON-SCENE REPORT!]
AUSTIN (Special): Now where was that reggae armadillo at? OH--IT'S RIGHT HERE!!! You see, for over a quarter of a century, PBS-affliated station KLRU-TV has beamed through the show "Austin City Limits" (or, as we'll call it here, ACL) images that have made history in the music industry. Careers of some of the stars that are now household names literally started as a result of their performances on this show. Numbers of stars in the fields of blues, R&B, country, bluegrass, and other musical genres have graced the stage and have further enhanced Austin's image as the "Live Music Capital of the World"--so much so that Austin now rivals New York City, Los Angeles, and Nashville as a major center of commerce and artistic expression for the music trade throughout the world...and all here in the Lone Star State.
But one thing that's so interesting about ACL is that it is shot and recorded live in a place that you wouldn't expect--right on the 6th floor of the Communications building here on the UT Campus. And even if the setting that you see on TV makes it think like the show is recorded outside, I regret to inform you that I will have to horrifically shatter that image forever--for the show is taped in an air- conditioned TV studio. (Believe me, I was fooled, too, when I saw it--and I once worked at a public TV station myself while I was at Eastern New Mexico.)
But even if what is there in reality doesn't necessarily match what you see on TV, from the minute you walk into the "Austin City Limits" studio here, you instantly realize that you are personally stepping back a little bit in time into some important moments of music business history. From the pictures on the wall as you leave the elevator and walk into the studio setting to even the free beer that is given out to audience members on taping nights, you realize the unique musical ambience that has been a trademark for this popular show throughout the years, taped in what has become one of the hardest tickets to obtain in show business.
But life wasn't always so prestigious for the folks who started ACL--in fact, there was even a time where the series might possibly have not been in existence any longer. But
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