PRESS:
Won
the Austin Chronicle’s “Best of”
Austin Critics Choice Award for Best Red
River Rag, Rank and Revue: the Red River Review in 2003.
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Rank
and Revue: The Red River Review |
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A
tornado is forming on Red River. It's picking up trailers and dust and
spitting 'em back out, and the Rank and Revue is chasing the storm.
This year the members of that ever-present Red River rock scene took the
writing into their own hands. Rank and Revue may not be the most
grammatically correct or the least subjective, but the rag is a
picture-perfect example that the people who live the scene know the scene the
best. Featuring reviews of shows and CDs as well as in-depth stories on any
number of Austin highlights, from the tattoo phenomenon to this town's finest
printed tribute to Handsome Joel, the biweekly is proving that the rockers
have something to say, and dammit, they're gonna say it whether you like it
or not. So batten down the hatches, and wait for the storm to pass. The folks
at Rank and Revue will keep you updated. |
Music
The magazine of
rock'n'roll on Red River turns 1
By Joe Gross
Austin American-Statesman
January 15, 2004
Wendy WWAD is hard to miss. A skinny, tattooed presence at hard rock shows on
Red River, WWAD (which stands for "What Would [KISS guitarist] Ace
[Frehley] Do?") stands well over 6 feet tall in platforms and flaming red
hair, and her long arms are usually throwing the devil sign. She played
keyboards in a punk band for three years and brags that she's never needed a
résumé. Wendy WWAD rocks amazingly hard.
A year ago, the 36-year-old scenester and her business partner Brenna
Parthemore started a biweekly tabloid newspaper, Rank and Revue, designed to
promote the Red River scene in all its rear-kicking glory. The magazine's first
anniversary is this weekend, and there's a show at Room 710 to celebrate.
Like so many great rock success stories, this one begins in the bathroom.
"I was flipping through another magazine and saw something I didn't
like," Parthemore, 30, says. We're sitting in Lovejoy's, just off Sixth
Street, while the magazine's staff is just around the corner at MugShots,
holding the weekly editorial meeting. "I made a comment that I should
start my own, and some guy said, 'You can't start your own magazine.' I don't
know who he is and don't remember what he looks like, but that's when I decided
(I would)."
"She approached me in the bathroom at Room 710," WWAD adds, cackling
at how that sounds.
"Yeah, I didn't really know Wendy, but I saw her in the bathroom and said,
'I want to start a magazine about Red River and I want you to be my partner,'
" Parthemore says.
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"Wendy's the music end -- "
"And Brenna's kinda the levelheaded end," WWAD finishes.
Neither of them had much of a writing background, though WWAD does have
radio/TV/film and English undergrad degrees from UT. Parthemore is a
hairdresser. The two then went door-to-door to club owners with their idea.
"Woody at 710 gave us some (seed) money," says WWAD. "So did
Emo's, so did Red Eyed Fly, Beerland . . . All the clubs that are focused on in
there are the ones that gave us money in the very first place."
That cash paid for the first two issues, which the two wrote and photographed
by themselves. A benefit show paid for the third, and then the ads started
coming in. These days, the magazine is more or less in the black. They print
5,000 copies and have distribution points around Austin.
It's a fun read. There's WWAD's tour diary, about her times on the road with
hard rockers Dixie Witch. There are reviews of Red River bands, and this is
often the first place these groups get written up. Interviewees have included
Austin luminaries such as Butthole Surfers drummer King Coffey, cable access
conspiracy godfather Alex Jones and singer/songwriter Dale Watson. (It should
be noted that this is hardly impartial journalism: WWAD owns and operates the
3-year-old Black 13 Booking Agency, which handles Pink Swords and has sold
merchandise on the road for Dixie Witch.)
WWAD and Parthemore agree
that the issue they're most proud of was the "Handsome Joel" memorial
issue, which paid tribute to the beloved Red River scenester Joel Svatek, who
was killed by a drunken driver last January. "Handsome Joel was my
best friend," WWAD says. WWAD organized benefit shows that raised $10,000
to help Svatek's family with medical bills. She also helped found the Safe Ride
Home Program, which is releasing a Handsome Joel Tribute album sporting such
national luminaries as Mastodon and Old 97's.
WWAD and Parthemore are a striking pair. They're physical opposites: WWAD
bleeds rock 'n' roll while Parthemore seems much more mainstream. "I don't
have that much music knowledge," she freely admits. WWAD is the zine's
public persona, while Parthemore seems to be doing this partly because some
jerk told her she couldn't. The two balance each other perfectly.
When we head over to the staff meeting, something interesting happens.
Parthemore's persona stays pretty much the same; she quietly chats with layout
types. But WWAD turns almost surreally professional. There are 15 or so
writers, photographers, ad people and hangers on at MugShots, and she is
clearly in charge of them all, cajoling people into reviewing shows and albums
and generally herding cats toward the goal of making Red River a little more
famous. Apparently, if you want to get something done on Red River, you call
the hardest-rocking women in town.
jgross@statesman.com; 912-5926
http://www.austin360.com/xl/content/music/xl/04-january/music_01-15-04.html
Phases
& Stages
Live
shots
BY DAVID
LYNCH
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Disengage screams
down a female stage crasher. Photo By Gary Miller |
'Rank & Revue' Second Anniversary Party
Emo's, Jan. 13
Billed as the "Red
River Review Magazine," Rank & Revue is a fan-fueled,
organically grown zine that salutes the overlapping underground, hard rock,
punk, and hardcore scenes. And R&R has many reasons to kick loose:
new distribution and circulation, new employees, and an expanded format. Most
importantly, it celebrates two fruitful years of published mayhem, no mean feat
for a Slackerville mag living in a digital-orgy world. So, what better way to
get your party on than to pack Emo's with more than a dozen like-minded
outfits, including Broken Teeth, Crank County Daredevils, Pink Swords,
Bulemics, Ignitor, Possumbelly, the Dickins, me vs. everybody, Blood of
Patriots, Scott Biram, Made Out of Babies, Disengage, Rockland Eagles, and
Grady. In effect, it was R&R's nascent SXSW sans pretension, with a
mostly local lineup augmented by bands from sundry states. In showcase-length
sets, acts took turns on the inside and outside stages, and in spite of the
eve's bracing temp, the club was mostly full. Songs covered social activism,
unrequited love, smoking fry, working in the deep-freeze basement of Detroit's
Joe Louis Arena in the winter, and everyone's favorite: reaping the benefits of
overindulgence. Cleveland's Disengage were de facto headliners, and the former
Man's Ruin sound forgers didn't disappoint, putting on a master class in
conviction. The bassist jumped onto a load-bearing cocktail table, the singer
fended off female fans, the drummer nearly fell over his kit, and the guitarist
peaked a two stack Marshall pyramid – all while playing. In their closing slot,
the Bulemics probably had better performances, but the hometown garage punk
champs kept the dissipating crowd energized. All told, an evening of fulfilled
promise and celebratory abandon. Cheers to a fine assemblage of rock-out
talent. And congrats to the magazine as it enters its third year. In the spirit
of the rag itself, I still wipe my ass with Rank & Revue.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A255091
10.05.04 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMF brings Music Industry Boot Camp to Red River Rock Out
3 Distinct Panels on October 9th at Red Eyed Fly
Austin Music Foundation is thrilled
to offer 3 sessions of its popular "Music Industry Bootcamp" series,
all to occur on Saturday, Oct. 9th. These seminars are open to everyone and
free to the public. As a part of the inaugural Red River Rock Out, which
runs the nights of October 8th & 9th, AMF will convert the Red Eyed
Fly (715 Red River Street) Saturday afternoon to accommodate three lively and
diverse panels.
Audience members are encouraged to attend any or all panels and participate in
the question and answer periods that follow. This amazing opportunity to
interact with local policy makers, artists, entrepreneurs and personalities is
not to be missed.
The topics and schedule runs as follows:
"The Impact of Politics on the Austin Music Scene"
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Panelists:
Brewster McCracken, Austin City Council Member
Teresa Sansone Ferguson, Chair, Austin Music Commission
Chris Gray, "TCB" Music Columnist, The Austin Chronicle
Rob Patterson, Freelance Music Writer
John Pointer, Artist, Boombox
Stefanie Crock, Artist, Backstage Suicide
This opening session will no doubt ignite a vigorous discussion of the local
political issues affecting our music scene. We will talk about different
stakeholders and interests in Austin's downtown district and how they affect
the music industry. We will also discuss the pros, cons, & impact of current
resolutions as well as discuss needs of the music community and how those
issues can potentially be addressed in the future. We will have time for
Q&A, so bring your questions and ideas to the decision makers!
"Women of Rock and Roll:
Influence & Impact"
5:15pm - 6:15pm
Panelists:
Margaret Moser, Senior Editor, The Austin Chronicle & Director of the
Austin Music Awards
Tammy Moore, Rank and Revue Magazine & Booker of The Backroom
Trina Quinn, Morning X DJ, 101X
Wendy Waad, Founder, Rank and Revue Magazine
Lindsey Gregory, Founder and Webmistress, AustinPunkRock.org
Sabrina Ewing, Artist, The Applicators
The second panel is no less diverse in its composition. Local fearless
femme fatales will be discussing the many different ways in which they continue
to contribute to Austin's music scene and the growing roll of women in the rock
and roll industry over the past 20 years.
"Getting More Money from your Music: Proven Success Stories"
6:30pm - 7:30pm
Panelists:
Sean Neil, Artist, Dynamite Boy
Tee Double, Hip-Hop Artist
Ray Flowers, Founder, Fifth Column Marketing
Roanna Gillespie, Austin Community College Instructor, "Music
Publishing"
Will Hoffman, Artist, Pushmonkey and Producer
Chopper, Artist, Kissinger
The third session examines the difficulty of staying afloat in the music
industry while encouraging attendees to be innovative and make use of the many
(often-overlooked) revenue streams. These panelists will discuss all the
available revenue streams and recount, through success stories, the
importance of identifying an act's strong suits, working smarter, being
creative and multi-tasking with one goal in mind: making more money from your
music.
http://www.austinmusicfoundation.org/?PageID=54