Latest / Austin Signal / Central Texas voters head to the polls on primary Election Day

Transcript

Central Texas voters head to the polls on primary Election Day · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  It's primary election day here in
• 0:10
  Texas.
• 0:11
  Four Austin area representatives
• 0:12
  from the Texas legislature are vying
• 0:14
  for the Democratic nomination of
• 0:16
  various positions.
• 0:17
  In addition to those statewide
• 0:19
  offices, there is lots going
• 0:21
  on here in our central Texas area.
• 0:23
  KUT's county reporters for Hayes,
• 0:26
  Travis, and Williamson counties are
• 0:27
  out in the field talking to voters.
• 0:29
  We're going to hear about the
• 0:30
  reasons they're coming out to cast a
• 0:32
  ballot on this Election Day.
• 0:34
  You still have time to cast your
• 0:35
  ballot. Don't go anywhere.
• 0:37
  Austin Signal coming up next.
• 0:39
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:41
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:43
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:44
  And we have an ATXplain story
• 0:46
  as we remind you why KUT
• 0:48
  is worth your support.
• 0:51
  Come hear more about your story in
• 0:52
  this community that we share with
• 0:54
  one another.
• 0:55
  That is up next.
• 0:57
  It's right here on Austin Signal.
• 1:08
  This is Austin Signal.
• 1:10
  I'm your host, Jerry Kehannel.
• 1:11
  It is the third day of March,
• 1:13
  2026.
• 1:14
  Thank you for making us part of your
• 1:16
  day. This is listener powered
• 1:18
  public radio.
• 1:20
  The Austin Police Department
• 1:21
  confirmed late last night that a
• 1:22
  third person died as a result of
• 1:24
  injuries from Sunday morning
• 1:25
  shooting at Buford's.
• 1:27
  Jorge Peterson was 30 years old
• 1:28
  according to APD and an online
• 1:30
  fundraiser for Peterson called him
• 1:32
  an inspiration in the mixed martial
• 1:34
  arts community.
• 1:35
  We also got corrected information
• 1:37
  about the ages of the other
• 1:39
  victims. We shared the press
• 1:40
  conference with you yesterday, but
• 1:42
  we got some updated info
• 1:44
  a little bit later after the show.
• 1:46
  Savitha Shan, one of the victims,
• 1:48
  was a 21-year-old dual degree
• 1:50
  student here at UT Austin.
• 1:52
  In a statement shared through the
• 1:54
  university, her parents said she was
• 1:55
  a hardworking student, always
• 1:57
  seeking to uplift those around her,
• 1:59
  including through volunteer service
• 2:01
  and community involvement.
• 2:03
  Ryder Harrington, the other victim,
• 2:05
  was a 19-year-old Texas Tech student
• 2:07
  who graduated from Austin's Westwood
• 2:09
  High School in 2024.
• 2:11
  Harrington's siblings honored him on
• 2:12
  social media, calling him, quote,
• 2:14
  the best mix of all the Harrington
• 2:16
  siblings.
• 2:17
  We'll have more about the victims in
• 2:19
  the show notes for today's podcast.
• 2:21
  And the KUT Newsroom and the Texas
• 2:22
  Standard Newsroom will continue
• 2:24
  covering the investigation and
• 2:26
  updates from law enforcement.
• 2:27
  And of course, when we get those
• 2:29
  here, we will share them for you
• 2:31
  here on Austin Signal.
• 2:33
  It is primary election day
• 2:35
  here in Texas.
• 2:36
  Polls open at seven o'clock this
• 2:38
  morning and they will close at seven
• 2:39
  a clock tonight.
• 2:40
  We have been telling you for many a
• 2:42
  day now that we have voter
• 2:44
  guides for Hayes, Travis and
• 2:46
  Williamson counties at kut.org.
• 2:49
  And just as a reminder, if you have
• 2:51
  to go at the very last second,
• 2:53
  if you are in line before seven
• 2:55
  o clock, you will be
• 2:57
  allowed to vote.
• 2:58
  We have heard some reports of some
• 3:00
  lines here and around Austin.
• 3:01
  Some people said was nice and
• 3:03
  smooth. Others said they had to wait
• 3:05
  a little, so we will see how
• 3:07
  it goes.
• 3:08
  There are lots of changing elements
• 3:10
  this election cycle,
• 3:11
  and as KUT's Katie McAfee is
• 3:14
  reporting, a change in the ballot
• 3:15
  counting process here in Travis
• 3:17
  County this year could possibly
• 3:19
  delay tonight's election results.
• 3:22
  Ballots cast during the early voting
• 3:24
  period are usually tallied up the
• 3:25
  Saturday before Election Day.
• 3:27
  That includes mail-in ballots.
• 3:29
  But this election, the Travis County
• 3:31
  Republican Party wanted to change
• 3:32
  things up.
• 3:33
  So early and mail- in ballots aren't
• 3:35
  being counted until today.
• 3:37
  Travis County GOP Chair Jennifer
• 3:39
  Fleck says the party asked for this
• 3:40
  to prepare for a new state law that
• 3:42
  goes into effect in 2027.
• 3:44
  That law will eliminate the
• 3:46
  three-day gap between early voting
• 3:47
  and Election Day Rather than wait
• 3:49
  until next year, Fleck thought.
• 3:50
  Why not start this process now?
• 3:52
  Because it's something we're going to
• 3:53
  have to move toward anyway.
• 3:55
  Plus, Flecks says the rule change
• 3:57
  addresses some concerns from the
• 3:59
  Republican Party.
• 4:00
  That the ballots are.
• 4:03
  Potentially tampered with or
• 4:06
  the ballots are known,
• 4:08
  right, the results of the early vote
• 4:10
  potentially are known by
• 4:12
  others or
• 4:13
  or someone prior
• 4:15
  to election day.
• 4:17
  Travis County Clerk Diana
• 4:18
  Limon-Marcado says the policy change
• 4:20
  will put enormous pressure on
• 4:21
  election staff.
• 4:23
  They'll have to prepare nearly 100
• 4:24
  additional voting sites overnight
• 4:26
  between the end of early voting and
• 4:27
  election day, plus Limon Marcado
• 4:29
  says the concerns that the election
• 4:31
  results are known before election
• 4:32
  day or are tampered with are
• 4:34
  unfounded.
• 4:35
  Nobody sees those results.
• 4:36
  They're kept sort of sequestered
• 4:38
  within the software system.
• 4:39
  We can't actually see what happens.
• 4:41
  That system is audited and logged,
• 4:43
  and both parties see who's turning
• 4:44
  on that system when, what's been
• 4:45
  counted by that system, et cetera.
• 4:47
  Since early.
• 4:48
  Voting ballots weren't counted in
• 4:49
  advance this election.
• 4:50
  Limon Marcado says initial results
• 4:52
  might not be ready when polls close
• 4:53
  at 7 p.m.
• 4:54
  Like usual.
• 4:55
  She's hopeful they'll be released on
• 4:57
  time. But it depends on how many
• 4:59
  confusing mail in ballots the county
• 5:01
  receives.
• 5:01
  So for example, if you're a ballot
• 5:03
  by mail voter and
• 5:05
  you're selecting which candidate you
• 5:07
  want for US Senate, but you don't
• 5:08
  like any of those, and so you just
• 5:10
  scribble on your ballot, Mickey
• 5:11
  Mouse, which happens frequently,
• 5:14
  a human, actually two humans,
• 5:16
  one from the Democratic party, one
• 5:18
  from Republican party, will actually
• 5:19
  look at that image of your ballot
• 5:20
  and decipher what was the voter's
• 5:22
  intent.
• 5:23
  Lamone Mercado says these joke
• 5:25
  ballots are the most frequent issue
• 5:27
  the county runs into while
• 5:28
  tabulating votes.
• 5:29
  So she says the number of votes
• 5:31
  Mickey Mouse gets could decide when
• 5:33
  we get final election results
• 5:34
  tonight.
• 5:35
  I'm Katie McAfee in Austin.
• 5:37
  All right, and now we're going to go
• 5:38
  out live to KUT's Travis
• 5:40
  County reporter, Katie McAfee.
• 5:42
  She's out at a polling location.
• 5:43
  Katie, how are you doing?
• 5:45
  Hey Jerry, I'm good, how are you?
• 5:46
  I'm doing well, which polling
• 5:47
  location are you at?
• 5:49
  I am at the South Pleasant
• 5:51
  Valley branch of the Austin Public
• 5:52
  Library.
• 5:53
  Okay cool, I always voted libraries
• 5:55
  as well. What's the scene like?
• 5:57
  Is it busy out there?
• 5:58
  It is extremely busy here.
• 6:00
  The Travis County elections website
• 6:01
  says it's over a 50 minute wait.
• 6:03
  There is a line wrapping around
• 6:05
  the building. So if you are
• 6:07
  listening to this and on your way
• 6:09
  to vote on your lunch break,
• 6:10
  maybe go somewhere with a shorter
• 6:12
  line.
• 6:13
  Well I know you were wondering maybe
• 6:15
  you might get a chance to vote
• 6:16
  yourself, I guess probably since you
• 6:18
  saw that line you maybe have to wait
• 6:19
  a little longer yourself.
• 6:21
  Certainly, and I'll probably go to a
• 6:23
  different polling place.
• 6:23
  Place.
• 6:24
  So have you had a chance to talk to
• 6:25
  anybody who's been out there today?
• 6:27
  Yeah, I've been talking to folks in
• 6:29
  line.
• 6:30
  Every person I've talked to so far
• 6:31
  says they're here to vote for
• 6:33
  James Tallarico.
• 6:35
  Maybe unsurprising being in Austin.
• 6:38
  And I did get to talk to two
• 6:40
  lovely siblings, Megan and
• 6:42
  Kevin.
• 6:43
  They said they always go to vote
• 6:44
  together and they hold each other
• 6:46
  accountable by going together to the
• 6:47
  polls.
• 6:49
  Both of them also voting for James
• 6:51
  Tallerico.
• 6:52
  Megan says she is a
• 6:54
  public school teacher in Austin ISD,
• 6:56
  and the recent ICE raids really
• 6:58
  affected her students, and both
• 7:00
  of them are motivated to
• 7:02
  try and flip Texas blue.
• 7:04
  And I guess it's not really all that
• 7:05
  surprising that the polling place
• 7:07
  that you're at is busy because we've
• 7:08
  seen pretty good turnout
• 7:11
  for early voting here in Travis
• 7:12
  County, correct?
• 7:13
  Yeah, that's right.
• 7:15
  Early voting turnout was amazing
• 7:17
  by Travis County and Texas
• 7:19
  standards.
• 7:20
  The latest numbers from yesterday
• 7:21
  showed just under 19% of registered
• 7:23
  voters showed up to vote and
• 7:25
  that was more than
• 7:27
  any primary election in Travis
• 7:29
  County since the presidential
• 7:31
  primary in 2008.
• 7:33
  Now you've been doing a lot of
• 7:34
  reporting ahead of election day
• 7:36
  today. What are you going to be
• 7:37
  watching tonight, Katie?
• 7:39
  Thanks for asking. Yeah, I'm
• 7:40
  covering two races tonight,
• 7:42
  both of the Travis County
• 7:44
  Commissioner precinct races that are
• 7:45
  on the ballot.
• 7:47
  In precinct four, that's south
• 7:49
  and southeast Travis County.
• 7:51
  There are four candidates running
• 7:52
  and there's no incumbent and there
• 7:54
  is also no Republican candidates
• 7:55
  running.
• 7:56
  So whoever wins that race tonight
• 7:59
  is going to run unopposed in
• 8:00
  November and then be a
• 8:02
  brand new commissioner on the dais
• 8:04
  next Dear?
• 8:06
  And then I'm also covering the
• 8:08
  Precinct 2 race.
• 8:09
  The incumbent for that race is a
• 8:10
  Commissioner Brigid Shea and there
• 8:12
  are three candidates who are
• 8:15
  vying for her seat and that
• 8:17
  precinct, just so folks know, is
• 8:19
  kind of central, north,
• 8:21
  and east blob of Travis
• 8:23
  County.
• 8:23
  And remind us of the polling place
• 8:25
  that you're at, Katie.
• 8:26
  I am at the South Pleasant
• 8:28
  Valley branch of the Austin Public
• 8:30
  Library.
• 8:30
  All right, and there's a long line,
• 8:31
  so if you're planning to vote there,
• 8:33
  maybe make plans to go elsewhere.
• 8:34
  That is KUT's Travis County
• 8:36
  reporter, Katie McAfee.
• 8:37
  Katie, thank you very much.
• 8:38
  Thanks so much, Jerry.
• 8:39
  Okay, now we're gonna go up north to
• 8:41
  Williamson County.
• 8:41
  We're gonna talk with KUT's
• 8:43
  Williamson County reporter, Kailey
• 8:44
  Hunt. Hi Kailey.
• 8:46
  Hi Jerry, how are you?
• 8:47
  I'm doing well.
• 8:48
  How's it going out there?
• 8:48
  Where you at?
• 8:49
  Pretty good, I am at the
• 8:51
  Georgetown City Hall.
• 8:54
  This is one of the Republican
• 8:56
  precinct voting locations
• 8:58
  today on primary election day.
• 9:01
  And yeah, there's been a pretty
• 9:03
  steady trickle of folks coming
• 9:05
  into this location.
• 9:06
  I believe there's several precincts
• 9:08
  that have been combined and
• 9:10
  directed to come and vote here
• 9:12
  today.
• 9:12
  Well, I'm glad you used the word
• 9:14
  precinct, because there's something
• 9:15
  different when it comes to voting
• 9:16
  for William County GOP
• 9:18
  residents or GOP voters this time
• 9:20
  around, am I right?
• 9:22
  Uh, yes, and all, all
• 9:24
  voters in Williamson County are
• 9:25
  affected by this change.
• 9:28
  Yes.
• 9:29
  So, um, yeah, unlike in the
• 9:31
  past 10 years,
• 9:33
  um.
• 9:34
  You know, we no longer have
• 9:36
  countywide voting locations at
• 9:38
  Williamson County on primary
• 9:40
  election day. That is because
• 9:41
  the Williamson county GOP decided
• 9:44
  that they no longer wanted to
• 9:46
  offer the program.
• 9:47
  And so basically the Democrats, um
• 9:49
  just due to state law had no choice,
• 9:51
  but to follow.
• 9:52
  So now what you have is
• 9:55
  precinct based voting,
• 9:58
  basically where people are assigned
• 10:00
  a polling place in their
• 10:02
  neighborhood and that's where they
• 10:03
  have to vote today.
• 10:04
  And do you know, has that caused any
• 10:06
  delays as far as your knowledge?
• 10:10
  Delays, not so much, well delays
• 10:12
  for voters, yes.
• 10:14
  Actually I've spoken to quite a few
• 10:15
  voters this morning
• 10:18
  who were not
• 10:20
  aware of the change,
• 10:22
  missed the communication on that
• 10:24
  part and so they went to their
• 10:26
  regular polling location which
• 10:28
  they'd voted at in previous years
• 10:29
  and were told, hey, this is actually
• 10:31
  not your location.
• 10:32
  You are not allowed to cast your
• 10:33
  ballot here today.
• 10:35
  I spoke to one lady in particular
• 10:36
  who actually got turned
• 10:38
  away twice and redirected,
• 10:41
  and that upped her
• 10:43
  total time dedicated
• 10:45
  to voting to over two hours.
• 10:48
  So yeah, a lot of confusion,
• 10:50
  a lotta chaos up here in
• 10:52
  Williamson County.
• 10:54
  So I do wanna tell folks, if
• 10:55
  you're listening and you live in
• 10:57
  Williamston County, make sure you
• 10:59
  know which precinct you are
• 11:01
  registered at, you live and make
• 11:03
  sure you go to the Williamson County
• 11:04
  Elections Department webpage.
• 11:07
  And look at the list.
• 11:09
  It'll be separate depending on
• 11:10
  whether you're voting in the
• 11:12
  Democratic primary or the Republican
• 11:13
  primary, but you need to go to that
• 11:15
  list, find your precinct and find
• 11:17
  your exact location.
• 11:18
  All right, you heard it right there
• 11:19
  from KUT's Williamson County
• 11:21
  reporter. That is Kailey Hunt.
• 11:23
  We will continue to talk with
• 11:25
  you, Kailey.
• 11:26
  Tomorrow we'll have you back on the
• 11:28
  show, so have a great election day.
• 11:29
  Thanks for coming in on and talking
• 11:31
  with us.
• 11:32
  Thank you, Jerry.
• 11:33
  All right, finally we're gonna move
• 11:34
  on to Leigh Walden, KUT's
• 11:36
  Hayes County reporter who's
• 11:37
  out in the field as well.
• 11:39
  Hey Leigh, how are you doing?
• 11:40
  Good. Hi, Jerry.
• 11:41
  I'm doing okay today,
• 11:43
  how are you and where are you at?
• 11:46
  Yeah, I'm actually in front of the
• 11:47
  Buda City Hall right now where folks
• 11:49
  are having a bit of an easier time
• 11:51
  voting, it sounds like, than in
• 11:53
  Williamson County.
• 11:55
  But yeah, lots of excited people out
• 11:56
  here today at the polls.
• 11:57
  So what have you heard from the
• 11:58
  people out there?
• 12:00
  Yeah, I've been hearing a lot about
• 12:02
  folks who are excited about change,
• 12:04
  voting to cast ballots toward
• 12:06
  change and contribute
• 12:08
  to what feels like an
• 12:10
  exciting primary season to them.
• 12:12
  We've talked a lot this morning
• 12:14
  about the Senate race
• 12:16
  in particular.
• 12:17
  And then there's folks who are
• 12:18
  keeping an eye out for Texas 21,
• 12:21
  the congressional district seat.
• 12:22
  Has the polling location that you're
• 12:24
  at been busy today?
• 12:26
  Yeah, it's pretty massively busy.
• 12:27
  I've been popping around, and this
• 12:29
  one in Kyle City Hall have had
• 12:32
  lots of folks in and out all
• 12:33
  morning.
• 12:34
  Okay, you plan to keep hopping
• 12:35
  around Hayes County today?
• 12:37
  That's the plan.
• 12:38
  I think it's a very civically
• 12:40
  engaged day for Hays County,
• 12:42
  so I'm excited to be talking to
• 12:44
  so many people who are out casting
• 12:46
  ballots.
• 12:46
  Is there anything in particular, I
• 12:48
  know this is your first election
• 12:49
  here with us at KUT and here in
• 12:51
  Texas, is there anything particular
• 12:53
  that you're going to be watching
• 12:54
  tonight or are you just looking to
• 12:56
  kind of get, as you said, take in
• 12:58
  the day here in Hays County?
• 13:01
  Yeah, I mean, we're obviously
• 13:03
  watching federal and statewide
• 13:05
  primaries, but in Hayes
• 13:07
  County in particular, there's three
• 13:08
  races kind of keeping kind
• 13:10
  of to keep an eye on.
• 13:11
  Again, Texas 21, the congressional
• 13:13
  seat, it's a pretty packed primary
• 13:15
  with 15 candidates running and
• 13:18
  there'll probably be a runoff
• 13:20
  within the Republican side
• 13:22
  because there are so many folks on
• 13:23
  the ballot. So we're watching that
• 13:25
  scene, which kind of names fall out
• 13:26
  to the top. We're also watching the
• 13:29
  Hayes County Judge see.
• 13:30
  There are three democratic uh...
• 13:33
  Candidates in that position one of
• 13:35
  them is that uh...
• 13:37
  Current haze county judge ruben
• 13:38
  beseta and then we
• 13:40
  also you know it also is worth
• 13:42
  keeping your eye on that the d a's
• 13:44
  race here in haze country because
• 13:45
  there's not a republican challenger
• 13:47
  said whoever floats the top of the
• 13:49
  democratic ticket will likely carry
• 13:50
  the election of number
• 13:52
  All right, that's KUT's Hays County
• 13:53
  reporter, Leigh Walden, thanks,
• 13:55
  Leigh.
• 13:55
  Thank you.
• 13:56
  This is Austin Signal.
• 13:58
  We'll be back after a break.
• 14:00
  This is, Austin Signal, welcome
• 14:01
  back.
• 14:02
  Austin has iconic characters that
• 14:04
  have kept it weird over the decades,
• 14:06
  the late Leslie Cochran, the
• 14:07
  thong-wearing serial mayoral
• 14:09
  candidate and homeless activist in
• 14:10
  the 90s and 2000s.
• 14:12
  Sam Greyhorse, who rides a horse
• 14:14
  around downtown dressed as Santa
• 14:16
  Claus.
• 14:16
  And there is another character that
• 14:19
  used to be part of Austin's music
• 14:21
  scene, but disappeared years ago.
• 14:23
  We got a question about him for one
• 14:25
  of our ATXplained live shows,
• 14:27
  KUT's Greta Díaz-Bontalas-Vasquez
• 14:29
  went looking for him.
• 14:32
  If you love music and you've lived
• 14:34
  in Austin long enough, then you've
• 14:35
  probably been to plenty of concerts.
• 14:38
  That was the case for Nicole
• 14:39
  Stewart.
• 14:40
  Even before she moved to Austin for
• 14:42
  college, she would drive up here
• 14:44
  from San Antonio just to go to
• 14:45
  concerts.
• 14:47
  Apart from the bands, she remembers
• 14:48
  one guy, a distinct character
• 14:50
  who was constantly part of the
• 14:52
  Austin live music scene around 2010.
• 14:55
  So he would come out and read a
• 14:57
  poem.
• 14:57
  And then introduce the
• 14:59
  headliner.
• 15:00
  He would come on stage and read a
• 15:02
  poem related to the band that was
• 15:03
  about to play.
• 15:05
  And then just like that, leave the
• 15:07
  stage.
• 15:08
  Nicole says his poems were also
• 15:10
  different.
• 15:11
  I remember them being
• 15:13
  just kind of out there, kind of
• 15:15
  weird. I just kind think
• 15:17
  of them as psychedelic.
• 15:19
  When the knife, which was an
• 15:21
  illusion after all, disappears,
• 15:23
  it leaves a ditch for gastric juice
• 15:25
  to collect, which all the candies
• 15:27
  jump into, thinking they're leaping
• 15:29
  through the mirror.
• 15:30
  Thanks so much.
• 15:33
  But one day, he stopped showing up
• 15:35
  at concerts.
• 15:37
  Now, 15 years later, Nicole reached
• 15:39
  out to us because she was curious.
• 15:41
  I just kind of wanted to
• 15:43
  kind of find out like who he is,
• 15:44
  what his story was, and I guess how
• 15:47
  he got
• 15:49
  in the position to be introducing
• 15:51
  all of these bands.
• 15:54
  And not just any bands, big
• 15:56
  names.
• 15:57
  She remembers him introducing the
• 15:58
  band Portugal the Man at Old Emo's.
• 16:01
  Then at Fun Fun Fun Fest.
• 16:03
  Also introducing monsters of folk,
• 16:05
  he was at ACL.
• 16:07
  He kept things fun and weird
• 16:09
  around here.
• 16:10
  Nicole was about to move out of
• 16:12
  Austin and she needed closure.
• 16:14
  So we decided to answer her question
• 16:16
  in an ATXplain live show days
• 16:18
  before she moved away.
• 16:24
  As a new person in this city, I keep
• 16:26
  hearing how Austin is not weird
• 16:28
  anymore.
• 16:29
  I wanted to track this guy down so
• 16:31
  we could all get a feeling of the
• 16:33
  old Austin.
• 16:34
  I wanted know too, who was
• 16:36
  this guy?
• 16:36
  I remember him being kind
• 16:39
  of eccentric,
• 16:40
  older.
• 16:41
  I remember having gray hair
• 16:43
  and I don't want to say
• 16:45
  disheveled, maybe disheveled.
• 16:52
  For a bit, Nicole thought it was
• 16:54
  Daniel Johnston.
• 16:55
  But no way, because people in Austin
• 16:57
  knew Johnston, his
• 16:59
  art and iconic mural were already
• 17:01
  well known by then, and she knows
• 17:03
  what he looked like.
• 17:07
  Nicole is a huge fan of Portugal
• 17:09
  The Man.
• 17:10
  In fact, she went to so many of
• 17:11
  their concerts, she became friends
• 17:13
  with their lead singer, John Gurley.
• 17:16
  Since she said he had read at their
• 17:17
  concert, I gave John a call to ask
• 17:19
  about the poet.
• 17:20
  We had a friend, Dave Margelin,
• 17:23
  that used to travel around and
• 17:25
  he would kind of just recite
• 17:27
  poetry randomly.
• 17:29
  I gave him more details.
• 17:31
  Big guy, gray hair, maybe
• 17:33
  disheveled, read poetry about the
• 17:34
  band.
• 17:35
  Then John said the words I was
• 17:37
  afraid of.
• 17:38
  It's not gay.
• 17:40
  Okay, back to square one.
• 17:44
  And since I was already talking to
• 17:45
  music folks, I did some
• 17:47
  investigative reporting.
• 17:48
  I went on a very long journey and
• 17:51
  talked to people at our music
• 17:52
  station, KUTX.
• 17:54
  Because who knows more about music
• 17:56
  in Austin than people who work at
• 17:58
  a music station in Austin.
• 18:01
  Some people had a vague memory of
• 18:02
  this guy, but everyone told me to
• 18:04
  ask one person in particular.
• 18:08
  A guy who saw the best and the worst
• 18:10
  of Austin's live music scene in
• 18:12
  the late 90s and early 2000s.
• 18:14
  The scene was really exciting
• 18:16
  and on any Thursday
• 18:18
  night you could see something that
• 18:19
  might just blow your head off.
• 18:23
  Turns out, the one man who would
• 18:24
  have the answer to Nicole's question
• 18:26
  worked just down the hall.
• 18:28
  That's Jake Perlman.
• 18:31
  He's an audio engineer at KUT and
• 18:33
  KUTX, but he's so
• 18:35
  much more than that.
• 18:37
  He's a guardian of Austin music
• 18:38
  history, a man who's been in
• 18:40
  multiple bands and played in every
• 18:42
  venue in Austin, and who
• 18:44
  knows everybody.
• 18:46
  And let me tell you, Jake did
• 18:48
  not disappoint.
• 18:49
  There was a dude,
• 18:51
  I want to say he was from Chicago,
• 18:53
  and he would get up before
• 18:55
  shows and read kind of
• 18:57
  esoteric, beat kind
• 18:59
  of poetry.
• 19:00
  And it was really cool.
• 19:02
  That sounds more like it.
• 19:04
  Jake knew about him because Jake was
• 19:05
  in a band called Lion.
• 19:07
  Just sort of remember like the vibe
• 19:09
  would change when he was there.
• 19:10
  It really felt like that
• 19:12
  was the place to be that night.
• 19:14
  If this mystery man opened your
• 19:16
  show, then it was like you'd been
• 19:18
  touched by Apollo, the god of music
• 19:19
  and poetry himself.
• 19:21
  It was sort of like the weather
• 19:22
  changed a little bit inside the
• 19:24
  room.
• 19:24
  It felt like a big thing because
• 19:26
  there was live music every night,
• 19:28
  everywhere.
• 19:29
  So if this man had read a poem at
• 19:31
  your show...
• 19:32
  It felt like you, your band
• 19:34
  had sort of arrived.
• 19:36
  If this guy read a poem at your
• 19:38
  show, you had made it.
• 19:41
  And Jake knows all of this because
• 19:42
  this guy wrote a poem for his band.
• 19:45
  So Jake connected me with his old
• 19:47
  bandmate, and long story short,
• 19:51
  My name is Thax Douglas.
• 19:54
  I introduce bands with
• 19:56
  poems inspired by
• 19:58
  their music.
• 19:59
  Thackster Douglas.
• 20:01
  He started writing poetry in his
• 20:02
  20s.
• 20:03
  At first, he would do confessional
• 20:05
  poetry.
• 20:06
  Lots of emotions, mostly negative
• 20:07
  ones.
• 20:08
  I think the idea at the time was
• 20:10
  almost like a kind of therapy of
• 20:12
  if you let it all out or
• 20:14
  you let your negative feelings out
• 20:16
  into the sunlight so you can see
• 20:18
  them, maybe
• 20:20
  they'll less frightening or
• 20:22
  something like that.
• 20:23
  But maybe he flew too close to
• 20:25
  the sun. He got burnt out,
• 20:27
  so he moved on to writing poems
• 20:28
  about people.
• 20:29
  That was okay for about a
• 20:31
  year, but then I got bored.
• 20:33
  Esthetic boredom comes easily to
• 20:35
  me.
• 20:35
  At some point, he wrote poems about
• 20:37
  movies, dead artists,
• 20:39
  and hockey games.
• 20:41
  And by the late 90s...
• 20:43
  As a novelty, I tried writing
• 20:44
  a poem about a band, and
• 20:47
  something just seemed to click,
• 20:49
  that it just seemed exactly right
• 20:52
  to me.
• 20:52
  The ritual goes like this.
• 20:54
  If he's never heard the band, he
• 20:56
  listens to their music online.
• 20:58
  Then he approaches the band.
• 20:59
  Sometimes in advance, sometimes he
• 21:01
  just shows up at a concert and says,
• 21:03
  hey, can I read for you?
• 21:05
  They rarely say no.
• 21:07
  He writes the poem on the spot and
• 21:09
  for free.
• 21:10
  I feel like I'm an honorary part
• 21:12
  of the band for that one night.
• 21:14
  In Chicago, he opened for huge
• 21:16
  bands like Spoon, Wilco,
• 21:17
  and the White Stripes.
• 21:19
  What's important is it's a different
• 21:21
  band every night, so
• 21:22
  I never get bored.
• 21:24
  By the mid-2000s, Thackster realized
• 21:27
  Chicago was a dead end,
• 21:29
  but he had heard great things about
• 21:31
  Austin.
• 21:33
  Someone had offered him a free place
• 21:35
  to stay here, so in 2009,
• 21:38
  Thakster took the Amtrak down
• 21:40
  south.
• 21:43
  I hit the ground running in Austin.
• 21:46
  It wasn't a slow buildup
• 21:48
  at all.
• 21:49
  He knew the right people and he
• 21:50
  would do a show every night.
• 21:52
  So that's why the 14 months
• 21:54
  in Austin is almost
• 21:56
  equal in my mind to the 12
• 21:58
  years I did this in Chicago.
• 22:00
  He sold poetry books for 20
• 22:02
  bucks at the shows and that's how he
• 22:04
  paid for his meals.
• 22:05
  Then he would crash on the floor of
• 22:07
  an art gallery.
• 22:12
  But the vibe in the city was
• 22:14
  changing, and facts heard what
• 22:16
  all newcomers hear when they move to
• 22:18
  Austin.
• 22:18
  You got here too late.
• 22:21
  Austin isn't Austin anymore.
• 22:23
  And I could see what he meant.
• 22:25
  And as nice as it was to have his
• 22:26
  work valued in Austin, he wasn't
• 22:28
  getting paid for it.
• 22:29
  He didn't do it for the money, but
• 22:31
  money was tight.
• 22:33
  Thaks was getting tired of being a
• 22:34
  struggling artist, so he
• 22:36
  left Austin and moved to Wisconsin.
• 22:43
  Now he's living the dream in
• 22:44
  Madison.
• 22:45
  He introduces a band every night.
• 22:47
  It doesn't matter if it's for a
• 22:49
  crowd of 10 or tens of thousands.
• 22:51
  He does it for the love of music and
• 22:53
  poetry.
• 22:54
  After finding Thaks, I showed Nicole
• 22:56
  a couple of videos to make sure we
• 22:58
  had the right guy.
• 22:59
  Called the Flaming Lips number five.
• 23:04
  All the excess life you
• 23:07
  didn't use flares up
• 23:09
  at the end of your waiting period.
• 23:11
  Thank you for tracking him
• 23:13
  down.
• 23:14
  This is very fulfilling.
• 23:16
  I think this is a nice
• 23:18
  kind of farewell.
• 23:22
  I was glad Nicole got to know
• 23:23
  Thaxter's story before leaving
• 23:25
  Austin, but I felt like
• 23:27
  it wasn't enough to give her a
• 23:28
  proper farewell.
• 23:30
  I wanted her to leave knowing her
• 23:31
  question brought back a little bit
• 23:33
  of old, weird Austin even
• 23:35
  if it was just for one night.
• 23:37
  Which is why, at the live show…
• 23:40
  Ladies and gentlemen, Thaxter
• 23:42
  Douglas.
• 23:44
  Hey, what's up, music lovers?
• 23:48
  I have a poem called, A.T.
• 23:50
  Explained.
• 23:51
  There's not a monopoly on dust.
• 23:54
  There's plenty for everyone as
• 23:56
  sprites ride these dust ponies
• 23:58
  into photographs that
• 24:00
  are even less a symbol of real life
• 24:02
  than words were.
• 24:04
  As dust had the foresight to be
• 24:06
  democratic, there's a sort of
• 24:08
  happiness in sharing the
• 24:10
  misery of dealing with faded symbols
• 24:12
  from now on.
• 24:15
  There is a sort of happiness in
• 24:17
  sharing the mystery of dealing with
• 24:19
  fated symbols.
• 24:22
  I'm Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vazquez
• 24:24
  in Austin.
• 24:26
  ATXplained Live is coming back
• 24:28
  May 21st.
• 24:29
  Get your tickets and ATXPlained and
• 24:31
  Austin Signal are products of the
• 24:33
  tremendous support that we get from
• 24:35
  our listeners and our communities.
• 24:37
  Our spring membership drive is
• 24:38
  happening right now.
• 24:39
  If you value the way that Austin
• 24:41
  Signal has helped you to connect to
• 24:43
  your neighbors, donate at
• 24:44
  kut.org.
• 24:46
  We would really appreciate it.
• 24:47
  In KUT News in Texas Standard,
• 24:49
  we'll have live Election Day special
• 24:51
  coverage tonight from at least seven
• 24:53
  to nine. We hope you'll join us.
• 24:55
  This is Austin Signal.
• 24:57
  Have a great day.