Latest / Austin Signal / ‘Bathroom bill’ targeting trans Texans goes into effect this week

Transcript

‘Bathroom bill’ targeting trans Texans goes into effect this week · Austin Signal

• 0:10
  The Texas Bathroom Bill, aimed
• 0:11
  at restricting transgender Texans'
• 0:13
  access to some restrooms in the
• 0:15
  state, goes into effect this week.
• 0:17
  Republicans in the state legislature
• 0:19
  have been trying to enact a measure
• 0:20
  like this for more than a decade.
• 0:22
  Opponents of the bill are worried
• 0:23
  it's unclear guidance on how to
• 0:25
  enforce the policy could cause
• 0:27
  public harassment.
• 0:28
  We've got more about that story.
• 0:30
  Plus, there is an upcoming benefit
• 0:32
  concert for Austin musician Rich
• 0:34
  Brotherton.
• 0:34
  We're gonna chat with a few folks
• 0:36
  who know him well about that
• 0:37
  upcoming show.
• 0:39
  The Austin Signal is a production of
• 0:41
  K U T News, hosted by Jerry
• 0:43
  Quijano.
• 0:44
  And you might have heard by now, but
• 0:45
  it's giving Tuesday.
• 0:47
  Just a reminder that Austin Signal
• 0:48
  is 100% community powered
• 0:51
  public radio.
• 0:52
  We're going to chat more about ways
• 0:53
  you can get involved with our
• 0:55
  community.
• 0:56
  That's next, right here on Austin
• 0:58
  Signal.
• 1:26
  On Thursday, the Texas
• 1:28
  bathroom bill will go into effect.
• 1:30
  For many transgender Texans,
• 1:32
  a big question remains ahead of
• 1:34
  that change.
• 1:35
  How is this going to be enforced?
• 1:37
  For more about that, we're talking
• 1:38
  now with Ayden Runnels, a reporter
• 1:40
  at the Texas Tribune who has been
• 1:42
  following this story.
• 1:43
  Ayden, great to have you here on
• 1:44
  Austin Signal.
• 1:45
  Thank you so much for having me.
• 1:47
  We have known a little bit
• 1:49
  about SB 8, but for
• 1:50
  people who aren't as familiar, this
• 1:52
  legislation is going to effect on
• 1:54
  Thursday. Was this passed during
• 1:56
  the recent regular or special
• 1:57
  session? And who spearheaded this
• 1:59
  effort?
• 1:59
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 2:00
  So Senate Bill eight was passed
• 2:02
  during the second special
• 2:04
  session.
• 2:05
  It was passed by the legislature
• 2:07
  in August and signed in September
• 2:09
  by Governor Greg Abbott.
• 2:11
  And it w it's been spearheaded
• 2:14
  by the author of the
• 2:16
  bill, State Senator Mays
• 2:18
  Middleton and its House sponsor,
• 2:20
  Representative Angelia Orr.
• 2:22
  But it's been part of a larger
• 2:24
  effort for the better part of a
• 2:26
  decade in this state.
• 2:27
  It's sort of switched hands from
• 2:30
  Senator Lewis Cocors to
• 2:32
  Middleton over the years,
• 2:34
  and just Republican leaders
• 2:36
  in general.
• 2:37
  And you got a couple stories over at
• 2:38
  the Tribune that are up right now.
• 2:41
  One which you lay out pretty clearly
• 2:42
  which buildings are going to be
• 2:44
  affected by SB eight.
• 2:45
  Is this only limited to buildings
• 2:47
  that are run by state agencies?
• 2:49
  Yes, absolutely.
• 2:50
  So public agencies, Like
• 2:52
  The Department of Transportation,
• 2:55
  you know, Capitol buildings,
• 2:57
  like the Texas Capitol, but also
• 2:59
  city and county buildings.
• 3:00
  So city hall, county tax
• 3:03
  offices, things like that.
• 3:04
  But like private buildings,
• 3:05
  restaurants, malls, they won't
• 3:07
  be affected.
• 3:08
  Which adds a little bit to the
• 3:09
  confusion around the the law,
• 3:10
  correct?
• 3:11
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 3:12
  And that's sort of where a lot of
• 3:13
  the tension has come from from
• 3:15
  opponents of the bill is they're
• 3:17
  worried that, you know, the layman,
• 3:18
  the average person going on the
• 3:19
  street, may not understand where
• 3:21
  this law begins and where it ends
• 3:23
  and that might create, you know,
• 3:25
  uncomfortable public confrontations
• 3:27
  or, you know, unnecessary
• 3:29
  situations.
• 3:29
  As you mentioned, this isn't the
• 3:31
  first effort done here in Texas
• 3:33
  at a bathroom bill,
• 3:35
  and we're seeing sort of a trend
• 3:36
  across the country.
• 3:37
  How many other states have enacted
• 3:39
  this sort of policy?
• 3:40
  Yeah, so about nineteen other states
• 3:42
  have some sort of bill and then
• 3:43
  Virginia has sort of a a statewide
• 3:45
  policy for their schools.
• 3:46
  I don't think it's a law, but it's a
• 3:48
  policy.
• 3:49
  Texas is yes, it's the
• 3:51
  twentieth state and it has
• 3:53
  the single largest financial
• 3:55
  penalty for institutions.
• 3:57
  Some states have a percentage
• 3:58
  reduction rate of funds for school
• 4:00
  districts if they violate the
• 4:02
  policy, but Texas has a flat
• 4:04
  rate of twenty-five thousand dollars
• 4:06
  for a first-time violation and
• 4:07
  a hundred twenty-five thousand
• 4:09
  dollars for every subsequent
• 4:10
  violation per day.
• 4:12
  Okay.
• 4:12
  And another important distinction
• 4:13
  with that is those there
• 4:15
  are no penalties whatsoever for
• 4:17
  people who go into these restrooms.
• 4:19
  Okay. These fines are
• 4:21
  only against the institutions,
• 4:23
  the public agencies where
• 4:25
  somebody enters the wrong restroom.
• 4:27
  Okay. That makes sense.
• 4:29
  That helps clear up things a little
• 4:30
  bit. H have we seen these sort of
• 4:32
  policies enforced in other states?
• 4:34
  You know, that was a question that
• 4:35
  we had at the the beginning.
• 4:36
  I think a lot of people are are
• 4:37
  wondering how this policy is going
• 4:39
  to be enforced.
• 4:40
  Have we seen enforcement in other states here in the U.S?
• 4:44
  There really is no
• 4:46
  major documented instance of
• 4:48
  these policies being implemented
• 4:50
  anywhere in the United States.
• 4:52
  There was a case out of Florida.
• 4:53
  Florida has the strictest bathroom
• 4:55
  bill in the country.
• 4:56
  It's criminally has a think
• 4:58
  it's a misdemeanor trespassing
• 4:59
  charge. And a woman in
• 5:01
  earlier this year was arrested.
• 5:04
  But she was released in
• 5:06
  June because the district
• 5:08
  attorney never brought charges
• 5:10
  against her. And so we
• 5:12
  never got to see what that case
• 5:13
  might have looked like.
• 5:14
  And there's really been no
• 5:15
  documented cases, as far as I'm
• 5:17
  aware of or experts that I've talked
• 5:18
  to where an agency or school
• 5:20
  district has been majorly fined.
• 5:23
  So we really don't
• 5:25
  know what a legal battle
• 5:27
  if somebody tries to challenge a
• 5:29
  fine might look like.
• 5:30
  We don't know what
• 5:32
  the investigating case
• 5:34
  might look like in an instance.
• 5:35
  So this sort of unclear
• 5:38
  future for when enforcement
• 5:39
  might happen in Texas, there's no
• 5:41
  frame of reference in other states.
• 5:43
  Okay, so we've talked a lot about
• 5:45
  the policy, the legislation.
• 5:46
  You talked to a number of Textans
• 5:48
  who are going to be impacted when
• 5:49
  this policy goes into effect on
• 5:51
  Thursday.
• 5:51
  What did you hear from them?
• 5:53
  Yeah. You know,
• 5:55
  when I started talking to folks,
• 5:57
  it was definitely fear.
• 5:59
  What was definitely an element of
• 6:01
  it, among the the trans
• 6:02
  folks that I've talked to,
• 6:04
  for this story and for others.
• 6:07
  But I think lately the term
• 6:09
  that I heard a lot was frustration
• 6:11
  and exhaustion.
• 6:12
  You know, in their eyes, this is
• 6:13
  just another bill
• 6:15
  or policy designed to sort of push
• 6:17
  them out of a public space.
• 6:19
  And so there's a lot of resentment
• 6:21
  towards public officials who support
• 6:23
  this kind of legislation and just
• 6:25
  frustration, but
• 6:27
  also you know, resilience
• 6:29
  as well.
• 6:31
  One of the people I spoke to, Simon
• 6:33
  Shepard, for one of the stories
• 6:35
  that went up, told me, you know,
• 6:36
  he's just gonna keep living on life
• 6:38
  the way he's living, and if that
• 6:39
  means, you know, going to a bathroom
• 6:40
  that technically he's not allowed to
• 6:42
  go in, then
• 6:43
  You know, so be it.
• 6:43
  Call I think your story called them
• 6:45
  reluctant fighters, people who have
• 6:47
  been sort of forced into this
• 6:48
  position. You can read more of the
• 6:49
  stories of those Texans who are
• 6:51
  going to be impacted at the Texas
• 6:53
  Tribune. We have been speaking with
• 6:54
  Ayden Runnels, a reporter for
• 6:56
  the Texas Tribune.
• 6:57
  That's where you can find more of
• 6:58
  their reporting.
• 6:59
  Ayden, thank you for speaking with
• 7:00
  us on Austin Signal.
• 7:10
  All right, it is Giving Tuesday,
• 7:12
  which is a great reminder that KUT
• 7:14
  and KUTX and Austin Signal
• 7:16
  are one hundred percent community
• 7:18
  funded. And today we're working on a
• 7:19
  twenty-five thousand dollar matching
• 7:21
  gift. Thanks to some great friends
• 7:23
  of the station for making their
• 7:25
  investment in KUT and KUTX.
• 7:27
  And they're making your investment
• 7:28
  go twice as far.
• 7:29
  You can chip over, find all the
• 7:31
  details at KUT dot
• 7:32
  org. And on this Giving Tuesday,
• 7:34
  we're joined by Jared Montes Slack,
• 7:36
  Senior Director of Development with
• 7:38
  I Live Here, I Give Here.
• 7:39
  Jared, thanks for taking some time
• 7:40
  today.
• 7:41
  Jerry, you have no idea how good it
• 7:42
  feels to be here with you today.
• 7:44
  Well, it sounds like you had a
• 7:46
  pretty busy day.
• 7:47
  I'm guessing giving Tuesday is
• 7:48
  pretty hectic for you.
• 7:49
  Yeah, it's a big day for us.
• 7:51
  You know, really it's it's exciting
• 7:53
  when you have an opportunity to
• 7:55
  to energize an entire community
• 7:57
  around doing good.
• 7:59
  And, you know, I tell people all the
• 8:00
  time, like, I have the greatest job.
• 8:02
  Somehow I make a living off loving
• 8:04
  people. And I find that
• 8:06
  like to be really amazing that
• 8:07
  I get to have the opportunity to be
• 8:09
  in the world that I have in my life.
• 8:11
  But to also be in a great city like
• 8:12
  Austin, Central Texas, like it's the
• 8:14
  dream to be here.
• 8:15
  And so today is exciting
• 8:17
  because it's all about us giving
• 8:19
  back to this place that gives so
• 8:20
  much to us.
• 8:21
  I love that. You know, you you you
• 8:22
  have invigorated my day.
• 8:24
  People always ask what's my dream
• 8:25
  job. I don't know what the
• 8:27
  occupation would be, but loving on
• 8:28
  people definitely would be the dream
• 8:30
  description. So how how does I live
• 8:32
  here I give here how do they help
• 8:33
  Austinite Central Texas love on
• 8:35
  the community that they live in?
• 8:36
  Absolutely, man.
• 8:37
  So, you know, I say a couple things
• 8:39
  a lot when I talk to people about
• 8:40
  the work that we do. And one of the
• 8:41
  things I say is that I live here, I
• 8:42
  give here our missions and the name.
• 8:44
  It's right there.
• 8:45
  Imagine a community.
• 8:46
  Imagine a Central Texas, millions
• 8:48
  and millions of people from all
• 8:50
  walks of life, every single one of
• 8:52
  them being able to say, I live here.
• 8:54
  I give right here.
• 8:55
  And that that excites me to
• 8:57
  live in a community where everybody
• 8:59
  could be able to do that.
• 9:00
  And then also to know, like if
• 9:01
  everybody in my community has the
• 9:03
  capacity to give, then that means
• 9:05
  everybody in my community is doing
• 9:07
  pretty good.
• 9:07
  Yeah.
• 9:08
  So it's it's not only just a desire
• 9:10
  that people would give back, it's a
• 9:11
  desire that everybody
• 9:13
  in my city, in my community,
• 9:15
  would have the ability and access
• 9:18
  to getting to give back.
• 9:20
  Well, we always talk about asking
• 9:21
  for help being difficult.
• 9:23
  We ask for help a lot here on K U T,
• 9:24
  asking for people to support the
• 9:26
  work that we do.
• 9:26
  But we always also make mention that
• 9:28
  it actually feels good to do good,
• 9:30
  to give to give of yourself
• 9:32
  and to contribute to something
• 9:34
  greater than yourself.
• 9:35
  Can you speak to, you know, how how
• 9:36
  I live here, I give here and how
• 9:38
  Giving Tuesday allows people to
• 9:39
  build on that feeling.
• 9:40
  Yeah, dude, a hundred percent.
• 9:41
  So, like, you know, one other
• 9:42
  another one of the same things I say
• 9:44
  to people all the time is like
• 9:45
  strong communities don't happen by
• 9:46
  accident.
• 9:47
  It's choice.
• 9:48
  It's people deciding to put
• 9:50
  themselves in a new place.
• 9:52
  And for me, volunteerism,
• 9:54
  giving back, doing good.
• 9:56
  I have found myself in some of the
• 9:57
  most gnarly, amazing places
• 10:00
  because of that, right?
• 10:01
  Like you can get so stuck in your
• 10:03
  everyday life, getting up, going to
• 10:04
  work, coming home, making dinner,
• 10:06
  going to bed, getting up, going to
• 10:07
  work, coming home.
• 10:08
  You just do that over and over.
• 10:09
  And it becomes so like honestly
• 10:12
  boring. And you get into this like
• 10:14
  this tunnel vision rut.
• 10:16
  But man, whenever you take the the
• 10:18
  opportunity to step back
• 10:20
  and see that, dude, there's some
• 10:22
  cool stuff happening in our
• 10:23
  community. And just by giving
• 10:25
  back, you can put your feet in a
• 10:27
  different place. And so, you know,
• 10:29
  for me, organizations I'm excited
• 10:31
  about in our community, places that
• 10:32
  I serve myself.
• 10:33
  These are this isn't just me saying,
• 10:35
  Hey, these are cool places.
• 10:37
  Like these are places that have
• 10:38
  enriched my life.
• 10:39
  That you're interested in.
• 10:43
  One of those is at Mobile O's and
• 10:45
  Fishes. Great great friends over
• 10:47
  there. But I work with a crew
• 10:49
  of of friends of mine for about
• 10:50
  gosh, about six years now.
• 10:52
  We build tiny homes out there.
• 10:53
  And we've built about a hundred and
• 10:55
  fifty of these things out there.
• 10:56
  Okay. And every time I'm out there,
• 10:58
  my boots are in the dirt out that
• 11:00
  construction site, and we're going
• 11:01
  from a slab to four walls
• 11:03
  and a roof.
• 11:04
  And I it to me, it enriches
• 11:06
  my life.
• 11:07
  Yeah, dude, it means waking up on a
• 11:09
  Saturday when I I'm a huge
• 11:11
  soccer fan.
• 11:12
  So like waking up on a Saturday
• 11:14
  morning and and having to miss out
• 11:15
  on watching Liverpool kick off or
• 11:17
  whatever it is, but I find myself
• 11:19
  standing out there with the sunlight
• 11:21
  on my face while I've got friends
• 11:23
  and some strangers that I just met
• 11:24
  today, building a house together,
• 11:26
  it's worth it, dude.
• 11:28
  Because honestly, like, you know,
• 11:29
  you talk about things like sweat
• 11:30
  equity.
• 11:31
  Like I think that's a part of it.
• 11:32
  Like I can have opinions about
• 11:34
  what's going on in my city,
• 11:36
  in my state, in my wherever it is
• 11:38
  that I call home.
• 11:39
  But until I put myself in a
• 11:41
  place where I'm seeing like
• 11:43
  what's really happening here in my
• 11:45
  community, you know, like just
• 11:47
  recently I live here, I give here.
• 11:48
  We launched a giving day called
• 11:49
  Amplify Home.
• 11:51
  It was back in October.
• 11:52
  And it was because we heard
• 11:54
  that there's 2,500
• 11:56
  children in our city
• 11:58
  experiencing homelessness every
• 12:00
  single day.
• 12:02
  And I can have opinions about that
• 12:03
  or I can do something about
• 12:05
  that. And I think giving Tuesday
• 12:07
  is the perfect day.
• 12:08
  Any day, really, but giving Tuesday
• 12:10
  is the perfect day to say to myself,
• 12:11
  I can have opinions, but I can
• 12:13
  also do something.
• 12:15
  Well we have about a minute left, so
• 12:16
  I want to ask we know that lots of
• 12:18
  nonprofits, ourselves included, have
• 12:20
  been affected by federal budget
• 12:22
  cuts. What are you hearing from the
• 12:23
  groups that you're working with
• 12:24
  about how they're being impacted by
• 12:25
  these cuts?
• 12:26
  Absolutely. I mean, you what we're
• 12:27
  seeing right now a lot with our
• 12:28
  nonprofits is, and I I don't use
• 12:30
  this word lightly, and I'm gonna say
• 12:32
  it, a scrambling.
• 12:34
  Because right now, like what it
• 12:35
  feels like to many of our local
• 12:36
  nonprofits, it feels like the rug's
• 12:38
  been yanked out from under them.
• 12:39
  That that traditionally we've had
• 12:40
  support coming in from federal, from
• 12:42
  private, from public, and all of
• 12:43
  that is shifting and changing.
• 12:45
  And my message to nonprofits
• 12:47
  is and to people in our community,
• 12:50
  I'm not sure we're going back.
• 12:52
  I think that going forward in
• 12:54
  our communities, we are going to
• 12:55
  have to come to a reckoning of
• 12:57
  if we want beautiful green spaces,
• 12:59
  if we want people to have dignified
• 13:01
  lives, if we want the animals
• 13:03
  in our communities to have nice
• 13:05
  homes, it's gonna require
• 13:07
  the best of all of us and generosity
• 13:10
  from all of us.
• 13:10
  From every walk of life, from every
• 13:12
  corner of opinion, it's gonna take
• 13:14
  the best of us and to give back.
• 13:16
  All right, we've been speaking with
• 13:17
  Jared Montes Slack, Senior Director
• 13:19
  of Development with I Live Here, I
• 13:20
  Give Here. Thank you, Jared.
• 13:22
  And thank you for tuning in.
• 13:23
  This is Austin Signal.
• 13:25
  We will be back in just one moment.
• 13:28
  Welcome back and thank you for
• 13:29
  tuning in to Austin Signal.
• 13:31
  We hope you're having a fantastic
• 13:33
  Tuesday.
• 13:35
  A big group of Austin artists are
• 13:37
  putting their talents together for a
• 13:38
  night of music for Austin guitarist
• 13:40
  and producer Rich Brotherton, who's
• 13:42
  been diagnosed with ALS.
• 13:43
  It's happening next week at the
• 13:45
  Paramount Theater.
• 13:46
  We've got three of the artists on
• 13:47
  the bill joining us today here on
• 13:49
  Austin Signal Andrea Magee,
• 13:51
  Pat Byrne, and Scrappy Judd Newcomb.
• 13:53
  Welcome to the show. Thank you for
• 13:54
  being here.
• 13:55
  Thank you so much for having us.
• 13:56
  Yes, thank you. So I wanted to start
• 13:57
  it off just as early
• 13:59
  as possible, and ask
• 14:01
  you all if you remember the first
• 14:03
  time that you met Rich or perhaps
• 14:05
  the first time you might have played
• 14:06
  music with him, Andrea?
• 14:08
  Yeah, so I think ours we were
• 14:10
  working this out seven years or so
• 14:11
  ago. I'm in a band with Rich
• 14:13
  called Ulla and
• 14:15
  I think we met at our first
• 14:17
  rehearsal actually Pat wa
• 14:19
  had the idea to put Ulla together.
• 14:21
  Ulla's a a group that plays Irish
• 14:23
  traditional music and obviously Rich
• 14:25
  is heavily steeped in in
• 14:27
  that and everything else.
• 14:28
  So yeah, I met him at our very first
• 14:30
  rehearsal and it was we
• 14:32
  just hit it off and we've been in
• 14:34
  that band ever since and it's been
• 14:35
  beautiful.
• 14:36
  What about you, Pat?
• 14:37
  Yeah, I I moved to town in twenty
• 14:39
  seventeen and was looking for a
• 14:41
  producer to produce my first record
• 14:43
  and everybody recommended Rich
• 14:44
  Brotherton because he'd spent
• 14:46
  so much time in Ireland and loved
• 14:47
  Irish folk music and
• 14:49
  kind of was probably one of the
• 14:51
  first people I met in town and
• 14:53
  just has been a great mentor to me
• 14:54
  and b obviously we play together on
• 14:56
  Sundays and just a great friend
• 14:58
  and massively talented person.
• 15:01
  Scrappy?
• 15:02
  I met him I worked for Rich when
• 15:04
  I met him in the late nineteen
• 15:06
  eighties. He was my boss
• 15:08
  at a at a call research
• 15:10
  company or or a market research
• 15:12
  company. And
• 15:14
  and quickly w we made
• 15:17
  bonded over over music and
• 15:19
  I've been in awe of him
• 15:21
  ever since.
• 15:22
  We've had many, many adventures over
• 15:23
  there.
• 15:24
  The year.
• 15:24
  Well for folks who do not know
• 15:26
  Rich's music, we've got a song from
• 15:28
  the new Oula record called Oula
• 15:31
  Two. This is the Streets of Dairy.
• 15:37
  Well after morning
• 15:41
  there comes an evening
• 15:45
  and after even
• 15:48
  another day
• 15:52
  and after a
• 15:54
  false love
• 15:56
  there comes a true
• 15:59
  love I'll
• 16:01
  have you listen down
• 16:04
  to what I say
• 16:09
  My love is
• 16:12
  as fair
• 16:14
  young man
• 16:17
  as fine as
• 16:19
  Well tell us about this this
• 16:21
  concert happening tonight for Rich
• 16:23
  Brotherton.
• 16:24
  Who's coming into town?
• 16:25
  It's gonna be happening at the
• 16:26
  Paramount.
• 16:27
  Who who's joining in on the
• 16:28
  celebration?
• 16:29
  Wow, yeah, the lineup is insane.
• 16:32
  So we have Lal Lovett, Lyden
• 16:34
  Wainwright, Charlie Crockett, Patty
• 16:36
  Griffin.
• 16:38
  So many
• 16:39
  Yeah.
• 16:40
  Mary Goucher, Eliza Gilkison,
• 16:42
  Christine Albert.
• 16:43
  Butch Hancock, Jimmy Dale Gilmore.
• 16:45
  It's just it and it was so it's been
• 16:47
  such a quick turnaround 'cause, you
• 16:48
  know, we wanted it to be a really
• 16:50
  celebratory event for Rich
• 16:52
  and we wanted Rich to be a big part
• 16:54
  of it. So that's why we decided to
• 16:55
  put it together in such a quick
• 16:58
  space of time.
• 16:59
  And it's everybody
• 17:01
  it's been a the quickest yes you
• 17:03
  can ever imagine. Everybody is
• 17:04
  wanting to be a part of it because
• 17:06
  of how incredible Rich is.
• 17:07
  It's a testament to him.
• 17:08
  How how quickly has the event come
• 17:10
  together?
• 17:10
  It's in the last ten days.
• 17:13
  Yeah. It went on sale one week ago
• 17:15
  and it's pretty much It's almost
• 17:16
  sold out.
• 17:17
  Oh wow. Okay.
• 17:18
  We had the Jim Ritz, the CEO
• 17:19
  of the Austin Theater Alliance.
• 17:21
  He actually pitched us to speak
• 17:23
  with y'all. I guess that was last
• 17:24
  week already.
• 17:25
  So that it has really he he
• 17:27
  he let us know as quickly as
• 17:28
  possible. So I also saw
• 17:30
  that Jody Denberg, our old colleague
• 17:32
  here at K U T X, is gonna be MCing
• 17:34
  the night. So lots of great names
• 17:36
  on that bill and lots of folks
• 17:37
  pitching in, as you said, really
• 17:39
  quickly, to honor Rich, to celebrate
• 17:41
  his music, his life, him as
• 17:43
  a person.
• 17:44
  What does that say about him that
• 17:45
  people are willing to drop
• 17:46
  everything, drop the hat and show up
• 17:48
  in in Austin and and and and
• 17:50
  play and play for him?
• 17:52
  Well, he's a firstly a great person
• 17:54
  and people want to be around him,
• 17:55
  but secondly his talent is just
• 17:57
  kinda undeniable.
• 17:58
  Everyone's played with him, he's
• 17:59
  touched everyone in this community
• 18:01
  has had some kind of run in with
• 18:03
  Rich in a very positive way.
• 18:05
  And this could have been like a
• 18:06
  three day festival because yeah.
• 18:07
  We ha we weren't able to squeeze in
• 18:09
  all the people that could be.
• 18:10
  There's only one stage, right?
• 18:11
  I mean there's a the Paramount, it's
• 18:12
  not it's it's a great big stage, but
• 18:14
  it's it's still can only hold so
• 18:15
  many humans. Unfortunately.
• 18:17
  Yeah. It's gonna be a long show.
• 18:19
  It's gonna be a three and a half
• 18:20
  hour plus show, so
• 18:22
  And everyone on the bill has a
• 18:23
  personal connection to Rich, you
• 18:24
  know, as we say, he has played and
• 18:26
  been an architect for so many
• 18:28
  of these people's music and signs
• 18:30
  so and on all the records.
• 18:32
  So it's gonna be
• 18:33
  A shame or scandal
• 18:37
  for a man to die
• 18:40
  upon the gallows
• 18:42
  tree.
• 18:45
  He looked around
• 18:49
  and he saw
• 18:51
  her common,
• 18:54
  and she was dressed
• 18:57
  all in woolen spine
• 19:01
  the weary steed
• 19:05
  his love was right.
• 19:11
  Morso.
• 19:12
  With please.
• 19:13
  Seven.
• 19:14
  Yeah.
• 19:16
  W what do you think is is the power
• 19:17
  in music and celebrating it in s
• 19:19
  together with a whole bunch of
• 19:21
  people? Why do you think that we
• 19:22
  search that out? Why do you think
• 19:23
  it's so powerful?
• 19:25
  I mean music for me
• 19:27
  is just it it it brings down
• 19:29
  all the walls, right?
• 19:30
  There's no there's nothing else like
• 19:32
  it. And I I feel like it cuts
• 19:34
  through everything, no matter if you
• 19:35
  want to feel or you don't want to
• 19:36
  feel, music will make you feel.
• 19:38
  So I think it has deep,
• 19:41
  deep healing qualities.
• 19:42
  So much so I have a I started a non
• 19:44
  profit and that's the non profit
• 19:45
  that is going to be awarding the
• 19:47
  grant to Rich at the end of
• 19:49
  the evening or at the end of the
• 19:50
  fundraising campaign.
• 19:51
  It's called Music Helps and it
• 19:53
  utilizes the healing power of music
• 19:55
  on any form of trauma.
• 19:56
  And I have witnessed it my entire
• 19:58
  life and then just first hand
• 20:00
  with all of the work that I've ever
• 20:02
  done. I just it's undeniably
• 20:04
  powerful and I don't even think
• 20:05
  we've tapped in properly to
• 20:07
  what it can do.
• 20:08
  Yeah, yeah, I mean a and it and
• 20:10
  it is such
• 20:12
  a p primary part of Rich's
• 20:15
  being, you know, that this is
• 20:18
  this is the best way to to celebrate
• 20:20
  him and or or one of the very best
• 20:21
  ways to celebrate him.
• 20:22
  And and it's
• 20:24
  it's it's imp it's it's
• 20:26
  impossible to feel too too
• 20:28
  down, you know, when on a on a
• 20:30
  night like this. It it is it's a
• 20:32
  celebration. It's a you
• 20:34
  know, every every
• 20:36
  you know, nothing stands still, time
• 20:38
  keeps marching on, but but music
• 20:39
  can stop time for a little bit, you
• 20:41
  know, and and we'll all
• 20:43
  live in that beautiful few hours,
• 20:45
  you know.
• 20:46
  Yeah. And it is a a one night event.
• 20:48
  Tickets might be selling out.
• 20:50
  Are there other ways that people can
• 20:51
  help out rich in this time of need?
• 20:53
  Yeah, we do have a fundraising
• 20:55
  campaign running at the same time.
• 20:57
  So if you don't get one of those
• 20:58
  tickets, I think we're down to like
• 21:00
  sixty seventy at this point, so
• 21:02
  Yeah.
• 21:03
  But there is a fundraising campaign
• 21:05
  and it's music helps
• 21:07
  at x dot org forward
• 21:08
  slash rich brotherton
• 21:11
  fundraiser.
• 21:12
  Oh wow, he remembered that off the
• 21:13
  time. Yeah, yeah.
• 21:18
  But yeah, so our goal with this
• 21:20
  event is to support Rich
• 21:22
  and his family in a financial
• 21:24
  way so that we can help with
• 21:26
  any difficulties that are about
• 21:28
  to come in the future.
• 21:29
  So we want to really give them
• 21:30
  something healthy to walk away
• 21:32
  with that is gonna, you
• 21:34
  know, just help as much as possible.
• 21:36
  So we know that the the Paramount
• 21:38
  event is gonna really help, but on
• 21:40
  top of that, we know
• 21:41
  Rich has reached far and wide.
• 21:44
  So not everybody can travel to
• 21:45
  Austin for this event.
• 21:47
  So this fundraiser is an
• 21:49
  opportunity for everybody who
• 21:50
  wants to support Rich to
• 21:52
  to pitch in and so we can help them
• 21:54
  through a difficult time.
• 21:56
  Excellent. Well we can include a a
• 21:58
  link to that fundraiser in the show
• 21:59
  notes for Austin Signal for
• 22:01
  today's episode.
• 22:02
  Thank you. Is there anything else
• 22:04
  about the event about Rich that I
• 22:06
  haven't asked you about that you
• 22:07
  would like to put out there?
• 22:09
  Also there's some beautiful
• 22:10
  T shirts that will be
• 22:12
  for the event and i in the case
• 22:14
  that they don't sell out at the
• 22:15
  event, I imagine we can get 'em.
• 22:17
  Absolutely.
• 22:18
  And you know, Rich plays
• 22:20
  with Pat and I every Sunday and
• 22:21
  Scrappy every Sunday.
• 22:23
  So if you can't make the event and
• 22:24
  you are in the Austin area, the
• 22:26
  Purgatory players play every Sunday
• 22:28
  at eleven thirty.
• 22:29
  Yes.
• 22:30
  El Mercado, all for the Austin Food
• 22:31
  Bank?
• 22:32
  That's Central Texas.
• 22:34
  Yeah.
• 22:34
  Central track. Yeah. And then if you
• 22:35
  don't make that, you can come over
• 22:36
  to the Saxon pub at five thirty.
• 22:38
  That's where we will be playing with
• 22:39
  Rich.
• 22:41
  For the foreseeable future on
• 22:42
  a Sunday at five thirty if you enjoy
• 22:44
  Irish music.
• 22:45
  So there's opportunities for you to
• 22:47
  keep coming and give 'em.
• 22:48
  Yeah, yeah.
• 22:49
  Fantastic. Well, we have been
• 22:50
  speaking with Andrea Magee, Pat
• 22:52
  Byrne, and Scrappy Judd Newcombe.
• 22:54
  They are part of the bill for the
• 22:55
  Night for Rich Brotherton.
• 22:57
  That is happening December 9th at
• 22:58
  the Paramount.
• 22:59
  We're gonna have more information in
• 23:00
  the show notes for today's episode.
• 23:02
  Thank you all for being here today.
• 23:04
  Thank you. Thank you.
• 23:05
  And for more about the stories that
• 23:07
  we covered today on Austin Signal,
• 23:09
  we're gonna have links in our show
• 23:11
  notes. You can find that at K
• 23:13
  U T.org slash
• 23:15
  Signal. And that's it for today's
• 23:17
  episode. Thank you for spending part
• 23:19
  of your Tuesday here with us.
• 23:21
  Thank you to Ayden Runnels from
• 23:23
  the Texas Tribune for
• 23:25
  coming on the show.
• 23:26
  And thank you to managing producer
• 23:28
  Kristen Cabrera, Technical
• 23:30
  Director Rayna Sevilla,
• 23:32
  and Jimmy Mass, our show
• 23:34
  runner. I'm Jerry Quijano,
• 23:36
  your host. Don't forget it's Giving
• 23:38
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• 23:40
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• 23:41
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• 23:43
  every single day without the help of
• 23:45
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• 23:46
  So thank you for giving us your
• 23:47
  money. Thank you for giving us your
• 23:49
  attention, and thank you for
• 23:50
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• 23:51
  We will talk to you tomorrow.
• 23:54
  This is Austin Signal.