Latest / Austin Signal / Delta-8 probable cause arrests, voter suspension list, Grocery Bag

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Delta-8 probable cause arrests, voter suspension list, Grocery Bag · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  A state rule that was reinstated
• 0:10
  July 31st bans Delta
• 0:12
  8 in Texas.
• 0:13
  Austin police say the packaging on
• 0:15
  some products could now establish
• 0:16
  probable cause for felony arrests,
• 0:19
  but the department says cracking
• 0:20
  down on Delta 8 isn't a primary
• 0:22
  objective.
• 0:23
  We've got more about that.
• 0:25
  And more than a million Texans are
• 0:27
  on something called a voter suspense
• 0:28
  list as of March.
• 0:29
  That includes about 100,000 folks
• 0:31
  here in central Texas.
• 0:33
  It doesn't mean you won't be able to
• 0:34
  vote in the midterms, but there are
• 0:36
  some things to know if you find
• 0:37
  yourself on the list.
• 0:38
  How to find out, coming up on
• 0:40
  today's show.
• 0:41
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:42
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:45
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:46
  And the KUTX Artist of the
• 0:47
  Month for September is Grocery
• 0:49
  Bag. They've had a busy year so far,
• 0:51
  and now they're gearing up for ACL
• 0:53
  Fest and a new project.
• 0:55
  We'll tell you what we know.
• 0:56
  That's up next on Austin
• 0:58
  Signal.
• 1:08
  Howdy out there, this is
• 1:10
  Austin Signal.
• 1:11
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 1:13
  It is the 18th day of
• 1:14
  September.
• 1:15
  It is a Friday.
• 1:16
  Thank you for making us part of
• 1:18
  your day. We've got a lot to share
• 1:20
  with you today.
• 1:21
  So let's get right in.
• 1:23
  Someone who bought Delta 8 gummies
• 1:25
  legally before July 31st
• 1:27
  of this year could now face a felony
• 1:30
  arrest here in Austin based solely
• 1:31
  on the packaging.
• 1:33
  And as KUT's Nathan Bernier reports,
• 1:35
  that's even before a lab can
• 1:37
  determine what is actually inside.
• 1:40
  Delta-8 is marketed as
• 1:42
  a less powerful form of Delta-9
• 1:45
  THC, which is the main psychoactive
• 1:47
  ingredient in cannabis.
• 1:48
  So, Delta- 8 is often found
• 1:50
  in sleep gummies and other products
• 1:52
  intended for people seeking milder
• 1:54
  effects than the traditional high
• 1:56
  associated with cannabis.
• 1:57
  But on July 31, the Texas Department
• 2:00
  of State Health Services reinstated
• 2:02
  a rule, making possession of less
• 2:04
  than one gram of Delta 8 a
• 2:06
  state jail felony punishable
• 2:08
  by to two years behind bars.
• 2:10
  Figuring out whether something
• 2:12
  actually contains Delta-8 is
• 2:14
  not so easy without a lab
• 2:16
  test, so Austin Police say
• 2:18
  the label itself could give
• 2:20
  an officer probable cause to make
• 2:21
  an arrest.
• 2:23
  But police officers have some
• 2:24
  discretion over whether to arrest
• 2:25
  first and test later, or
• 2:27
  test first and arrest later.
• 2:29
  So it's case by case on whether or
• 2:31
  not that occurs.
• 2:32
  Patrick Eastlick is an Austin police
• 2:33
  lieutenant who oversees drug
• 2:35
  enforcement.
• 2:35
  And then it'll be a determination of
• 2:37
  the detective that it gets assigned
• 2:38
  to as well as the
• 2:40
  DA's office on whether
• 2:42
  charges will proceed and testing
• 2:44
  would proceed to verify that
• 2:46
  the substance did contain Delta A.
• 2:48
  The Travis County District Attorney
• 2:49
  Jose Garza says his office is
• 2:51
  already busy.
• 2:52
  They're on track to receive 18,000
• 2:55
  felony cases this year, and they
• 2:56
  have about 100 prosecutors on
• 2:58
  staff.
• 2:58
  Our priority at the Travis County
• 3:00
  District Attorney's Office is to
• 3:02
  hold people accountable who commit
• 3:04
  acts of violence, who commit harm
• 3:06
  in our community, who commit acts
• 3:08
  gun violence, and that is
• 3:10
  where we are focusing our limited
• 3:12
  resources and attention and
• 3:14
  clogging up the system with
• 3:17
  sleep gummies is not good
• 3:19
  for our public safety and it is
• 3:20
  not for the administration of
• 3:22
  justice.
• 3:22
  But for those arrested on felony
• 3:24
  drug charges in Travis County, there
• 3:26
  is a new diversion program.
• 3:28
  It's called Restore, and it gives
• 3:29
  people a chance to enter drug
• 3:31
  treatment and have their cases
• 3:33
  dismissed and records cleared.
• 3:35
  But that doesn't mean everyone is
• 3:36
  guaranteed a slot.
• 3:38
  And as far as the packaging is
• 3:39
  concerned, the words on the label
• 3:41
  can also cut the other way.
• 3:43
  Austin police say a package showing
• 3:45
  that cannabis flower or concentrate
• 3:46
  contains no more than 0.3%
• 3:49
  Delta-9 could help establish that
• 3:51
  product is legal hemp.
• 3:53
  In which case it would not be
• 3:54
  seized.
• 3:55
  I'm Nathan Bernier in Austin.
• 4:04
  The University of Austin,
• 4:06
  that is the private, currently
• 4:08
  unaccredited liberal arts college
• 4:09
  that launched five years ago,
• 4:12
  announced this week it's planning to
• 4:13
  open a law school with an aim of
• 4:15
  launching that program in 2028.
• 4:18
  But what the school will not be
• 4:20
  aiming for is accreditation from
• 4:22
  the American Bar Association,
• 4:24
  the professional organization that
• 4:26
  acts as the accreditor for legal
• 4:28
  education.
• 4:29
  Lily Kepner reported on this story
• 4:31
  for the Austin American Statesman,
• 4:32
  where she covers higher ed and she
• 4:34
  is joining us now.
• 4:35
  Welcome back, Lily.
• 4:36
  Thanks for having me.
• 4:37
  Okay, so tell us first, what does it
• 4:39
  mean for a school to have this
• 4:40
  accreditation from the American Bar
• 4:42
  Association?
• 4:43
  Yeah, so since 1952,
• 4:45
  the ABA has been the
• 4:47
  legal school accreditor in
• 4:49
  the United States.
• 4:50
  That means that it's in charge of
• 4:52
  setting the standards for
• 4:54
  all legal schools
• 4:57
  to make sure that there's
• 4:59
  consistency in what a
• 5:01
  legal education is
• 5:03
  and what students who graduate know
• 5:05
  before they enter the practice.
• 5:07
  So ABA accreditation
• 5:09
  isn't just a rubber stamp.
• 5:10
  It's something that allows graduates
• 5:12
  from a school to take the bar exam,
• 5:14
  which they need to be a practicing
• 5:16
  lawyer.
• 5:17
  And right now in most states
• 5:18
  in the country, you have
• 5:20
  to graduate from a school with ABA
• 5:22
  certification in order to take that
• 5:24
  test. Texas recently changed
• 5:26
  the rules allowing the Texas Supreme
• 5:28
  Court to decide which schools reach
• 5:30
  that mark.
• 5:31
  I believe Florida did the same
• 5:33
  thing, but by and large,
• 5:35
  ABA accreditation is very
• 5:37
  the norm.
• 5:38
  So why is the University of Austin
• 5:40
  not pursuing this accreditation?
• 5:42
  So the University of Austin has
• 5:44
  always had a rebellious
• 5:47
  motto that was their founding.
• 5:49
  They wanted to stand differently
• 5:50
  from higher education.
• 5:52
  And they have a lot of
• 5:55
  problems with the current system and
• 5:57
  specifically with the ABA.
• 5:59
  They think that the ABI's
• 6:00
  requirements that full-time
• 6:03
  faculty teach these
• 6:05
  legal courses mean drives up the
• 6:07
  price of a legal education.
• 6:09
  They think some
• 6:11
  of the regulations don't
• 6:13
  allow schools like themselves to
• 6:15
  innovate.
• 6:16
  And they believe that the
• 6:18
  ABA is ideological,
• 6:21
  specifically on the left.
• 6:24
  And if you look
• 6:25
  at the facts,
• 6:27
  it really traces a few
• 6:29
  diversity statements that ABA
• 6:31
  may have said.
• 6:33
  But They really believe that
• 6:35
  this is creating, you
• 6:37
  know, lawyers who are just liberal
• 6:39
  and they think that there needs to
• 6:40
  be more competition and
• 6:43
  other legal models.
• 6:44
  So they're saying, we don't need the
• 6:46
  ABA, we are going to
• 6:48
  start over.
• 6:49
  So how does their case fit in with
• 6:50
  recent criticisms of the ABA,
• 6:52
  particularly from some
• 6:53
  conservatives?
• 6:54
  It fits in very well.
• 6:56
  They are one of the first
• 6:59
  universities to say, we are
• 7:01
  going to do this without the ABA,
• 7:03
  but we've seen, you know,
• 7:06
  lawyers write op-eds about why
• 7:07
  they're giving up their ABA
• 7:09
  membership. We've seen the president
• 7:11
  of the United States criticize the
• 7:12
  ABa and threaten to take away their
• 7:14
  power to accredit universities.
• 7:18
  Now, you now, conservatives have
• 7:19
  come out and attacked
• 7:21
  higher education.
• 7:23
  At all different levels.
• 7:25
  They've attacked institutional
• 7:26
  creditors, they've attacked
• 7:28
  universities themselves.
• 7:29
  So the ABA isn't unique in this.
• 7:32
  But the University of Austin's
• 7:34
  argument is that they're entering,
• 7:35
  you know,
• 7:37
  this moment at a time
• 7:39
  where they think it'll be,
• 7:41
  while still difficult, easier
• 7:43
  than ever to be able to build
• 7:45
  a successful law school without the
• 7:46
  ABA.
• 7:47
  So since they're gonna go away from
• 7:48
  the ABA, how do they plan to
• 7:50
  approach their law curriculum?
• 7:51
  They plan to approach their law
• 7:53
  curriculum innovatively.
• 7:54
  They want to have a faster degree.
• 7:57
  They want it to be offered free
• 7:58
  of charge, just like their
• 8:00
  undergraduate degrees
• 8:02
  are. And they want to practicing
• 8:05
  federal judges and
• 8:07
  practitioners be the ones
• 8:09
  teaching students.
• 8:12
  In my interview, I didn't get into
• 8:14
  the nitty gritties of what that
• 8:15
  curriculum would be, but
• 8:17
  the University of Austin would.
• 8:19
  Create the curriculum, and then the
• 8:21
  Federalist Society, which is a
• 8:23
  national organization that also
• 8:25
  arose while
• 8:27
  saying that the legal profession has
• 8:29
  become too liberal,
• 8:31
  would be a supporting partner
• 8:32
  and help
• 8:34
  provide some of the talent network
• 8:36
  to be a part
• 8:38
  of these students' educational
• 8:39
  experience.
• 8:40
  Speaking of the students who would
• 8:41
  be going through that process, what
• 8:43
  would be the impact on their law
• 8:45
  program or their law education
• 8:48
  if it doesn't come from ABA
• 8:49
  accreditation?
• 8:50
  Yeah, so right now it would be a
• 8:52
  significant risk.
• 8:54
  A student who goes through this
• 8:55
  program now, if they
• 8:57
  graduate from a school without ABA
• 8:59
  accreditation, yes, in Texas
• 9:01
  or perhaps
• 9:04
  in Florida, though I don't know
• 9:05
  Florida's exact list of schools that
• 9:07
  are approved, they would be
• 9:09
  able to take the bar exam and become
• 9:10
  a practicing lawyer in the state.
• 9:12
  But most states would not let them
• 9:14
  take the Bar Exam, which means they
• 9:15
  would limited in where they could
• 9:17
  practice.
• 9:18
  But, when I talked to the University
• 9:20
  of Austin, they said, you know, we
• 9:22
  really think that, you know
• 9:24
  that won't be as much of a hurdle in
• 9:25
  the future.
• 9:27
  You know, the president has talked
• 9:28
  about taking away ABA's power.
• 9:31
  We've seen some states like Texas
• 9:32
  recently, you, know, move
• 9:34
  away from solely relying on
• 9:36
  the ABA.
• 9:38
  But right now it is kind of a
• 9:40
  gamble. But the University Of Austin
• 9:41
  said, we've taken risks before with
• 9:44
  setting up this their graduates.
• 9:46
  Curriculum in the first place and we
• 9:48
  think that this is the time to do
• 9:49
  this.
• 9:50
  Okay, we will have a link to Lily
• 9:51
  Kepner's latest reporting on this
• 9:52
  story in today's show notes.
• 9:54
  She is the higher ed reporter at the
• 9:55
  Austin American Statesman.
• 9:56
  Lily, thank you for your reporting.
• 9:58
  Of course, thank you!
• 10:05
  If you haven't registered to vote in
• 10:07
  the upcoming midterm elections, you
• 10:08
  still have a little more than two
• 10:10
  weeks to do so, but maybe you
• 10:12
  have been registered for several
• 10:13
  years and really haven't thought
• 10:15
  about it twice.
• 10:16
  Well, there is still reason to check
• 10:18
  or maybe double check and make sure
• 10:20
  everything is set to go before you
• 10:22
  head to the polls.
• 10:23
  KUT's Ben Philpott spoke with Hays
• 10:25
  County reporter Lee Walden about
• 10:27
  why.
• 10:28
  Okay, Lee, don't keep me in
• 10:30
  suspense. What's this thing that's
• 10:32
  going on with voter registration?
• 10:34
  Okay, it's called the voter suspense
• 10:36
  list and it's this role of
• 10:38
  voters in the state of Texas
• 10:40
  who have for some reason or
• 10:42
  another had like a flag
• 10:43
  raised on their voter registration
• 10:45
  in the State.
• 10:46
  So it usually happens when the state
• 10:48
  thinks that they've moved and
• 10:50
  they haven't been able to keep track
• 10:51
  of them and it doesn't
• 10:53
  mean that they can't vote but it
• 10:55
  might cause them extra problems when
• 10:56
  they go to vote in the polls.
• 10:57
  So how does the state think, oh,
• 10:59
  this person might've moved?
• 11:01
  Yeah, it can happen for a number of
• 11:03
  reasons.
• 11:03
  The primary one that I've seen
• 11:05
  as I've been researching this is
• 11:07
  that if a jury
• 11:09
  summons or some other
• 11:11
  official document is marked as
• 11:13
  undeliverable to a location,
• 11:15
  so it usually means that you've
• 11:16
  moved and you haven't updated your
• 11:18
  voter registration.
• 11:19
  If anything like that happens and
• 11:20
  the state is made aware, like, hey,
• 11:22
  this person probably doesn't live
• 11:23
  here anymore, you'll probably end up
• 11:25
  on the suspense list.
• 11:27
  Now it feels like this is something
• 11:28
  that happens to people who
• 11:30
  otherwise think that maybe they are
• 11:31
  still registered or I mean, I guess
• 11:33
  they are registered even on the
• 11:34
  suspense list, but they think
• 11:36
  everything's gonna be perfectly fine
• 11:37
  and they're ready to go in the fall.
• 11:40
  So what happens when they show up to
• 11:41
  the polls in the Fall and
• 11:43
  they find out, oh, I'm on the
• 11:44
  Suspense list?
• 11:45
  Yeah, we should be super clear,
• 11:47
  those folks can still vote.
• 11:49
  So even if you've moved, even if
• 11:50
  you've switched counties, you should
• 11:51
  still be able to vote.
• 11:52
  Maybe you just had to vote early and
• 11:54
  go to an early voting location
• 11:56
  and submit a limited ballot,
• 11:59
  but you have to fill out an extra
• 12:01
  form. It might be a little bit more
• 12:02
  of a hassle.
• 12:03
  And on election day, going to the
• 12:04
  polls, it can be, you know,
• 12:06
  overwhelming enough. So to check on
• 12:08
  your registration, make sure you're
• 12:09
  not on a suspense list, you don't
• 12:10
  have to update your location, is
• 12:13
  all worth doing before you actually
• 12:14
  head to the polls.
• 12:15
  So, okay, you go to the county
• 12:16
  website, you check, you see, oh my
• 12:18
  goodness, I am on the suspense list.
• 12:20
  Is there anything you can do ahead
• 12:21
  of time before you get to the polls?
• 12:23
  Yeah, you can update your voter
• 12:24
  registration, and it shouldn't be
• 12:26
  that difficult if most of your
• 12:27
  circumstances are still the same,
• 12:30
  but you do have to do it by October
• 12:31
  5th. So there's still a
• 12:33
  few weeks to do that before the
• 12:34
  November 3rd election, but it is
• 12:36
  worth doing and making sure that
• 12:38
  you're not on any of these lists and
• 12:39
  you won't have to have any extra
• 12:40
  hurdles to jump when it comes to the
• 12:41
  day.
• 12:42
  And then how many people are we
• 12:43
  talking about in Central Texas that
• 12:44
  are on the list?
• 12:45
  It's a surprising number.
• 12:48
  So Texas as a whole, it's over
• 12:50
  a million voters are on the suspense
• 12:51
  list. But within Travis
• 12:53
  County, it is like more than 70,000
• 12:56
  and throughout central Texas,
• 12:58
  around 250,000 folks.
• 13:00
  So it's not an insignificant number.
• 13:02
  It's not the highest it's ever been.
• 13:03
  And it's. Not political by any
• 13:05
  means. It is kind of just a
• 13:07
  safeguard that the state has to make
• 13:09
  sure that the voting records are
• 13:11
  staying up to date and that
• 13:13
  people are voting in the live
• 13:15
  in.
• 13:15
  Lee Walden is the Hayes County
• 13:16
  reporter for KUT News,
• 13:18
  and sometimes she checks in on voter
• 13:20
  registration stuff.
• 13:21
  Thanks, Lee. Thank you, Ben.
• 13:24
  Okay, the Austin Independent School
• 13:26
  District is making another effort
• 13:28
  to avoid a state takeover.
• 13:30
  A Texas Education Agency
• 13:31
  spokesperson confirmed today that
• 13:33
  district officials are appealing the
• 13:35
  F ratings for Burnett and
• 13:37
  Webb Middle Schools.
• 13:38
  This is the fifth consecutive F
• 13:40
  rating the two middle schools have
• 13:41
  received, opening the door to
• 13:43
  the state to appoint a new
• 13:45
  superintendent and board of
• 13:46
  managers.
• 13:47
  Burnett is one point away from a
• 13:49
  D and Webb is two points
• 13:51
  away.
• 13:52
  The TEA has until December to
• 13:54
  let the district know its final
• 13:56
  decision and when we know those
• 13:58
  decisions or when we have any more
• 13:59
  updates, we're gonna bring them to
• 14:00
  you right here on Austin
• 14:03
  Signal. There's plenty more from
• 14:05
  us at kut.org
• 14:07
  slash signal.
• 14:08
  And we got more coming up after the
• 14:10
  break, including hearing from the
• 14:12
  KUTX artists of the month.
• 14:14
  Grocery Bag, they've had a busy
• 14:15
  2026.
• 14:17
  We're gonna talk about their EP,
• 14:19
  Dead Vault and their plans for the
• 14:20
  rest of the year. That is up next!
• 14:22
  On Austin Signal.
• 14:30
  This is Austin Signal.
• 14:32
  Welcome back to the show.
• 14:34
  The KUTX Artist of the Month for
• 14:35
  September is Grocery Bag,
• 14:37
  the four-piece rock band who
• 14:38
  released their debut EP Dead
• 14:40
  Volt earlier this year.
• 14:42
  The band just wrapped up an
• 14:43
  appearance this month at Levitation,
• 14:44
  and they're playing weekend one of
• 14:46
  this year's ACL Fest.
• 14:59
  Bella Martinez is a guitarist and
• 15:01
  lead singer with Grocery Bag and
• 15:02
  she's with us now.
• 15:03
  Thank you for your time.
• 15:04
  Yeah, thank you for having me.
• 15:05
  So you are one member
• 15:07
  of this four-piece band, so tell us
• 15:09
  a little bit about your bandmates.
• 15:10
  Thank you so much.
• 15:11
  So we got, yeah, four
• 15:13
  members. We got Jimmy Mercado,
• 15:15
  Logan Kerman, and Dylan Itala.
• 15:17
  You know, if I didn't have them, I
• 15:19
  don't know where I would be right
• 15:19
  now.
• 15:20
  How did you run into like how did
• 15:21
  y'all make each other's
• 15:22
  acquaintance?
• 15:23
  I met Jimmy
• 15:25
  I think it was like
• 15:27
  early 2020, end of
• 15:29
  2019.
• 15:30
  I was doing a live streaming
• 15:31
  group doing photography and
• 15:34
  his band at the time was playing and
• 15:36
  so I didn't know who he was and
• 15:38
  I was like you're a cool dude and
• 15:40
  I was living in San Antonio at the
• 15:41
  same time too so I was driving back
• 15:43
  and forth and we started talking
• 15:45
  really shared like the
• 15:47
  love for music together and I was
• 15:48
  like, it would be sick for us to be
• 15:50
  in a band together.
• 16:05
  And then he introduced me to Logan
• 16:07
  and Dylan afterwards,
• 16:09
  and we would just all like hang out
• 16:10
  since then, you know?
• 16:11
  And so we've kind of just
• 16:13
  been best friends all first,
• 16:15
  and then we're like, oh, let's just
• 16:16
  put a band together.
• 16:17
  That's I think always a start of
• 16:19
  something good is when you're
• 16:20
  friends first and then you get into
• 16:21
  whatever you get in to.
• 16:22
  I did wanna ask about your
• 16:23
  upbringing in San Antonio because I
• 16:25
  am also from San Antonio and I think
• 16:27
  there are two groups of people.
• 16:28
  There are the people who are scared
• 16:29
  of their parents like me and never
• 16:31
  go to Austin and only stay in San
• 16:33
  Antonia and then there's the actual
• 16:35
  cool kids who get to go back and
• 16:36
  forth. Like how early did
• 16:38
  you start coming to Austin to see
• 16:40
  music or how early did you just
• 16:41
  start coming to Austin to experience
• 16:42
  the city?
• 16:43
  Yeah, it's, I think the turning
• 16:45
  point for me was, I think
• 16:47
  it was like 2015 South by Southwest
• 16:49
  came out and,
• 16:51
  you know, I was very
• 16:53
  into like everything that Jack White
• 16:54
  was doing and he had a pop-up
• 16:56
  with Third Man Records and then
• 16:58
  there was all these other musicians
• 16:59
  playing that I had no clue what this
• 17:01
  was besides that.
• 17:02
  And so I think that was a thing that
• 17:04
  like made me fall in love with
• 17:05
  Austin. And I was like, Oh my God, I
• 17:07
  just, I don't know.
• 17:09
  This is just another like thing to
• 17:11
  me that I didn't have that
• 17:13
  in San Antonio.
• 17:14
  And so it was very eye-opening to
• 17:15
  me, but I wanna say
• 17:17
  once I got into high school, I was
• 17:19
  coming out here a lot with my
• 17:21
  parents because I did not have a
• 17:23
  license at the time.
• 17:24
  And so they were kind enough
• 17:26
  to drag me to all the shows and
• 17:28
  like, you know, chauffeur me, but
• 17:31
  they also loved every single band
• 17:32
  that I was into. So they were very
• 17:34
  supportive of everything and were
• 17:35
  like, oh yeah, this band's playing?
• 17:37
  Okay, yeah, I'll take you.
• 17:38
  And I'm like, okay, perfect.
• 17:39
  But yeah,
• 17:41
  going to shows, I was probably going
• 17:43
  like two or three times a week
• 17:45
  and still having to go back to
• 17:47
  school the next morning and take a
• 17:48
  test.
• 17:50
  But yeah, I think that that was kind
• 17:52
  of like the thing that drew me
• 17:53
  to Austin and wanting to
• 17:55
  come out here and start a life
• 17:57
  over here.
• 17:58
  Yeah, when did you start your
• 18:00
  official life here as an Austinite?
• 18:02
  I moved out when I was like 18
• 18:04
  or 19 for college and so that's
• 18:07
  roughly when and I'm
• 18:09
  23 now
• 18:09
  Okay, okay, so let
• 18:11
  me ask you, you know, Austin has a
• 18:13
  great music scene, obviously.
• 18:15
  What did you feel drawn to whenever
• 18:17
  you spent time here in Austin?
• 18:19
  Obviously the bands got you here in
• 18:20
  the first place, but what was it
• 18:22
  about the music scene or the city
• 18:23
  here that you really felt like, I
• 18:25
  have to be a part of this and I have
• 18:26
  be official.
• 18:27
  Yeah, it was a lot of friends
• 18:29
  bands that were actually like
• 18:31
  performing out here and they were
• 18:33
  opening up for a bunch of artists
• 18:34
  that I really loved.
• 18:35
  And I was like, that's insane that
• 18:37
  there was like...
• 18:39
  Well, the place that I used to go to
• 18:40
  a lot was Electric Church and R.I.P.
• 18:43
  They would always host some of the
• 18:44
  amazing shows and I
• 18:46
  was lucky enough to be able to get
• 18:48
  into that venue and not have to
• 18:50
  have an ID for it.
• 18:53
  So it wasn't 21 and up
• 18:55
  all times.
• 18:56
  But Yeah I think it was
• 18:58
  just like the DIY-ness of
• 18:59
  everything and how much everyone
• 19:01
  supports each other out here.
• 19:03
  It was very refreshing and
• 19:05
  I just felt like this is where I
• 19:07
  needed to be.
• 19:27
  I'll do, stop calling
• 19:29
  me out
• 19:31
  What has been the most rewarding
• 19:33
  thing of this?
• 19:34
  It's been a pretty busy year.
• 19:36
  Your EP came out in May, and now
• 19:38
  you are the Artist of the Month.
• 19:39
  You're performing at ACL.
• 19:41
  What has a rewarding thing
• 19:43
  that you've learned or you've
• 19:44
  experienced through your music this
• 19:45
  year?
• 19:47
  I think it's just been
• 19:49
  getting to meet so many other
• 19:51
  people around the world and like
• 19:53
  especially on tours and hearing that
• 19:55
  oh I saw you guys over here
• 19:57
  or I flew out to come see you guys
• 19:59
  today we had a few people
• 20:01
  on our last tour that they were
• 20:03
  like I traveled a couple hours away
• 20:05
  from over here and I was like we
• 20:06
  were just in that city why don't you
• 20:08
  go and they're like well I couldn't
• 20:09
  make it and I'm like oh well thank
• 20:10
  you for the dedication to and like
• 20:12
  support but like yeah
• 20:14
  I think just like hearing how
• 20:16
  how well the name has gone around
• 20:18
  and like it's gotten good rep for
• 20:20
  it and that we're inspiring
• 20:22
  others honestly it's
• 20:24
  it's been really rewarding hearing
• 20:26
  that and just getting to like
• 20:28
  use our talent to explore
• 20:30
  different things and see different
• 20:32
  cultures and meet new people
• 20:33
  and i've met some
• 20:36
  of my like closest friends now
• 20:37
  through all that.
• 20:57
  Yeah, and on the flip side of that,
• 20:59
  what has been the most challenging
• 21:00
  thing? Because it sounds like this
• 21:01
  is you always wanted to be in the
• 21:03
  Austin music scene and now you have
• 21:04
  a band and you're making successful
• 21:06
  music and you getting your name out
• 21:07
  there. What's been a challenging
• 21:09
  aspect of this year, something that
• 21:11
  you feel like you kind of learned
• 21:12
  from?
• 21:13
  Definitely having more
• 21:15
  support in like,
• 21:18
  I guess getting our music out there
• 21:20
  is kind of been a struggle in
• 21:22
  finding the right people that want
• 21:24
  to support you the right
• 21:25
  way and not take over and take
• 21:27
  advantage of you.
• 21:28
  So that's the thing that we're kind
• 21:29
  of, you know, we're going through
• 21:31
  that right now and it's starting to
• 21:33
  get to that level where it's getting
• 21:34
  more serious that you kind of have
• 21:35
  to double check everything
• 21:37
  and.
• 21:39
  You know, ask for help whenever you
• 21:40
  need it, but luckily there's been a
• 21:42
  lot of people that are willing to
• 21:43
  kick in for us, so.
• 21:44
  Let's talk now about your your EP
• 21:46
  dead vaults and six tracks.
• 21:48
  How long has this been in the works?
• 21:49
  Uh, I think we just talked about
• 21:51
  this yesterday.
• 21:52
  I think it took us about like a year
• 21:54
  to work on these songs, just
• 21:56
  because, you know, after Break
• 21:58
  You and Static Mirage too, we kind
• 22:00
  of had a lot of time in between and
• 22:01
  we really weren't doing much.
• 22:03
  And, uh, I.
• 22:05
  We were trying to take
• 22:07
  that time to solidify everything
• 22:08
  more and make sure that it was going
• 22:10
  to be our best work and
• 22:12
  we just keep topping it.
• 22:14
  I mean, we're already on album two
• 22:15
  now and that came together way
• 22:17
  faster. So.
• 22:19
  I think it was just figuring
• 22:21
  out how we wanted everything
• 22:23
  to sound. Cause we were replaying
• 22:24
  all these songs for a good bit too
• 22:26
  and touring them, but we just never
• 22:28
  actually sat down and we're like,
• 22:30
  let's record these or figure out
• 22:31
  which ones from the pile of music
• 22:33
  we're gonna go together.
• 22:35
  And so I think that EP
• 22:37
  came together really well.
• 22:39
  So you're already working on the
• 22:40
  next one? Yep.
• 22:41
  What can you tell us about it?
• 22:43
  It's gonna be very different.
• 22:45
  But also a
• 22:47
  little bit more genre mixing.
• 22:50
  There's a mix of all of us doing
• 22:53
  multiple things.
• 22:55
  We're gonna have to figure out how
• 22:56
  we're gonna play these songs live,
• 22:58
  but it's
• 23:00
  probably one of my
• 23:02
  favorite things
• 23:04
  we've done, and I just
• 23:06
  love the production on it, and it
• 23:07
  really shows that we pushed a lot
• 23:09
  of boundaries on this record.
• 23:12
  Experimented with everything.
• 23:13
  So we didn't stay in this like
• 23:15
  little, you know, genre of
• 23:17
  we're a psych rock garage band.
• 23:19
  So we kind of broke it a little bit,
• 23:20
  but still it has that grocery bag
• 23:22
  sound to it.
• 23:24
  And so I'm very excited for everyone
• 23:25
  to hear it. We've been playing some
• 23:26
  of the songs live now too.
• 23:28
  And so, I'm excited for them to
• 23:29
  actually be out, hopefully soon.
• 23:31
  This man has caused me
• 23:33
  some drama
• 23:47
  I'm not fighting
• 23:49
  Yeah
• 23:50
  So tell us, I wanted to ask about
• 23:51
  the production aspect.
• 23:52
  One more thing about that.
• 23:54
  On Bandcamp, I believe you're
• 23:56
  credited as the designer of
• 23:58
  the album cover.
• 24:00
  How important is that, or do you,
• 24:02
  how much do you enjoy doing that
• 24:03
  work in addition to making the music
• 24:05
  and doing all that?
• 24:06
  How much do enjoy that aspect of it?
• 24:09
  I like doing it because it just
• 24:10
  feels like rewarding being like,
• 24:12
  Oh my God, we did this and like,
• 24:14
  you know, not really having
• 24:16
  to get too many people involved
• 24:18
  and keeping it to ourselves and
• 24:20
  making it like, oh, this is my thing
• 24:22
  that I can share and take credit for
• 24:24
  at least.
• 24:25
  But yeah, the whole
• 24:27
  like EP, Jimmy recorded
• 24:29
  it, Logan also helped, like he
• 24:31
  took over the recording aspect of
• 24:33
  it. And so I think keeping it all to
• 24:35
  us like working on some stuff is
• 24:36
  just like It feels nice, but you
• 24:38
  know what I'll say, I did that
• 24:39
  afterwards, you know?
• 24:40
  All right, we'll make sure you go
• 24:42
  out and check them out.
• 24:43
  They are Grocery Bag.
• 24:44
  We have been chatting with Bella
• 24:45
  Martinez.
• 24:47
  Grocerie Bag is KUTX's Artist
• 24:49
  of the Month for September.
• 24:50
  We're gonna have a link to their
• 24:51
  full Studio 1A session in
• 24:53
  today's show notes. Bella, thank you
• 24:54
  for your time.
• 24:55
  Yeah, thank you for having me.
• 24:56
  Thank you out there for
• 24:58
  tuning in on this Friday afternoon
• 25:00
  and for being with us all week long
• 25:02
  here on Austin signal That's
• 25:05
  it for us, but we have more at
• 25:07
  kut org Signal
• 25:09
  and in the podcast show
• 25:11
  notes Renee Chavez is
• 25:13
  our technical director Alexander
• 25:15
  Hart is our producer Kristen Cabrera
• 25:17
  is our managing producer and
• 25:19
  Jimmy Moss is our showrunner I'm
• 25:21
  your host Jerry Kikano.
• 25:22
  We will be back with you on Monday.
• 25:24
  Have a great weekend