Latest / Austin Signal / New film ‘STAGES’ brings iconic Austin venues to the big screen

Transcript

New film ‘STAGES’ brings iconic Austin venues to the big screen · Austin Signal

• 0:09
  SXSW 2026 is in full
• 0:11
  bloom on a beautiful sunny Friday
• 0:13
  here in Austin and today we're
• 0:15
  bringing you the director and stars
• 0:17
  of the film Stages.
• 0:18
  It's the story of an Austin musician
• 0:20
  navigating his life and career
• 0:22
  and it features many of our city's
• 0:24
  best hangs from Hole in the Wall to
• 0:26
  Joe's Bakery.
• 0:27
  The movie premiered this week as
• 0:29
  part of SX, come hear how
• 0:31
  the project came together.
• 0:32
  That's on today's show.
• 0:34
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:36
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:38
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:39
  An Austin nonprofit dedicated to
• 0:41
  investing in black, indigenous, and
• 0:43
  other communities of color is
• 0:44
  presenting a free four-day event
• 0:46
  during South By.
• 0:47
  Come hear what they've got going on,
• 0:49
  and we get a check-in from our
• 0:51
  official festival correspondent.
• 0:54
  Those stories and more up next
• 0:56
  on Austin Signal.
• 1:07
  Howdy out there.
• 1:08
  You are tuned in to Austin Signal.
• 1:10
  It is Friday the 13th day of
• 1:12
  March. Thank you for including us
• 1:14
  in your plans.
• 1:15
  We are back in the studio after a
• 1:17
  super South by Southwest show at
• 1:19
  Schultz Garden.
• 1:20
  Thank you to our great guests who
• 1:21
  made it possible and to our
• 1:23
  listeners who shared the day with
• 1:24
  us. We hope to see and meet you
• 1:26
  at some future live shows.
• 1:29
  We're gonna start today by
• 1:30
  discussing the University of Texas
• 1:32
  at Austin's consolidation of seven
• 1:34
  ethnic and gender studies
• 1:35
  departments in the College of
• 1:37
  Liberal Arts.
• 1:38
  That consolidation was announced in
• 1:40
  February.
• 1:41
  As KUT's Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez
• 1:43
  reports, a month after the big
• 1:45
  announcement, students and faculty
• 1:46
  are still looking for answers.
• 1:49
  The departments affected include
• 1:51
  African and African Diaspora
• 1:52
  Studies, American Studies,
• 1:54
  Mexican American and Latina Latino
• 1:56
  Studies, and Women's, Gender
• 1:58
  and Sexuality Studies, among others.
• 2:01
  In total, seven departments will be
• 2:02
  consolidated into two.
• 2:05
  Right after UT Austin announced the
• 2:06
  decision, students held a protest.
• 2:08
  What do we do?
• 2:10
  Stand up, fight back!
• 2:11
  When Latino studies are under
• 2:13
  attack, what do we do?
• 2:14
  Stand up!
• 2:15
  UT officials said curriculums
• 2:17
  would also be reviewed, and they
• 2:18
  would determine what majors, minors,
• 2:21
  and courses will be offered in the
• 2:22
  future, but they did not
• 2:24
  provide a timeline.
• 2:25
  They're trying to act like there's
• 2:27
  tools, things being figured out, but
• 2:28
  they know that the end goal for them
• 2:30
  is the elimination of these
• 2:31
  departments and the elimination of
• 2:33
  our ways of knowing and ways of
• 2:35
  thinking.
• 2:35
  That's Alfonso Ayala III, a
• 2:37
  second year Ph.D.
• 2:38
  Student at the Department of
• 2:39
  Mexican, American and Latina-Latino
• 2:41
  Studies, who was at the protest.
• 2:43
  Say it twice!
• 2:44
  Students will not pay the price!
• 2:46
  Now, more than a month later,
• 2:48
  there's still little information on
• 2:50
  what's coming next.
• 2:52
  Ashanta Rees is an associate
• 2:53
  professor at the College of Liberal
• 2:55
  Arts. These are students until.
• 2:57
  Intellectual homes.
• 2:58
  For a lot of them, this is where
• 2:59
  they learn their critical thinking,
• 3:01
  their writing skills, et cetera.
• 3:03
  So they're really sad.
• 3:05
  Many of them are asking questions
• 3:07
  on what can we do?
• 3:09
  How does this change my degree?
• 3:11
  How can we fight back?
• 3:12
  Is there anything we can do.
• 3:14
  Many are also asking, how
• 3:16
  did we get here?
• 3:17
  The answer?
• 3:18
  SB37.
• 3:20
  SB37!
• 3:21
  SB37
• 3:23
  Senate Bill 37.
• 3:24
  It was passed during the last
• 3:25
  legislative session and became
• 3:27
  effective in September.
• 3:29
  Antonio Ingram, a lawyer with the
• 3:30
  Organization Legal Defense Fund,
• 3:32
  describes it like this.
• 3:33
  SP37 as a
• 3:35
  law signals that professors
• 3:37
  should take a backseat to how
• 3:39
  universities are run and
• 3:41
  how content and
• 3:43
  issues of faculty governance.
• 3:46
  Decided.
• 3:47
  Faculty at Texas Public Universities
• 3:49
  used to be in charge of reviewing
• 3:51
  curriculums and making academic
• 3:52
  decisions.
• 3:53
  But after SB 37 that's
• 3:55
  up to the governing board or Board
• 3:57
  of Regents whose members are
• 3:59
  appointed by the governor.
• 4:00
  There's a quorum present and the
• 4:01
  board is reconvening in open
• 4:03
  session. The date is February 19th
• 4:04
  and the time is 9 a.m.
• 4:06
  A week after the consolidation
• 4:08
  announcement, the UT system also
• 4:10
  approved an initiative that limits,
• 4:12
  quote, controversial topics in the
• 4:14
  classroom.
• 4:15
  When critics complained that the
• 4:16
  Board of Regents did not define
• 4:18
  those topics, Board Chairman
• 4:19
  Kevin Eltheiv said,
• 4:21
  vagueness can be our friend.
• 4:23
  Advocates like Ingram say that
• 4:24
  intentional vagueness will make it
• 4:26
  unclear on how to comply with these
• 4:28
  mandates.
• 4:29
  And it leaves students unclear on
• 4:30
  what they can and cannot learn under
• 4:32
  the state's purview.
• 4:33
  It makes people err on the side of
• 4:35
  caution, which in the First
• 4:37
  Amendment context is quite
• 4:38
  concerning because it means they're
• 4:40
  not talking about issues or not
• 4:42
  communicating ideas that are under
• 4:44
  your constitutional rights to do so
• 4:46
  freely.
• 4:47
  That chilling effect is spreading
• 4:48
  further than UT Austin.
• 4:50
  Other university systems like Texas
• 4:52
  A&M and Texas Tech have also
• 4:54
  placed restrictions on teaching race
• 4:56
  and gender.
• 4:57
  More recently, UT San Antonio also
• 4:59
  announced the consolidation of its
• 5:01
  Department of Race, Ethnicity,
• 5:02
  Gender, and Sexuality studies.
• 5:04
  And is actually, I think,
• 5:06
  a concerted effort by
• 5:08
  the political class executive
• 5:10
  branch to really censor
• 5:12
  things that they couldn't push
• 5:14
  through through the democratic
• 5:15
  process.
• 5:16
  And Ingram is not the only one to
• 5:18
  see it that way.
• 5:20
  Nicholas Bloom, a Harvard lecturer
• 5:22
  and a graduate from the PhD in
• 5:23
  American studies, says because
• 5:25
  of its history and diversity,
• 5:27
  Texas was at the forefront in
• 5:29
  American, African diaspora and
• 5:31
  Mexican-American studies.
• 5:33
  But now he sees the university as
• 5:35
  ground zero for the fight over
• 5:37
  academic freedom.
• 5:37
  If a state and the
• 5:39
  elite of a country are deciding how
• 5:42
  and why and when you
• 5:43
  are allowed to critically analyze
• 5:45
  those things, and we're preventing
• 5:47
  people from having the tools to do
• 5:49
  that, we're creating a situation
• 5:51
  where misinformation can spread more
• 5:53
  easily and
• 5:55
  where people feel disempowered to
• 5:57
  critically think for themselves.
• 5:58
  Bloom says these decisions are
• 6:00
  hurting the university.
• 6:02
  So far, two of his students at
• 6:03
  Harvard have decided not to attend
• 6:05
  UT for graduate school anymore.
• 6:07
  You're going to see a
• 6:09
  real brain drain from UT,
• 6:11
  you're gonna see the best and
• 6:12
  brightest in the country deciding
• 6:13
  not to go there.
• 6:14
  He worries recruiting faculty will
• 6:16
  also get harder.
• 6:17
  So I think you're seeing the
• 6:19
  kind of destruction of one of the
• 6:21
  great institutions of higher
• 6:22
  education, you know, in
• 6:24
  the history of the country right
• 6:26
  before our eyes and it's tragic.
• 6:28
  But for those who are currently part
• 6:29
  of the departments that are set to
• 6:31
  disappear, the uncertainty has
• 6:33
  only grown.
• 6:34
  Undergrads wonder if they'll be able
• 6:36
  to finish their majors.
• 6:37
  Graduate students like Ayala have
• 6:39
  other questions.
• 6:40
  We don't know what it means about
• 6:41
  our ability to TA or
• 6:43
  to teach what it means for our
• 6:45
  funding. We're concerned that staff
• 6:47
  will be fired, terminated,
• 6:50
  but like we have a lot of concern
• 6:51
  for our faculty and staff.
• 6:53
  Professor Rhee says, beyond knowing
• 6:54
  if and which positions will be
• 6:56
  cut, it's also unclear how
• 6:58
  departments will be merged.
• 7:00
  Our departments have different
• 7:01
  cultures, but we also have different
• 7:03
  intellectual genealogies,
• 7:06
  methods, theories, et cetera.
• 7:07
  So what does that mean to put us all
• 7:09
  in one department and then have to
• 7:11
  shape a degree program or degree
• 7:13
  programs?
• 7:14
  How do we pick and-
• 7:14
  choose what that looks like.
• 7:17
  She also worries that more changes
• 7:18
  are yet to come for other
• 7:20
  departments.
• 7:21
  But Ayala says that as gloomy as it
• 7:23
  seems, faculty, students, and
• 7:25
  alumni still have hope.
• 7:27
  120 American Studies graduate
• 7:29
  alumnus have signed a letter asking
• 7:31
  the administration to reverse the
• 7:33
  decision.
• 7:34
  Departments are holding informal
• 7:35
  meetings to discuss the topic.
• 7:37
  And students like Ayala, well,
• 7:39
  he knows it's unlikely that the
• 7:41
  decision will be reversed.
• 7:42
  But he finds hope in organizing and
• 7:44
  in making sure the university is
• 7:46
  still a place where ideas are not
• 7:48
  censored.
• 7:48
  All of the students I know of are
• 7:50
  resisting the pushout and we're not
• 7:51
  going anywhere.
• 7:53
  For now, all the programs still
• 7:55
  exist.
• 7:56
  Despite multiple requests from KUT,
• 7:58
  the university has not provided any
• 8:00
  information on when or how the
• 8:02
  changes will happen.
• 8:03
  I'm Greta Díaz-González Vázquez.
• 8:13
  South by Southwest is in
• 8:15
  full swing and local nonprofit
• 8:17
  Dawa is hosting a four-day event
• 8:19
  called Vision 8291
• 8:21
  in partnership with Venice.
• 8:23
  That's a digital distribution and
• 8:24
  artist development platform.
• 8:26
  Host Miles Bloxson and spoke with
• 8:28
  Jonathan Chaka Mahone, founder of
• 8:30
  Dawa and Angel from the Block,
• 8:32
  one of the presenters of this year's
• 8:34
  event. Here's Mahone on what
• 8:36
  Vision 8 291 means.
• 8:39
  NPR listeners are probably familiar
• 8:41
  with the 1928 master plane.
• 8:43
  If not, it was a moment in the city
• 8:45
  where officials decided
• 8:46
  to segregate the city and they
• 8:48
  decided to basically cut off access
• 8:50
  to water and sanitation and
• 8:52
  basically move all the black and
• 8:53
  brown people over to what is now
• 8:54
  known as East Austin.
• 8:56
  And we know that after that fact,
• 8:58
  after people recovered and started
• 9:00
  to build their communities, then
• 9:02
  they come around with gentrification
• 9:03
  and redlining all these things.
• 9:05
  So at the end of the day, that
• 9:06
  community has been traumatized and
• 9:08
  affected and impacted by these
• 9:09
  decisions that the city has
• 9:11
  made overall with their social
• 9:13
  policy.
• 9:14
  And 8291 is a reverse of
• 9:16
  1928.
• 9:17
  It's about having a vision for
• 9:18
  ourselves beyond the trauma.
• 9:20
  It's a about having vision for
• 9:22
  ourself moving forward.
• 9:23
  And it's about centering,
• 9:25
  again, BIPOC voices and BIPOC
• 9:27
  innovators, people with ideas,
• 9:29
  giving them a chance to be heard and
• 9:31
  seen, but also a chance connect
• 9:32
  together.
• 9:33
  Angel how does it feel to be a part
• 9:35
  of this year's event because you're
• 9:37
  going to be one of the presenters
• 9:38
  there
• 9:39
  it feels so amazing especially
• 9:40
  as like a native austinite this
• 9:42
  is something that shaka and i have
• 9:44
  talked about before but that
• 9:46
  there's like a sense of deep
• 9:47
  like internalized racism for east
• 9:49
  austinites because of things like
• 9:51
  the 1928 master plan
• 9:53
  that have like basically taught us
• 9:55
  that all of these great things that
• 9:56
  our city has like acl south
• 9:58
  by southwest all of these things
• 9:59
  that uplift creatives they're
• 10:01
  not for us so despite the
• 10:04
  The live music capital with all
• 10:05
  these events grew up going to South
• 10:07
  by Southwest every year.
• 10:08
  I never, like, never at
• 10:10
  any point in my life imagined that
• 10:12
  having an opportunity to speak to
• 10:14
  people and connect with people and
• 10:16
  be platformed at South by South
• 10:18
  West was something that was going to
• 10:20
  be for me.
• 10:21
  So it feels really meaningful to be
• 10:23
  a part of the return to what
• 10:25
  I feel like South by is supposed to
• 10:26
  be.
• 10:26
  Ay, the fun
• 10:28
  fact of the situation is I found out
• 10:30
  about Angel through their video that
• 10:32
  they created for Instagram and
• 10:34
  TikTok to teach people about the
• 10:35
  1928 Master Plan and gentrification.
• 10:38
  And I saw them at
• 10:40
  a tenant rally for folks that were
• 10:42
  fighting against some of the
• 10:43
  developers.
• 10:45
  And I said, yo, I was like, that's,
• 10:47
  and I invited them to the Killer
• 10:49
  Mike concert and also invited them,
• 10:51
  to come out to DAWA Studios and now
• 10:53
  they are at DAWA studios
• 10:55
  creating content.
• 10:56
  And there's just this amazing
• 10:58
  synergy happening right now.
• 10:59
  And so we're celebrating that.
• 11:01
  We're celebrating putting someone
• 11:02
  like them in front of new people
• 11:04
  to share the
• 11:06
  amazing work that they are doing in
• 11:09
  this world and how it can contribute
• 11:10
  to a greater Austin.
• 11:12
  Shaka, can you tell us what people
• 11:13
  can expect from attending
• 11:15
  Vision 8291?
• 11:17
  Because I feel like every single
• 11:19
  year, the bar gets higher and
• 11:21
  higher and hire.
• 11:22
  Number one is free.
• 11:26
  Number two, it's in East Austin,
• 11:29
  okay? On Springdale Road,
• 11:31
  okay, very accessible.
• 11:33
  Parking is not a problem.
• 11:35
  And we're having conversations
• 11:36
  starting on Saturday, it's called
• 11:37
  the Music Blueprint.
• 11:39
  So if there are musicians and
• 11:40
  creators out there listening, you
• 11:42
  can come and learn about tour
• 11:44
  realities in 2026 from Jackie
• 11:46
  Vinson. You can come, and learn
• 11:47
  about how do I get music
• 11:49
  for TV and film?
• 11:50
  How do I sync music and TV and
• 11:52
  films? You can go and see the first
• 11:54
  ever live podcast of someone named
• 11:56
  Mauricio Ruiz.
• 11:58
  He has something called the Managers
• 11:59
  Playbook, which is one of the
• 12:00
  industry leaders and podcasts about
• 12:02
  just a career in music.
• 12:05
  He's interviewed some of the biggest
• 12:06
  names in music, in the music
• 12:08
  industry.
• 12:09
  That's just Saturday.
• 12:10
  And I haven't even named everybody
• 12:11
  that's going on a Saturday.
• 12:12
  Oh, yeah.
• 12:13
  Give you a highlight of Sunday.
• 12:14
  We have Angel from the Block talking
• 12:16
  about social media as an organizing
• 12:17
  tool. Also Celine from Community
• 12:19
  Power at ETX.
• 12:20
  Shout out to them.
• 12:21
  We have Jamiah Hargans from
• 12:23
  LA Crop Swap.
• 12:24
  He's a really important figure in
• 12:26
  terms of food and food sovereignty.
• 12:28
  And we also have Richie Verseda who
• 12:30
  spent seven years in the California
• 12:31
  state prison, came out and
• 12:33
  just like blossomed.
• 12:35
  He created a Netflix documentary
• 12:37
  called Songs from the Hole.
• 12:38
  He's going to be screening that.
• 12:39
  He's also going to do a workshop
• 12:40
  after that.
• 12:41
  Come out.
• 12:42
  Yes, we are censoring BIPOC
• 12:44
  creatives and BIPOC innovators and
• 12:45
  leaders and folks, but this is for
• 12:47
  everybody.
• 12:49
  Angel being from the east side of
• 12:50
  Austin, how important is it for
• 12:52
  you to see things happening like
• 12:54
  Vision 8291, you know,
• 12:56
  in the place that you call home and
• 12:58
  the place you grew up in?
• 12:59
  My whole childhood and
• 13:01
  life like Springdale Road was almost
• 13:03
  never associated with positivity you
• 13:04
  know like Springdales almost never
• 13:06
  talked about in a positive way and
• 13:07
  whatever it is these days is usually
• 13:09
  tied to like some sort of
• 13:10
  gentrification so the fact that
• 13:12
  we're talking about Springdale we're
• 13:13
  boosting Springdale in a way that
• 13:15
  is positive and serving the
• 13:17
  community and celebrating the
• 13:18
  community uplifting us it means
• 13:20
  so much to me the fact that we are
• 13:22
  calling people into the east side
• 13:24
  with like black people
• 13:26
  running the event making up
• 13:28
  the majority of the event.
• 13:30
  It's genuinely re-alchomizing
• 13:32
  my brain, honestly.
• 13:35
  That was Myles Bloxson speaking with
• 13:37
  Jonathan Shaka Mahone, founder of
• 13:39
  DAWA, as well as Angel from
• 13:41
  the Block, one of the presenters of
• 13:42
  Vision 8291.
• 13:45
  We'll have a link to more about the
• 13:46
  fest and a longer version of this
• 13:48
  interview in today's show notes and
• 13:50
  at kut.org
• 13:52
  slash signal.
• 13:54
  We'll be back after this break.
• 14:00
  This is Jimmy Moss, Program Director
• 14:02
  with KT, and you are listening to
• 14:03
  The Austin Signal.
• 14:05
  Day two of South by Southwest is off
• 14:07
  to a great start.
• 14:08
  Futurists and CEOs are
• 14:10
  doing a lot of panels today and
• 14:11
  through the weekend, talking about
• 14:13
  how AI will affect everything.
• 14:15
  And right now, day two's keynote
• 14:16
  speaker, movie director Steven
• 14:18
  Spielberg, is probably regaling a
• 14:19
  large audience about how he was
• 14:21
  all over AI artificial intelligence
• 14:23
  25 years ago,
• 14:25
  if only Siri looked like Haley Joel
• 14:27
  Osment.
• 14:28
  This afternoon comedian Larry David
• 14:30
  will be featured on a panel and
• 14:32
  staying in comedy Austin's own
• 14:33
  Saturday Night Live alum Devin
• 14:35
  Walker will do the first of a couple
• 14:36
  of South by Southwest shows in town
• 14:38
  this weekend.
• 14:39
  Don't forget plenty of things you
• 14:41
  can enjoy on the periphery without
• 14:43
  a badge.
• 14:44
  Another great lineup for KUTX at
• 14:46
  Schulz's Tomorrow Morning,
• 14:48
  the Rivian Daystage on South
• 14:49
  Congress also on South congress
• 14:51
  South by San Jose at the hotel of
• 14:53
  the same name and the Radio Daystage
• 14:55
  at the Downright Hotel.
• 14:58
  South By's Flat Stock, the art show,
• 15:00
  opens today at the Palmer Event
• 15:01
  Center, all free, no badge required.
• 15:04
  Among the luminaries in town for the
• 15:06
  conference this weekend, who might
• 15:07
  be appearing in Waymo's Near You,
• 15:09
  Jamie Lee Curtis, Paul Rudd, Nick
• 15:11
  Jonas, and Mark Cuban.
• 15:14
  Speaking of weird rides, once I was
• 15:15
  chatting with former NFL star
• 15:17
  Chad Ochosenko Johnson about
• 15:20
  his appearance at South By,
• 15:22
  and then a Toyota Tacoma was
• 15:24
  pulled up by the valet.
• 15:25
  I said, whoa, you're driving a
• 15:27
  pickup?
• 15:28
  It's all they had.
• 15:29
  It's South By.
• 15:32
  I'm Jimmy Moss.
• 15:33
  You're listening to The Austin
• 15:34
  Signal.
• 15:39
  Thank you, Jimmy.
• 15:40
  We're gonna keep the South by
• 15:41
  Southwest ball rolling and talk
• 15:43
  about the film Stages, which
• 15:45
  premiered Thursday night here in
• 15:46
  Austin. Joining us on the show are
• 15:49
  director Ryan Booth and David
• 15:50
  Ramirez and Leslie Grace, who star
• 15:53
  in the film. Welcome to Austin
• 15:54
  Signal.
• 15:55
  Thanks for having us.
• 15:56
  So Ryan, I wanna start with you.
• 15:58
  How long have you known David and
• 16:00
  was this project made specifically
• 16:01
  with him in mind?
• 16:03
  It definitely was.
• 16:05
  David and I have known each other
• 16:06
  for over a decade at this
• 16:08
  point and we
• 16:10
  met through, I
• 16:12
  filmed some music videos and
• 16:13
  performance videos with him back in
• 16:15
  the day.
• 16:16
  There we go.
• 16:18
  Filmed some music video and
• 16:19
  performance video with him,
• 16:21
  back in a day.
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  And when I thought about kind of
• 16:25
  trying my hand at narrative
• 16:26
  filmmaking, a friend of
• 16:28
  mine named Bradley Jackson who's one
• 16:29
  of the co-writers on this film.
• 16:31
  He called me out of the blue and was
• 16:33
  like, when you think about making
• 16:34
  a movie, you should think about
• 16:36
  doing it with David.
• 16:38
  And he had worked with him on a
• 16:40
  project and was there's a way that
• 16:41
  he can exist on camera that
• 16:43
  I think is like
• 16:45
  we could build a whole story around
• 16:47
  it. And so I spent a lot of
• 16:49
  time kind of in proximity and
• 16:51
  adjacent to musicians.
• 16:52
  And so knew I wanted to explore
• 16:54
  this world as my first film
• 16:57
  and couldn't think
• 16:58
  of anybody.
• 16:59
  Else I would want to work with other
• 17:01
  than David. So the whole thing was
• 17:02
  built with him in mind
• 17:04
  from from the jump.
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  We made a short film many years ago,
• 17:08
  and then now the feature.
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  So he's been kind enough to
• 17:11
  hang with me for the last nearly ten
• 17:13
  years.
• 17:14
  Well David, what were you thinking
• 17:15
  when Ryan first approached you with
• 17:16
  this idea?
• 17:18
  I was stoked and then years went
• 17:20
  by and I thought it was never going
• 17:22
  to happen.
• 17:24
  And then I got a phone call to
• 17:26
  hang out with one of the
• 17:28
  producers, Russell, here in town
• 17:30
  a couple years ago and I showed up
• 17:32
  and he had a shot of Mezcal for me
• 17:34
  and I thought he was congratulating
• 17:36
  me on my new record but
• 17:38
  turns out he was
• 17:40
  getting me drunk to tell
• 17:43
  me that I needed to start learning
• 17:44
  my lines.
• 17:45
  We love you.
• 17:46
  Which was a really great way to hear
• 17:47
  that the film had
• 17:49
  been green lit, and we were moving
• 17:51
  forward.
• 17:53
  And now we're sitting here being
• 17:55
  interviewed about a movie we
• 17:56
  premiered last night.
• 17:57
  Yeah, last night!
• 17:58
  And I can't believe I can believe
• 17:59
  that.
• 18:00
  It definitely has some biographical
• 18:01
  elements, I'm sure it's not a one
• 18:03
  for one, so I did want to ask you,
• 18:05
  and Leslie as well, you are
• 18:07
  both performers and here you
• 18:08
  are specifically acting in
• 18:11
  the film. For you David,
• 18:13
  how, when you approached working
• 18:15
  day in and day out, how often were
• 18:17
  you struggling to be Ben
• 18:19
  Garza or David Ramirez, did
• 18:21
  you feel like you could commit to
• 18:23
  one the other, you're kind of
• 18:25
  constantly pulling from both worlds.
• 18:29
  I don't think there was a lot of
• 18:30
  struggle internally to
• 18:32
  switch back and forth.
• 18:33
  Thankfully there is a lot music in
• 18:35
  this film and
• 18:37
  thankfully a lot it was
• 18:39
  written by me.
• 18:41
  So there was lot of me in it.
• 18:44
  I think what was the
• 18:46
  hardest part and Leslie helped me
• 18:47
  out so much, you're
• 18:49
  just such a natural on camera and
• 18:52
  just so comfortable.
• 18:54
  I'm used to being in front of a
• 18:56
  microphone not in front a camera.
• 18:58
  And watching you just
• 19:01
  exist so naturally in
• 19:03
  it was
• 19:05
  made me really, really comfortable
• 19:06
  because that was the thing I was
• 19:08
  most nervous about.
• 19:08
  It wasn't really like a character
• 19:10
  thing that freaked me out.
• 19:11
  It was, something's
• 19:13
  watching me right now.
• 19:14
  You know?
• 19:15
  Yeah, that kind of thing.
• 19:17
  But.
• 19:17
  I always feel like that
• 19:18
  Yeah, but watching you as
• 19:20
  he... That was, it's right.
• 19:20
  It's Ryan that was watching.
• 19:22
  Yeah
• 19:22
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 19:23
  It was me, sorry. I'm sorry.
• 19:23
  I'm the whole rest of the crew.
• 19:25
  So that made it
• 19:26
  really easy just to have you next to
• 19:28
  me. That was cool.
• 19:29
  And I can say the same.
• 19:30
  I think anybody that would watch
• 19:32
  this film would be surprised to hear
• 19:34
  that that's
• 19:36
  something that you felt, because
• 19:38
  one of the biggest gifts of
• 19:40
  my experience of shooting this film
• 19:42
  was getting to
• 19:45
  play off of someone who I could
• 19:47
  look in the eyes and feel
• 19:49
  that they weren't lying, you know?
• 19:50
  Didn't feel because of that
• 19:52
  because of you not necessarily
• 19:54
  you being so honest
• 19:56
  as a as as a musician,
• 19:58
  as a person in life, in your actual
• 20:00
  life, there was no other way
• 20:02
  for you to play Ben.
• 20:03
  And so it made my
• 20:05
  job easy,
• 20:08
  dude, for real.
• 20:09
  It made it easy, cause I could just
• 20:11
  also sink into that.
• 20:12
  Like you set the tone for me to
• 20:14
  also just exist.
• 20:16
  It's a high compliment.
• 20:17
  Thank you. So you so David made it
• 20:19
  comfortable for you because he was
• 20:20
  bringing that true musician feel
• 20:22
  Yeah for Davey Leslie made
• 20:24
  you feel comfortable because she was
• 20:26
  an acting professional and you guys
• 20:27
  sounds like you guys are just kind
• 20:28
  of Propping each other up which the
• 20:30
  chemistry is really Vibrant
• 20:32
  in the movie, you know Leslie.
• 20:33
  Can you just say more about working
• 20:35
  with Ryan and and David on this
• 20:36
  project?
• 20:37
  It's been a joy,
• 20:39
  it's been the joy of my life.
• 20:41
  This project came at a time for
• 20:43
  me that I, you know, I
• 20:45
  always feel that certain things
• 20:48
  happen in life just when you
• 20:49
  need them to.
• 20:51
  And it's, it has been true for me
• 20:53
  with certain roles
• 20:55
  and the role of Jesse in
• 20:57
  stages and getting to collaborate
• 20:59
  with everybody that's been apart of
• 21:00
  this project
• 21:02
  certainly came at time for where I
• 21:04
  needed it.
• 21:05
  And I was really struggling
• 21:07
  in some
• 21:09
  ways, in the ways that Ben is
• 21:11
  in the film with,
• 21:14
  you know, how do I want to keep this
• 21:17
  love for this huge relationship
• 21:19
  in my life with this thing that
• 21:21
  feels so connected to my identity?
• 21:23
  How do I keep it alive?
• 21:26
  How do not let it be strained
• 21:28
  by all the detours that come with
• 21:29
  the journey? And
• 21:32
  stages allowed me to
• 21:34
  explore that.
• 21:35
  At a time where I wasn't singing
• 21:37
  even, I wasn't using my voice,
• 21:39
  I was experiencing a lot of new
• 21:41
  things that I hadn't experienced
• 21:42
  with music at the time and
• 21:44
  it made it safe for me to
• 21:47
  via Jesse,
• 21:48
  practice being
• 21:52
  in love with music again and
• 21:54
  feel safe to
• 21:56
  do that and I'm just grateful
• 21:58
  that I got to experience that.
• 22:01
  Ryan early you said like the film
• 22:03
  feels lived in and as I'm talking to
• 22:05
  you I'm feeling like you almost
• 22:07
  feel like your characters, you know,
• 22:08
  I feel like I'm getting falling into
• 22:10
  the trap of the movie here
• 22:11
  Yeah, yeah.
• 22:12
  I really could talk all day,
• 22:14
  but I know you guys have, it's a
• 22:16
  busy week here with South By.
• 22:17
  I did want to talk about the
• 22:19
  production that happened here in
• 22:20
  Austin, because lots of great
• 22:22
  places. Hole in the Wall, I
• 22:23
  mentioned, is featured a couple
• 22:24
  times. Joe's Bakery is featured.
• 22:26
  Why was it important to feature
• 22:28
  these spots? I'll start with you,
• 22:29
  Ryan.
• 22:29
  Well, I mean, I think Austin is
• 22:31
  is, you know, for anyone in Texas is
• 22:33
  an important place.
• 22:34
  You spend a lot of time here, even
• 22:35
  if you don't live here.
• 22:37
  And in twenty twenty two, I came
• 22:39
  to town to meet with David
• 22:42
  and he was like, we can hang.
• 22:43
  But I got to go do this thing at
• 22:45
  Hole in the Wall for South by.
• 22:47
  And I just was in the room.
• 22:49
  I filmed on my little camera.
• 22:51
  And that little clip kind of
• 22:53
  became a very important
• 22:55
  tonal reference.
• 22:56
  And then we went back and.
• 22:58
  And shot the whole, that's why we
• 23:00
  shot the final scene there.
• 23:01
  So in many ways, I think the city
• 23:03
  is integral and
• 23:06
  very, very much woven into
• 23:08
  the kind of the fabric of the
• 23:09
  original idea of the film.
• 23:11
  And so also then to come
• 23:13
  back and share the film at South By
• 23:15
  feels like a very beautiful,
• 23:17
  full circle moment.
• 23:20
  This city saved my life, creatively,
• 23:22
  you know.
• 23:23
  And so to be able to make something
• 23:25
  that for me,
• 23:28
  I did this for a lot of reasons,
• 23:30
  but for me when I was watching is
• 23:32
  just kind of my thank you to Austin
• 23:34
  thing.
• 23:36
  It meant a lot.
• 23:38
  It meant a lot and it was nice
• 23:39
  to because I think there was a
• 23:41
  moment we were talking about doing
• 23:42
  it in New York.
• 23:44
  Yeah. And I would have loved to
• 23:46
  do it to have done it anywhere.
• 23:47
  But I don't think that I'm
• 23:49
  that great of an actor to pull off
• 23:51
  that I am from New York City.
• 23:55
  I'm using it
• 23:57
  just doesn't really make any sense.
• 23:59
  It would have been a different film.
• 24:01
  And so making it here
• 24:03
  was just like.
• 24:04
  Yes, okay, this makes sense and
• 24:06
  I don't really have to try that hard
• 24:07
  Yeah.
• 24:08
  Yeah, you can just be yourself.
• 24:09
  Yeah. Just hang out.
• 24:10
  That's right.
• 24:11
  That's what it's for.
• 24:11
  Well, you all really did create a
• 24:14
  new, great Texas movie,
• 24:16
  and one that will be celebrated by
• 24:17
  lots of folks.
• 24:18
  Hopefully our listeners will catch
• 24:19
  it soon.
• 24:20
  It's gonna be playing a few more
• 24:21
  times during South by Southwest.
• 24:23
  When is that happening?
• 24:25
  Saturday at 3.30 at the Violet Crown
• 24:27
  and then we play again on Tuesday
• 24:28
  night at the Rollins Center
• 24:30
  for our final screening
• 24:32
  which will be very exciting.
• 24:33
  Excellent, that is Ryan Booth,
• 24:35
  director of the film Stages, and
• 24:37
  we've been speaking with David
• 24:38
  Ramirez and Leslie Grace.
• 24:39
  They are stars of the films.
• 24:40
  Catch it if you can this week.
• 24:42
  It is a fantastic movie.
• 24:43
  Thank you all for the conversation,
• 24:45
  and have a great rest of your week.
• 24:46
  Thanks so much.
• 24:47
  And thank you out there for tuning
• 24:49
  in to Austin Signal.
• 24:50
  We will be back with you on Monday.
• 24:53
  Have a great weekend.
• 24:54
  Happy South by Southwest.