Latest / Austin Signal / Austin’s light-rail poised to clear major hurdle

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Austin’s light-rail poised to clear major hurdle · Austin Signal

• 0:09
  The light rail transit line, long
• 0:11
  promised to Austinites, could soon
• 0:12
  clear a major hurdle.
• 0:14
  And if it does, it could give new
• 0:16
  momentum to a project that's been
• 0:17
  dragged down through legal and
• 0:19
  political resistance.
• 0:20
  We're gonna hear about where that
• 0:21
  project is headed next.
• 0:23
  And months after a Texas AM
• 0:25
  professor was fired for discussing
• 0:27
  gender identity in a literature
• 0:29
  class, transgender college students
• 0:30
  in Texas are working on how to
• 0:32
  make their voices heard.
• 0:34
  Some are finding solace through
• 0:35
  expression in their community.
• 0:37
  Come hear their stories.
• 0:39
  That's coming up on today's show.
• 0:40
  The Austin Signal is a production of
• 0:42
  K U T News, hosted by Jerry
• 0:45
  Quijano.
• 0:46
  Plus, our sister station KUTX
• 0:48
  is highlighting some of their
• 0:49
  favorite Austin songs of 2025.
• 0:51
  Stay tuned for that, and a little
• 0:53
  bit of Austin music history.
• 0:55
  That's next on Austin Signal.
• 1:07
  Howdy out there, this is
• 1:09
  Austin Signal.
• 1:10
  Thank you for tuning in.
• 1:11
  We are glad to be part of your day.
• 1:14
  It is Thursday, December 11th.
• 1:16
  We're officially two weeks out from
• 1:18
  the Christmas holiday, and Austin
• 1:19
  Bergstrom International Airport's
• 1:21
  already got a brand new toy,
• 1:23
  a mint baggage handling
• 1:25
  system. Airport officials say the
• 1:27
  upgraded system can process 4,000
• 1:29
  outbound bags an hour.
• 1:31
  That's about more than twice
• 1:33
  as much as the old system.
• 1:34
  And officials say this change could
• 1:36
  cut down on flight delays, which
• 1:38
  could be clutch ahead of the holiday
• 1:40
  rush. Speaking of which, more
• 1:42
  than 9 million Texans are expected
• 1:44
  to travel for the holidays later
• 1:45
  this month. That's according to
• 1:46
  Triple A Texas.
• 1:48
  About 93% of those commuters
• 1:50
  are expected to go by car.
• 1:52
  Triple A says gas prices
• 1:54
  are lower this year compared to last
• 1:56
  holiday season.
• 1:57
  Let's stay on the topic of
• 1:59
  transportation and get right
• 2:01
  into today's show.
• 2:03
  Austin's long promised light row
• 2:05
  line is about to clear a major
• 2:07
  bureaucratic hurdle within days,
• 2:09
  giving new momentum to a project
• 2:10
  that has pushed through years of
• 2:12
  political and legal resistance.
• 2:14
  KUT's transportation reporter Nathan
• 2:16
  Bernier sat down with morning
• 2:18
  edition host Jennifer Stayton to
• 2:20
  talk about this new development.
• 2:22
  Nathan starts off the conversation.
• 2:24
  So, federal transportation officials
• 2:26
  are expected to issue a
• 2:28
  final environmental ruling
• 2:30
  by the end of the month.
• 2:31
  Basically, it's called a final
• 2:33
  environmental impact statement and
• 2:35
  record of decision in government
• 2:37
  speak. And it's, you know, it's a
• 2:38
  sign that Washington still views
• 2:40
  Austin's light rail plan as
• 2:42
  viable after years
• 2:45
  of uncertainty.
• 2:46
  This decision, it's not going
• 2:48
  to settle the project's fate.
• 2:50
  It's not going to lock in the
• 2:52
  billions of federal dollars
• 2:54
  that Austin is depending upon
• 2:56
  to build this 9.8 mile
• 2:58
  light rail system.
• 2:59
  Those grants would come only
• 3:02
  after the Austin Transit
• 3:04
  Partnership nails down
• 3:06
  the most final, most
• 3:07
  detailed designs of the
• 3:09
  system, and the Federal Transit
• 3:11
  Administration has a chance to
• 3:13
  scrutinize those.
• 3:14
  And as you pointed out, you know,
• 3:15
  there are major challenges to this
• 3:16
  project still.
• 3:18
  But this sprawling document,
• 3:20
  I mean thousands of pages,
• 3:22
  this would move Austin's
• 3:25
  light rail line into its most
• 3:27
  consequential phase since
• 3:29
  the 2020 election, when voters
• 3:30
  approved the largest ever
• 3:32
  transit expansion by authorizing
• 3:34
  a similarly historic property
• 3:37
  tax increase.
• 3:38
  So this sounds like a a big step,
• 3:40
  Nathan. So once the Austin
• 3:42
  Transit Partnership gets this
• 3:44
  federal environmental clearance,
• 3:46
  what can they do next?
• 3:49
  At a high level, they there are
• 3:51
  three major contracts they can
• 3:52
  issue. And these are big
• 3:55
  high dollar contracts.
• 3:57
  One is for building the actual
• 3:59
  light rail line, the 9.8
• 4:02
  mile three-pronged system.
• 4:04
  Another is for designing and
• 4:06
  building the operations and
• 4:07
  maintenance facility,
• 4:10
  62-acre facility,
• 4:12
  big area right across Ben
• 4:14
  White Boulevard from Austin Bergsham
• 4:16
  International Airport.
• 4:17
  And then the third contract is
• 4:19
  for acquiring the light rail
• 4:21
  vehicles that would run on this
• 4:23
  system and would be arriving
• 4:25
  as often as every five minutes in
• 4:27
  the city's core, assuming this all
• 4:29
  goes according to plan and is up and
• 4:30
  running by 2033.
• 4:33
  The Austin Transit Partnership, once
• 4:34
  it gets environmental clearance, can
• 4:36
  also, and you know, this happened
• 4:37
  with the text.i35 project,
• 4:39
  once they get federal clearance,
• 4:40
  they can begin using eminent
• 4:42
  domain to acquire property.
• 4:44
  And that would be dozens of
• 4:46
  businesses and up to three single
• 4:48
  family homes that they would
• 4:50
  purchase and so that
• 4:52
  they can use that property
• 4:53
  integrated into the rail
• 4:55
  line. Because this project is
• 4:57
  is not just about light rail, it
• 4:58
  also includes complete
• 5:00
  reconstruction of city streets,
• 5:02
  utility relocation, a new bridge
• 5:04
  over Lady Bird Lake,
• 5:06
  three parking rides.
• 5:08
  And so it has a very high
• 5:10
  cost per mile, this project
• 5:12
  relative to other light rail
• 5:14
  projects under federal review, it's
• 5:16
  among the most expensive, but it
• 5:17
  also includes.
• 5:19
  All this other stuff.
• 5:20
  So 2026, Greg Canale,
• 5:22
  the head of ATP, has described
• 5:24
  it as an inflection point.
• 5:26
  Once this environmental clearance
• 5:28
  comes through, if it comes through
• 5:29
  as expected, it's going to be a
• 5:31
  very busy year.
• 5:33
  Okay, Nathan, so I seem to recall
• 5:35
  though that there is a lawsuit
• 5:36
  involving Austin Transit
• 5:38
  Partnership. What is going on with
• 5:40
  the lawsuit that that could
• 5:42
  stop this project?
• 5:43
  Right. So this lawsuit began after
• 5:45
  the Austin Transit Partnership
• 5:47
  came out and said, you know what,
• 5:49
  instead of building the 20-mile
• 5:51
  light rail line like we said we were
• 5:52
  going to do before voters approved
• 5:54
  the property tax increase, turns out
• 5:56
  we can only afford to do about 10
• 5:57
  miles. That prompted a lawsuit
• 5:59
  where the plaintiffs accused
• 6:01
  essentially the city and Austin
• 6:03
  Transit Partnership of doing a bait
• 6:05
  and switch.
• 6:06
  However, that's been kind of tied
• 6:08
  up with another lawsuit.
• 6:10
  The Austin Transit Partnership to
• 6:11
  build this light rail system needs
• 6:13
  to borrow billions of
• 6:15
  dollars in bonds.
• 6:17
  And the Attorney General
• 6:19
  of Texas needs to would have to
• 6:21
  approve those bonds.
• 6:22
  So ATP went to the courts and
• 6:24
  said, Can you s essentially
• 6:26
  establish that we are entitled
• 6:28
  to issue these bonds so that the
• 6:29
  attorney general can't block us from
• 6:31
  doing it?
• 6:32
  Those two cases got wrapped
• 6:34
  up together. And what's happening on
• 6:35
  January 14th is a hearing
• 6:37
  before the Texas Supreme Court
• 6:39
  on a somewhat of a side matter,
• 6:42
  but it does tie back.
• 6:43
  And it really has to do with whether
• 6:45
  or not ATP can
• 6:47
  even file a bond validation
• 6:49
  suit.
• 6:50
  So that is definitely something
• 6:52
  to watch, you know, how the Texas
• 6:54
  Supreme Court rules.
• 6:55
  And of course, the Texas legislature
• 6:58
  in 2023 and 2025,
• 7:01
  Republican lawmakers tried
• 7:02
  to pass legislation that would
• 7:04
  essentially undo the financing
• 7:06
  for this project.
• 7:07
  Without getting too much into the
• 7:08
  details, they're arguing that.
• 7:10
  The city is playing a bit of a shell
• 7:12
  game with maintenance and operations
• 7:13
  tax that you're not supposed to be
• 7:15
  able to use that type of tax to
• 7:17
  borrow bonds against.
• 7:19
  So they tried to pass legislation to
• 7:20
  like hammer that into law,
• 7:22
  but failed both times.
• 7:23
  So they'll have another chance in
• 7:25
  2027. By that point, ATP is hoping
• 7:27
  they're already under construction
• 7:28
  and it will be much harder to stop.
• 7:31
  Lots of moving parts here, Nathan.
• 7:33
  But just to remind us kind of to
• 7:34
  step back maybe for those who are
• 7:36
  new to Austin, what exactly
• 7:38
  is This light rail
• 7:40
  project.
• 7:41
  That is a great question, Jennifer.
• 7:43
  I often forget the details of
• 7:45
  this when I don't cover the story
• 7:46
  for a while, but essentially what
• 7:47
  we're looking at here is a 9.8
• 7:50
  mile light rail system with
• 7:52
  electric rail vehicles
• 7:54
  powered by overhead
• 7:56
  wires.
• 7:57
  And it's a three-pronged
• 7:59
  system extending north to 38th
• 8:01
  Street, east to Yellow
• 8:03
  Jacket Lane, which is sort of near
• 8:05
  the intersection of Riverside Drive
• 8:06
  and Benwite Boulevard, and south
• 8:08
  to Olttorf Street.
• 8:09
  There would be 15 stations.
• 8:12
  And these electric trains
• 8:14
  would run at street level
• 8:16
  every five minutes during peak hours
• 8:18
  in the downtown and north sections.
• 8:20
  And that would, you know, drop,
• 8:21
  they'd be less frequent during off
• 8:22
  hours, seven and a half minutes.
• 8:24
  And then the eastern and southern
• 8:25
  segments would have peak hour
• 8:27
  service every 10 minutes.
• 8:29
  Another feature of this would be
• 8:31
  tree-lined pedestrian and bike
• 8:33
  paths down the middle of Riverside
• 8:35
  Drive. I mentioned the elevated rail
• 8:37
  bridge over Ladybird Lake, which
• 8:38
  would include pedestrian and bike
• 8:40
  paths.
• 8:41
  But to make way for that bridge, ATP
• 8:43
  will have to tear down the Waller
• 8:44
  Creek boathouse and relocate it
• 8:46
  elsewhere. So there's many
• 8:48
  displacements with this project.
• 8:50
  There are many changes to the
• 8:51
  streetscape with this project.
• 8:53
  Making left turns would be more
• 8:54
  difficult if you're driving in a car
• 8:56
  in certain areas.
• 8:57
  So much to talk about, Jen, but
• 8:59
  this is a huge project.
• 9:00
  And the point is with this federal
• 9:02
  environmental impact statement, it
• 9:04
  is.
• 9:05
  Clearing the way for this to
• 9:07
  steam ahead in twenty twenty six.
• 9:09
  If you pardon the pun, it's electric
• 9:11
  rail, but you know what I mean.
• 9:12
  Yeah, got it, Nathan.
• 9:13
  And we will certainly have many more
• 9:15
  conversations on this in the
• 9:17
  coming years.
• 9:18
  K U T's transportation reporter,
• 9:20
  Nathan Bernier.
• 9:21
  Thanks, Nathan.
• 9:22
  Thank you so much, Jennifer.
• 9:23
  And you can keep up with more
• 9:24
  coverage of Austin Light Rail
• 9:27
  and more transportation projects
• 9:29
  at kut.org.
• 9:42
  This is Austin Signal.
• 9:43
  Thank you for tuning in and making
• 9:45
  us part of your Thursday.
• 9:48
  It's been close to three months
• 9:50
  since Texas AM fired a professor
• 9:52
  after she discussed gender identity
• 9:54
  as part of a children's literature
• 9:56
  class. The shock waves have
• 9:58
  continued to rock higher education
• 10:00
  across the state of Texas.
• 10:02
  Mandatory course reviews and changes
• 10:04
  to policies at universities have
• 10:06
  faculty warning of dire threats
• 10:08
  to academic freedom, especially
• 10:10
  when it comes to teaching hot button
• 10:12
  topics like transgender identity.
• 10:15
  For transgender students worrying
• 10:17
  about being silenced, Texas Standard
• 10:19
  intern Kaye Knoll reports that the
• 10:21
  solution has been to get out into
• 10:23
  the community and to get
• 10:25
  loud.
• 10:31
  Transgender university students are
• 10:33
  dealing with the scrutiny over
• 10:34
  courses involving gender identity
• 10:36
  the best way they know how.
• 10:37
  By partying through the panic.
• 10:39
  Kai Pacheco is the president of
• 10:41
  Transcend, a club for transgender
• 10:43
  students at Texas State University
• 10:45
  in San Marcos.
• 10:46
  He says he's proud of the ways the
• 10:47
  club serves the city's sizable trans
• 10:49
  community.
• 10:50
  I know that when I came in as a
• 10:52
  freshman I felt very lonely
• 10:55
  and still freshly new in the
• 10:57
  community. I wasn't sure
• 10:59
  if there was gonna be a place where
• 11:00
  I was able to explore my
• 11:02
  identity further and I
• 11:04
  just think it's amazing that I am
• 11:06
  now able to
• 11:08
  give that community to someone else.
• 11:11
  On this night in particular, the
• 11:13
  students are creating community
• 11:14
  behind a queer coffee house in
• 11:16
  downtown San Marcos.
• 11:17
  There are pride flags, drag queens,
• 11:19
  and queer student organizations
• 11:21
  showing their colors.
• 11:22
  In the background, though, there are
• 11:23
  concerns about what's happening on
• 11:25
  campus. Medusa Abercrombie
• 11:27
  is another transcend club leader.
• 11:29
  There are definitely moments
• 11:31
  of pretty intense hostility.
• 11:33
  I've gotten
• 11:35
  some pretty intense death stares.
• 11:38
  I've been lucky enough to not
• 11:40
  have any verbal
• 11:42
  sort of assaults or anything.
• 11:44
  And Kai Pacheco says he's already
• 11:46
  seen the impact of recent policy
• 11:47
  changes.
• 11:48
  I feel like the idea of
• 11:50
  gender in general is just
• 11:52
  not really talked about or advocated
• 11:55
  for. Like currently,
• 11:57
  like our advisor
• 11:59
  at the moment is being
• 12:02
  somewhat targeted because
• 12:04
  they teach a gender studies course
• 12:07
  and they're essentially
• 12:09
  attempting to get rid of
• 12:11
  Texas Standard reached out to Texas
• 12:12
  State University for comment about
• 12:14
  changes in how the school is
• 12:16
  treating gender-related topics, but
• 12:18
  officials declined to speak on the
• 12:19
  matter. When we instead reached out
• 12:21
  to the Texas State Employees Union,
• 12:23
  which represents some Texas State
• 12:24
  faculty, many of their members were
• 12:26
  ready to talk, but they wanted to do
• 12:28
  so on the condition of anonymity,
• 12:30
  for fear of retaliation.
• 12:31
  I spoke with four people who I
• 12:33
  verified teach at the university,
• 12:35
  but their names and voices will not
• 12:37
  be used.
• 12:37
  Our discussions gave some insight
• 12:39
  into the upcoming implementation of
• 12:41
  what Texas State is calling
• 12:42
  value-neutral instruction.
• 12:44
  The new guidelines go into effect
• 12:46
  next semester and ask teachers to
• 12:48
  change almost everything about their
• 12:49
  classes, from course descriptions to
• 12:51
  the structure of assignments.
• 12:53
  In a pamphlet instructing faculty
• 12:55
  on how to institute these new
• 12:56
  guidelines, Texas State says that
• 12:58
  they're designed to promote critical
• 12:59
  thinking and help teachers retain
• 13:01
  academic freedom.
• 13:02
  The faculty members I spoke with say
• 13:04
  they will do the exact opposite.
• 13:06
  The professors believe that this new
• 13:07
  so-called value-neutral initiative
• 13:09
  and the intensified scrutiny that
• 13:11
  comes with it will hurt areas of
• 13:12
  learning that tend to sit on the
• 13:14
  leading edge of theory and critical
• 13:15
  thinking, like the humanities and
• 13:17
  social sciences.
• 13:18
  These subjects are where transgender
• 13:19
  students are more likely to see
• 13:20
  themselves represented.
• 13:22
  The faculty members I talked with
• 13:23
  said Texas State's guidelines on
• 13:25
  being neutral in all applications
• 13:27
  are too vague, and since crossing a
• 13:28
  line could mean risking suspension
• 13:30
  or their job, they're worried that
• 13:32
  they may have to avoid issues like
• 13:33
  transgender identity entirely.
• 13:35
  Fears of losing their academic
• 13:37
  independence are even causing some
• 13:38
  professors to think about leaving
• 13:40
  the state.
• 13:41
  Meanwhile, transgender students are
• 13:42
  left feeling unsupported, and the
• 13:44
  instructors see that.
• 13:45
  They told me they've noticed trans
• 13:47
  students participating less in class
• 13:48
  and experiencing more distress about
• 13:50
  their academic futures.
• 13:51
  Medusa Abercrombie says trans
• 13:53
  students would like to see a little
• 13:54
  more support from their university.
• 13:56
  Just seeing that
• 13:58
  Texas State is on our side.
• 14:00
  And, you know, it's not a this side
• 14:02
  or that side necessarily, but I
• 14:04
  just mean that they're going to,
• 14:06
  you know, support us, make
• 14:08
  sure we're safe and comfortable.
• 14:10
  And in some aspects
• 14:12
  I think they've let
• 14:14
  down recently in
• 14:16
  that in that prospect.
• 14:18
  But as the university has taken a
• 14:20
  step back, the community has stepped
• 14:21
  up. Even as Texas State debates
• 14:23
  trans people's place in curriculum,
• 14:25
  transcends leaders insist that they
• 14:27
  will never disappear.
• 14:28
  And we want to let people
• 14:30
  know that we are here for them.
• 14:33
  So we make sure we show up.
• 14:35
  And we're gonna continue to show up
• 14:37
  for our community as much as we can.
• 14:40
  Basically our goal is to
• 14:42
  foster a kind,
• 14:43
  caring community for the trans
• 14:45
  students at Texas State where they
• 14:47
  can be somewhere and feel safe
• 14:50
  and experience joy
• 14:52
  even in a place
• 14:54
  that is is rapidly
• 14:56
  growing more hostile to them.
• 14:58
  The faculty members aren't sure if
• 15:00
  or when this intense scrutiny on
• 15:02
  what they teach may pass, but
• 15:03
  they've told us that they're
• 15:04
  confident trans students are strong
• 15:06
  enough to weather it.
• 15:06
  Kai Pacheco is, too.
• 15:08
  I'd say in these struggling times,
• 15:10
  stay strong for yourself, stay
• 15:12
  strong for your community.
• 15:14
  If you feel as if you do not have
• 15:16
  a community, keep
• 15:18
  searching because there is one out
• 15:19
  there for you.
• 15:21
  He has faith that standing together
• 15:23
  and sometimes throwing a party
• 15:25
  will give them the power to
• 15:26
  overcome.
• 15:27
  I'm Kaye Knoll, the Texas Standard.
• 15:35
  We've got more Austin Signal coming
• 15:37
  up in one moment.
• 15:39
  But don't forget, if you ever miss
• 15:40
  an episode, worry not, you can
• 15:42
  find our show on Spotify, Apple
• 15:44
  Podcasts, all the places where you
• 15:46
  get your shows.
• 15:47
  Just search for Austin Signal
• 15:50
  and hit subscribe.
• 15:51
  And you can also find those at K U
• 15:53
  T.orgslash
• 15:55
  Signal.
• 15:57
  This is Austin Signal.
• 16:03
  Hi, I'm Laurie Gallardo.
• 16:05
  I'm a show host and producer for
• 16:07
  KUTX 989.
• 16:10
  And I'm here to talk about one
• 16:12
  of my favorite songs from
• 16:14
  this year.
• 16:15
  And it happens to be from an
• 16:17
  Austin-based artist.
• 16:18
  I am talking about Black Odyssey
• 16:20
  and the song Heartbreak.
• 16:22
  You can find that on his
• 16:24
  sensational album, Mood
• 16:27
  Control.
• 16:39
  On my podcast, SPF 1000
• 16:41
  Vampire Sunscreen, I had
• 16:43
  the opportunity to speak with Black
• 16:45
  Odyssey about his songwriting
• 16:47
  process for the album.
• 16:49
  And they actually used
• 16:51
  frequencies, not just
• 16:53
  certain sounds, not just certain
• 16:55
  textures, but frequencies.
• 16:57
  I was like, oh, creativity and
• 16:59
  science, they go great together.
• 17:00
  And it really is an outstanding
• 17:02
  experience.
• 17:03
  They wanted to connect emotionally
• 17:05
  with these different frequencies or
• 17:07
  or kind of, you know, hone
• 17:09
  in on very specific emotions,
• 17:11
  I should say.
• 17:12
  That is what fascinates me about the
• 17:14
  entire album because I believe it's
• 17:16
  working.
• 17:32
  I love this song so much
• 17:34
  because I connect to this
• 17:36
  feeling of longing.
• 17:38
  Not just on this track in
• 17:39
  particular, but on the entire
• 17:42
  album.
• 17:43
  With something like mood control,
• 17:45
  it's the thing in its entire
• 17:47
  picture, the entire chemistry,
• 17:50
  the way these stories
• 17:52
  are all connected throughout.
• 17:54
  Now, obviously you can listen to
• 17:55
  these as singles individually,
• 17:58
  but I think it's the entire
• 18:00
  story on mood control
• 18:02
  and this whole idea of using
• 18:03
  frequencies, that is
• 18:05
  always going to get my attention.
• 18:07
  That is always fascinating
• 18:09
  me every time I think about that.
• 18:31
  Black Odyssey is an
• 18:33
  extraordinary artist because
• 18:35
  he's not confined to just
• 18:37
  one genre.
• 18:39
  So the thing that initially
• 18:41
  caught my attention
• 18:43
  was the sound of it, the
• 18:45
  pop of it.
• 18:46
  And of course I'm I'm all about the
• 18:48
  beats, I'm all about the rhythm.
• 18:50
  That's always my my first
• 18:52
  impression. That that kind of
• 18:55
  pulls me right in right away.
• 19:02
  My name is Laurie Gayardon.
• 19:03
  I'm a show host and producer at
• 19:05
  KUTX 989.
• 19:07
  You can find out more about all
• 19:09
  our favorite songs from 2025
• 19:12
  at KUTX.org.
• 19:15
  This is Austin Signal.
• 19:25
  Thank you for listening.
• 19:27
  This is indeed Austin
• 19:29
  Signal.
• 19:30
  There was a mystique and a
• 19:32
  magic that permeated Austin's music
• 19:34
  scene in the late seventies and
• 19:36
  eighties when legends like Townes
• 19:38
  Van Zandt and Doug Som roamed
• 19:40
  the streets of an Austin that was
• 19:41
  much different than ours, probably
• 19:43
  much cooler.
• 19:44
  One such legend, Blaze
• 19:46
  Foley.
• 19:47
  His story comes to us from the
• 19:49
  Center of Texas Music History
• 19:51
  at Texas State.
• 19:52
  Here's Jason Mellard on how a
• 19:54
  wandering Arkansas born musician
• 19:56
  found a home and a place
• 19:58
  of refuge here in Austin.
• 20:05
  This week in Texas Music History, a
• 20:07
  singer-songwriter sets the Outhouse
• 20:09
  ablaze.
• 20:10
  In December 1988, singer-songwriter
• 20:12
  Blaze Foley played the Austin
• 20:14
  Outhouse for the last time, an
• 20:16
  appearance later released as a live
• 20:17
  album. His birthday falls this week
• 20:19
  too, born December 18, 1949
• 20:22
  in Arkansas.
• 20:23
  Foley grew up in San Antonio, Dallas
• 20:25
  Fort Worth, and around the south.
• 20:26
  He wandered further after dropping
• 20:28
  out of high school, a drifter,
• 20:29
  biker, roadie, and songwriter.
• 20:31
  His songcraft flowered after
• 20:33
  settling in Georgia, living in a
• 20:34
  treehouse with partner and muse,
• 20:36
  Sybil Rosin.
• 20:37
  Foley moved to Austin in 1977,
• 20:39
  the Progressive Country Boom years,
• 20:41
  and became a stalwart in spots like
• 20:42
  Emma Joe's, Spellman's Lounge,
• 20:44
  Hole in the Wall, and the Austin
• 20:46
  Outhouse.
• 20:47
  He grew close there to another
• 20:48
  Starcross songwriter, Towns
• 20:50
  Van Zandt.
• 20:51
  Their hard-luck drifter ways drew
• 20:53
  them together, but their lyrical
• 20:54
  gifts cemented the relationship.
• 20:57
  Blaze and Towns could plumb the
• 20:58
  depths of human despair in one
• 21:00
  stanza and pivot to absurd silliness
• 21:03
  in the next.
• 21:03
  Foley's craft shone in such
• 21:05
  songs as If I Could Only Fly,
• 21:07
  Clay Pigeons, and Election Day,
• 21:09
  but missed opportunities abounded.
• 21:17
  In 1984, he recorded an album in
• 21:19
  Muscle Shoals, but it didn't see the
• 21:21
  light of day.
• 21:21
  Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
• 21:23
  recorded If Only I Could Fly, but it
• 21:25
  didn't take off like the duo's cover
• 21:26
  of Banzance Poncho and Lefty.
• 21:28
  Foley remained a hometown hero,
• 21:30
  though, a songwriter's songwriter,
• 21:32
  known for the duct tape holding his
• 21:34
  boots together and sleeping rough
• 21:35
  under pool tables.
• 21:37
  In February 1989, Blaze
• 21:39
  Foley lost his life in an
• 21:40
  altercation in South Austin,
• 21:42
  defending an elderly friend.
• 21:43
  Lyle Lovett, John Prime,
• 21:45
  Gurf Morlicks, and Lucinda Williams
• 21:48
  covered his songs and sung his
• 21:49
  praises in later years.
• 21:51
  Ethan Hawke told his story on screen
• 21:53
  in 2018, and the Live at
• 21:55
  the Austin Outhouse album captures
• 21:57
  the city's poet in his prime.
• 21:59
  Rough and raw and ready.
• 22:04
  You can hear music from the Lone
• 22:06
  Star State 24-7 on the Texas
• 22:08
  Music Experience at TMX.fm.
• 22:11
  Support for this week in Texas Music
• 22:12
  History comes from Brain Audio,
• 22:15
  maker of portable speakers with
• 22:16
  patented, built-in subwoofer
• 22:18
  technology to deliver deep bass
• 22:20
  sound with waterproof design and
• 22:22
  Alexa functionality.
• 22:23
  Holiday inspiration at
• 22:25
  Brainaudio.com.
• 22:28
  That is it for today's
• 22:30
  episode of Austin Signal.
• 22:32
  Thank you for being with us.
• 22:33
  You can mind you can find
• 22:35
  more from us at kult.org
• 22:38
  slash signal.
• 22:39
  Kristen Cabrera is our managing
• 22:41
  producer. Rayna Sevilla
• 22:43
  is our technical director.
• 22:45
  Austin Signal will be back
• 22:47
  with you tomorrow.
• 22:48
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 22:50
  We will talk to you then.