Latest / Austin Signal / New program aims to address complaints against Austin Police

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New program aims to address complaints against Austin Police · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  Complaints against Austin police
• 0:10
  could be worked out through a new
• 0:11
  city program focused on mediation.
• 0:14
  We'll hear more about what these
• 0:15
  types of guided conversations to
• 0:16
  address community concerns could
• 0:18
  look and sound like.
• 0:20
  And there is a downtown fixture
• 0:22
  close to Rainy Street that has
• 0:24
  somehow avoided becoming yet another
• 0:26
  Austin sky rise.
• 0:27
  Of course, we're talking about the
• 0:28
  IHOP on Cesar Chavez.
• 0:30
  We'll here about the real estate
• 0:31
  drama behind its longevity and
• 0:33
  what the future could hold for the
• 0:34
  building and the land that it's
• 0:36
  built on. That's coming up on
• 0:37
  today's show.
• 0:38
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:40
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:42
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:43
  Plus, a conversation with the
• 0:45
  director of a new documentary on
• 0:46
  podcasting and the age of
• 0:49
  audio that's premiering in town
• 0:50
  at Austin Film Society this weekend,
• 0:53
  all of that and more, coming up
• 0:55
  right here on Austin Signal.
• 1:09
  Howdy out there, this is
• 1:11
  Austin Signal, you're listening on
• 1:13
  community powered public radio KUT
• 1:15
  News, we're glad you're making us
• 1:17
  part of your Friday, I'm
• 1:19
  your host Jerry Kijonol.
• 1:22
  We will get today's show started by
• 1:23
  talking about a new city program
• 1:25
  that aims to address complaints
• 1:26
  about Austin police through
• 1:28
  conversation.
• 1:30
  As KUT's Andrew Weber reports,
• 1:32
  the city's police oversight office
• 1:33
  hopes the mediation program bridges
• 1:35
  gaps between officers and
• 1:38
  the community.
• 1:39
  Police complaints run the gamut.
• 1:41
  They could include anything from
• 1:42
  excessive force to speeding to
• 1:44
  slow response times.
• 1:46
  But a good chunk of the time, Austin
• 1:47
  Police Oversight fields complaints
• 1:49
  in which people allege officers
• 1:51
  were just plain rude to them.
• 1:52
  And that isn't against the law.
• 1:54
  Gail McCant is the director of
• 1:56
  Austin Police oversight.
• 1:57
  That's absolutely correct.
• 1:59
  But for officers, it is a policy
• 2:01
  violation.
• 2:02
  There is an expectation that
• 2:03
  you engage with community members
• 2:05
  very respectfully.
• 2:06
  So, the office is starting a new
• 2:08
  program, one where people who
• 2:10
  complain and the police officers
• 2:11
  they file complaints against sit
• 2:13
  down and talk it out with a
• 2:15
  third-party mediator.
• 2:16
  McCant hopes this program will
• 2:18
  change how people think about cops
• 2:19
  and how cops engage
• 2:21
  with Austinites on a day-to-day
• 2:23
  basis.
• 2:23
  We really want officers to think
• 2:25
  through this process, be reflective
• 2:27
  in this process.
• 2:28
  Be able to accept some
• 2:31
  constructive feedback from community
• 2:33
  members related to their
• 2:35
  engagement and really just be open
• 2:37
  to the process.
• 2:38
  The idea for the program stretches
• 2:39
  back as far as 2018,
• 2:41
  McCants says, but it's the direct
• 2:43
  result of the Austin Police
• 2:44
  Oversight Act, the voter approved
• 2:46
  ballot measure from 2023 that
• 2:48
  aims to increase civilian input
• 2:50
  and police oversight.
• 2:52
  Kathy Mitchell helped get that
• 2:53
  measure passed.
• 2:54
  She's happy to see the mediation
• 2:55
  program get off the ground, but she
• 2:57
  says it took too long to get here.
• 2:59
  Mitchell sued the city over what she
• 3:01
  says was an unnecessary delay, a
• 3:03
  common stumbling block for reforms
• 3:05
  tied to the Austin Police Oversight
• 3:07
  Act.
• 3:07
  There's no other thing than
• 3:09
  foot dragging to blame for
• 3:11
  that. The city could have been
• 3:13
  much further along much sooner.
• 3:15
  But Mitchell says progress,
• 3:17
  slow as it may seem to her, is
• 3:19
  progress and opening a line
• 3:21
  of dialog between cops and the
• 3:22
  community.
• 3:25
  Sometimes all you need
• 3:27
  is an open and honest
• 3:29
  conversation, and creating a
• 3:31
  place to have that open and honest
• 3:33
  conversation is
• 3:35
  a good thing.
• 3:36
  Both Mitchell and McCant say the
• 3:37
  program has the opportunity to break
• 3:39
  down some barriers and mend fences
• 3:42
  between Austin police and the
• 3:44
  people they protect and serve.
• 3:46
  I'm Andrew Weber in Austin.
• 3:53
  Austin's skyline has had quite
• 3:55
  a few alterations over the
• 3:57
  last decade-plus, but one
• 3:59
  facade has not faded and has somehow
• 4:01
  remained strong in the face of so
• 4:03
  much change right around it.
• 4:05
  I'm talking of course about the IHOP
• 4:06
  on Cesar Chavez's ride off of
• 4:08
  I-35, but there is
• 4:10
  a kerfuffle bubbling under the
• 4:12
  breakfast eatery about the very land
• 4:14
  that the building is situated on it.
• 4:16
  For more about that story, we're
• 4:17
  speaking with Cody Baird.
• 4:18
  He covers commercial real estate for
• 4:20
  the Austin Business Journal.
• 4:21
  Cody, thanks for coming on the show
• 4:22
  today. Thanks for having me.
• 4:24
  So in case our listeners aren't
• 4:26
  super familiar, what sort of
• 4:27
  redevelopment has been happening in
• 4:29
  the area around that IHOP?
• 4:31
  So that IHOP, they...
• 4:32
  The area around it specifically has
• 4:35
  gotten sky-high pretty
• 4:37
  much.
• 4:37
  The IHOP itself is almost
• 4:39
  right next door to what is
• 4:41
  already the tallest tower in the
• 4:43
  entire state.
• 4:44
  It makes for like a pretty comical
• 4:46
  scene when you're driving along and
• 4:47
  you get close to 35 There's
• 4:49
  this tiny little building and then
• 4:51
  huge buildings everywhere around it
• 4:52
  Oh, yeah, a decade ago, it didn't
• 4:54
  stand out that much.
• 4:56
  But today, when there's been so
• 4:58
  much development along Rainy Street,
• 5:00
  you know, you look at it and it's
• 5:01
  just like, wow, why, why hasn't.
• 5:03
  That been redeveloped?
• 5:04
  Yeah, well, I'm going to ask you
• 5:05
  that question, but since so
• 5:07
  much has been going up these big
• 5:09
  buildings, I am assuming expensive
• 5:11
  buildings, the land that the IHOP
• 5:13
  is on, how valuable is
• 5:15
  that land?
• 5:16
  I can't remember the...
• 5:17
  Exact figure.
• 5:18
  But for tax purposes, it was most
• 5:20
  recently appraised at about
• 5:23
  $26.7 million,
• 5:25
  I believe.
• 5:27
  And just for reference,
• 5:29
  market value for properties like
• 5:30
  that often
• 5:32
  way exceeds the
• 5:34
  value okay okay
• 5:35
  so again you you
• 5:37
  asked the question yourself right
• 5:38
  there how has it remained an
• 5:40
  IHOP in the face of all this change
• 5:42
  around it so the the property
• 5:44
  owner has
• 5:45
  said exactly why it
• 5:48
  hasn't been redeveloped.
• 5:49
  But what we do know is that they're
• 5:51
  in default on a loan since
• 5:54
  2020.
• 5:55
  And that can trigger a bunch of
• 5:57
  things like not being able to get
• 5:59
  refinancing or new construction
• 6:02
  loans for any kind of development,
• 6:04
  which would definitely impact any
• 6:06
  kind or development there.
• 6:07
  The other side of it is that
• 6:10
  the IHOP still has a lease there.
• 6:11
  I think the IHOP extends through
• 6:13
  June, 2029 right now.
• 6:15
  Okay yeah, I will follow up with
• 6:17
  some questions about that, but I
• 6:18
  want to go back to that default
• 6:20
  loan.
• 6:21
  Your story kind of brings in
• 6:23
  the default loan, it says the
• 6:25
  property is intriguing enough
• 6:27
  itself, but it also brings
• 6:29
  in these three characters, these
• 6:30
  three players in your story.
• 6:32
  I was wondering, hopefully you can
• 6:33
  talk a little bit about them.
• 6:34
  Maybe you start with Nate Paul, I
• 6:36
  think his name might be most
• 6:37
  familiar to some of our listeners.
• 6:39
  Yeah, yeah.
• 6:40
  Pretty much everyone involved in
• 6:42
  this has some kind of
• 6:44
  criminal investigation history
• 6:45
  behind them.
• 6:46
  Nate Paul, for example,
• 6:49
  during the 2010s,
• 6:51
  he was a really high-flying,
• 6:53
  young real estate investor in
• 6:55
  Austin, making a lot of ways for
• 6:57
  getting a lot of really valuable
• 6:59
  properties in prime locations like
• 7:01
  the IHOP.
• 7:03
  In 2019, the FBI
• 7:05
  rated his office and
• 7:08
  The ensuing investigation saw
• 7:10
  him plead guilty last year
• 7:13
  to a charge of
• 7:15
  lying to financial institutions.
• 7:19
  Okay, so that's a little bit about
• 7:20
  Nate Paul.
• 7:21
  Maybe you tell us about Justin Bain.
• 7:23
  I believe he's from Austin as well.
• 7:25
  Correct, yeah.
• 7:25
  Austin Bain is the sole manager
• 7:28
  of the creditor that's trying
• 7:30
  to foreclose on the property right
• 7:31
  now. Okay, okay.
• 7:32
  He's a commercial real estate pro
• 7:35
  in Austin, but he was
• 7:37
  recently arrested on
• 7:38
  charges of playing a
• 7:40
  key role in a high-end cocaine
• 7:42
  distribution enterprise.
• 7:44
  And you said he's the creditor
• 7:45
  currently, I guess,
• 7:47
  trying to foreclose on
• 7:50
  the IHOP? That's correct.
• 7:52
  He's the manager of the creditors.
• 7:54
  And then prior to that, it was
• 7:55
  another company? Is that where Brian
• 7:57
  Hardeman comes in?
• 7:58
  No, no. So, uh, Brian,
• 7:59
  The creditor is
• 8:02
  an investment entity that's led
• 8:04
  by Brian Hardeman and
• 8:06
  Justin Bain is listed on Property
• 8:07
  Records as the manager of it.
• 8:11
  They purchased a
• 8:13
  loan from Amplify Credit Union
• 8:15
  after Nate Paul had defaulted
• 8:17
  on the loan there.
• 8:18
  Okay, so this stems
• 8:20
  from a recent, or maybe
• 8:22
  not stems, but the most recent
• 8:24
  thing is a Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• 8:26
  case, so there's been a lot of
• 8:28
  fighting prior to this recent
• 8:30
  move. Can you just tell us a little
• 8:31
  bit of that backstory?
• 8:33
  Yeah, yeah.
• 8:35
  World-class, Nate Paul's
• 8:37
  firm that owns the IHOP,
• 8:39
  they defaulted on a loan in
• 8:41
  2020.
• 8:43
  And that loan was through Amplify
• 8:45
  Credit Union.
• 8:47
  After they default it on the loan,
• 8:49
  the new creditor led by
• 8:51
  Brian Hardiman and Justin Bain
• 8:53
  purchased that
• 8:55
  debt. So now they're
• 8:57
  the creditor.
• 8:58
  And they've been trying to foreclose
• 8:59
  on this property since 2020.
• 9:02
  The entire time, each time
• 9:03
  they've... Tried to foreclose on
• 9:05
  it.
• 9:06
  World class and Nepal have tried
• 9:08
  through the courts to prevent the
• 9:10
  foreclosure.
• 9:12
  Their attempts keep getting denied
• 9:14
  by the courts, but for
• 9:15
  some reason the property just
• 9:18
  hasn't made it to the fore closure
• 9:19
  auction yet.
• 9:21
  Most recently, it was set to get
• 9:23
  sold on December 2nd last
• 9:25
  year.
• 9:27
  It was set to go to foreclosure
• 9:29
  auction. I was at the
• 9:31
  courthouse steps waiting to see what
• 9:33
  happened. And when it never
• 9:35
  got sold, I went home
• 9:37
  and I checked the
• 9:40
  bankruptcy courts.
• 9:42
  And that morning,
• 9:44
  world class, the entity that
• 9:46
  they have owning it declared chapter
• 9:47
  11 bankruptcy.
• 9:50
  And what that does is that
• 9:51
  bankruptcy will kind of
• 9:54
  stall or it'll halt any
• 9:56
  foreclosures proceedings.
• 9:57
  From going forward, yeah.
• 9:58
  From going forward until they
• 10:00
  kind of go through that bankruptcy
• 10:01
  process.
• 10:02
  Okay, well we have about
• 10:04
  a minute left, a little more than
• 10:06
  that. You mentioned the
• 10:07
  IHOP having the lease.
• 10:09
  Can you tell us a little bit about
• 10:10
  like the future and how secure
• 10:13
  is their future at that location.
• 10:14
  So they're secure, at least until
• 10:16
  2029.
• 10:17
  They were originally on a 20 year
• 10:19
  lease that expired in, I think,
• 10:21
  2024.
• 10:22
  And they have a five
• 10:24
  year extension options.
• 10:26
  And 2029 is when that
• 10:28
  next extension option would kick in.
• 10:30
  And it's not clear yet if
• 10:32
  the whoever owns the property can
• 10:34
  say, no, we're not gonna let you
• 10:36
  exercise that.
• 10:37
  But they're at least there till 2029
• 10:39
  Cause I learned about a triple net
• 10:41
  lease in your story.
• 10:42
  Can you just explain really quickly
• 10:43
  what that is?
• 10:44
  Yeah, yeah, so that means the
• 10:46
  IHOP is, they're really handling all
• 10:48
  the maintenance, all the
• 10:50
  taxes for the property, they are
• 10:52
  paying rent, so it's,
• 10:54
  I mean it's a really good tenant to
• 10:55
  have there. It's just kind of, just
• 10:57
  an IHop instead of having maybe
• 10:59
  a full office tower
• 11:01
  or hotel or something there.
• 11:03
  OK, well, again, this
• 11:05
  is the latest story from Cody
• 11:07
  Baird. He covers commercial real
• 11:09
  estate for the Austin Business
• 11:11
  Journal. That's where you can find
• 11:12
  this story and more of his
• 11:14
  reporting. We'll have more in our
• 11:15
  show notes for today's show.
• 11:17
  Cody, thanks for joining us.
• 11:18
  Thanks for having me.
• 11:20
  And thank you out there for tuning
• 11:21
  in to Austin Signal.
• 11:23
  We will be back in just a
• 11:25
  moment.
• 11:32
  This is Austin Signal, welcome
• 11:34
  back.
• 11:35
  A pioneer for women in country
• 11:37
  music has her birthday this
• 11:38
  week. For more about her legacy,
• 11:41
  we of course go to Jason Mellard
• 11:43
  from the Center for Texas Music
• 11:44
  History out at Texas State
• 11:46
  University.
• 11:48
  She's a fine singer and a nice
• 11:50
  girl. Let's make her feel real
• 11:52
  welcome here.
• 11:52
  Miss Goldie Hill.
• 12:02
  This week in Texas music history,
• 12:04
  a Karnes City country singer strikes
• 12:06
  gold in Nashville.
• 12:07
  On January 11, 1933,
• 12:10
  country singer Goldie Hill was born
• 12:11
  outside of Karnes City, Texas.
• 12:13
  Goldie began playing music as a
• 12:15
  teenager with her two older
• 12:16
  brothers, Kinney and Tommy Hill,
• 12:18
  securing gigs in nearby San Antonio
• 12:19
  as the Texas Hillbillies, and
• 12:21
  backing singing cowboy acts like Red
• 12:23
  River Dave and Big Bill Lister.
• 12:24
  They gained traction by the early
• 12:26
  1950s, catching the ear of
• 12:27
  honky-tonker Webb Pierce.
• 12:29
  Pierce invited Goldie and Tommy to
• 12:31
  join his band on Shreveport's famed
• 12:33
  Louisiana Hayride radio show.
• 12:35
  Riding this wave at just 19 years
• 12:37
  old, Hill auditioned as a solo
• 12:38
  singer at Deca Records in Nashville,
• 12:40
  who had also recently signed Kitty
• 12:42
  Wells.
• 12:42
  And in 1952, she released her
• 12:44
  first single, Why Talk to My
• 12:46
  Heart.
• 12:47
  To talk to
• 12:49
  my
• 12:55
  The following year, her second
• 12:56
  record, I Let the Stars Get in My
• 12:58
  Eyes, an answer song to Slim
• 13:00
  Willett's Don't Let the stars get in
• 13:01
  your eyes, became a country number
• 13:03
  one hit.
• 13:04
  Hill was dubbed the Golden
• 13:05
  Hillbilly, performing on programs
• 13:07
  such as Ozark Jubilee, the Grand
• 13:09
  Ole Opry, and the Country Tune
• 13:10
  Parade with Ernest Tubb.
• 13:12
  She married country singer Carl
• 13:13
  Smith in 1957 and toured
• 13:15
  with him in the Philip Morris
• 13:16
  Country Music Show for a few years
• 13:18
  before largely retiring from the
• 13:20
  music industry.
• 13:20
  Although she recorded sporadically
• 13:22
  in the decades to follow.
• 13:23
  Her disillusionment with
• 13:25
  opportunities for women singers led
• 13:26
  her to find fulfillment away from
• 13:28
  the spotlight.
• 13:29
  Hill lived out the remainder of her
• 13:30
  years on her family ranch before
• 13:32
  passing away in 2005.
• 13:35
  Often overlooked for her role in
• 13:36
  Texas music, Goldie Hill set
• 13:38
  a precedent for women in country
• 13:39
  music for years to come.
• 13:46
  You've been gone so long,
• 13:48
  I couldn't stay.
• 13:49
  You can hear music from the Lone
• 13:50
  Star State 24-7 on the
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  Texas Music Experience at TMX.fm
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  maker of a compact portable speaker
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  dot com.
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  This is Austin Signal, thank you for
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  tuning in.
• 14:29
  What's the first podcast that was
• 14:30
  ever recommended by a friend to
• 14:32
  you? Was it something from the
• 14:34
  public radio universe or maybe
• 14:36
  something from one of your favorite
• 14:37
  comedians that you still listen to
• 14:39
  this very day?
• 14:41
  Well, the story of how podcasts came
• 14:43
  to be and even the very origin
• 14:44
  of the word podcast is part of the
• 14:46
  story in the film Age of Audio
• 14:48
  directed by Shaun Michael Colon.
• 14:50
  The movie is screening this Sunday
• 14:52
  at the Austin Film Society.
• 14:53
  He's going to be at the theater for
• 14:55
  a Q&A following the show.
• 14:56
  And we've got him here now for a
• 14:58
  few questions on Austin Signal.
• 15:00
  Shaun, thank you for your time.
• 15:01
  Oh, thanks for having me. I really
• 15:02
  appreciate it, Jer.
• 15:03
  So I know you didn't set out
• 15:05
  to make this movie about podcasting.
• 15:07
  Can you tell us what project were
• 15:09
  you working on and how did that end
• 15:10
  up connecting you with some
• 15:11
  podcasting royalty?
• 15:14
  I was working on a documentary
• 15:15
  with this punk rock band
• 15:18
  and we ended up playing a show and
• 15:21
  through a series of events I
• 15:22
  ended up hanging out with Ira Glass
• 15:24
  at a punk rock show.
• 15:28
  Which is a weird
• 15:30
  conflation of two parts of my
• 15:32
  world I never thought would collide.
• 15:33
  That's a very public radio sentence,
• 15:35
  you know, hanging out with Ira Glass
• 15:37
  at a punk rock show.
• 15:38
  I feel like that's something you can
• 15:39
  only hear on the public radio
• 15:40
  airwaves.
• 15:43
  I think certain people know
• 15:45
  how weird those
• 15:47
  two things coming together can be.
• 15:49
  The movie is kind of a mix of
• 15:51
  the story of podcasts, where the
• 15:53
  words came from, how things sort
• 15:55
  of happened. But it also is kind
• 15:57
  running concurrently with a
• 15:59
  modern-day podcaster, somebody who's
• 16:01
  trying to get their show exposure,
• 16:03
  and a little bit more listenership.
• 16:06
  How did that come about?
• 16:07
  Did you anticipate that you were
• 16:08
  going to work, that the host's
• 16:10
  name is Ronald Young Jr.?
• 16:11
  Did you anticipated working with him
• 16:13
  from the beginning, or did that
• 16:14
  happen as you were making the
• 16:16
  film?
• 16:17
  No, the film evolved over about
• 16:18
  seven years.
• 16:20
  And I always knew I wanted to do
• 16:22
  some of the history of podcasting
• 16:23
  and kind of where it came from and
• 16:24
  talk about the industry.
• 16:26
  But I also knew that unless you
• 16:28
  were someone that was really deep
• 16:29
  into podcasting, that stuff can get,
• 16:31
  you know, a little boring.
• 16:33
  Yeah, and the weeds for sure.
• 16:34
  And my first film didn't really
• 16:36
  have a primary
• 16:38
  subject that I followed.
• 16:40
  And it's really great for the people
• 16:41
  who, like I said, that are inside
• 16:43
  baseball and they really love it.
• 16:44
  But I really wanted to make a film
• 16:46
  that you could follow
• 16:48
  along with, whether or not you cared
• 16:49
  about podcasting or not.
• 16:51
  And I think the only way to do that
• 16:52
  is to tell a human story.
• 16:54
  And I thing, you know, besides
• 16:56
  podcasting,
• 16:58
  which has a very DIY kind
• 17:00
  of spirit to it, I think since the
• 17:02
  beginning.
• 17:03
  I wanted to highlight what it's
• 17:04
  like to be an independent creator as
• 17:07
  one myself.
• 17:08
  I don't think you ever make a movie
• 17:09
  that's not about yourself.
• 17:11
  But I'm in that independent
• 17:13
  creator world and I think it's
• 17:16
  important for some people to see the
• 17:18
  highs and lows of what it can mean
• 17:20
  to be a successful independent
• 17:21
  creator.
• 17:22
  I feel like, especially nowadays
• 17:24
  more than ever, someone either
• 17:26
  is a independent creator or
• 17:28
  a family member or a friend is
• 17:30
  someone that's trying to do
• 17:31
  something like this. So.
• 17:32
  Just hoping I can tell a story that
• 17:34
  could connect with the most amount
• 17:35
  of people.
• 17:35
  You mentioned the DIY spirit that
• 17:37
  runs through all of podcasting.
• 17:40
  Your story weaves through the
• 17:41
  origins, the heyday, and gets
• 17:43
  to the current financially tougher
• 17:45
  environment that podcasts exist in.
• 17:47
  Besides that DIY nature, what do you
• 17:49
  see as some of the connections
• 17:51
  that link all three of those phases
• 17:52
  together?
• 17:54
  I think it's one of the
• 17:56
  things about podcasting I think
• 17:58
  that's no matter if people are
• 17:59
  making money off of it or,
• 18:01
  you know, the early days,
• 18:03
  I think the thing that runs
• 18:06
  thread that runs through all of it
• 18:08
  is that this is a medium
• 18:10
  that's not controlled by any
• 18:12
  company.
• 18:13
  There are companies that can put
• 18:14
  money into it, but because of
• 18:16
  the nature of a
• 18:18
  technical term RSS,
• 18:20
  it really is one of the first broad
• 18:23
  mediums that could be broadcast to
• 18:24
  so many people that know
• 18:26
  one company or one country or
• 18:28
  any One thing
• 18:30
  that controls it and I think
• 18:32
  that even though it's harder
• 18:34
  I think these days to make money in
• 18:36
  podcasting for a newcomer
• 18:38
  and independent The
• 18:40
  opportunity is still there to reach
• 18:42
  lots of people without any
• 18:44
  gatekeepers and that's for better
• 18:46
  for worse But I think it's in
• 18:48
  a very unique position
• 18:49
  Unlike almost any other medium
• 18:51
  that's existed.
• 18:52
  Maybe early pirate radio before
• 18:54
  it all got regulated and such,
• 18:56
  but...
• 18:58
  Let me ask you, I have one last
• 18:59
  question.
• 19:01
  Your film was made with support
• 19:03
  from an Austin Film Society grant.
• 19:05
  I wanted to know how impactful that
• 19:07
  was to helping make this project
• 19:08
  become a reality.
• 19:10
  Uh, I might get emotional here,
• 19:12
  but please, please, uh,
• 19:14
  like, uh, the film, you said this
• 19:16
  was a seven year project, correct?
• 19:18
  Yes. And remember in the middle
• 19:20
  of that was COVID.
• 19:21
  So we had a lot of, yeah, that's
• 19:22
  right.
• 19:23
  We had a ton of momentum.
• 19:24
  We did about 35 interviews in,
• 19:26
  uh.
• 19:28
  2019 and we really had a little
• 19:30
  momentum and then COVID happened and
• 19:31
  really kind of everything kind of,
• 19:33
  you know, uh just, you can't do
• 19:35
  in-person interviews really anymore
• 19:36
  at that point.
• 19:37
  And it really kind of, the film
• 19:39
  in 2023, early 2023,
• 19:42
  I felt like had a real possibility
• 19:44
  of dying on the vine
• 19:46
  through a host of different
• 19:48
  financial reasons and
• 19:50
  just momentum and all those
• 19:52
  kinds of things.
• 19:54
  And I had it in me
• 19:56
  to, one of my editors
• 19:58
  had worked with grants
• 20:00
  before and they helped me
• 20:02
  write up something.
• 20:04
  And basically they
• 20:06
  told me, you need to support you
• 20:07
  know, apply to this awesome film
• 20:09
  society grant.
• 20:10
  And when they said that, I think
• 20:12
  I had seven,
• 20:15
  no, eight days.
• 20:16
  I think eight days to get it all
• 20:17
  together.
• 20:18
  Wow
• 20:19
  And to be honest with you, I really
• 20:21
  at that point just forgot about it.
• 20:23
  I put it out of my brain and didn't
• 20:25
  even think about it, I was thinking
• 20:25
  about some crowdfunding and some
• 20:27
  other kind of things with the next
• 20:28
  step to try and revive the
• 20:30
  film and get it into a place.
• 20:33
  And I think it's in early September,
• 20:35
  I came home,
• 20:37
  wasn't even thinking about it at all
• 20:38
  and just saw an email and just,
• 20:41
  you know, you see those emails and
• 20:42
  it's so often as a filmmaker and
• 20:44
  a creative, those emails are.
• 20:47
  You know, we regret to inform
• 20:49
  you.
• 20:49
  Yeah, rejection letters, yeah.
• 20:50
  And, you know, and it's
• 20:52
  usually in the first line.
• 20:53
  So I remember, I don't even remember
• 20:55
  opening the email, but the first
• 20:57
  time was we were excited and
• 20:59
  I literally fell to my knees and
• 21:01
  started sobbing.
• 21:04
  I think I might cry now.
• 21:06
  It was really,
• 21:07
  you now, the money is definitely
• 21:09
  helpful.
• 21:11
  You know, in the size of a film,
• 21:13
  it's not enough to complete a film
• 21:15
  but it's enough to
• 21:17
  keep things moving and it really...
• 21:20
  Invigorated the film and I think it
• 21:21
  was the you know I went to some
• 21:23
  podcast conferences afterwards had
• 21:25
  some funds to be able to fly out as
• 21:26
  able to upgrade my computer I was
• 21:28
  able to have some a little bit of
• 21:30
  a cash flow to be about to kind of
• 21:32
  get things up and moving again and
• 21:33
  that's where I ended up finding I
• 21:35
  Went to a podcast conference called
• 21:36
  resonate and met
• 21:38
  Ronald Young Jr And really
• 21:40
  that's what made the movie come back
• 21:42
  to life. So it was really from that
• 21:44
  that spark of that
• 21:46
  Confidence in the project and also
• 21:48
  a little bit of financial support
• 21:50
  that really the
• 21:52
  film exists now And it just I don't
• 21:54
  know if it would have if I
• 21:56
  hadn't gotten that from the Austin
• 21:57
  Film Society
• 21:58
  Well, congratulations on completing
• 22:00
  the film. We've been speaking with
• 22:01
  Shaun Michael Cologne.
• 22:03
  He is the director of the film,
• 22:05
  Age of Audio.
• 22:05
  Its Austin premiere is happening
• 22:07
  this Sunday at the Austin Film
• 22:08
  Society.
• 22:09
  The screening starts at 4.15,
• 22:11
  and Shaun is gonna stick around
• 22:12
  after the movie for a Q&A that
• 22:14
  I'm gonna be moderating.
• 22:15
  So come on out and join us again
• 22:17
  this Sunday afternoon, 4.
• 22:19
  15.
• 22:20
  Shaun, I look forward to seeing you
• 22:21
  there, and thank you for joining us
• 22:22
  today on Austin Signal.
• 22:24
  Man, thank you so much, man.
• 22:25
  I'm looking forward to Sunday.
• 22:28
  And that's it for this week of
• 22:30
  Austin Signal.
• 22:31
  And there has been a lot happening
• 22:33
  these past few days.
• 22:34
  So in case you missed something,
• 22:35
  reminder, you can find our episodes
• 22:37
  at kut.org slash
• 22:39
  signal.
• 22:40
  And subscribe to the show wherever
• 22:42
  you listen to your podcast.
• 22:43
  We would really appreciate it.
• 22:45
  Rayna Sevilla is our technical
• 22:47
  director.
• 22:48
  Kristin Cabrera is our managing
• 22:49
  producer.
• 22:50
  And Jimmy Mass is Austin Signal's
• 22:53
  show runner. I'm Jerry Quijano.
• 22:55
  We will talk to you on Monday.
• 22:57
  Have a great weekend!