Carl Normal

Founder of pivotal scene-chronicling ‘zine No Reply and bassist/vocalist turned guitarist/vocalist for Stretford, the long-running pogo-punk combo named for the Manchester suburb where Normal was reared. Although Normal was British, Stretford’s fealty to the Spirit of ‘77 sometimes led those not in the know to accuse him of faking it.   

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Craig Koon

Curmudgeonly Sound Exchange manager who co-founded Rise Records with famed poster artist Frank Kozik. He also published the extra-caustic Yet Another fanzine and started the Prole Art Threat record pressing facility. Koon frequently “bootlegged” shows with a Sony TCS430 Stereo Walkman, including all of the squalid performances compiled on 1996’s A Curious Mix of People: Live at the Blue Flamingo.     

Rebecca Cannon

Onetime UT student radio DJ tapped as vocalist for Sincola in 1993. Cannon’s wild-eyed stage persona became the fulcrum for this compelling alt-rock quintet. Their self-titled Rise EP yielded a local hit single in “Bitch” and a deal with Caroline Records. The band was dropped in 1997 after two albums. Prior to Sincola, Cannon served a brief stint as trumpeter for Stretford.

Staryn Wagner and Dave Hermann

Two of three owner/operators of The Cavity, an all-ages BYOB dive located at 615 Red River that immediately became the epicenter of Austin’s underground music scene when it opened by Wagner, Hermann and Squat Thrust guitarist Jimmy Bradshaw in the Fall of 1991. Wagner and Hermann lived in the club for much of its two-year tenure. Despite its shoestring pedigree, the Cavity hosted roadshows by Bikini Kill, Green Day, Pavement, and, most notably, G.G. Allin. Hermann died in 2015.  

Britt Daniel

Temple-bred Spoon guitarist/vocalist who first achieved local prominence in Skellington and the Alien Beats. Took a basket-weaving course at UT so he could keep his KTSB DJ shift. Spoon got noticed by Matador Records head Gerard Cosloy while playing an anti-SXSW show at Blue Flamingo in 1994. Signed to Matador for 1996’s Telephono before leaping to Elektra for 1998’s A Series of Sneaks. After getting unceremoniously dropped, they released a poison pen single, “Laffitte Don’t Fail Me Know b/w The Agony of Laffitte,” about former A&R man Ron Laffitte. Undeterred, Daniel and Spoon signed with North Carolina-based Merge Records and became one of the most successful indie rock bands of the 2000s.

Susan Shepard and Jennifer Hecker

Outspoken zine magnates behind Hope You Die (Before We Get Old) and Geek Weekly. Engaging the scene while still in high school, the duo covered local music writers with the same provocative aplomb as the music itself. Their journalistic instinct landed backhand scoops like an interview with a former bandmate of drummer-turned-mass murderer George Hennard.

Tim Kerr

From timkerr.net : After college graduation, Tim became involved musically and artistically with the early stages of the DIY (Do It Yourself) punk/hardcore/self expression movement. The idea that anyone could and should participate in self-expression burst every door and window inside of him wide open. He was a key member in bands that have made recordings for such labels as Touch & Go, Estrus, Sympathy For The Record Industry, In The Red, Sub Pop, and Kill Rock Stars. Tim also produced and recorded bands for all the labels above and more, both in the US and overseas. Journalists and critics have cited bands that Tim was a member of as having been a major factor in starting everything from punkfunk, skaterock, grunge, and garage; and all have played an important role in what is known, for better or worse, as the US indie scene today. The Big Boys, Poison 13, Bad Mutha Goose, Lord High Fixers,and Monkey Wrench are just some of the bands Tim was a founding member of. Some of Tim's art from then is now in books depicting that period. He shared bills with the likes of Grace Jones, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Fugazi, Black Flag, Africa Bambaataa, and X to name a few.

King Coffey | Trance Syndicate

Greg Beets' Austin Chronicle article about the Trance legacy is here.