South by Southwest

March 15, 2007, 4 p.m.

It's hip to tip

The Devil's Clack Dish:
A Column

The first South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival was held in Austin in 1987. It was originally supposed to be, among other things, a spotlight shining on Central Texas musicians, isolated as they were from much of the rest of the world.

Around 700 people took part in the festival, a good time was had by most and the city was done proud by all who were associated with the venture. The city was done so proud that now, 20 years later, SXSW has attendees and participants numbering in the thousands. The creative scope of the festival has grown to allow for a huge variety of music, along with interactive media and films in the weeks previous to the music event.

And the city has been done proud in each year, and all is happy and successful in addition to being chaotic and frantic (two qualities that often make for good times).

Ah, but there is a segment of the population that has been under-rated in all this hub and bub – and I don’t mean your brother’s band who’s showcase at Stubb's was cut short because patrons were throwing things at the stage. Tell your brother to take guitar lessons and save your sympathy for the over-worked wait staff at every venue, restaurant and hotel in town.

These are the folks who keep the city running, pop jalapeño poppers, barbeque the ribs, percolate the coffee (well, okay, nobody percolates coffee anymore but it’s such a great word, isn’t it?) and pour the beer. One would think that SXSW would be a gold mine, albeit hard work, for tip-dependant jobs, eh? This is not usually the case.

The establishments love the business, of course. It’s another story for the servers, who work four times as hard for the same money they would make on an ordinary weekend. Evidently, the concept of tipping is unknown to many visitors. Word: It is customary to tip in the United States, and, especially, in Austin, where service industry workers routinely canibalize each other with tip jars.

Can it be possible that rockers, who surely had (and maybe still have) jobs in the service industry, have forgotten their manners and their ethics in favor of behavior more reminiscent of cigar-smoking callous fat-cat profiteers? Say it ain’t so. It’s hard to take the idea of rock bands, rock journalists and independent label owners being the kind of people that they so despise in song and story.

It’s not merely possible. It’s the general drift of SXSW, which is why a good many locals dread its arrival and celebrate its departure.

Rock people may be poor, but that doesn’t excuse being cheap.

Of course, some folks are down here on a shoestring, hoping for a few plaudits and some exposure before they go back to grim day jobs or an even grimmer touring schedule. These are the participants for which SXSW was created. But kids, class shows every time and fifty cents or a dollar ain’t much to pay for a bit of it.

Workers of the world unite! Or, at the very least empathize in a courteous manner.

There is no music that spits upon the working class. Even opera lends its melodies to the support of the worker. There may be some music somewhere that endorses the rich and defiles the worker. Surely it isn't rock and roll. When you step up to the bar, remember your manners and tip your server. They’re certainly not working for the $2.13 per hour the house pays. They’re working for you.

If this is not taught in Rock 101, then it is, at the very least, the Texas way, and when one is traveling one should observe the local customs. We’d appreciate that, stranger, and please don’t litter.

In other words: don't mess with Texas. Thank you kindly. Y’all come back, now.

	Web www.hayshighway.com

The Hays Highway privacy policy

The Hays Highway disclaimer and terms of use] .