Highbrow Magazine - University of Texas https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/university-texas en The High Achievers of Royalty Storm the Music Scene https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1267-high-achievers-royalty-storm-music-scene <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Music</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 18:57</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumtheroyalty.jpg?itok=xnuo68Q4"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumtheroyalty.jpg?itok=xnuo68Q4" width="480" height="310" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> The Royalty is a hard band to pin down. At times they sound like Vampire Weekend, or else like Marilyn Monroe. They can go from channeling Beach House to the Crystals without taking a breath. Try listening to their single, “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvm9DgQ5wUU&amp;feature=relmfu">Bartender</a>,” off their new album <em>Lovers </em>(Victory Records).</p> <p>  </p> <p> The song opens with music straight out of a Quentin Tarantino flick—think right before a fight scene—which quickly leads into a Strokes-like guitar riff. And right when you expect to hear Julian Casablancas, a voice somewhere between Gwen Stefani and Etta James emerges above the instruments, demanding to be heard.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The Royalty sound like a band straight out of the ‘60s or ‘70s that built a time machine and started listening to St. Vincent and Weezer (two of the band’s major influences).</p> <p>  </p> <p> Royalty’s front-lady, Nicole Boudreau, recently spoke with <em>Highbrow Magazine</em>.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>On how the band got together: </strong></p> <p> A couple of the guys grew up in the El Paso music scene; they started bands when they were really young and I was the only one who wasn’t really involved in the local music scene. I kind of was more of a trained singer; I did choir and all that—I wasn’t one of the cool kids. They started having different bands at around 13, but in college they started another project and they were looking for a singer. I heard about it from a friend of a friend and I went and tried out. So the first time I met them was auditioning for them and I was scared to death. That happened in college. (University of Texas at El Paso—UTEP)</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>On her band mates:</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Jesus Apodaca, Guitar</strong>: He was an orchestra teacher—he got his degree in music. So he is definitely our go-to theory guy. He has a very good ear and very formal training.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Daniel Marin, Keyboards:</strong> Dan used to be a news anchor in El Paso. He was a drum major in high school and that gave him a really good background in music. He got his degree, I think, in film/communications. </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Joel Quintana, Drums</strong>: He’s actually working on his Ph.D. from the road. He’s an electrical engineer. He has both a creative side and a scientific side. So he’s kind of a weirdo…in a good way.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Will Daugherty, Bass:</strong> He brings a lot of the feel—he doesn’t have any formal training in music. He just does what feels right and he has a great knack for that.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>On what it’s like being the only lady in the band:</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> We formed the band in 2006. It’s been kind of like dating five people at one time.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2mediumtheroyalty.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 400px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>On their influences:</strong></p> <p> With our first album, we were very into Phil Spector at the time. And since we all knew a lot of the people in the music department at the university, we were able to get our friends to do string arrangements and horn arrangements—we were trying to stack the sound. So that had a big influence on us.</p> <p>  </p> <p> [When] we were growing up, we  always listened to a combination of  rock ‘n’ roll and soul—from punk rock to Sam Cooke. And with the second record that we released with Victory, we got a little bit away from the “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRmRBrnQq8o">Wall of Sound</a>” thing. The problem we saw with the first album was that we couldn’t pull off what we did on the record live. We wanted to sound the way the album sounded live, and therefore we couldn’t have strings and horns and all that stuff. We wanted to be more real, not that the first one wasn’t. We just can’t have a whole string section.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>On some of their favorite stops on the tour:</strong></p> <p> Do you know what was so unexpected? We played in Akron, Ohio, and we played in this small bar that got packed really quickly. And the kids there that watched us were so engaging—it was like a dance party. So that one was so surprisingly fun. Also playing in New York was really cool. We got to play Arlene’s Grocery [ in the Lower East Side] and that was a really fun place to play—they know how to run a venue.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>On what’s next for the band:</strong></p> <p> We’re just chugging along, one city at a time. This stretch of time we’ll be gone about a month or so, but we just keep looking for the next thing. We’re working hard—it’s kind of tough being away from home. All the guys left their careers so we’re very serious—we’re going to do as much as we can to make it work.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em>The Royalty have released two records: The Royalty (self-released) and Lovers (Victory Records). For tour dates, merchandise and all that jazz, visit their <a href="http://www.theroyalty.net/">website</a>.</em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Sam Chapin is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: Victory Records</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/royalty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The Royalty</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/victory-records" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Victory Records</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/el-paso" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">El Paso</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/university-texas" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">University of Texas</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jesus-apodaca" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Jesus Apodaca</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/daniel-marin" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Daniel Marin</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nicole-boudreau" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Nicole Boudreau</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/joel-quintana" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Joel Quintana</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/will-daugherty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Will Daugherty</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/music-scene" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">music scene</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Music</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/rock-and-roll" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">rock and roll</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Sam Chapin</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Victory Records</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 04 Jul 2012 22:57:25 +0000 tara 1204 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1267-high-achievers-royalty-storm-music-scene#comments Weird, Wonderful Austin (With a Dash of Texas Bravado for Good Measure) https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1104-weird-wonderful-austin-dash-texas-bravado-good-measure <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/travel" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Travel</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 17:45</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1mediumAustin.jpg?itok=fXC-Fp4V"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1mediumAustin.jpg?itok=fXC-Fp4V" width="480" height="360" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> A handsome, dreadlocked young man sitting behind a table of organic tomatoes appears to be to sculpting one of the ruby-red fruits with his paring knife as if performing origami.  He is shielded from the sun by a tent next to a vendor hawking olive oil with the sounds of Amy Winehouse drifting from a portable stereo.  Overhearing one of the customers of this particular farmer’s market, he looks wide-eyed and exclaims, “Wow man, I didn’t know Winehouse died.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> This is not in California, but springtime off Burnett Road in Austin, Texas.  No cowboys in sight, people arrive to this particular site -- one of the many farmers’ markets that dot the city -- on bicycles and in hybrids to fill their cloth bags with fresh, local produce.  Progressive-minded Austinites embrace their uniqueness just as fiercely as the rest of the state does the cowboy myth, guns and religion.  After all, the city’s unofficial motto, “Keep Austin Weird,” can be seen in graffiti, and on T-shirts and coffee mugs.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Tremendous Growth</strong></p> <p> The capital of Texas has grown to a city of almost <a href="http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/chs/popdat/ST2012.shtm">800,000 residents</a>, and double that in the metro region.  But the city’s booming economy has not diluted the influence of students who attend the area’s many institutions of higher learning,  including the University of Texas, the large gay community, musicians (its official motto is “The Live Music Capital of the World”), tech geeks (Dell is headquartered here and Apple has a facility), and government workers.  This mix of diverse citizenry is why Travis County (Austin is the county seat) votes reliably blue, surrounded by a sea of red in the heart of the Lone Star State.  Barack Obama <a href="http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2011/feb/16/tom-delay/tom-delays-calls-travis-count-home-austin-most-lib/">won the county</a> handily with 64 percent of the vote in 2008.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2mediumaustin.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 331px; " /></p> <p> Austin bohemian culture lives alongside the growing presence of corporate America.  The city’s highly educated workforce – it ranks 25<sup>th</sup> among U.S. cities with <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/01/cities-with-most-college_n_596792.html">college-degreed residents</a> - is a draw for major technology companies.  Just this past March, Apple announced an expansion of its Austin campus, worth <a href="http://www.webpronews.com/apples-austin-texas-campus-304-million-dollar-injection-2012-03">$304 million</a> and creating 3,600 jobs.  Dell Computers, started by University of Texas dropout Michael Dell, is headquartered in the city and employs 14,000 people, the second-largest <a href="http://www.austintexashomes.com/topemployers.htm">employer</a> in the region after state government.  The grocery giant <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/history.php">Whole Foods</a> also sprung up here in 1980 with only 19 employees.  Its modern headquarters are located near downtown, and the company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>The Live Music Capital of the World</strong></p> <p> But corporate America aside, the city’s claim to fame is its music scene, long seen as an incubator for emerging bands.   Austin boasts more than <a href="http://www.austintexas.org/musicians/">200 live music venues</a>, many in Downtown’s Sixth Street and Warehouse District, playing everything from blue grass to indie rock. The area also has many restaurants and bars, a couple owned by the likes of Sandra Bullock and Lance Armstrong.  Bess Bistro is a restaurant founded by Bullock on Sixth Street; Armstrong is an investor in Six Lounge located in the Warehouse District, where he can sometimes be spotted.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Also, annual music festivals crowd the calendar.  The famed Austin City Limits music festival has been eclipsed in recent years by the increasing popularity of the South by Southwest Musical Festival (SXSW).  SXSW drew almost 50,000 attendees this year and worldwide media coverage. But it’s not just the yet-to-be-famous who played the city.  Janis Joplin, Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughn are some of the famous musicians who have sung at Austin’s various music venues.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3mediumaustin.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 326px; " /></p> <p> <strong>Growing Pains</strong></p> <p> For all that Austin has going for it, everything is not quite as bright as, say, a “yellow rose of Texas.”  Lack of a good public transportation system, the searing summer heat coupled with years of drought, and high property taxes mar the city’s reputation.  And home prices are high by Texas standards.  Desirable neighborhoods such as tony Tarrytown just west of downtown and funky Hyde Park north of the University of Texas campus are too expensive for many working families.</p> <p>  </p> <p> And then there are those who decry the growth, sensing Austin’s small, college-town feel slipping away.  Urban sprawl has also come to the city, as many of the jobs and affordable homes are north of the city.  In 2011, the <em><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/03/08/50-worst-commutes-americas-highways-to-hell.html">Daily Beast</a></em> named the stretch of Interstate 35 from suburban Round Rock to Austin, one of only two major freeways serving the city, as the sixth worst commute in America,  joining the bigger cities of Los Angeles and Washington DC on the list.  Explosive growth and a limited rail line account for much of the blame.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4mediumAustin.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 398px; " /></p> <p> But what makes Austin unique is that it is in Texas.  There still can be seen elements of state pride around town, as many items for sale are branded “Texan,” from barbeque to bumper stickers.  Even in a local hipster gift shop on the trendy “SoCo strip” (South of Congress Avenue), a T-shirt reading “Anywhere But California” is for sale alongside Obama paraphernalia.  Texas bravado still lives on, albeit with a bit of a chip on its shoulder, even in this progressive enclave.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Mark Bizzell, a contributing writer at </em>Highbrow Magazine<em>, resides in Los Angeles and is enrolled in the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program.  A veteran of global public relations agencies, Mark earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin.  </em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: ATMX, Jason Persse, Flickr</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/austin" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Austin</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/texas" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Texas</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/south-southwest-festival" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">South by Southwest festival</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/liberal" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">liberal</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/university-texas" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">University of Texas</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/dell" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Dell</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/whole-foods" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Whole Foods</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/music-scene" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">music scene</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sixth-street" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sixth Street</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Mark Bizzell</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">atmx, Flickr</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:45:12 +0000 tara 799 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1104-weird-wonderful-austin-dash-texas-bravado-good-measure#comments