Austin Stories

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

I am a nostalgia junkie. I admit it. In fact I have whole heartedly rejected treatment and I am under a bridge mainlining nostalgia into any vein I can find. 

I actually don’t recall this show when it aired in 1997, but saw it several years ago. It is 95% not funny, but I watched it because I liked seeing Austin from that era in the background. I went to UT 95 to 99 (but had been visiting regularly since 91 when my brother was there), so it really scratches the spot for “my Austin”.  The opening of the show has a nice skyline shot from MOPAC which highlights how much the city has changed in 20+ (as if none of y’all haven’t noticed). 

 

[wood 11,268]

That opening shot is I-35. 

Nice find. Seems like I remember hearing the show's name at some point, but I never saw it. Was it on TV or somewhere on the web? There's nothing on South Congress there. That's back when I lived in that area. It was sooo dead.

Edited June 5, 2019 by wood

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

That opening shot is I-35. 
Nice find. Seems like I remember hearing the show's name at some point, but I never saw it. Was it on TV or somewhere on the web? There's nothing on South Congress there. That's back when I lived in that area. It was sooo dead.

Sorry, I didn’t mean opening shot. But the intro to the show when they roll credits. It might not be on that first video but you will see it later with town lake and the train bridge.

It was on MTV apparently. It actually got pretty good reviews, but in my opinion it is mostly bad. Just love seeing how the city was.

[wood 11,268]

2 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Sorry, I didn’t mean opening shot. But the intro to the show when they roll credits. It might not be on that first video but you will see it later with town lake and the train bridge.

It was on MTV apparently. It actually got pretty good reviews, but in my opinion it is mostly bad. Just love seeing how the city was.

Oh yeah, I saw that shot after I posted. My bad.

MTV, yeah, that brings it all back. I remember people made kind of a big deal about it but after they saw how bad it was, that died off real quick. It's really bad ... like student project bad. I can't imagine how this pos ever got a single positive review.

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Agreed. I mean, occasionally there is a funny moment but so far and few between.

The apartment where the character “Chip” lives is at 34th and Speedway. And according to Wiki, both him and the girl Laura were UT Grads.

[4th&Five 41,590]

I remember watching it and sort of liking it but not understanding why anyone outside of Austin would find it funny. 

This is what Howard Kremer went on to do. 

 

Edited June 5, 2019 by 4th&Five

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Hahaha. That song is terrible.

I really don’t recall seeing this on tv. But when it aired in September 1997 I was mostly focused on my shitty band, longhorn football, being a dickhead to my girlfriend and a little bit of school. I was living off the alley next to Hardin House. It was the best of times and the best of times.

[drewcifer 33]

IIRC... when MTV pulled the plug one of the producers said it was their most popular show but cost 2x more to make than anything else and didn't get 2x the ratings. Not sure that I believe the former, but the latter makes sense, given that everything else was a reality show.

A few years later I saw Chip and Howard do stand up at that comedy club that later became La Bare, along with the great Barry Sobel. They all had pretty funny acts. /csb

[wood 11,268]

10 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Agreed. I mean, occasionally there is a funny moment but so far and few between.

The apartment where the character “Chip” lives is at 34th and Speedway. And according to Wiki, both him and the girl Laura were UT Grads.

LOL I lived less than a block from there in '94 just before I moved to Travis Heights...

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

IIRC... when MTV pulled the plug one of the producers said it was their most popular show but cost 2x more to make than anything else and didn't get 2x the ratings. Not sure that I believe the former, but the latter makes sense, given that everything else was a reality show.
A few years later I saw Chip and Howard do stand up at that comedy club that later became La Bare, along with the great Barry Sobel. They all had pretty funny acts. /csb

It was shot on film. Even then, they would be expensive.

LOL I lived less than a block from there in '94 just before I moved to Travis Heights...

I lived there 97-98 semesters then moved close to Eastwoods Park. My older brother lived in the same house in 92-93. The year before I moved in there I lived in the building behind that house in efficiency that had a window that faces 22nd street. The conspiracy theorist in Slacker walks through my “backyard” and sliding glass door as he tries to latch onto the couple after the first guy bails on him. /csb

[South Austin 52,617]

I remember that show.  It came out when I started law school.  I recall thinking it was pretty bad, and that it seemed like they were trying too hard to cash into Austin's growing national popularity in the post-Slacker 1990s.  But like Swayze, I'm a sucker for nostalgia, especially Austin nostalgia.

[drewcifer 33]

@Patricio Swayze I don't dispute the higher cost to produce; I just have a hard time believing that it was MTV's most popular show. 

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

[mention=98]Patricio Swayze[/mention] I don't dispute the higher cost to produce; I just have a hard time believing that it was MTV's most popular show. 

Oh yeah, I doubt that as well.

[TornACL 7,722]

23 minutes ago, drewcifer said:

@Patricio Swayze I don't dispute the higher cost to produce; I just have a hard time believing that it was MTV's most popular show. 

They should have just brought back Remote Control. Long live Remote Control. Long live Ken Ober.

Edited June 5, 2019 by TornACL
Apparently Ken Ober is dead. That's my bad.

[Brisketexan 105,364]

56 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Agreed. I mean, occasionally there is a funny moment but so far and few between.

The apartment where the character “Chip” lives is at 34th and Speedway. And according to Wiki, both him and the girl Laura were UT Grads.

Laura was at UT.  We were acquainted.  I found out later that she had a crush on me (to be fair, I wasn't very clued in to reading the signs, and while she was nice and funny, I wasn't interested).  CSB.

[Go Pokes 979]

I remember MTV making a pretty big deal of this show when it came out.  Like about everybody else who watched it, I didn't find it very good.  

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

2017 interview with Brad Pope about the show.

http:// https://www.austinmonthly.com/AM/June-2017/Austin-Stories-Brad-Chip-Pope-20-Years-Later/

If MTV was looking to build a show around a city, why didn’t they pick a cool place like college station??

[atomheartbevo 89,807]

That seems like a lot of money at the time:

Quote

Apparently MTV was pretty tight with their budget.
If you were going to film something, it was an expensive process. You couldn't just do it with your phone 20 years ago. Our budget was incredibly low, like $250,000 per episode. It seemed really high to me at the time, but I didn't know anything about TV then. I was like, “That's more money than I've ever even heard of!” But, for a TV show, that’s nothing.

 

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Well, consider the cost of equipment rental, film processing and editing, all the trade labor, actors, permits, etc.

[billfromlaketravis 11,524]

I watched about 20 minutes of the first episode during lunch, and kind of enjoyed it. I grew up in Houston, but I started partying on the weekends in Austin at about 16.  Not the same era as the show, but somewhat close. It's insane how much the city has changed. I remember going up there with maybe $40 in my pocket and living like a king. 

[Radical Larry 28,663]

I watched a few episodes back when it was on MTV, mainly because "Hey, I live here and it's on MTV. I'll check it out."

Like others said, it wasn't good.

[Deej 76,933]

Poor man's "Slacker".

[utee94 15,863]

I vaguely recall watching an episode or two when it first aired.  But I just realized Juliana Sheffield was in a few episodes of it.  I always had a thing for her.

[tx 3 putt 77,442]

NOOOOOOOOOPIE !

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Ms Davis from Varsity Blues is also in one episode.

[tx 3 putt 77,442]

the chloe chick = wheelhouse

also, 90's austin was peak austin 

[KaiserSoze 998]

I watched it when it first aired and gave up after the first few episodes.

[Foggy Notion 1,202]

Never watched it. But I owned and wore the hell out of this exact same Spoon shirt. 

Hits close to home. 

[tx 3 putt 77,442]

Rewatching it on youtube. The show was funny

[TornACL 7,722]

I always thought that Austin Stories was what a bunch of MTV corporate dorks in a NYC high rise thought bohemian Austin was all about. Missed the mark, other than ridiculous cliche and token nods to 90s culture. Oh look we're shopping in a thrift store. FOH with that shit. 

[wood 11,268]

1 minute ago, TornACL said:

I always thought that Austin Stories was what a bunch of MTV corporate dorks in a NYC high rise thought bohemian Austin was all about. Missed the mark, other than ridiculous cliche and token nods to 90s culture. Oh look we're shopping in a thrift store. FOH with that shit. 

Este. I do love looking back at what Austin was like then though. As tx 3 putt said,  90s Austin was peak Austin. 

Didn't this take place around the same time as Real World Austin?

Edited June 6, 2019 by wood

[Deej 76,933]

37 minutes ago, wood said:

Este. I do love looking back at what Austin was like then though. As tx 3 putt said,  90s Austin was peak Austin. 

Didn't this take place around the same time as Real World Austin?

Real World Austin was in production in 2005.

[NBMisha 224]

I'm sure most people think their time in Austin was peak Austin, whenever that was.    72-76 was pretty peak.  

[alincoln 2,385]

Late 90s Austin < Early 90s Austin 

 

 

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

I'm sure most people think their time in Austin was peak Austin, whenever that was.  

This is the correct answer.

In the show, besides all the exterior shots, I loved seeing the inside of Sound Exchange.

[TornACL 7,722]

1 hour ago, NBMisha said:

I'm sure most people think their time in Austin was peak Austin, whenever that was.    72-76 was pretty peak.  

October = moves to Austin, TX

November = starts sharing memes about "Austin's closed! Stop moving here!"

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

October = moves to Austin, TX
November = starts sharing memes about "Austin's closed! Stop moving here!"

I have definitely engaged in the “Austin is what it used to be” and other related diatribes before. Hell, I moved back in 2012 and left in 2013 partly due to this (but that was probably a mistake). But when I really think about it all, like restaurants or clubs that are gone, or the fucking scooters...the thing I miss a lot is how sleepy the town could feel, especially during the summer. That is gone forever.

[TornACL 7,722]

1 minute ago, Patricio Swayze said:

I have definitely engaged in the “Austin is what it used to be” and other related diatribes before. Hell, I moved back in 2012 and left in 2013 partly due to this (but that was probably a mistake). But when I really think about it all, like restaurants or clubs that are gone, or the fucking scooters...the thing I miss a lot is how sleepy the town could feel, especially during the summer. That is gone forever.

I don't know man, I can still spend a sleepy lazy afternoon on the patio at Crown & Anchor. Or any of another couple of dozen bars I can think of off the top of my head. 

 

[wood 11,268]

1 hour ago, NBMisha said:

I'm sure most people think their time in Austin was peak Austin, whenever that was.    72-76 was pretty peak.  

I've been here since '77. The 90s are still easily the best it's been over that stretch imho.

[utee94 15,863]

5 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

I have definitely engaged in the “Austin is what it used to be” and other related diatribes before. Hell, I moved back in 2012 and left in 2013 partly due to this (but that was probably a mistake). But when I really think about it all, like restaurants or clubs that are gone, or the fucking scooters...the thing I miss a lot is how sleepy the town could feel, especially during the summer. That is gone forever.

I hear you, but again, everyone believes "their" Austin was peak Austin.  If you were here in the 80s, then you thought the 90s were hectic and you missed that sleepy town from the 80s.  If your peak was the 70s, then you thought the 80s weren't sleepy enough.  And so it goes.  

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

I hear you, but again, everyone believes "their" Austin was peak Austin.  If you were here in the 80s, then you thought the 90s were hectic and you missed that sleepy town from the 80s.  If your peak was the 70s, then you thought the 80s weren't sleepy enough.  And so it goes.  

Oh, I completely agree and thought I said that. But yeah, it’s context and perspective.

[wood 11,268]

6 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

I have definitely engaged in the “Austin is what it used to be” and other related diatribes before. Hell, I moved back in 2012 and left in 2013 partly due to this (but that was probably a mistake). But when I really think about it all, like restaurants or clubs that are gone, or the fucking scooters...the thing I miss a lot is how sleepy the town could feel, especially during the summer. That is gone forever.

Yep, and I esp miss having no plan going into the weekend but knowing you were gonna have a great time anyway ... then doing 3 or 4 badass things in a day, each of which would take a whole day, lots of $$, and lots of pre-planning now.

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Yep, and I esp miss having no plan going into the weekend but knowing you were gonna have a great time anyway ... then doing 3 or 4 badass things in a day, each of which would take a whole day, lots of $$, and lots of pre-planning now.

So much fucking pre-planning now. Want to go to Hamilton pool? Reservation (sometimes 2 months in advance), want to go get pizza or a burger, the good spots probably have a wait. In the big scheme of things, it’s not a huge deal. But the principal of it is annoying.

[South Austin 52,617]

And don’t forget shitty MoPac traffic on the weekends that didn’t exist back then.

[Celery Man 21,001]

Lemens Building

[Celery Man 21,001]

the hole in the wall restaurant they hang out in is the Buenos Aires Cafe.  Good food.

[wood 11,268]

23 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

So much fucking pre-planning now. Want to go to Hamilton pool? Reservation (sometimes 2 months in advance), want to go get pizza or a burger, the good spots probably have a wait. In the big scheme of things, it’s not a huge deal. But the principal of it is annoying.

We, err I mean some people I knew, used to sneak into Hamilton's Pool at 3am, climbing the fence & descending the old steel stairs that were falling apart & were probably dangerous as shit. Good times.

[TornACL 7,722]

2 hours ago, wood said:

Yep, and I esp miss having no plan going into the weekend but knowing you were gonna have a great time anyway ... then doing 3 or 4 badass things in a day, each of which would take a whole day, lots of $$, and lots of pre-planning now.

Quote

So much fucking pre-planning now. Want to go to Hamilton pool? Reservation (sometimes 2 months in advance), want to go get pizza or a burger, the good spots probably have a wait. In the big scheme of things, it’s not a huge deal. But the principal of it is annoying.

Y'all are just getting old. It's ok.

[Ollie Slatt 289]

15 minutes ago, TornACL said:

Y'all are just getting old. It's ok.

That is actually the simple explanation for all of the Austin used to be better sentiment.  People associate their college years with Austin.  Then when they have a real job, kids, no free time, crushing responsibilities, etc.  . . . Austin seems to have changed and isn't quite as much fun anymore.  

[Continental Op 3,934]

I don't know man, I can still spend a sleepy lazy afternoon on the patio at Crown & Anchor. Or any of another couple of dozen bars I can think of off the top of my head. 
 

You can spend a sleepy lazy afternoon at any bar if you apply yourself and have a can do attitude.