Keep Austin Weird
Encyclopedia
Keep Austin Weird is the slogan
adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance
to promote small business
es in Austin, Texas
. The phrase has long been believed to have been coined in 2000 by Red Wassenich, who says he made the comment after giving a pledge to an Austin radio station. He later began printing bumper sticker
s, and now operates the website keepaustinweird.com and published Keep Austin Weird: A Guide to the Odd Side of Town.
Despite a challenge from Wassenich, the slogan was later trademarked by Outhouse Designs and used to market T-shirt
s, hat
s, and mug
s.
A recently released book on the topic, Weird City
, discusses the cultural evolution of the "Keep Austin Weird" movement as well as its commercialization and socio-political significance.
The Austin Independent Business Alliance is among at least 75 local groups affiliated with the American Independent Business Alliance
, a national non-profit that supports and connects pro-local community-based organizations.
community, intellectual community, community of naturalists and environmentalists, and for subcultures and people(s) who are not mainstream. In a mostly conservative Texas, Austin is "Weird" because of that and because it continues to be liberal and progressive politically, socially, in culture, in the arts and in music, among other things. "Keep Austin Weird" moves beyond a mere slogan, to reflect the dynamics that encompass Austin.
In January 2009 alone, over 1700 live music venues were supported. In addition, multiple festivals such as SXSW, Austin City Limits
, Armadillo Bazaar and the Batfest
, among many others are highly attended with enthusiastic and often large audiences.
Austin's culture is further enriched by a multitude of celebrities such as actress Sandra Bullock
, athlete Lance Armstrong
, writer Bruce Sterling
, film directors Richard Linklater
and Robert Rodriguez
, actor Matthew McConaughey
and fashion designer Tom Ford
.
There are many other notable figures who make Austin their home exactly because the culture is "Weird" and highly supportive of non-mainstream individuals and subcultures, intellectuals, and artistic and creative personalities.
Another "weirdness" to the city is the 1.5 million bats that live under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
, the largest urban bat colony in the world. When the bats first moved into the bridge following a rehabilitation of the structure in the 1980s, they were initially reviled, but have come to be celebrated as a tourism boon for the city, bringing in an estimated 7.9 million dollars from tourism and related business. A prominent piece of public art is in the shape of a swooping bat, and the annual Bat Fest, held in the summertime, further promotes them.
Despite this criticism, the Keep Austin Weird campaign has proven successful. In April 2003, Borders bookstore
withdrew plans to build a store near local bookstore BookPeople
and local music shop Waterloo Records. In an article published by the Daily Texan, Abhinav Kumar writes:
Additionally, in an Austin Chronicle article Civic Economics also revealed that over a 5-year period, $11 million dollars would have been siphoned off BookPeople and Waterloo Records.
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance
Austin Independent Business Alliance
Austin Independent Business Alliance is an organization of independent, locally owned firms in Austin, Texas and is composed of over 300 member businesses. It was started in 2002 by several local businesses and citizens as a way to help independent businesses compete successfully against corporate...
to promote small business
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
es in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. The phrase has long been believed to have been coined in 2000 by Red Wassenich, who says he made the comment after giving a pledge to an Austin radio station. He later began printing bumper sticker
Bumper sticker
A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles - although they are often stuck onto other objects...
s, and now operates the website keepaustinweird.com and published Keep Austin Weird: A Guide to the Odd Side of Town.
Despite a challenge from Wassenich, the slogan was later trademarked by Outhouse Designs and used to market T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s, hat
Hat
A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
s, and mug
Mug
A mug is a sturdily built type of cup often used for drinking hot beverages, such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Mugs, by definition, have handles and often hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cup. Usually a mug holds approximately 12 fluid ounces of liquid; double a tea cup...
s.
A recently released book on the topic, Weird City
Weird City
Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas is a non-fiction scholarly text by Joshua Long published in 2010 by University of Texas Press. The book uses the "Keep Austin Weird" movement as a central focus to discuss the social, cultural and economic changes occurring in...
, discusses the cultural evolution of the "Keep Austin Weird" movement as well as its commercialization and socio-political significance.
The Austin Independent Business Alliance is among at least 75 local groups affiliated with the American Independent Business Alliance
American Independent Business Alliance
The American Independent Business Alliance is a non-profit organization that represents the interests of local independent businesses, helps communities develop strong local economies through nurturing local entrepreneurs, and promotes citizen engagement in local economic development...
, a national non-profit that supports and connects pro-local community-based organizations.
Culture
The "Keep Austin Weird" slogan reaches far beyond a marketing campaign. Austin is the self-proclaimed "live music capital of the world" and the people of Austin reflect a friendly, accepting culture of artistic and individual expression that maintains the city as a vibrant and eclectic creative center and haven for an LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community, intellectual community, community of naturalists and environmentalists, and for subcultures and people(s) who are not mainstream. In a mostly conservative Texas, Austin is "Weird" because of that and because it continues to be liberal and progressive politically, socially, in culture, in the arts and in music, among other things. "Keep Austin Weird" moves beyond a mere slogan, to reflect the dynamics that encompass Austin.
In January 2009 alone, over 1700 live music venues were supported. In addition, multiple festivals such as SXSW, Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
, Armadillo Bazaar and the Batfest
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge crosses over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. Before the construction of Longhorn Dam was completed in 1960, the bridge crossed the Colorado River from which Lady Bird Lake is impounded...
, among many others are highly attended with enthusiastic and often large audiences.
Austin's culture is further enriched by a multitude of celebrities such as actress Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
, athlete Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
, writer Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
, film directors Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
and Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
, actor Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
and fashion designer Tom Ford
Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.-Early life :Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in...
.
There are many other notable figures who make Austin their home exactly because the culture is "Weird" and highly supportive of non-mainstream individuals and subcultures, intellectuals, and artistic and creative personalities.
Another "weirdness" to the city is the 1.5 million bats that live under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge crosses over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. Before the construction of Longhorn Dam was completed in 1960, the bridge crossed the Colorado River from which Lady Bird Lake is impounded...
, the largest urban bat colony in the world. When the bats first moved into the bridge following a rehabilitation of the structure in the 1980s, they were initially reviled, but have come to be celebrated as a tourism boon for the city, bringing in an estimated 7.9 million dollars from tourism and related business. A prominent piece of public art is in the shape of a swooping bat, and the annual Bat Fest, held in the summertime, further promotes them.
Criticisms
"Keep Austin Weird" seemingly promotes an independent, anti-corporate Austin, yet Outhouse Designs trademarked the slogan in 2003 and has used it ever since. Andrew Allemann, host of a satirical "Make Austin Normal" website, asks: "How can you have a commercial slogan that screams anti-corporation?"Despite this criticism, the Keep Austin Weird campaign has proven successful. In April 2003, Borders bookstore
Borders Group
Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
withdrew plans to build a store near local bookstore BookPeople
BookPeople
BookPeople is an independent bookstore in Austin, Texas, and the largest bookstore in the state of Texas. It was founded in 1970 and has been voted the best bookstore by the Austin Chronicle every year since 1995...
and local music shop Waterloo Records. In an article published by the Daily Texan, Abhinav Kumar writes:
A case study by Civic Economics, a strategic planning consulting firm, found that "local merchants generate substantially greater economic impact than chain retailers." The study revealed that if someone was to spend $100 at a chain like Borders, only $13 would be funneled back into the Austin economy. However, if you spent $100 at a local business such as Waterloo Records, about $45 would go back to fuel the Austin economy.
Additionally, in an Austin Chronicle article Civic Economics also revealed that over a 5-year period, $11 million dollars would have been siphoned off BookPeople and Waterloo Records.
See also
- Leslie CochranLeslie CochranLeslie Cochran is an American peace activist, cross-dresser, street person and local celebrity in Austin, Texas. He is a critic of police treatment of the homeless.-Early life:...
- Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, TexasWeird CityWeird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas is a non-fiction scholarly text by Joshua Long published in 2010 by University of Texas Press. The book uses the "Keep Austin Weird" movement as a central focus to discuss the social, cultural and economic changes occurring in...
(book) - Keep Portland WeirdKeep Portland Weird"Keep Portland Weird" is a slogan that appears on bumper stickers in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is based on the "Keep Austin Weird" slogan, and is intended to promote local businesses. The slogan has inspired a variety of articles that attempt to quantify whether or not Portland is...
- Keep Albany Boring