Photo by Pooneh Ghana, courtesy of Mom + Pop Music
Yes, there's more to Austin music than rebel country and hard Southern rock. With his multilayered sound, Bayonne is the best of New Austin, the one where the kids are experimenting with all the genres and sensations flooding in to create something exciting. We talked to the relative newcomer about what made him fall for Austin.How long have you been in Austin?
I've been in Austin for about five years now.When you moved here, what was that like? Was it different from what you think it is now?
Totally, completely different thing, coming from Houston to central Texas. I got my foot in the door in Austin when I was living in San Marcos. Moving just to central Texas in general is a completely different vibe than right off the coast. People are different. The weather is different. The music industry is totally different than it is down there, even though it's only a two and a half drive. Coming from San Marcos to Austin, it felt like a warm welcome. I was able to jump into music pretty hard. Immediately.What's the impression of the city now?
In just five years alone I've seen a pretty huge amount of change and development. When I've talked to somebody who's lived here for like 15 years or something, it's apparently just insane. It's not at all the same place as it was.Where are some places to play?
The best area, to me, when it comes to playing shows is Red River district, like where Mohawk is, and Red 7 used to be on the corner. The whole Red River district is where you go to see anybody pushing the boundaries, or doing anything that's not more traditional.What about hanging out, drinking?
A good hang is, to me, anywhere generally on the Eastside, like midtown. East Sixth, essentially, and East Fifth, that area. There's so much shit to do. It's kind of the best of a lot of worlds over there. And it's changing rapidly, too. A lot of people would say that is not the best thing for the city. But since I've lived in Austin, since I've been visiting Austin, that's kind of been where I hang out.You know, people talk about the change here, does it look OK to you? Do you have concerns? I know that's a big question in Austin.
It's hard to get too concerned about it because it's just kind of the way it goes. There's nothing we're gonna be able to do about it. There have been a couple of points where the development actually hits home. You hear about this happening in big cities and see movies about it all the time. But once it actually hits home, when it happens to one of your venues or when it's one of your spots where you hang out …What would you say to those who've never been here, who are looking to move?
There's a lot of live music going on. And I mean, there really is as much as you want to hear or see with music, I think. No matter what you're into, there's probably something here for you. The people are really cool for the most part. When it comes to the South, Austin is the cool place for any kind of creative types to hang out or come to live.So if you've got friends from out of town who've never been here, where would be the first place you'd take them?
Probably somewhere off of East Sixth. I would start out with a nightlife thing. East Sixth is definitely more on the night side of things. But there's plenty of shit to do during the day. You can go to Barton Springs, or go climb Mount Bonnell or go hiking in west Austin. It's just beautiful. When you want to chill out and get some drinks and some dinner, anywhere on the Eastside is good, there's just so much shit you can do. You can just walk around and go from bar to bar, you know, restaurant to restaurant. There's just a wide variety of restaurants and bars and hangs, coffee shops. Down South Congress is kinda the same way. You just kinda walk around and enjoy the weather, usually. In the springtime it's nice, which is when everybody's here cause of South by [Southwest].You can read the entire VICE Guide to Austin here.
I've been in Austin for about five years now.
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Totally, completely different thing, coming from Houston to central Texas. I got my foot in the door in Austin when I was living in San Marcos. Moving just to central Texas in general is a completely different vibe than right off the coast. People are different. The weather is different. The music industry is totally different than it is down there, even though it's only a two and a half drive. Coming from San Marcos to Austin, it felt like a warm welcome. I was able to jump into music pretty hard. Immediately.What's the impression of the city now?
In just five years alone I've seen a pretty huge amount of change and development. When I've talked to somebody who's lived here for like 15 years or something, it's apparently just insane. It's not at all the same place as it was.Where are some places to play?
The best area, to me, when it comes to playing shows is Red River district, like where Mohawk is, and Red 7 used to be on the corner. The whole Red River district is where you go to see anybody pushing the boundaries, or doing anything that's not more traditional.What about hanging out, drinking?
A good hang is, to me, anywhere generally on the Eastside, like midtown. East Sixth, essentially, and East Fifth, that area. There's so much shit to do. It's kind of the best of a lot of worlds over there. And it's changing rapidly, too. A lot of people would say that is not the best thing for the city. But since I've lived in Austin, since I've been visiting Austin, that's kind of been where I hang out.You know, people talk about the change here, does it look OK to you? Do you have concerns? I know that's a big question in Austin.
It's hard to get too concerned about it because it's just kind of the way it goes. There's nothing we're gonna be able to do about it. There have been a couple of points where the development actually hits home. You hear about this happening in big cities and see movies about it all the time. But once it actually hits home, when it happens to one of your venues or when it's one of your spots where you hang out …What would you say to those who've never been here, who are looking to move?
There's a lot of live music going on. And I mean, there really is as much as you want to hear or see with music, I think. No matter what you're into, there's probably something here for you. The people are really cool for the most part. When it comes to the South, Austin is the cool place for any kind of creative types to hang out or come to live.So if you've got friends from out of town who've never been here, where would be the first place you'd take them?
Probably somewhere off of East Sixth. I would start out with a nightlife thing. East Sixth is definitely more on the night side of things. But there's plenty of shit to do during the day. You can go to Barton Springs, or go climb Mount Bonnell or go hiking in west Austin. It's just beautiful. When you want to chill out and get some drinks and some dinner, anywhere on the Eastside is good, there's just so much shit you can do. You can just walk around and go from bar to bar, you know, restaurant to restaurant. There's just a wide variety of restaurants and bars and hangs, coffee shops. Down South Congress is kinda the same way. You just kinda walk around and enjoy the weather, usually. In the springtime it's nice, which is when everybody's here cause of South by [Southwest].You can read the entire VICE Guide to Austin here.