Lisa Kettyle, host of Flipnotics Open Mic (among other awesomeness)
Thanks to Facebook, I found out yesterday that Flipnotics in Austin is closing in a month. It was open mic #3 of my 157, and it was also #100. It was a place I saw a good number of good shows. I’d always kind of hoped to get back to Austin and have my own show there, or at least be part of an in-the-round or something, but barring some sort of “swoop in and save it” gesture by some mysterious person, that’s not gonna happen now.
That’s just my own personal bummer. I’m feeling for the folks who still have a daily/weekly/monthly connection to the place. It’s been running since 1992! It’s right on Barton Springs Road one of the cool and funky little neighborhoods by the actual Barton Springs, so you’d always see folks in flip-flops & swim suits coming to hang out on the big deck after a dip. In reading the articles about it closing I’m learning that there have been some really long-standing music residencies and jams that called Flips home. It was one of the more popular open mics I went to, you had to be there early and you had to be aggressive to get on the list, but after those first couple minutes of pens and arms flying it was a mighty kind and respectful room. It was a small room, so few people actually used the mic, and it was separate from the bar, so it was quiet, not to mention Lisa, the spitfire hostess, was so great at creating and maintaining that respectful listening environment.
I did even apply to work there at one point and didn’t hear back. I tell myself that the reason I never got a job at any of the local coffee shops where I applied in Austin was my lack of tattoos, though it was probably my lack of follow up and timing.
I’m bummed Austin is losing such a great, supportive, and fun music space. I do hope something cool and funky would go in there, as opposed to condos. And the fire is lit just a little bit more to get back there to visit before everything that I knew while I was there is gone. That is maybe being a little melodramatic, but things are always changing, and it’s a tough business, the whole restaurant/bar/music venue thing. I think it’s an important enough human need that folks are always going to be creating those kind of spaces in one way or another, even if it’s living rooms and barns! But it’s always sad to see a good one go.
