Co-Ops: Austin’s Forgotten Music Institutions
While many are quick to point out Austin’s vibrant live music scene, those who do so often forget to include student co-ops. These West Campus houses are instrumental in the rise of many local artists.
Written by Aidan Comiskey
Baby.mp3, aka Chemareea Biggs, performs at Eden House Co-op.
Image courtesy of saturndeadson on Instagram
Austin has certainly earned its title as the live music capital of the world — it’s hard to go downtown at night without stumbling upon a performance, whether it be a concert at Stubb’s or a random band at a bar on sixth. Yet Austin’s music scene isn’t limited to downtown. Many artists — especially students — find their start closer to campus in co-ops.
Co-ops first popped up around UT Austin in the first half of the 20th century founded as an alternative to more traditional housing based on the principles of collective labor, social justice, and community. The two main co-op organizations near UT, Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC) and College Houses, are nonprofits that support low-income students and tend to be very progressive and social-justice oriented. However, most of the general student population will only know them for the parties that they throw, which often feature live music performed by smaller musicians beginning their careers. It’s through this fact that the supportive co-op attitude manifests itself in even the parties that the houses throw.
“I’ll pick local bands that are up-and-coming and mix them with bands that are pretty well known in west campus,” says Chemareea Biggs, who is in charge of booking live music as the Director of Education at Eden House, which has a reputation for supporting and housing musicians among ICC co-ops. “I want to equally give people exposure while also making sure that relevant people come so that you have a crowd,” she says, describing the booking methodology that is typical of co-ops to ensure that parties are successful and that newer musicians are supported.
Artists more well-known in the local co-op scene — like The Irons, sleep well., and Indoor Creature — have large and typically quite intense followings that show up whenever their band is on the roster. But by placing smaller artists in between these acts, co-ops are able to keep the music going while also giving new talented performers a much-needed popularity boost.
While the acts that perform at co-ops vary, Biggs says she tends to mainly focus on finding alternative bands, which match the culture of the house, along with EDM DJs, who she explains are popular among co-ops in general. While she admits that this is a strange mix, she describes them as being similar on a basic level: loud and entertaining, much like the parties where they perform.
Not all artists who begin their careers in co-ops find success, but some do. Synth-pop group TC Superstar got their start in large part through houses in these houses that dot West Campus, gaining popularity among locals through these smaller shows. And it would seem that the group’s efforts have paid off as they take the national stage: as of now, TC Superstar has gone on multiple national tours and performed an official show at the 2019 South by Southwest festival. With a national presence comes a national fanbase: TC Superstar has tens of thousands of monthly listeners on Spotify, indicative of the rapid growth they’ve seen, in part thanks to their co-op beginnings.
Co-op support of newer musicians isn’t a thing of the past, however. Biggs, who recently began DJing, is seeing support from her community as a newer artist. She will soon be opening for popular local rapper Mace Lee, who often draws big crowds of loyal fans to his shows. oBiggs anticipates that this will help jumpstart her DJ career, again a benefit of the co-op booking strategy.
While it’s easy to point to any one of Austin’s music venues — from Hotel Vegas to Mohawk — as the epitome of the Austin music scene, don’t forget about the co-ops. As Biggs says, “[they] really bring something to what Austin is music-wise.”