Campu$Cent$ is not an official publication of the University of Texas at Austin. It is a class project by students of Online Journalism J352 at the college.

As I am quite fond of the Austin music scene, I have kept the article intact with more than just the 54 Seconds snippet. I have never seen Roger Wallace perform, but have seen 54 Seconds as well as Bob Schneider (with his band The Scabs).

Getting into Austin's music scene is both a passionate endeavor and an expense. But a well-kept secret for saving money on live music is getting smart about when you go. Monday nights are the perfect chance to see a diverse array of music for a small amount of cash, and sometimes for no cash at all.

All three of our featured artists - Roger Wallace, 54 Seconds and Bob Schneider - have a residency, or standing gig, at a particular club every Monday night.

With such talent playing for chickenfeed, Mondays are happily a case of getting what you didn't pay for.

Roger Wallace, The Continental Club 10:30 p.m.

Never underestimating the two-steppin' skills of someone who looks like they work in software-there's a lot of closet honky tonk fans in Austin, and many of those who know their stuff can be found at the Continental Club on Mondays for Roger Wallace's weekly free gig.

When the bar lights dim to a soft, red glow and the steel guitar whines it's opening notes, you'll soon forget that the school week has started, and be rocked gently into an alternate universe where chic twenty-somethings join up on the dance floor along side life-long South Austinites in a swirl of two-stepping pairs.

On Monday, all are by-night cowboys and cowgirls.

At the front of the velvet curtain-draped stage, Wallace projects a bashful earnestness as he swings into his retro parade of songs about lovin', cheatin', leavin' and lovin' again.

He may not be a good old boy-in fact he's not even 30-but Wallace plays the purest of old honky tonk, mixing old favorites from the likes of George Jones and Kris Kristofferson, with his own originals.

It's the perfect audio for the visuals at the Continental, a club with throwback 1950s decor, complete with red-felted pool tables and a shoeshine station.

That station belongs to Shoeshine Charlie, a Continental Club fixture and doorman extrordinaire. According to Charlie, Wallace puts on a must-see show every week. The singer/guitarist is also a neighborhood boy done good, having moved to South Austin from Knoxville, Tennessee in 1996. "Monday will be free until we make him a star. Then I starts chargin'," says Charlie.

That day may not be too far off. Wallace's debut album, Hillbilly Heights has been deemed by one Austin Chronicle critic the best local release of 1999. And at the Continental Club, the audience turns out in more than modest numbers. As those in the live music capitol of the world know, album sales plus steady crowds means higher cover charges. If there is justice in this world, Wallace will graduate to a residency with a cover charge someday soon.

If you like country music, or even if you like the idea of a true honky tonker's night out, Roger Wallace's standing Monday night gig offers a Texas-sized bargain.

Even if you're just a sightseer, The Continental Club is an Austin landmark of music venues. The club is chock full of retro nostalgia and artifacts that could take several sets worth of music to peruse. If you've yet to make its acquaintance, Monday brings an opportunity to experience The Continental for free and get a show that's worth a lot more.

Roger Wallace plays at 10:30 p.m., plenty of time to take a spin on the dance floor and make bedtime by midnight…unless the voice of that young, handsome cowboy on stage romances you to stay longer, which it just might.

54 Seconds, Speakeasy 10:30 p.m.

According to the doorman at Speakeasy, the Monday night shows featuring local pop rock favorites 54 Seconds cost $3-unless he hasn't heard the band start sound checking, in which case, the cover is free. With a show beginning at 10:30 p.m., arriving half an hour early could convert that $3 saved into a drink at the bar, or even better yet, back into lunch money.

But even at a minimal cover charge, 54 Seconds is a bargain basement deal on music at Speakeasy, the back ally club known for its swanky ambiance, just as swanky clientele and cover charges upwards of $7 for cheesy lounge entertainment. Monday night is the most affordable you'll find this unique and lushly beautiful venue.

Even more luxurious than the dark wood interior is the voice of front man Spencer Gibb. He's been compared in the press to Radiohead's Thom Yorke, but vocally Gibb is less elusive and perhaps more vulnerable. The sound of 54 Seconds is more of a melancholy meditation on the pop music experience than the usual sugar coated melody nuggets one typically associates with pop rock.

Playing on this expectation, Gibb aptly named the band for an old music industry rule of thumb that states the ideal hit song can go no longer than fifty-four seconds before the hooky chorus kicks in.

But you'll find no static formula here. Gibb is the son of ex-Bee Gee and now producer Robin Gibb, and although he inherited the family vocal chords, the application to 54 Seconds is all-new.

With his face dusted in glitter and his tattoo-sleeved arms emerging from under a T-shirt that reads 'Boys Lie', Spencer Gibb shyly leads his band of highly talented musicians through an understated set of songs. Relying heavily on the bass and drums, and accenting with keyboard-generated samples and effects, the sound is entrancing. Most of Gibb's lyrics are regretful, laced with a beautifully haunting sadness that comes from feeling too much. It brings to mind the work of Morrissey, but simplified to the human condition, not the ethereal.

Behind the band, a choreographyed display of swirling geometric shapes and flowing colors is projected from a laptop computer. Several television sets are tuned to snowy screens atop the amplifiers. In conjunction with the music, the visual elements so carefully crafted show a sense of desired experience for the audience premeditated by 54 Seconds.

Gibb schools the pretty people of Speakeasy in bittersweet joys and deprecation, all smoothed over into a pop media experiment that is so sweetly successful.

Bob Schneider and Lonelyland, Saxon Pub 8:30 p.m.

For a few dollars more, still a bargain at that, you can find Austin's man-of-the hour Bob Schneider at the Saxon Pub on South Lamar playing his Monday night. The cover charge is a mere $5, compared to the typical $10+ price tag on his gigs at Antone's.

Most commonly associated with party band The Scabs, Bob may not quite seem himself at the Saxon Pub playing with his newest band, Lonleyland. But be assured this is actually Bob at his finest.

In Lonelyland, Schneider works as singer and songwriter, backed by some of the best working musicians in Austin-perhaps in all of Texas. Bruce Hughes, also of The Scabs and the late Ugly Americans is amazing to watch as his fingers work over the upright electric acoustic bass. The addition of Stephen Bruton on guitar raises the stakes on Schneider's sometimes subtle, sometimes funky songs. And as usual, David Boyle on keys puts a signature touch on the entire process.

Schneider plays through his first five or six songs with hardly a word to the audience. Then, as if he was awakened to the fact that there are more than 100 people in the club with all eyes on his chiseled features and scruffy good looks, out comes the winning personality.

Whether he's leading the audience through songs "meant to piss everybody off" like "Hangin' Out With the Horney Girls" or enciting teary smiles with "The World Exploded Into Love," Schneider is captivating.

Though Tuesday nights at Antone's are reserved for The Bob Schneider Show (an instant replay of the Saxon Pub gig the night before) and Wednesday at Antone's boasts another Bob performance this time with party band The Scabs, Monday is the night that's most worth the money.

According to Jon Schultz, Texas Music magazine representative and long-time Bob fan, the Antone's shows are much more expensive, and the energy just doesn't stack up to that at the Saxon Pub. Lonelyland enjoys the Saxon's intimate setting. The warehouse-like space at Antone's which, while perfect for the high volume shows put on with The Scabs, just doesn't have the right feel for such personal music as Schneider writes for Lonelyland. And the Saxon is, in relative terms, much cheaper.

Tips for catching Schneider at the Saxon: Well, the word about Bob is out. Arrive early for the 8:30 p.m. show if you want to find a seat-and that means about two hours early. Soulful singer Beth Black starts her set around 7:00, so at least there will be entertainment while you wait. The bartenders call Mondays "sardine night" because Schneider packs 'em in so tightly.

Drinks are expensive, so order accordingly. This evening can be done for $10 or less including the cover, if you curtail your bar charges.

It may seem expensive for local music, but this is no ordinary Austin picker. Schneider plays to sell-out houses in Houston and has the distinction of being the only unsigned artist to appear on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. He's an Austin favorite, and rarely does anyone leave his show disappointed.

Copyright © 2000

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