Ki Gray - Austin Real Estate

The number of new home starts in Austin for the last quarter of 2007 is lowest since 2004. It looks like builders are pulling back on building new homes in Austin which is probably a wise move considering the Austin real estate market has slowed over the last few months. Apparently they have learned from their mistakes in other real estate markets where they failed to respond to market changes quickly enough. Read more on my Austin real estate blog

Ki is a realtor in Austin he runs a site about Austin Real Estate

The vast majority of true rock and roll and blues artists have grown up and lived on the poor side of town. Today, the same rings true, as many of Austin's local musicians can be found just east of IH-35, where the streets are a little tougher and the rent a little easier to pay. It makes sense that several live music venues are found on Red River Street, where downtown Austin and East Austin converge, just one block west of the interstate.

Though live music clubs can be found sprinkled around town, Red River hosts eight of them within a few block stretch. The music genres vary slightly on Red River with Rock, and its offshoots, as the primary focus. As opposed to the dueling piano players or slew of cover bands normally found on 6th street, the bands playing on Red River are playing all original music, and hoping to find enough fans to build up a following and gain some recognition, since the money they will take home is usually based on the number of people coming through the door.

Clubs such as Headhunters and Room 710 draw a hard rock audience that can be filled with tough punks and fans from the local roller derby teams. Club Deville and Mohawk both have fantastic outside stages with limestone cliffs jutting out from behind the stage, and dark as pitch seating areas inside for relaxing between sets.

Randall and Donya Stockton opened their Red River club Beerland after their old club, Bates Motel, burned down on 6th Street. The Stocktons offer opportunities to up-and-coming bands looking to play their first show, as they have live music six nights a week, with several live acts a night. Gearing more towards a garage rock crowd, Beerland books national and touring acts, as well as local favorites, with a cover charge rarely exceeding five dollars.

Emo's is probably the most well known and longest lasting club, situated on the corner of Red River and 6th Street. When the club opened in the early 90s, there was no cover for those 21 and up, and a one dollar cover for minors. Today, they still offer admission to all ages, and have grown larger, now with an indoor stage for smaller shows, and a larger outdoor stage for better known acts. Most recently, they have opened the Emo's Lounge, and can have three live shows playing simultaneously. During the South By Southwest Music Festival of 1994, Emo's had a surprise guest appearance by Johnny Cash, which is still one of the most talked about club performances in town.

Recently Austin-based independent concert promotion company C3 Presents took over national booking duties for Emo's, already doing so for Stubbs BBQ, the club located north on Red River. C3, best known for booking the largely popular Austin City Limits Festival in September, vows to not raise prices at the door, though the days of a two dollar cover are long gone. However, as a treat to Austin's music loving public, Emo's still offers "Free Week" the first week of every new year, and keeps Red River's music community going strong.

Living in Austin Texas Ki runs a realty company focused on Austin real estate. He runs an Austin real estate blog along with a search of the Austin MLS.

So I get sick or writing about Austin real estate all the time. So I like to break up the monotony. So I'm only posting this in the goofing off club and some other groups.

Everywhere you look in Austin it seems there is filming going on. From huge blockbuster movies like The Alamo and Miss Congeniality to network television series like Friday Night Lights, Austin has become a favorite location for directors and producers nationwide to create some of our favorite movies and television shows. Studios have fallen in love with Austin because of our abundance of talented actors and crew as well as the price of doing business in our town which is substantially more affordable than much larger places such as New York or Los Angeles.

Every production requires and enormous amount of support from the local community and whether you are an experienced camera operator or have never stepped foot on a movie set, there are ways that anyone can be involved. Perhaps the easiest way to experience the bright lights and fast action of film production is to become an extra.

The shooting schedules of film projects vary greatly and may last from a couple of days to several weeks. You should begin by researching the calls for extras on the internet. Two great resources for current listings are on www.craigslist..com. While most extras are paid for their time on set, you will need to study the listings carefully to determine if the shoot coincides with your schedule and income demands.

After selecting the call for which you would like to apply, you should immediately send a headshot and a resume to the casting director as these positions tend to fill up rather quickly. You should not worry about having a ton of professional acting experience as most projects fill their speaking roles with actors who are represented by local agencies. In most cases, projects are looking for extras from a wide range of backgrounds to give them as diverse a casting pool as possible. You should also make sure that you are free of any work responsibilities on the day of the shoot. These days tend to be very long and your schedule should be completely free.

On larger film projects, you may be asked to attend an interview day. This step is often not required on projects with a shorter time commitment or shooting schedule. When you arrive you can expect to spend around fifteen minutes interviewing with the casting director. At this time, they may also want to take a few photos of you to include in their records.

Once you are selected for a role as an extra you should expect to act as you would in any professional working situation. Make sure that you show up a few minutes early and are prepared with any items or changes of clothes that your casting director may have asked you to bring along. You should be kind and gracious to everyone you meet and prepared to spend a large portion waiting around for your time to be called. You should never wander around the set or do anything that could interfere with the production. You should also not approach the actors with requests of autographs or photos. You are a working professional and should act accordingly.

Working as an extra may be one of the most rewarding adventures of your life. You will become a part of the great artistic community that makes Austin so unique and get to experience the inner workings of a film or television production. It’s a great experience and not as hard as you may think. So what are you waiting for? Here is your chance to be on the big screen.

Ki is a realtor in Austin that helps people search for Austin homes. He provides insight on the Austin market on his real estate blog. He also has a search on his Austin tx MLS search

So I get sick or writing about Austin real estate all the time. So I like to break up the monotony. So I'm only posting this in the goofing off club and some other groups.

Everywhere you look in Austin it seems there is filming going on. From huge blockbuster movies like The Alamo and Miss Congeniality to network television series like Friday Night Lights, Austin has become a favorite location for directors and producers nationwide to create some of our favorite movies and television shows. Studios have fallen in love with Austin because of our abundance of talented actors and crew as well as the price of doing business in our town which is substantially more affordable than much larger places such as New York or Los Angeles.

Every production requires and enormous amount of support from the local community and whether you are an experienced camera operator or have never stepped foot on a movie set, there are ways that anyone can be involved. Perhaps the easiest way to experience the bright lights and fast action of film production is to become an extra.

The shooting schedules of film projects vary greatly and may last from a couple of days to several weeks. You should begin by researching the calls for extras on the internet. Two great resources for current listings are on www.craigslist..com. While most extras are paid for their time on set, you will need to study the listings carefully to determine if the shoot coincides with your schedule and income demands.

After selecting the call for which you would like to apply, you should immediately send a headshot and a resume to the casting director as these positions tend to fill up rather quickly. You should not worry about having a ton of professional acting experience as most projects fill their speaking roles with actors who are represented by local agencies. In most cases, projects are looking for extras from a wide range of backgrounds to give them as diverse a casting pool as possible. You should also make sure that you are free of any work responsibilities on the day of the shoot. These days tend to be very long and your schedule should be completely free.

On larger film projects, you may be asked to attend an interview day. This step is often not required on projects with a shorter time commitment or shooting schedule. When you arrive you can expect to spend around fifteen minutes interviewing with the casting director. At this time, they may also want to take a few photos of you to include in their records.

Once you are selected for a role as an extra you should expect to act as you would in any professional working situation. Make sure that you show up a few minutes early and are prepared with any items or changes of clothes that your casting director may have asked you to bring along. You should be kind and gracious to everyone you meet and prepared to spend a large portion waiting around for your time to be called. You should never wander around the set or do anything that could interfere with the production. You should also not approach the actors with requests of autographs or photos. You are a working professional and should act accordingly.

Working as an extra may be one of the most rewarding adventures of your life. You will become a part of the great artistic community that makes Austin so unique and get to experience the inner workings of a film or television production. It’s a great experience and not as hard as you may think. So what are you waiting for? Here is your chance to be on the big screen.

Ki is a realtor in Austin that helps people search for Austin homes. He provides insight on the Austin market on his real estate blog. He also has a search on his Austin tx MLS search