Music Must-Have

This new book reveals the story behind 100 of Austin's best musicians

This book is a must-have for Austin music fans.

Photo courtesy of Weeva

Seduced by Sound, produced by Weeva, an Austin-based startup and crowd-sourced publisher, invites readers to take a journey into the lives of 100 Austin musicians and bands as they share, in their own words, what inspired them to play, thank their musical influences, and talk about what they have learned on their journey to the stage.

“Beyond the musicians, the book also offers an intimate insight into what it was like for them to work with some of Austin’s most famous musical legends, such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Townes Van Zandt, as well as share their memories of their favorite Austin venues,” says Weeva founder and CEO Kimberly Gorsuch. “All of the legends described in the book have shaped the Austin music scene in an important way.”

The first book of its kind, Seduced by Sound, was collectively written by the artists featured in the 312-page hardcover book, and it was curated by Carley Wolf of the Ghost Wolves, using Weeva's social collaboration publishing platform. The idea behind the project was to collect and share personal stories from a diverse set of artists and weave them together to showcase the vibrancy of the current Austin music scene.

Some of the book’s notable artists include Alejandro Escovedo, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Blue October, Dale Watson, Elijah Ford & the Bloom, Jesse Dayton, the Mastersons, Ray Benson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Lincoln Durham, Sweet Spirit, and many more.

While you may run into one of the book’s contributors at the release party scheduled for Tuesday, December 6, from 6-9 pm at the ABGB, they won’t be on stage. “This is a night off for the artists to receive and enjoy the book as well as listen to their favorite vinyl,” says Wolf. “We are so grateful for all of the contributors. We want to celebrate them and the wonderful book we’ve created together. Everyone is welcome.”

Can’t make the party? Visit the Weeva bookstore to purchase your copy for $49.95. Orders placed by December 10 will be delivered in time for the holidays. A portion of the proceeds from book sales will be donated to the local nonprofit Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM), which provides the Austin music community with access to affordable healthcare services.

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Get Mesmerized

Buzzy art collective Mesmerize opens new immersive space in Austin

A woman walks up the exhibit's rainbow stairway to the clouds.

Photo courtesy of Mesmerize.

Living Dream features over 14 interactive, psychedelic art installations, like this dreamlike stairway to the clouds.

On November 13, a new immersive art experience in South Austin officially opened its trippy, dream-like doors. It's by Mesmerize, the team that operated a similar and hugely popular exhibit from 2020-2021 at the now-closed Native Hostel on 5th Street.

Living Dream is a series of mazes and more than 14 installations created by local artists. Guests can move through, interact with, and of course, take psychedelic photos with the space. It's sort of like Meow Wolf, but smaller and with a different storyline and theme.

In Living Dream, the story is that this regular, rather plain-looking warehouse facility in South Austin has been fractured by a strange force of nature: the eight-foot-tall Colossal Crystal. Now lines between ordinary Austin life and fantasy are blurred, and Austinites are welcome to explore it.

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Aside from this crystal centerpiece, other art installations include a dreamy, rainbow mural that you can step inside by artist Inne Aguilar; a projection-mapped room featuring Bill Tavis's signature psychedelic painting style; a tufted hidden crawlspace by Hannah Buserkus; the nightmarish but whimsical "Mulligrub Meadow" by artist Liza Fishbone; and a rainbow stairway to the clouds.

Of course it wouldn't feel right to walk through such a dreamy space in utter silence, so the creators brought in musicians like Alex Scott, A.M. Architect, Austin Ray, Andrea Magee, and many more to create an original score for the experience.

Mesmerize Living Dream Mesmerize shared this photo thanking Inne Aguilar for her work.Mesmerize/Instagram

This multi-sensory and family-friendly adventure may be one of Mesmerize's most in-depth. It operated its Native Hostel exhibit, This Is Mesmerize, for nine months, and racked up countless Instagram posts. The exhibit closed in 2021, about two years before Native Hostel closed. Mesmerize has also collaborated with various artists and and collectives over the years to throw some of the trippiest art parties in town.

Living Dream by Mesmerize is located at 820 Shelby Ln., and is open Wednesdays through Fridays from 3 pm to 11 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 11 pm.

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