The new saying caught on and started becoming a common phrase-and eventually a slogan-for Austin, Texas. They would create a movement that couldn’t be mistaken for a money-making scheme. Wassenich’s mind, would be an affront to the cause he was inspired to create. The couple printed bumper stickers that they sold at an intentional loss. Wassenich decided to do something with the phrase. Wassenich's own response caught his attention. It helps keep Austin weird,” he answered. The station employee who received his call asked Mr. Wassenich called to make a donation to a local weekly radio show, The Lounge. It seemed a new culture of high-tech and luxury were seeping in to overshadow the characteristics that made Austin so… weird. Red Wassenich, a librarian at Austin Community College since the mid-80s, witnessed some of Austin’s weirdest days. Like others, he was not a fan of some of the expansions happening around the city. Naturally, local tech businesses were born, including Dell Technologies.īooming technology resulted in fast industrial growth. The major influx of people and businesses sparked a preservation movement to protect Austin's natural ecosystem from being overtaken by industrial developments. Activists fought hard to keep developers from disrupting places like Barton Springs.įrom the perspective of many local creatives, expanding infrastructure was overshadowing some of the key features that made Austin so ideal for artists. Businesses like IBM, Motorola, and Texas Instruments had by then established major offices in Austin and there was a growing pool of local talent beginning to further the research accomplishments and reputation of the University of Texas at Austin. By the early 90s, Austin’s per-capita live music venues had grown so high that the city earned its title as the Live Music Capital of the World.ĭuring the same period, Austin’s tech scene proliferated. It became an artist-centered place that wasn’t oversaturated by creatives, as had become the reputation of Nashville. Musicians like Willie Nelson and music festivals like Austin City Limits put Austin’s artistic side on the national map. Here’s how the famous Austin slogan got its start: Austin: A Magnet for Creatives & Innovatorsīetween the 1970s - 1990s, Austin gained a reputation for being the new launching pad for struggling artists, as well as a hub for technological innovation. The phrase lives on through the ethos of peculiarity that attracts artists, creatives, innovators, and misfits from across the globe to call Austin their home. Keep Austin Weird has been the rallying cry of not just one, but several important social movements in Austin’s recent history. But it is more than just an enjoyable statement of pride about our city’s uniqueness. Today this phrase lives on our mugs, t-shirts, and street art. Austin, Texas lives up to many of the iconic slogans that people have given it. We're known to some as "Bat City" and to others, "the place young people go to retire." But no phrase captures our city’s character quite like the 18-year-old slogan, " Keep Austin Weird."
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