
As a result of community rallying, a Borders bookstore never came to fruition in downtown Austin. “Wassenich never intended the phrase to be used for marketing, rather he meant to spread the ‘serious’ and ‘unmaterialistic’ sentiment that distinguished Austin from other cities for so long,” Austin History Center documents read in part.īookPeople owner Steve Bercu and Waterloo Records owner John Kunz printed 5,000 bumper stickers to help encourage residents to stick with their businesses, per a 2016 Slate article. Wassenich began printing the slogan onto bumper stickers, while BookPeople and Waterloo Records “used the phrase to successfully fight the construction of a big book bookstore” nearby, per historic documents. What emerged since was a cultural adoption of the phrase by fellow Austin residents and businesses.

“Whoever answered the phone said, ‘Why did you support the show?'” Wassenich said during his NYT interview. Experience our citys weird culture, scandalous secrets, and insider tips on this musical. The weekly “The Lounge Show” - hosted since its inception by Jay Robillard - would play “offbeat music,” the inspiration behind Wassenich’s contributions, according to a 2002 New York Times interview. Discover how Austin is Keepin it Weird on this 2.5 hour city tour. The phrase dates back to Red Wassenich, an Austin Community College librarian who mentioned the phrase back in 2000 while calling in a donation to KOOP Radio, per Austin History Center archives. Tags: texas, austin city, keep austin weird, its always sunny, always sunny in philadelphi Graphic tees. But how did the slogan “Keep Austin Weird” come to be? Retrieved November 26, 2013.AUSTIN (KXAN) - You’ve seen it on bumper car stickers and t-shirts, and maybe even mentioned out loud. "It's Weird Social Science: Thesis on Austin now a book". Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas. " 'The Keep' movement catches on in Indy". "Group to celebrate Keeping Louisville Weird". "Austin Journal "Keep Austin Weird" Originator Remembered for Choosing Community Over Capital". ^ D'Annuzio, Francesca (March 6, 2020).Keep Austin Weird: A Guide to the Odd Side of Town. "Austin Journal A Slogan Battle Keeps Austin Weird". Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. "Can Austin stay weird? It was originated in Oregon in 1983 and later adopted by". Because of its good-value housing, Texas has been. The Austin Independent Business Alliance is among at least 85 community organizations affiliated with the American Independent Business Alliance, a national non-profit that supports and connects pro-local community-based organizations. So as its become a big city, a movement has developed to 'keep it cool, keep it weird and keep it environmentally friendly'.

The origins of Austin's unique culture have been claimed to be the product of unusually cheap housing prices following the end of a housing boom in the 1980s, combined with the location of the University of Texas at Austin in the city.


Ī 2010 book on the topic, Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas, discusses the cultural evolution of the "Keep Austin Weird" movement as well as its commercialization and socio-political significance. Other cities have since mimicked the nickname, including Portland in 2003, Louisville in 2005, and Indianapolis in 2013. ĭespite a challenge from Wassenich, the slogan was later trademarked by Outhouse Designs and used to market T-shirts, hats, and mugs. Its a clarion call for residents to support local businesses and everything indie, to say no to big. He later began printing bumper stickers and operated the website until his death in 2020 and published Keep Austin Weird: A Guide to the Odd Side of Town. The citys unofficial motto is Keep Austin Weird. It is intended to promote local businesses and is inspired by comments made by Red Wassenich in 2000 while giving a pledge to an Austin radio station. Keep Austin Weird is the slogan adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance to promote small businesses in Austin, Texas.
