By the time the problem got to him, his job was to play the heavy.". When OConnor returned in 77, he started the Southern Commotion partnership with Willie to run, as a classier Armadillo. . But Castle Creek also hosted rock shows- Little Feat, Doug Kershaw, Doug Sahm, etc. If youre not prepared to put half your money in a suitcase and throw it off the tallest building, kid, you dont have what it takes to be a concert promoter.. I don't think he knew how much he was loved. Join "It wasn't by design, but it worked out that way.". The tale of Tim O'Connor starts with a Baby Doe born in Great Bend, Kansas. That would be good enough for me.". "It got me thinking.". Celebrate the life of Tom O'Connor, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills Funeral Home. By sixth grade,. One night they'd be working against nuclear weaponry, the next for prison reform. Timothy is survived by his son, Zachary OConnor and his wife, Natalie; daughter, Taffany Kanmore; grandchildren: Chase Thomas OConnor, Moriah and Mason; his father; Timothy Patrick OConnor, I; his mother, Diane Bowden; brothers: David OConnor, Richard OConnor, Steven Pee Wee OConnor, Gary Robertson, Bill Walden, Donald OConnor and Brian OConnor; sister, Renee Flores and a host of extended family and friends. "I'm a loner," says O'Connor. ', "I thought I had done well, but what I was really doing was screwing every relationship he'd established in every little town in Texas and Louisiana. That and inadequate AC: was that shit even on? Still, it was best for Tim to leave town for a couple years. Of course, I didn't really go anywhere. using a new Instagram account, Austin Pets Alive! It's a move that gives Attal year-round booking clout and has already resulted in both La Zona Rosa and Stubb's paying lower prices for shows. But after a great expense to make the land concert-ready, Two River was one-and-done, opening and closing on the same Fourth of July weekend. But it's time to clear the air and say the driving force I have at this point is merely wanting to grow old gracefully. ", "People that had been to the first round of shows there because perhaps they knew I was the same guy behind the Backyard, would come to me on the streets afterwards and cuss me out," he says. With Nelson's own tax problems, O'Connor didn't have time to implement his traditional Plan B and wound up selling the Opera House at a "fire-sale" price. Let others know about your loved one's death. Guestbook Condolences Memorial Donation. In 1975, OConnor was outside the Alliance Wagon Yard at 505 Neches St. when things got heated with another group of men. We were going to see what we could work out together, as opposed to being at each other's throats.". cover story that year. The Backyard had about 10 good years until the Shops of the Galleria began encroaching, eventually eating up most of the parking by its 2005 completion. "A stray bullet was fired and went into somebody's leg. AUSTIN, Texas An integral part of Texas history, Tim O'Connor, the creator of Austin Music Hall, Austin Opry House and more, passed away this summer of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Example video title will go here for this video, AUSTIN, Texas Tim OConnor, owner of The Backyard, Austin Music Hall and other live music venues in Austin, died on July 30 from Hodgkin's lymphoma. What nobody expected, Jones included, was O'Connor's recent invitation for Attal to begin booking La Zona Rosa. After staying out drinking until 4am the evening before a three-day blues festival at the Opera House featuring Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan, O'Connor says he realized he had two choices. From there, he landed a job in Dallas working at various local bars and hotels. In any scenario, Jones and Attal say it would only take a drive to their office to unload the lease to the Austin Music Hall. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. He is preceded in death by his brother, Thomas OConnor, his foster-father, Billy Bowden and step mother, Kay OConnor. He sees it as a return to the free flow of information that he found in the Castle Creek days. We will miss you and love you always, MeMe. you are the only one i can imagine to put all this into words of love and reality and yesteryear succinctly and soufully. O'Connor says the business side of concert promotion back then was fast and loose, but not very competitive. In 1977, he led a group of almost 200 musicians on a cultural exchange trip to Japan. He knew that you didn't always have to make money, that you have to give great product. Tim sold his share in 1990, too soon, and became an independent promoter, doing shows at City Coliseum and the Palmer. Almost immediately it became the place to not only see roadshows such as John Prine, Jackson Browne, and Bonnie Raitt, but the cream of Austin's burgeoning singer-songwriter scene: Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Stephen Fromholz, and Delbert McClinton. He was born in Clinton County, Missouri, Nov . He left behind his pack of dogs. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. Who's gonna do it? I never heard him not paying an artist or cheating a partner. His warning shot ended up going through a mobile recording trailer on the street and hitting the leg of a Columbia Records executive inside. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. on its website. Even so, merely owning La Zona added value to Direct Events. Before moving to California, he lived on an island in the middle of Glen Wild Lake, located in Bloomingdale, New Jersey, 30 miles from Manhattan. View The Obituary For Christopher Joseph O"Connor. Services will be 2:00 pm, Saturday, February 6, 2016 at Beck Funeral Home, 1700 E. Whitestone, Cedar Park, Texas 78613. In the offices of Direct Events, the production company that runs his venues, associates call him "Crazy Ivan," a reference to the brash and unpredictable submarine captain in Hunt For Red October. He went on to receive and Associates Degree from TSTC. And despite the fact that Direct Events had grown nearly 300% in 1994-95 and was on the verge of bankruptcy, O'Connor agreed to buy La Zona Rosa in 1996. Tim passed away this summer leaving behind his beloved dogs Bobbie & Yoyo. When OConnor returned in 77, he started the Southern Commotion partnership with Willie to run the Austin Opry House as a classier Armadillo. ', "I think somewhere along the way, people that know me labeled me as a guy that if I said I'd do it, I did it -- at all costs. "It was part of the game, because he wouldn't come in until that was the last resort. Three words that changed O'Connor's life. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. (Austin Pets Alive! Find an obituary, get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts in memory of a loved one. "I didn't have much fear and figured I didn't need to take much guidance from anyone else.". By flying around the country to meet with agents and sending follow-up packages of barbecue, Attal has earned a reputation within the industry as a dedicated player. Meanwhile, Backyard at Bee Cave is a development moving forward with plans to open a 3,500-capacity Live Oak Amphitheater in 2024. Besides being Willie Nelsons promoter and business partner since the second Fourth of July Picnic in 74, OConnor ran the Austin Opera House for 13 years, then founded Direct Events in the 90s, owning and operating such successful venues as the Backyard, Austin Music Hall and La Zona Rosa. That wouldnt last long. When Attal was paying for his own meet-and-greet trips to the coasts, Jones was meeting agents on O'Connor's dime. He was the Wanderers' cardigan-wearing lead vocalist, and he landed them gigs at area sock hops and talent shows. Bobbie "Cole" O Connor, age 73, of Austin, lost her courageous battle with cancer and left the struggles of this life on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 Bobbie was born March 9, 1933 in Manor, Texas. Mostly, the Opera House's vibe was supplied by Nelson's entourage, a constant presence at the door, in the crowd, backstage. The deal Willie made with Terrace Motel owner Dude McCandless included 14 acres on South Congress at Academy for just over a million dollars. He loved to watch him run things with the other dogs. When OConnor bought the building at 208 Nueces in Sept. 1994, the Austin Music Hall was its fourth venue that year. Jim Ramsey booked both the Back Room and a healthy slate of Opera House shows. "The acoustics were horrible, and it was just this terribly hot, smoke-filled room.". "Clubs might argue over one act, once a year or so," he says. worked with TRAPRS, a trapping, rescue and pet recovery service, for the rescue operation. OConnor owned the Backyards main building, which had a restaurant and his offices, and about half the land. Yet for all the yelling, he's known real pain of his own: He's lost a testicle to cancer and a daughter to drugs. "I think they might also say, 'He sure had a lot of breaks because of his association with Willie Nelson. Nelson and O'Connor were in business, 50-50, for a mere $10,000 up front. AUSTIN, TexasAn integral part of Texas history, Tim OConnor, the creator of Austin Music Hall, Austin Opry House and more, passed away this summer of Hodgkins lymphoma. Grabbing Nelson's beloved guitar Trigger, pushing the country music icon into a waiting car, and beating a hasty retreat, O'Connor had no idea that the cowboys rushing the stage were merely fans who loved Willie and wanted to show their appreciation. January 1993, they bought 13 acres in Bee Caves and began work on the Backyard and its Live Oak Amphitheater, a nearly 3,000-seat outdoor venue. Audiences were either pin-drop quiet or bouncing off the walls. TRAPRS helped provide boarding, rehabilitation and training for Bobbie and Yoyo. I'd like to pass through whatever time I have left in this industry and in my life and be able to sit back in the rocking chair, should I get that opportunity, and say 'Tim, you didn't do too bad.' We can help. (The plan had been to throw it in the high school swimming pool.) As cryptic as his warning may be, it's notable that O'Connor also refers to his new alliance as "solidarity by design of defense." It started with a love of music.James Timothy OConnor, his adopted name, came to Austin in 1972 to open Castle Creek with his Colorado buddy Doug Moyes. Maybe it's yet another O'Connor business strategy. Hospice Austin, or the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Austin, TX. Willie had found his man! Id sure like to play your joint, said Willie, who was growing out his hair and looking for new audiences. I'm not sure if I said it or not, but I knew right then that I was willing to carry this guy's guitar to hell.". But lastly they'd say, I hope, 'I've had a lot of dealings with the guy, and while he's a tough negotiator and a lot of time you can't figure out what he's up to, he's honest. Funeral Home Se. "That's where I learned to present the best show -- show by show. "But I'm at a point in my career and life that whatever I have and haven't done, it feels right to get it out there. Timothy OConnor, II, 51, passed away on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 in Ennis, Texas. "I met Willie in San Antonio to apologize to him," recalls the promoter of his last move before leaving Austin. Travis Heights wouldn't be free of O'Connor until 1990. We are sad to announce that on March 18, 2021 we had to say goodbye to Timothy F. O'Connor of Big Flats, New York, born in Niagara Falls, New York. Can't keep up with happenings around town? Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. The singer believed he'd stumbled on the perfect property. Was it a case of O'Connor keeping his enemies close? Even today, promoters often walk away at the end of the year making as little as 5% of the door's receipts. In the Opera House days, O'Connor cut his costs and launched a successful business with Brad Meyer by starting Star Tickets; they not only made money selling tickets for other venues, but they were able to keep the money from the Opera House in-house and available. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. Then again, once a drifter, always a drifter; this time, O'Connor settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and hooked up with a friend from his Colorado days, songwriter Tom Campbell. Through an introduction from Jim Ramsey, O'Connor was brought in to consult on a club called the River's Edge, located at Second and Nueces. When Willies Picnic traffic backed up 11 miles after the parking lot was full, there were a lot of pissed-off Deadheads. Strength in numbers now meant they weren't bidding against each other, so the only venue Pace could book without working with the newly formed collective was the Erwin Center. I felt lost, without a home, he told Chris Riemenschneider of the Statesman in 1996. "There would be many times we'd be screaming across the table at each other, and 20 minutes later it would be hugs and kisses. You? Help Bobbie is one of Tim O'Connor's dogs that is seeking a new home. During the same period, he rented Laguna Beach High's gym for $50 and threw a concert featuring a semi-popular local band. A special thanks to Dr. Michael Watkins, Dr. Robert Canby and staff at Texas Cardiac-Arrhythmia and Dr. Stuart McKennon for their excellent care in the past 20 yrs. Who Receive obituaries Alfred Herman Bohot February 25, 2023 (93 years old) He enjoyed brewing wine, bee keeping, hunting, fishing, gardening, and pigeon racing. During his career he was Sr. "There was an incident in front of the Alliance Wagon Yard," states O'Connor. His draw often kept the doors open.". "You have to create a niche that's so protected and specialized that it doesn't draw too much attention. If he hadn't been driving the getaway car, Tim O'Connor might have punched Willie Nelson. The Austin Music Hall was repossesssed in 2012 by OmniBank, which lent OConnor the money for the razing and rebuilding. Program Support Representative in Kansas City and San Jose, then worked in Software Test and Development at Santa Teresa Lab in San Jose. 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