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. "While his was a closed shop, you could walk into the Opera House, cut a deal, and get your feet wet as a promoter. 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. That venue closed after Direct Events filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Aug. 2013, with debts of $3.5 million and assets of zero. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. "You have to create a niche that's so protected and specialized that it doesn't draw too much attention. More to the point, it's been decades since Tim O'Connor carried anybody's guitar and worried about being cold, wet, or hungry. Eric Goodman's Austin FC column, other soccer news. quips O'Connor. I'm sure that's what made his career.' While at the San Francisco airport, after making it out of Japan without sparking an international incident, O'Connor and Nelson discussed opening a club together. 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. Then there are those that "respect" him too much to dredge up the past, those content with allowing O'Connor to spin his own story, particularly considering he's on the cusp of retirement and still recuperating from triple-bypass surgery. Or, he hints, he could wind up settling for less money to merely close the venue and sell the property outright if he can't find the right buyers. Hauser, meanwhile, who'd brought most of the group together, had left early on to start up the successful FreedomFest franchise. "For the first time in my life I knew I had to put my faith somewhere. They now own 130 venues nationwide, including 44 amphitheaters. Funeral Home Se. "That wasn't the bottom line with Tim, though. OConnor owned the Backyards main building, which had a restaurant and his offices, and about half the land. In a press release, APA! Kansas State University was the next institution to ask O'Connor not to return. After roughly 26 months in an adoption facility, he was adopted and given the surname O'Connor. In 1975, OConnor was outside the Alliance Wagon Yard at 505 Neches St. when things got heated with another group of men. Memorials and guestbook online at wcfish.com. "The town had just gone from zero to 65 clubs in 18 months," says Eddie Wilson of the city's early-Seventies live music boom. He knew that you didn't always have to make money, that you have to give great product. So, Willie Nelsons family stepped in to help. After recuperating, O'Connor returned to staging benefits and working with Nelson. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. "That's where I learned to present the best show -- show by show. mother Elizabeth (Penny) O'Connor, 2 brothers, Tim O'Connor, Argyle, Texas and Kevin O'Connor and wife Laura, New Mexico, three nephews, Ryan, Matt and Jeffrey O'Connor . Twitter). Now, as his relationship with SFX, the country's largest concert promoter, nears contractual completion, the impact of O'Connor's retirement on the local promotions pool is unknown. While both sides had worked through 98% of the differences, SFX's plan to expand the Backyard clashed with O'Connor's vision of how he wanted to leave the facility. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. Yoyo Nelson is only 4 months old. What a mistake it was to tear down the Music Hall to build a new one that was worse than the old one. "I realized long ago that music was the nighttime job and that you had to be making money during the day," reveals O'Connor. I might be tattered and torn up, and a lot of people may be lying behind me, but my attitude is, if you're not helping, get out of the way. "I think he likes the game too much to really be trying to get out," maintains Attal. We never called them 'benefits,' but we both knew the deal. on its website. 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.. Three years later, O'Connor's life changed again, this time by his own choice. Jim Ramsey booked both the Back Room and a healthy slate of Opera House shows. Meanwhile, Backyard at Bee Cave is a development moving forward with plans to open a 3,500-capacity Live Oak Amphitheater in 2024. Once again, the good times didn't last -- local authorities asked him to leave town. Let others know about your loved one's death. He passed in his sleep on April 5 in his longtime home . Then came the mall that swallowed our idyllic music setting. 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." Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. worked with TRAPRS, a trapping, rescue and pet recovery service, for the rescue operation. He also volunteers that he's probably amassed as many enemies as friends. Maldonado Construction had the biggest claim- $334,000 for work building detention ponds and roads and supplying utilities at the new Backyard. "The battles I had with him at Pace over why we couldn't do a certain event always came back to the same thing, 'That's not what Austin's about,'" says Hauser. On Oct. 1, 1957, he proudly became an employee of IBM and enjoyed a career of 30 years - with 22 of them in Kansas City, MO, and 8 in San Jose, CA before retiring in Austin, TX. On those nights it was a listening room. He went on to receive and Associates Degree from TSTC. Bobbie is one of Tim O'Connor's dogs that is seeking a new home. He was of the Catholic Faith. After Travis Heights homeowners blamed him for cigarette butts left nearby, O'Connor found a commercially zoned lot that bordered the neighborhood and briefly put in a petting zoo. Amy captured the rescue on video. i'm holding the 25 year chip tim gave me when we both hit 25 years. Nelson repeated. Let others know about your loved one's death. Timothy "Tim" O'Connor, 55, of Yulee passed away Sunday evening, July 12, 2020 at Baptist Medical Center in Fernandina Beach. He graduated from St. Thomas High School in Houston, Texas, in 1978. ", "It was the holdout," says Henry Gonzalez, who first worked at the Armadillo and later stage-managed the Opera House. "Why I am I here? Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. 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. The other rooms he rented. Timothy Joseph O'Connor (July 3, 1927 - April 5, 2018) was an American character actor known for his prolific work in television, although he made only a few appearances after the early 1990s. ', "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. But a couple disastrous decisions- rebuilding the Austin Music Hall in 2007 and the Backyard in 2010- cant put a lien on the memories he created in the years between the 1972 opening of Castle Creek and the 2008 closing of the original Backyard. "We had the town in a headlock," Ramsey says. Thanks also to Seton Medical Center Austin for the care given the many, many times he was a patient there. O'Connor claims it's a mystery to him why the deal came off the table, but he maintains the negotiation process hinged on design. O'Connor says the business side of concert promotion back then was fast and loose, but not very competitive. Comfort the family with flowers or a sympathy gift. "I made it through," nods O'Connor, "but I came out weak.". . Unfortunately, before he could think on it harder, a night of drinking in Carmel led to another arrest; police picked up O'Connor and his buddies after neighbors reported having seen them prying at a metal cage in front of the local liquor store. Private Messages 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. He left behind his two dogs,. "I always wanted to sit behind my desk and be able to tell some artist that had me pulling all the red M&M's out of the bag that he'd never play in this town again.". "He pretty much taught me 80% of what I know, and the rest comes from the Pace guys we worked with in his office," says Jones, whose MiddleMan Music produces many of the city's largest outdoor concerts and events, from A2K and the Lance Armstrong celebrations to multi-act KGSR Blues Festivals and 101Xfests. Along with Wilson's Armadillo, and the One Night, Soap Creek, Split Rail, and Broken Spoke, there was the Checkered Flag, a fledgling beer joint on Lavaca owned by future Kerrville overseer Rod Kennedy and his partner Allen Damron. At the time, musicians such as Jimmie Vaughan and Rusty Wier began stopping at the restaurant on their way to Winter Park. I am what I am," he says. Tim sold his share in 1990, too soon, and became an independent promoter, doing shows at City Coliseum and the Palmer. Nelson and O'Connor were in business, 50-50, for a mere $10,000 up front. Copyright 1981-2023 Austin Chronicle Corp. All rights reserved. The deal Willie made with Terrace Motel owner Dude McCandless included 14 acres on South Congress at Academy for just over a million dollars. And yet, Attal says he's not waiting in the parking lot for O'Connor to show up with the paperwork. To maintain a relationship between his people and that wonderful bunch of Damon Runyan characters that hang around Willie still impresses me. Tim was in charge of crowd control, earning a reputation as a hard-ass with a soft heart. And just what might that be? TRAPRS has been taking care of Bobbie Nelson and Yoyo Nelson over the past few weeks, arranging the dogs boarding, rehabilitation and training. Willie had found his man! Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. "I wanted a fight.". By sixth grade,. 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. Get hyperlocal forecasts, radar and weather alerts. He'd bought Nelson out two years earlier, just before the singer's tax situation got messy, but it wasn't long before O'Connor himself wound up in a bit of IRS trouble; since buying the Opera House in 1977, he'd been filing corporate taxes, but not personal taxes. "Have I done it all by myself? 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. "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. Who Receive obituaries Alfred Herman Bohot February 25, 2023 (93 years old) Charlie is preceded in death by his parents Felix Durward . Timothy David Scott O'Connor On Friday September 30, 2022, Timothy O'Connor passed away at the age of 39. It's about the excitement. Willie's hippies may have gotten along with the Opera House staff, but promoters running in tandem with O'Connor often found the going difficult, to say the least. That would be good enough for me.". "The acoustics were horrible, and it was just this terribly hot, smoke-filled room.". Overestimating access and parking capabilities also marred the second Backyard in Bee Cave, about a mile west of the original. After roughly 26 months in an adoption facility, he was adopted and given the surname O'Connor. You, Lt. Weinberg? On the day Tim died and they took him away, Bruiser chased the car for miles. 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. After the conviction, O'Connor says state authorities recommended he leave the state and not return. "I may not know him as well as Charlie [Jones], but I'm certain it's not the money that drives him anymore. Timothy was a member of the Masonic Lodge. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. starts petition, says its location is in jeopardy, Justin Theroux is supporting Austin Pets Alive! A celebration of her life will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, June 3, at Wilke-Clay-Fish Funeral Home. said it is asking for donations to reimburse TRAPRS for the $2,800 spent. When OConnor returned in 77, he started the Southern Commotion partnership with Willie to run the Austin Opry House as a classier Armadillo. ", "I liked being in Bee Caves," O'Connor says. I certainly didnt have a problem with the acoustics when I saw incredible shows there by Bob Dylan, P!nk, John Fogerty, Oasis, Devo and many more. At this point, there's no timeframe on how long Attal and O'Connor will continue working together. Tim O'Connor, Direct Events, The Backyard, The Austin Music Hall, La Zona Rosa, Castle Creek, The Austin Opera House, Pace Concerts, SFX, Willie Nelson, Information is power. No non-musician has had more impact on the Austin scene than Tim OConnor- and he had to leave town for two prime years in the 70s. said Bobbie and Yoyo are now available for foster and adoption. He sees it as a return to the free flow of information that he found in the Castle Creek days. He let me spill everything out for him and then I asked, 'What do you think?' Nearly a million dollars of roof-raising renovations later, the Music Hall's Phase 2 was completed in time for South by Southwest '95. It had spread for as long as six months undetected, and surgeons removed not just a testicle, but also portions of his small and large intestines. Folks told OConnor nobody from Austin would drive all the way out to Bee Cave to see a concert, but after Tim timed the route at just 15 minutes, the Backyard came up with its brilliant three songs away tag. Today, he owns three of the city's most popular venues: La Zona Rosa, the Austin Music Hall, and the Backyard. Midway through producing the second Farm Aid, at Manor Downs in 1985, O'Connor got the news his daughter had passed away. The venue was charmed from the start, with Leonard Cohen, Jimmy Cliff, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Everly Brothers, Little Feat, the Allman Brothers and a Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic that first summer. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this . 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. Because if you're detected and manage to pierce the bottom of that larger national company's canopy, they're going to come after you.". I'm Willie Nelson. "The way to make money is to offer a drive-through viewing. "As long as you're doing private parties, you know the money is there up front, and no matter who shows up, the check's clearing. Tim O'Connor's association with Willie Nelson has yielded lots of similarly colorful tales over the ensuing decades, but they're a small part of his story. 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. They are afraid of strangers and are unwilling to leave OConnors property. Even today, promoters often walk away at the end of the year making as little as 5% of the door's receipts. He is preceded in death by his brother, Thomas OConnor, his foster-father, Billy Bowden and step mother, Kay OConnor. Mostly, the Opera House's vibe was supplied by Nelson's entourage, a constant presence at the door, in the crowd, backstage. Like Lance Armstrong, O'Connor just couldn't walk away from the action, and suffered the consequences. Chris was born on July 27, 1959 in Houston, Texas to Joseph L. OConnor and Elizabeth (Penny) Powell OConnor. We can help. In Colorado, O'Connor was offered a deal for a restaurant/bar/apartment combo along I-70, in the mountains not far from Winter Park. "He's always held most of the cards, and I've always been the guy fighting to get a few of them.". It's not about the extra dollar. In the press release, APA! He was schooled in electronics and radar at Lowry Field, Denver, Colorado, and then became a Radar Technician at Perrin AFB, Sherman, TX, where he worked on the exact fighter jet that is on display at Camp Mabry, Austin, TX. and formed what later became known as the Ivory Tower collective. Help So much so, in fact, that Attal has pried a sizable amount of shows away from Direct Events. He brought a level of professionalism to local concert promotion previously unseen, not to mention a wealth of shows unlike anything Austin had ever experienced. At the time, the only viable concert venues for major touring talent were the City Coliseum, Palmer Auditorium, and the Erwin Center. Guestbook Condolences Memorial Donation. ESPN analysts say Urban Meyer should be fired for viral dancing video, Police say former NASCAR driver attacked ex-wife with hatchet before being shot, Dallas-area mother rents billboard next to AT&T Stadium to raise awareness about fake pills laced with fentanyl, 8 state propositions will be on the ballot this Election Day. Express your condolences with flowers sent to Christopher's family, Share your thoughts and memories of Christopher, Share your thoughts and memories with family and friends of Christopher. What do you want me to be?". Of course, I didn't really go anywhere. has started a fundraiser to help reimburse those fees- which is estimated to be about $2800- and is asking the public for any interest to help Bobbie and Yoyo get fostered or adopted. We're not bidding shows up 30-40% anymore.". "He'd sign hundreds of dollar bills and tell the bank president he could come to whatever shows he wanted.". 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