Austin News
WATCH: Austinites remember Jackson's influence
08:25 PM CDT on Friday, June 26, 2009
As always, Fanfare Friday at Threadgill's featured a variety of music -- but there was a common thread among all performers on this day -- the impact and influence Michael Jackson had on music.
"Obviously it did for me because, if you listen to music, he made a big impact, and maybe it was Quincy Jones who influenced me even more. Yeah, I loved his music," said musician/producer Stephen Doster.
"Are you sold out of everything Michael Jackson?" a Waterloo Records customer asked.
"Pretty much," replied the clerk.
Waterloo Records on Lamar sold out of just about everything Michael Jackson Thursday after news of the pop icon's passing. Friday, the store was still flooded with calls.
"Give me Thriller. Give me Off the Wall. Yeah, they're just clamoring after the product. They're not really making any comments on the passing; they just want the music," said Russell McCulloh of Waterloo Records.
Jackson fans we spoke to shared their memories of Michael and his music.
"The first thing I did yesterday when I found out is I called my 32-year-old son to tell him because I have this vivid memory of, in the 80s, us dancing around the living room to Thriller," said fan Kathy Nunn.
"As he was a young kid with his brothers, Soul Train, American Bandstand," said fan Mark McKinley.
"The striking thing I remember was being in Mexico when Beat It was big and walking down the street in Huaca and hearing it blaring from the balconies in Huaca," said fan Tina Carillo.
The Alamo Draft House will have two more hour-long Michael Jackson sing-a-longs -- a Midnight showing at the Alamo Ritz on 6th Street Friday night, and then a 10:30 Saturday night showing at the Alamo Village in North Austin. It's the brain child of Henri Mazza and Alamo Draft House co-founder Tim League.
"He and I both felt what we wanted to do was sort of celebrate the memory of Michael Jackson, and so did a lot of other people," League said.
League says they decided to add more Jackson sing-a-long shows because Thursday night's show sold out in less than a hour, and all the Alamo Drafthouse did to promote it was put it on Twitter.
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