Tag: Austin

Go Away With … Molly Leary

Jae-Ha Kim

For Molly Leary, giving up her music career in Austin to move back to California’s Gold Country was a no brainer. Both her young daughters had been diagnosed on the autism spectrum and California had the kind of resources to treat children with special needs that weren’t available to them in Texas. Another bonus was that Leary’s family lived nearby. Though she still performs occasionally when her boyfriend – the guitarist and songwriter Charlie Sexton – asks her to join him on stage, the entrepreneur said she’s fulfilled curating her one-of-a-kind online clothing store Squash Blossom Vintage.

Go Away With … Zurin Villanueva

Jae-Ha Kim

“I definitely don’t get to explore as much as I would like, but I try to get one thing in per city,” said Zurin Villanueva, who stars in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.” “I went to Paisley Park – home of the late Prince – in Minneapolis. I left invigorated and very inspired. His moxy to be exactly who he wanted to be, his love for his craft and his generosity is still striking.”

Go Away With … BettySoo

Jae-Ha Kim

“My whole life, I have heard the word American as shorthand for white, Black and white Hispanic (or) Latinx,” said Nobody’s Girl singer/songwriter, BettySoo. “As a kid who never grasped fluency with the Korean language, I very much felt like a person without a homeland to claim and without a homeland to claim me. I have always felt like a Texan and an American, but as I get older, I become less convinced I will ever be seen as fully Texan nor American by others.”

Go Away With … Exene Cervenka

Jae-Ha Kim

Exene Cervenka has lived quite the life. Born in Illinois and currently residing in Missouri, the 54-year-old artist earned early fame as the co-lead vocalist of the punk rock band X. She co-starred in the 1987 film “Salvation!” with Viggo Mortensen, where the two played a married couple. In real life, the couple followed suit, but divorced after their son Henry was born. When author Michael Blake was writing “Dances with Wolves,” he crashed at her house and dedicated the book to her. Blake — as well as Kevin Costner who would go on to star in film adaptation of “Dances with Wolves” — appears in her cowboy satire “Bad Day” (www.baddaymovie.com), which is available via digital download.