", Several months later, the landlord offered him the chance to do just that; after tearing down the wall O'Connor opened the Austin Music Hall with a sign that said "Phase 1. But Castle Creek also hosted rock shows- Little Feat, Doug Kershaw, Doug Sahm, etc. Tim O'Connor, longtime club owner, music entrepreneur and erstwhile promoter of Austin music, partner of Willie Nelson as a director of the famed Fourth of July picnics, has died. When Willies Picnic traffic backed up 11 miles after the parking lot was full, there were a lot of pissed-off Deadheads. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. Nelson and O'Connor were in business, 50-50, for a mere $10,000 up front. O'Connor may have entered the Nineties knee-deep in debt to the IRS, but at least the Eighties were behind him. He's been zealously drug- and alcohol-free ever since. Then came the mall that swallowed our idyllic music setting. "When the Armadillo went down, all the other clubs started disappearing. Throughout 1990-91, O'Connor drifted yet again, this time to Minneapolis to work with a group that presented stadium-sized Earth Day concerts featuring acts like Paul McCartney and REM. Three years later, O'Connor's life changed again, this time by his own choice. Owning the Backyard and Music Hall gave O'Connor an opportunity to formalize their dealings; in 1995, the two companies signed a contract that allowed Pace to co-promote shows in O'Connor's venues. Tim was born in Queens, NY and moved to Yulee 18 years ago from Clearwater, FL. If you did your job and something went wrong anyway, Gonzalez says O'Connor would protect you from angry promoters or artists. O'Connor was left holding the market share of shows in Austin. We can help. said it is asking for donations to reimburse TRAPRS for the $2,800 spent. Indeed, says Steve Hauser, if you're looking for O'Connor's legacy, look toward his lack of patience for part-timers and carpetbaggers. 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. Or maybe it's not ironic at all. On the day Tim died and they took him away, Bruiser chased the car for miles. 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. I know what I'm going to pay and that's it. Things are moving that quickly.". When OConnor bought the building at 208 Nueces in Sept. 1994, the Austin Music Hall was its fourth venue that year. "My first thought would be that they'd say, 'That's that old guy that's been around forever. starts petition, says its location is in jeopardy, Justin Theroux is supporting Austin Pets Alive! OBITUARY Maureen Margaret O'Connor . I don't think he knew how much he was loved. He sees it as a return to the free flow of information that he found in the Castle Creek days. Meanwhile, Backyard at Bee Cave is a development moving forward with plans to open a 3,500-capacity Live Oak Amphitheater in 2024. At one point, it wasn't unusual for booking agents working the local market to get 40% more than their asking price after compiling competing bids from Direct Events, Liberty Lunch, and Stubb's. But even after all that, OConnor refused to retire, working on a venue in Driftwood until that deal fell through. Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Who's gonna do it? What do you want me to do? We were always running around trying to book as many shows as possible and were most conscious of how much money we could make. Thanks also to Seton Medical Center Austin for the care given the many, many times he was a patient there. When Tim died, there wasnt a word in the Chronicle or Statesman, and still hasnt been to my knowledge. 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. So much so, in fact, that Attal has pried a sizable amount of shows away from Direct Events. Willie had found his man! "Willie had long been my songwriting hero," explains O'Connor, "and out of the blue, he just walked in, asked for me, and said, 'Hi. "I think Tim always had the best understanding of what the consumer wanted and how to deliver it. For more information on these two furry friends and how you can help, visit APA! 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. Timothy Joseph (Tim) O'Connor, 53, of Toms River, NJ, passed away peacefully at home on December 26, 2022, after bravely battling cancer. 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. But he had a special connection with the pit mix Bruiser, the oldest and scrappiest of the bunch. He is survived by his wife, Beverly, of Austin; son Michael OConnor of Houston; Olive OConnor of Houston; daughter, Loraine Moulder and husband Jim of Cedar Park; three grandsons, Brian Poolman of Austin, TX; Daniel Poolman of Austin/Houston; Sean Poolman of San Marcos, TX; Granddaughter, Melanie Diggins, Great-Granddaughters Adrienne Diggins and Alix OQuinn; a brother, Donald OConnor ( Helen), of Plattsburg, MO; four sisters, Loretta Broderick (Tom), Plattsburg, MO, Juanita Thornton (Jim), Liberty, MO; Charlene Swope (Emerson) of Joplin, MO, Peggy Evans (John) of Smithville, MO; twelve nieces and nephews, all of Missouri, and several cousins, living in the Midwest.. Thanks. 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. Whether you know it or not, if you've seen live music in Austin over the past 20 to 25 years, you've likely given money to Tim O'Connor. Timothy was a member of the Masonic Lodge. "We had to keep taking things up a notch -- sound, promotion, overall presentation. 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 also produces classy and smooth-running shows; as with the Backyard, acts that play Stubb's tell their agents they want to return. "Obviously, there's already a pattern developing," smiles O'Connor. here. He was a 1972 graduate of Barr Reeve High School. It's obvious that you get economy of scale working with them.". By then it was just a live music club with a dogleg, and a 1,500 capacity that gave Direct Events more flexibility for acts not ready for AMH or the Backyard, both at twice the capacity. on its website. And yet, his primary obstacle has been not being able to buy large shows year-round. I remember certain nights with Steve Goodman or John Prine where I physically threw people out for talking. 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. There will be a reception following the service. Find an obituary, get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts in memory of a loved one. OBITUARY Gail Elizabeth O'Connor November 10, 1952 - October 20, 2018. . Midway through producing the second Farm Aid, at Manor Downs in 1985, O'Connor got the news his daughter had passed away. Mostly, the Opera House's vibe was supplied by Nelson's entourage, a constant presence at the door, in the crowd, backstage. Since O'Connor and Jones both describe their relationship as "father-son," the latter equally close friends with Attal, Jones has been the architect of what could be the new Ivory Tower collective -- a centralized effort from Stubb's, MiddleMan Music, and Direct Events. Thomas Morton OConnor, 78, passed from this life on Oct. 7, 2010 in Austin, TX. Former baseball star Kelly Gruber and realtor wife Tosca owned La Zona Rosa for awhile, but it continued to lose money until OConnor took over in 1997. Although it's been mostly by his own design, the great irony of Tim O'Connor's career is that it took 30 years for his story to reach his customers -- the people of the city he loves catering to. *Please note that the service will not be at a Keever facility, so please have flowers sent directly to the Hilco Event Center in Itasca.*. Hospice Austin, or the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Austin, TX. I know this thread is about Tim, so excuse the minor hijack. A year later, Austin came calling again; Jeff Blank from Hudson's on the Bend believed he'd found the land for a restaurant/venue concept he and O'Connor had long discussed. Keever Mortuary, Inc.. All Rights Reserved.Funeral Home Website by Batesville | Funeral Planning and Grief Resources. Timothy O'Connor, II, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store. Oh, how OConnor doted on his kids Bobbie, Freda, YoYo and the rest, who inherited his magical energy, as one friend put it. "I'll tell you the three things I never want you to be: cold, wet, or hungry.". "Not controlling your own destiny is a distinct disadvantage," says O'Connor. 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. Moreover, O'Connor has also long been Austin's king of the private party, hosting as many 200 private events a year at his three venues. Additionally, they can flex the muscle of 1,170 radio stations. "I don't know if you could quite call us enemies," Attal demurs. He had a whole pack of big, beautiful canines on his ranch far west of Austin. There was other drama as well: He'd been caught attempting to steal a WWI cannon from the town post office. "I do think it's going to work to the consumer's benefit," reasons Attal, who now shares office space with Jones. The last act to play La Zona Rosa under OConnors ownership was Prince at SXSW 2013. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this . Nearly a million dollars of roof-raising renovations later, the Music Hall's Phase 2 was completed in time for South by Southwest '95. "Anytime someone was more than 90 days behind on rent, I'd go down and take their front door off the hinges and hold it in the office until they'd settle up," O'Connor says. "We've always had a policy that if I knew an act better than somebody else or had a certain kind of relationship, it's probably best I'd make the call," explains O'Connor. "I really cut my teeth in neighborhood negotiations back there -- in all the wrong ways.". Then, AMHII was torn down in 2016 to make room for a 28-story office building called Third + Shoal. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. I met Tim the very first morning I spent in Austin on July 14, 1972, in front of a small folk club he owned called Castle Creek. And great product will make it so that you can eventually make money.". Even today, promoters often walk away at the end of the year making as little as 5% of the door's receipts. After owning five record stores, French Smith controlled Austin's outdoor events, staging Pecan Street and a half-dozen or so other annual festivals while also renting the Opera House for the occasional indoor show. "Eddie Wilson pretty much had a headlock on the city," says Jim Ramsey, a local concert promoter who often rented the Opera House from O'Connor. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. When O'Connor passed away from Hodgkin's lymphoma in July 2021 at age 76, the music community went into mourning. "My hippies couldn't work with Willie's hippies. Called an Ice House for the Arts, La Zona Rosa was a special place, opened by Marcia Ball and husband Gordon Fowler in late 89. It's not about the extra dollar. Memorial services will be held on Monday, October 5, 2020 at 1 p.m. in the Hilco Event Center of Itasca. After recuperating, O'Connor returned to staging benefits and working with Nelson. "I realized long ago that music was the nighttime job and that you had to be making money during the day," reveals O'Connor. He was born in Clinton County, Missouri, Nov . I felt lost, without a home, he told Chris Riemenschneider of the Statesman in 1996. 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. The son of Charles and Gladys (Farrell) O'Connor was born on October 14, 1949 in Appleton. Omni also repo-ed the original Backyard building. Attal co-owns and books both the restaurant's small inside room and Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater, a Backyard-style outdoor venue. "I could either walk down to the bar and start drinking again, or be honest and do what I said I'd do -- to produce these shows in a professional manner.". In those days, nobody in Nelson's Family had a title: If you had to ask for one, he didn't need you. 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