For several decades now, Jesse Sublett—author, artist, musician–has been doing his part to make Austin one of the coolest places on the planet.
Thursday, September 12, 2024 was Jesse Sublett Day in Austin, as per Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. The mayor’s official proclamation recognized Sublett’s contributions to Austin as a musician, author and artist, declaring that, “Jesse Sublett was the front man and bassist for seminal Austin rock band The Skunks in 1978; and also a member of The Violators, bands that inaugurated the punk/new wave scene at Raul’s Club and changed the course of Austin music history.”
The proclamation recognized that Jesse has for 50 years been a vital, multi-faceted contributor to the city’s music, literary and visual art community. He’s the author of 16 books, including his Martin Fender murder mysteries set in the Austin music scene, and true crime chronicles such as “Last Gangster in Austin,” published in 2022, and he’s a prolific visual artist, chronicling iconic scenes of Austin birds with acrylic on canvas.
The proclamation concludes: “Whereas, Jesse Sublett is an Austin music legend, one of Austin’s best living writers, a painter of iconic Austin birds, and, for 50 years, he has epitomized the Austin ideals of professionalism, passion, and love of nature; Now, Therefore, I, Kirk Watson, Mayor of the City of Austin, Texas, do hereby proclaim September 12th, 2024 as Jesse Sublett Day in Austin.”
Jesse Sublett is a music legend here. According to Margaret Moser, who witnessed the debut of Sublett’s punk band, The Skunks, at Raul’s in January 1978, hailed that night as “a turning point in Austin’s musical history,” remarking that “The Skunks blasted away with unrestrained defiance. Dozens of bands came in The Skunks’ wake… They were the premiere recording and touring band of the first wave of Raul’s bands.” Besides opening for The Clash, The Ramones, The Police and others, Sublett has also played with rock luminaries Mick Taylor, Ian McLagen, Kathy Valentine, Carla Olson, Barry Goldberg and others.
As a writer, Jesse has been published in the New York Times, Texas Monthly and the Austin Chronicle, and has also written for television and film. His book writing career began with Rock Critic Murders, the first of a trilogy of Martin Fender novels, set in the Austin music scene of the 1980s. His memoir, Never the Same Again, was praised by Michael Connelly as “crazy, funny, and sometimes deeply tragic, but ultimately, an inspiring and always highly readable survivor’s tale.” Other books, such as Armadillo World Headquarters: A Memoir (with Eddie Wilson), and Esther’s Follies, investigate the creative aspects of the live music capital of the world, while his true crime classic, 1960s Austin Gangsters, takes readers on a joy ride through the Texas underworld of the mid-1960s. Last Gangster in Austin: Frank Smith, Ronnie Earle, and the End of a Junkyard Mafia, coming April 19, 2022, will be Sublett’s 13th book.
As a visual artist, Jesse works primarily with acrylic on canvas. His bold color choices and slightly whimsical characterizations of the interface between natural environments and the urban world—most often with bird life looming hugely in the foreground–and have proved immensely popular among collectors and fans. The Birds of Austin series shows us these creatures against the changing Austin city skyline, the shore of Lady Bird Lake, or at the doorstep of iconic music venues like the Skyline Club, the Continental Club, or Armadillo World Headquarters.