Dani Thomas has a great story of how she came to Austin — she travelled around with a bluegrass band she met here, and eventually came back and worked the door at the legendary Broken Spoke. She has great stories from that time, and about how she came to work at South by Southwest, left to manage bands like the White Ghost Shivers, and evolved into an event promotion company called Big Green House. Most recently she has signed on to help Alamo Drafthouse revive their Rolling Roadshows, and other special theater events. What I really love about this story is that it is like so many we hear here in Austin; Dani didn’t expect to stay in Austin, but she came here on a whim, fell in love and couldn’t leave.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:35] Dani was a University of South Alabama college student when she visited Austin, only because she had a travel voucher from an airline, and fell in love.

[7:22] Dani moved to Austin to take an unpaid internship, with $300 to her name.

[9:24] How did Dani start working at the Broken Spoke?

[12:18] Dani loved hearing stories about Old Austin from Mr. James, of the Broken Spoke.

[15:23] Dani handled Media Relations at South by Southwest, when she decided to start managing bands.

[17:07] Dani’s tenacity helped the White Ghost Shivers land some of their dream gigs.

[19:51] Dani thinks that her father’s personality, and growing up without a lot of money, played into her fearless attitude.

[22:22] How did Dani decide on a company name?

[24:42] In her first night visiting the Broken Spoke, Dani not only found her future career, but also met the love of her life.

[26:48] Dani’s social life became her second job, and that’s how she built her company.

[29:15] Red Bull reached out to Dani to start Mr. X Live.

[32:09] Inside ATX is sponsored by the Papasan Properties Group at Keller Williams.

[36:29] What has Dani done since her gig with Red Bull ended?

[40:25] How did Dani end up working with Alamo Drafthouse?

[49:55] Connect with Dani’s work by following Alamo Drafthouse.

[51:23] Where does Dani take out-of-town friends to experience Austin?

[52:13] Dani’s favorite taco is a vegetarian taco, even though she is not a vegetarian.

[54:26] Next week we’ll be talking to executive chef and owner of Olamaie, Michael Fojtasek.

 

The Taco:

The Bouldin Creek Cafe | Veggie Chorizo Egg and Cheese Taco

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Big Green House

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

Birth.Movies.Death.

Rolling Roadshow

The Broken Spoke

The Continental Club

The White Horse

Papasan Properties