Still no power in BTR, Partying with Eurotrash Girl, Shoutout to Starbuck & Metro Three

September 6, 2008 by Josh Harvey

On Friday night, Whitney Roche, Gabriel and I went to the Eurotrash Girl Launch Party at the Tap Room in downtown Austin. Sabina Palermo (aka Eurotrash Girl) celebrated the debut of her jewelry line, packing the bar and the entertaining the crowd with two bands and a deejay. Performances by The Noise Revival Orchestra Experience (featuring Agnes Savich of Huge Wonder on the flute) and Twilight Broadcast really got the people in the mood to party. It was especially cool to hear the live music while watching photos of Sabina's jewelry cycle on the Tap Room's many flat screen TV's.

Back to Baton Rouge. The shop still doesn't have power (which is also true for much of the rest of the city) and is therefore still closed. Entergy needs to get off its ass and get the power back on BR. The power has been off since Monday, and we're in the height of the brutal Louisiana summer -- people need air conditioning to survive.

Finally, just a quick word of thanks to Starbuck Laney of Metro Three. Metro Three was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, and the shop was shut down for a month. Given that Metro Three had survived Katrina when many other New Orleans businesses did not, I decided to check in with Starbuck and get his take on things. Starbuck gave us some good advice and showed great concern for our well being, even though at the time, Gustav seemed to be aimed squarely for New Orleans and not for Baton Rouge. As it turned out, Gustav eventually veered west and hit Baton Rouge pretty hard and largely spared New Orleans.

On Friday, Starbuck called to check in on us and offer his help should he need it. Starbuck's a really classy guy, and we appreciate him, his wife Lori and everything they do for us. We wouldn't be where we are today with out partners like Metro Three.

Launch of new website pushed back to Wed, Sept 10

September 4, 2008 by Josh Harvey

Storyville Baton Rouge survives, but is still without power (Friday)

September 2, 2008 by Josh Harvey

Storyville Baton Rouge got roughed up yesterday by Gustav, but we'll be back open as soon as possible.

Right now, the major concern is the two downed trees in front of the shop (one of which are leaning on the power lines). Other damage to the shop includes the loss of Gabriel's garden, some dislodged shingles, and a few cracked window panes (but nothing we can't bounce back from). Power is still out at the shop and in the upstairs apartments.

Stay tuned and we'll let you know as soon as the Baton Rouge shop re-opens. The Austin shop is running normal business hours. If you have any questions or need anything from us, call the Austin shop at (512) 478-0000.

Wednesday, September 3 Update

The power is still out in the Baton Rouge shop, so we will not be open today. As soon as the power comes back on, we'll resume normal hours.

Thursday, September 4 Update

The power is still out, so Storyville BR is still closed. We'll let you know when the power comes back on.

Friday, September 5 Update

Still no power, so the Chimes Street shop remains closed. The latest we hear about the power is that it will be back in the next few days and early next week at the latest.

Gustav reaches Louisiana (Updated Monday, 8:24 pm)

September 1, 2008 by Josh Harvey

10:53 am

Gustav made landfall this morning near Cocodrie, Louisiana. As the storm moves through Louisiana today, we're paying particularly close attention to two things -- 1) the levees in New Orleans and 2) any tornadoes that may spin off from the storm.

The Storyville family has taken shelter in three cities -- Hammond, Baton Rouge and Austin. Estefania, Paula, Juan, Victor and Blake are staying at the family home in Hammond (60 miles northwest of New Orleans). Elizabeth, Rebekah, Seth, Katie, Mercie and Greg are in Baton Rouge (80 miles northwest of New Orleans). Seth, who works as Communications Director for the Lieutenant Governor's Office, is deeply involved in coordinating the state's response to the storm. Gabriel and I are in Austin.

We'll keep you posted as the storm moves through Louisiana today. Let's hope the those levees hold and that Gustav doesn't spin off any nasty tornadoes.

5:57 pm

It appears that the worst is over. Everyone in Baton Rouge is safe and sound. Louisiana's capital city was pummeled by Gustav, and Chimes Street wasn't spared. Both trees in front of Storyville's Chimes Street shop are no longer standing. When the trees were uprooted, they took the garden that Gabriel planted with it. Power lines are also down in front of the shop (therefore, power is out). A few small window panes are also busted, but, all in all, we made alright in Baton Rouge.

We've had limited communication with our family in Hammond, but we know that everyone is okay. At this point, we're unsure if the Hammond family home has sustained any notable damage. Power is out in Hammond, and likely to remain out for at least a few days.

We'll update this post as we get more info.

7:09 pm

Here's a photo of the Baton Rouge shop that Rebekah took from her camera phone. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size photo.

Preparing for Gustav... also Gameday at LSU & UT, Batfest