20 Questions for Michael Portman [Birds Barbershop] Part 2 — Austin

                                                                                               
May 22, 2009 UPDATE:   Great news!  Mr. Portman has decided to extend Contest #1 to All High Score Winners throughout the day next Tuesday.

Originally posted on May 21, 2009.

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So, it’s Part 2 of our 20 Questions with Michael Portman of Birds Barbershop.  We have an exclusive announcement that you’re “hearing” at popolio first.

Before that, I want to drop a little knowledge and school you on the locations.  There are four.  Check the official site here.

–first born at 2110 South Lamar
–middle child at 6800 Burnet Road 
–third kid at 1107 East 6th Street 
–kid sister at 1902 South Congress Avenue

So, without further ado, in celebration of the third kid (East 6th Street location), Birds Barbershop is kicking off  a weekly summer show ticket giveaway christened the Birds East Concert Series starting NEXT WEEK.  Get  more details in the Q&A below.

WAIT, though, before you read further.  We have not 1, but 2 tie-in popolio/Birds Barbershop giveaway contests.*

CONTEST #1:  Remember Michael’s Joust High Score mentioned in Part 1?  Now, there’s a new video game machine, Space Invaders mini, in there, too.  The High Scores have been reset. 

Old School is New School.

So, here it is — the first three people to beat the High Score on either machine next Tuesday, May 26, 2009, during business hours (9 to 9) will get a free haircut.  No purchase necessary.  One day only.  One play per person.  Input your initials for the High Score and show the receptionist your driver’s license to prove it’s you.

CONTEST #2:  The first person who emails me the correct answers to the following 3 questions will get a 3-pack of free haircuts good for guy cuts and/or ladybirds (over $100 value!).  This contest will run for 1 week.  If I get no correct answers by the deadline the contest expires.  The questions are:

1. Where were the first barbershops located?
2. What service were barber poles associated with?
3. What was the first native tribe that Europeans saw sporting mohawks? (Editor’s Note:  It wasn’t the Mohawks.)

 Email the answers to popolio[dot]com[at]gmail[dot]com by noon next Thursday, May 21, 2009.  Photos courtesy of Michael Portman/Birds Barbershop.

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11.  Tell us about the Birds East Concert Series? Starting next week, anyone who gets his or her hair cut at our East 6th store can enter to win two tickets to a show of the week.  Transmission Entertainment, who books the Mohawk and Club de Ville, among others, is providing the tickets for most of the shows, although there will be the occasional show we feel is must-see thrown in for other venues (like Santigold at Stubb’s, apparently she changed her name from Santo to Santi btw for some legal reason).  Basically, we’re giving our East 6th customers a chance to see every show this summer we wouldn’t want to miss.

12. What brought this on? Booking our own shows is something we do on occasion, but it isn’t feasible to do every week for a whole summer.  We’ve developed a really good relationship with Transmission Entertainment over the last couple of years sponsoring some of their shows (Yelle and Riverboat Gamblers last year).  When we approached them about it, they were all for it.  Our east side customer is very much their customer.  Looking good and rocking out for cheap is what it’s all about.

13. When does it start?  How long will it go for? Here is the first round of dates.  We will add more as they get booked.

May 29th — Juan MacLean @Mohawk
June 2nd — Black Moth Super Rainbow with School of Seven Bells @Mohawk
June 5th — Bonnie Prince Billy with Neil Haggerty @Mohawk
June 13th  — Doug Stanhope Comedy Tour @Red 7
June 15th  — Santigold @Stubb’s
June 19th — St. Vincent with Pattern is Movement @Mohawk
June 25th — 2 Live Crew @Mohawk (this will be a 4-ticket promo for your whole “crew” vs. just 2)

14.  What artists and venues can people look forward to? See above.

15. Why was the Santigold show the first show booked for the promotion (before the earlier shows were added)?  It was the first show we saw as unmissable for the summer.

Kid's so cute we had to post it twice. And Michael didn't give us another pic. 🙂

16. How do you win tickets? Get your hair cut at Birds on East 6th (1107 E. 6th, across the street from Shangri-la).  We’ll draw each winner 5 days before the show.

17.  If this is successful, do you see yourself doing similar things in the not too distant future? We would love nothing more than to give away tickets to shows all the time.  We’re always cooking up different ways to be involved with our local music scene, including cutting hair at Fun Fun Fun Fest, which we’ll be doing again this year.

18.  What do you hope this achieves for Birds Barbershop? We hope it makes our customers happy and keeps us better connected to our community.  Music is what our community is all about, and we see the local barbershop as being a hub for that community.  Just like it was in our grandfathers’ day.

19. If someone doesn’t win, but still wants to go to one of these shows where can they purchase tickets? transmissionentertainment.com will get them where they need to be.

20.  If there’s one take-away or clue about this promotion and/or how best to win tickets what would it be? Get your hair cut every week!

B is for Bad-Ass.

*GIVEAWAYS DISCLAIMER:  Further details regarding pick-up and/or delivery of prize(s), claim deadlines, etc. will be provided to winners.  NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  Purchase will not improve chances of winning.  Open to residents of Austin and nearby municipalities.  Employees of Birds Barbershop and popolio.com and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and internet agencies and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible.

 

20 Questions for Michael Portman [Birds Barbershop] Part 1 — Austin

                                                                                                                                                

Michael Portman is co-creator and co-owner (with Jayson Rapaport) of Birds Barbershop here in Austin.  They opened the doors to their first location on South Lamar Boulevard in 2006 and set the world ablaze with their innovative alternative shop.

And, “the world” is no understatement with a 2008 vote as “one of America’s 52 Best Salons”  in Elle magazine and coverage in Newsweek and on MSNBC to prove it.  Locally, they’ve caused a stir as well.   Usually that’s how it works; have to impress the “homies” first.  They’ve been The Austin Chronicle’s Best of Austin Poll’s “Best Barbershop” 3 years running. 

They’ve recently opened 2 new locations on East 6th Street and in the SoCo District (South Congress Avenue for those who don’t know).  We have an exciting announcement regarding the East 6th Street shop that we’ll unveil in Part 2 of 20 Questions for tomorrow. And, I believe, you’ll be hearing it first here at popolio!  Find out more about Birds from Michael now.  Photos courtesy of Michael Portman/Birds Barbershop.

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1. For those late on the come-up, like myself, what is Birds Barbershop (And, why “Birds”)?   Salon?  Bar/Club?  Neighborhood Hangout?  Music Venue?  All of the Above?  None of the Above? All of the above.  First and foremost is having the best salon-quality cut at an affordable price.  We say “barbershop” because it’s walk-in.  “Birds” because a woman would never step foot in a “Frank’s.”  Birds is a local barbershop for everyone, a new spin on an old idea — barbershop as neighborhood hub — but built around the things we love most.

2. Do I have to get a haircut or can I just hangout and enjoy the festivities? Remember the guys hanging out in the barber shop in Coming to America?  Do you remember them getting haircuts?  They just hung out, but that’s what made that place awesome.  So yeah, you can just hang out.  We don’t charge for parties and the booze is always free.

3. When you have music shows are folks still getting their hair did while the show is going on?  What about the artists and DJs who play gigs there, do you do their hair before the events? When a show starts getting packed, we have to stop cutting hair.  Lots of free beer and sharp shears don’t mix.

4. Now is it [for those with] more of a rock vibe or are those with hip hop and/or pop appeal welcome, too? It really is for everyone.  We try to reflect it in the music we play every day…there’s nothing better than bouncing from Merle Haggard to Grandmaster Flash and back to LCD Soundsystem by way of that PM Dawn song you won’t admit you love. 

5. You’ve just recently opened a Downtown/6th Street location.  How is that location different than the other two?  East 6th is where my heart is right now.  It’s so cozy in there — a lot less “grand” than the other Birds, more “barbershoppy” but in a pop palette.  The art is awesome — Bryan Keplesky did it and it’s all wheatpasted.  The mural depicts all the stuff we love about the neighborhood.  Also, last time I checked I have the high score on the Joust machine (249,000).
 

Michael Portman and Son (Future Birds Empresario?)

6. Will you just keep opening new locations?  What’s the master plan? This had been a crazy last six months.  We were in the middle of building Eastside when we got the call for Congress.  In other words — it was not in the master plan to open two at once.  We are so done right now.  It’s time to staff and make every shop perfect.  This is always where we wanted to be with Birds.

7. You’ve gotten a lot of attention the last few years both locally and nationally.  How does that feel?  Endlessly grateful, cautiously optimistic and totally terrified at the same time.

8.  Were all the press and the new locations always part of the plan or was it just a happy accident?  That is, did you envision world domination?  Or at least Austin domination?  That’s funny.  Not domination, no. We just thought paying a lot of money for a quality haircut was dumb, and took a bet that others in Austin would feel like we did, driving to campus from South Austin for a cheap chain chop. We’ve lived in Dallas, NY, LA and Washington D.C. between us, and we can’t possibly imagine this working as well as it has in any of those places.  This is a laid-back town where people want to look good without looking like they tried.   Fame and power don’t run Austin, so affordability matters.  Not to mention fun and creativity in every possible detail.

9. Now, when I get my hair did I like to collaborate with my stylist (or at least they let me believe we are collaborating).   Would I be able to do this at Birds?  Of course.

10.  If there was a mission statement for Birds Barbershop, what would it be? Walk in, rock out.  [The tagline of course! Guess I set myself up for that one. ;)]

I challenge you to check out the official site and to go to the Sixth Street location to try to beat Mr. Portman’s Joust High Score.

To be continued... Tune in tomorrow -- same bird-time, same bird-channel!