May 9th, 2008
Shaun Industry Named #8 Local Scene Maker for SCENE Underground Magazine.
Scene Maker #8 - Shaun Industry
From SCENE Underground Magazine - May Edition, Written by Blaine Standon
Coming up at number eight on the local scene makers list is the ex-DJ/writer Shaun Industry. Shaun made a name for himself in the late nineties in Austin DJing for after parties, clubs and events under the name 'DJ Dirty Irish'. Unlike some other DJs in Austin that just played the radio edits of popular (and sometimes decades old) songs, Industry was known for playing new and unique music, mixing in his own industrial sounds and body beats, and introducing homegrown Austin bands to his audiences.
In 2004, Shaun dropped the old ‘Dirty Irish’ nickname and made less and less DJing gigs. “I was depressed,” says Industry. “After 9/11 and all the turmoil and sorrow the country felt, the end of a long-term relationship, and my predisposition to clinical depression I just didn’t have the strength for it any more,” says Shaun who was diagnosed in 2007 with Asperger’s syndrome: a form of autism spectrum disorder. Later in 2007, Shaun reinvented himself as the writer/humorist/blogger Shaun Industry.
So what’s Shaun Industry’s work like? Imagine the love child resulting from a debauched threesome of Chelsea Handler, Kathy Griffin, and Eddie Izzard. He’s known for his sharp one-liners, delivered with precise timing. He’s also infamous for his filthy mouth – “if variety is the spice of life, then ‘fuck’ is the paprika of a conversation,” quips Industry.
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Shaun for four years and I still relate this tale of his acerbic wit: We were standing outside in a line to get into a club, surrounded by homeless bums, drunks and scensters when a lowrider drove by and stopped briefly to yell, “BITCH!” As the car accelerated off, a tipsy Shaun answered back, “HEY! Get back here and be more specific!” The crowd howled with laughter and Shaun got all the gang beyond the velvet rope with a free round of champagne as appreciation for his comments by the club’s owner.
Shaun is currently working on his novel, A Million Ways to be Cruel -the madcap adventures of ex-high school friends setting off to ruin their nemesis' wedding. The ever industrious Shaun Industry is also collaborating on a graphic novel (Lucid: Ragnarok), writing a memoir (Southern, Fried), and working on his own personal web log as well as building a host of others to discuss diverse topics from surviving the corporate lifestyle to advocating plastic surgery.
Shaun is also the mastermind behind SCENE's immensely popular catchline: 'SCENE and be seen'.
Peep his Myspace page: www.myspace.com/shaunalicious.
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