Margaret Moser

Moser was born on May 16, 1954, in Chicago to educated parents, Phyllis Jackson Stegall and Willard Cummings Moser, and raised in New Orleans, Houston, and San Antonio.[5] She dropped out of high school.[5] In 1973, Moser moved from San Antonio to Austin with her boyfriend Gary Kellaher.[6][7]

For several years, Moser was a groupie, getting into "where the action was."[8] She often was seen with a group of other women called "The Texas Blondes", as John Cale, with whom Moser had a five-year relationship, named them.[8][9] The couple met in 1979, as Moser was getting out of her first marriage.[10] The Texas Blondes partied with musicians and were given free tickets and backstage passes.[9] Moser was the leader of the group.[11] They were active in the groupie scene until around 1982.[7] Moser also performed as a backup singer in the 1980s for Dino Lee, as one of the "Jam & Jelly Girls."[12]

Moser worked at the Austin Sun starting in 1976, initially as a janitor before writing about music.[13][11] She got her first interview when she told the newspaper's Backstage columnist that she knew Randy California and could interview him.[7] When the Sun went out of business, the Austin Chronicle hired Moser in 1981 for its gossip column, "In One Ear."[8][14] The column "became essential reading for Austin music fans," according to the Austin American-Statesman.[1] Moser's writing about music and the scene in Austin was honest and included her own experiences with the "rock and roll lifestyle" in Austin.[15] Alvin Crow said of her music criticism, "She knows how to draw the distinction between serious rock & roll and bubblegum. She's a true critic. She tells me somebody's good, I believe it."[16]

On December 4, 1984, Moser married Mike Malone, a tattoo artist also known as Rollo Banks, and moved to Hawaii.[10][17][18] The couple separated in the early 1990s; Moser returned to Austin and to the Austin Chronicle, where she began to write about the history of the Austin music scene.[8][10] She worked on the history of rock, punk music and the blues, and the origins of music in Texas.[1]

In 2012, Moser, along with Michael Ann Coker, established the South Texas Popular Culture Center (known as "Tex Pop") in San Antonio.[19] Moser's husband, Steve Chaney, also helped her found the museum, of which Moser acted as curator.[20][21] The museum's collection focuses on South Texas music from the 1950s to the 1980s.[22]

Margaret Moser Plaza

In February 2013, Moser was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer.[8] She retired as director of the Austin Music Awards (AMA) in 2014.[23] Before she retired, a small area next to the Austin Music Hall was named Margaret Moser Plaza.[24] In that same year, she also retired from the Austin Chronicle.[25][26] In 2016, the AMA started the Margaret Moser Award to recognize women in the Austin music community.[27]

Around June 2017, Moser ended treatment for her cancer and had gone into hospice care.[8] She invited friends to visit her before she died, holding a Sunday Open House.[8] On August 25, 2017, she died at her home in San Antonio.[5]

• Edge Austin. with Andy Langer. 1998. ISBN 9781563525186.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
• Rock Stars Do the Dumbest Things. with Bill Crawford. April 2007. ISBN 9781429978385.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
• Movie Stars Do the Dumbest Things. with Michael Bertin. 2011. ISBN 9781429978378.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

• A Margaret Moser Primer: Essential Articles from Austin's Greatest Music Champion
• Margaret Moser Exit Interview in the Austin Chronicle (May 22, 2014)
• Check This Action (April 17, 1995, edition) on YouTube