Leea Mechling - Exec. Director and Curator

Attended the University of Texas, Austin as a Studio Arts Major. Leea Mechling has been deeply immersed in art and music since the early 70’s. She has furthered her interest in the combination of music and art and its effect on communities- piqued while an employee of the Armadillo World Headquarters, the seminal rock n roll venue of Austin from 1970-1980.  She has over 50 years experience working with musicians, artists, actors and writers. She’s been an avid collector of Austin music related art and ephemera since 1970.

Freddie Krc - President and Director of Special Programs

Freddie Steady Krc is a singer/songwriter/performer/multi-instrumentalist based in Austin, TX. This Houston-born Texas native has enjoyed decades of playing music for a living. He owns and operates the indie label SteadyBoy Records, formed in 2002. Freddie has toured extensively throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, Eastern and Western Europe, United Kingdom and Scandinavia. He served on the board for several years, which included a term as president of the Austin Federation of Musicians Local 433. He served for five years on the board of the Texas Chapter of the Recording Academy- four years as a governor and one year as vice-president. Freddie also sat for several years on the Community Council Board of KOOP Radio. Presently, he focuses his energy on his musical endeavors, SteadyBoy Records and Austin Museum of Popular Culture.

Tony Slagle - Parlimentarian and Fundraising/Grant Committee Chair

Karen Krc - Treasurer

Karen serves as Treasurer of AusPop, where she oversees the museum’s financial health and supports its long-term sustainability. With experience in budgeting and financial reporting, Karen works closely with the board to ensure responsible stewardship of resources and clear, transparent financial practices. Passionate about music and cultural preservation, Karen is committed to supporting the museum’s mission to collect, archive and share the musical and artistic heritage of Austin, Texas. A careful and detail-oriented approach to fiscal planning helps the museum expand its programs, care for its collections and remain an accessible community resource for future generations.

Tony Slagle, a native of Fort Worth, has proudly called Austin home since 1990. Since his arrival in Austin, Tony has been an avid supporter of the local music scene and feels lucky to live in a city where live music and creative expression are given an opportunity to thrive. He is the co-host of This Is Vinyl Tap, a highly rated music commentary podcast with an international following. He is a bit of an obsessive when it comes to music, which has filled his brain with a great deal of music-related minutiae. Much of it Austin-centric, that minutiae would likely be considered useless anywhere else, but comes in handy for his work with AUSPOP and the podcast!

After retiring from a 25-year career in government relations with the State of Texas, Tony felt compelled to pursue something more closely aligned with his passions and values. That led him to AUSPOP, where he can channel his knowledge, passion and dedication to service in support of the museum and its important mission. In addition to his work with AUSPOP, Tony has a post-retirement gig working part time at St. Edward's University, as well as volunteering at the Austin Public Library and the Austin History Center. 

Kelsey Riddle - Secretary

Maddie McVey - Vice President, Exhibit/Events Committee Chair and Social Media Queen

Maddie McVey is a music and history devotee. She started volunteering with AusPop in 2017 and quickly found herself drawn into the city’s layered past. Since then, she’s helped document its culture through digitizing, interviewing, and absorbing stories.

Nick Nolte, Online Sales Committee Chair, Repairer of Damaged Artifacts and Pickle Guru

Avery Armstrong - Membership Committee Chair

Avery is a Public Historian who works as the Program Administrator for the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University. She received her Master's and Bachelor's degrees from Texas State and wrote her Master's thesis on The Lost Gonzo Band and the 1970s "Cosmic Cowboy" scene in Austin. She has conducted numerous oral history interviews with “The Gonzos” and other members of the music scene.

David Keller - Website Overseer, Record Collection Archivist and Mutton Chop Aficionado

Captured by a love of Austin and cultural history, David found AUSPOP by serendipity after visiting a random Sunday Salon (thank you Austin Chronicle)! While browsing a special exhibition honoring the late poster artist Ken Featherston, he ran into THE Armadillo Man himself, Jim Franklin, and fell in love with AUSPOP almost immediately! David works professionally as a Supervisor at ACL Live at the Moody Theater as well as with Austin Detours part-time as an Austin city tour guide.

With AUSPOP, utilizing skills learned from his BA in Mass Communications from Texas State University and fueled by passion, David works on various projects for AUSPOP including website maintenance, content creation and record archiving when not greeting potential new members and attendees at AUSPOP events! Invited to join the Board of AUSPOP in late 2025, David plans to work closely with the membership and online sales committees to increase our reach and funding to make this organization vital well into the new generation!

Scout Stormcloud

Scout has been painting and entering art shows for the last 40 years.  She is member of Austin Visual Artists Association and has been in West Austin Studio Tour (WEST) for 7 years, Wild About Music store, Gallery Lombardi, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, and took a couple of newspaper photos in the Austin-American Statesman.  Scout still paints and has a studio near Lake Travis in Volente. She was on the Board at the AUSPOP for over a decade, and served as the secretary for 7 years.

Billy Perkins

Cass Hook

Mike Tolleson

George Majewski

Scott Conn

Joe Nick Patoski

Emma Little

Tim Hamblin

Al Staehely