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Home , Alejandro Escovedo, Asleep at the Wheel, Austin City Limits, Butch Hancock, Carolyn Wonderland, Chicken Fried

by Richard Skanse Destination Anywhere An insider’s tour of hometown music scenes, past and present.

TLive Musicex Capital aof the sWorld Destination Anywhere Austin, Continued

It’s a lot to live up to, that Texas-sized boast about being the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Austin adopted it as their official slogan in 1991, with no voting or formal competition for the title involved, of course, apart from the city council members who did have the modesty to rule out the slightly more inflated “Live Music Capital of the Universe.” As such, it’s a claim to fame as open for debate as any truck stop’s self-proclaimed “World’s Best Coffee” or W“ orld Famous Chicken-Fried Steak.” The appropriate response to any such pronouncements should always be a certain degree of skepticism: “Prove it.”

The key word in this case is “live.” For district. And when visitors arrive at Austin- the better part of the last 40 years, the best Bergstrom International Airport, they’re in Texas—and a good many notables from immediately greeted by Texas music, be it beyond—have all found themselves drawn piped through the terminal sound system or to the center of the state and used the capital live onstage, right in the concourse, as part city’s many stages to launch, or even re-launch, of the “Music in the Air” concert series. their music careers. Austin is where Abbott, Does all of that merit the “Live Music Texas native reinvented himself Capital of the World” title? Clearly, it as an “outlaw,” spearheading the progressive doesn’t hurt. country movement that became Austin’s Los Lonely Boys at the ACL Festival official soundtrack throughout the ’70s. A You’re Gonna Miss Me decade later, guitarists and Not too long before it was taken over by his kid brother Stevie Ray, refugees from the brigade, Austin had the , helped change Austin’s soundtrack makings of a real rock ’n’ roll town. Or at to the . least, it had the raw talent. Having earned its rep as the town that In the student union of the University helped put the likes of Nelson, the Vaughans of Texas, a young gal named Janis son at Th and so many more—from Alejandro rick rea Joplin would sometimes sit E dg ky il Escovedo to the to o l’s in with other students at R Spoon—on the American music map, Austin informal hootenannies continues to attract innumerable in the early ’60s. Joplin and music fans year after year. Others would also frequent a associate Austin as a music Mecca on the beer joint/folkie bar called basis of the long-running , Threadgill’s on North Lamar, the -winning public becoming a favorite of owner television show, or the (and folksinger) Kenneth (SXSW) Music and Media Conference in Threadgill. Threadgill’s tavern March. Or maybe they just come because had the first beer license in Austin they’ve heard that slogan and want to see after Prohibition, making it a what all the fuss is about. Memorial Statue popular hangout for UT students So how does Austin measure up as a as well as musicians, and was music town? Obviously, it’s not the same the seed from which pretty scene that it was in the ’70s when the much the entire Austin and rednecks mingled at Willie or Jerry Jeff live music scene sprang. Walker shows at the fabled Armadillo World Although Joplin was always Headquarters. And all that remains of Stevie welcome at Threadgill’s, she had Ray Vaughan at the storied Antone’s is his a rough time elsewhere in town and spirit and a painting of the hero by couldn’t get out of Texas fast enough. Fame, the stage. fortune and her fatal drug overdose would But a couple of years ago, you still could all be found on the West Coast. have caught a talented young trio called Los Around the same time Joplin made her Lonely Boys at the tiny Saxon Pub on South escape, a burgeoning rock scene bubbled up in Lamar, playing week after week to a growing Austin at a downtown club called the Vulcan following on their way to Grammy-winning Gas Company. The biggest draws were a band stardom. A new generation of progressive called the Conqueroo and, more famously, country rabble-rousers like and , led by Austin native continues to thrive in Austin and . The Elevators have oft been the surrounding area, while rock and punk credited for helping to invent psychedelic rules the night in the downtown Red River rock, and they produced at least one timeless and Photos © Andy Schrader/ACVB; Daniel Coston/Retna; Steve Banks/Retna

Performing 23 m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 0 6 Destination Anywhere Austin, Texas Continued classic to the rock canon, Erickson’s “You’re Gonna Miss Me.” The , which didn’t have a beer or liquor license but nonetheless attracted the rowdiest (and the druggiest) in Austin at the time, had a short run: 1967 to 1970. The remnants of the local rock scene found refuge at the Soap Creek Saloon on the west side of town, where a prodigiously talented, jack-of-all-genres cat named held court. Sahm did some time in during the Summer of Love era with his rock band the , but Texas and Texas n and Waylon elso Je music were always his first and greatest loves. N nn ie in ill g He would fit right in with the progressive s W country movement when it kicked off in the early ’70s, and was right with the

Antone’s scene when the blues came into Armadillo World Headquarters vogue in the ’80s. at the Wheel. Texas Threadgill’s, remains Home with songwriter Steven a great place to see the Armadillo Fromholz, one of the some of Austin’s best For most of the ’70s, Austin belonged wittiest of the wily musicians. There’s a to a motley mix of long-haired country bunch, has colorfully small stage in one of with a knack for winning over described the scene as the dining rooms, but hippies as well as rednecks, and similarly “the great the real treat is catching scruffy rock ’n’ rollers and folkies who scare.” It didn’t change the world, a favorite songwriter or local hopped on the Texas country bandwagon. but it definitely left its booted imprint on band performing under the stars in the Willie Nelson—fresh from a long, finan- . beer garden. A Billy Joe Shaver or James cially successful yet ultimately unfulfilling All of the above acts did their time at the McMurtry show will set you back a few bucks, stint in Nashville—grew his hair and beard Armadillo World Headquarters, a cavernous but both venues also have plenty of no-cover out and became king of the town. Soon after, converted National Guard armory just shows throughout the week. he became a true giant nationwide, with south of downtown that first opened its If you want to see Willie Nelson in Austin like Phases and Stages, Red Headed doors in 1970. In addition to the Texas these days, good luck. Though he still plays Stranger and Stardust and constant touring country rockers, the AWHQ also booked a handful of shows in town a year (usually earning him a level of fame that likely the varied likes of guitarist a two or three-night stand at the outdoor seemed a pipe dream back when he was still , his Shelter Records label amphitheater at Stubb’s BBQ on Red River playing by Nashville’s rules. Another native boss, , and some of the biggest Street), he’s usually on the road (again). Texan, Lubbock’s , broke names in rock ’n’ roll: , Bruce But there’s still plenty of Armadillo vets to out in similar fashion, and together they led Springsteen, , the Kinks, Rush, be found playing about town on a weekly the “outlaw” country movement—a genre , ZZ Top and Genesis, among basis. Until fairly recently, Rusty Wier held which came to be as identified with Austin countless others. The ’Dillo closed in 1980 regular court at the Saxon Pub, a cool little at the time as would be with New and was torn down a year later. Today, it’s South Austin bar with a vaguely coffeehouse York and later in the decade, and a parking lot—but its legacy and memory feel and a long history of its own. Other grunge with Seattle in the early ’90s. Along is kept alive at Threadgill’s South, located current Saxon regulars include , with Nelson and Jennings, other notables right next door. Threadgill’s is owned by , Bob Schneider, and of the scene included New York transplant Armadillo co-founder Eddie Wilson, and the Resentments featuring Jerry JeffW alker, , a visit to the restaurant is like a trip to an and —and if they happen to Rusty Wier, , Billy Joe Austin museum. be in town for a bigger show, maybe Bonnie Shaver, and Asleep Threadgill’s South, like the original Raitt or , too. Ray Wylie

The Broken Spoke Lunasa at Cactus Cafe performing at Threadgill’s beer garden Photos by Michael Putland/Retna; Winker, and Texas Union Archives

Performing Songwriter 24 m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 0 6 Destination Anywhere Austin, Texas Continued

Hubbard—older, wiser and considerably on two stages. And clubs like Beerland, the better than he was in his “Redneck Mother” Red Eyed Fly and Room 710 also cater to days—can be counted on to play a few times the harder set. The biggest joint on the a year at the Cactus Café. And block is Stubb’s BBQ, which boasts both a and the rest of can still small indoor stage and the aforementioned squeeze themselves into Austin’s oldest outdoor amphitheater big enough for Willie standing honky-tonk, the Broken Spoke crowds, Pat Green crowds and on South Lamar. Owned and managed by crowds. hard-core country enthusiast James White, If rock’s not your bag, and you’re the 41-year-old Spoke is the best place in beginning to wonder where all the singer- town to go two-stepping to the strains of songwriters hang out, head north up Red a real, live country band, be it the Wheel, River to Martin Luther King, go left up to Gary P. Nunn, the Derailers, James Hand, Guadalupe, and hang a right. On the left is Chaparral or the Geezinslaws. “the ”—home to Austin’s world famous slackers, a few boutiques and the husk of a Home of the Blues … now-closed Tower Records. On the right and Beyond is the largest institute of higher learning When Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan first Brothers Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan in America, the University of Texas. Find came to Austin, it was still a country-rock parking on a side street (good luck), and town. The Armadillo would book estab- still plays the joint. But Antone’s also books ask directions to the UT Student Union lished blues legends like Johnny Winter and all manner of local and touring rock and Building. Inside is where you’ll find the Lightnin’ Hopkins, but the newer faces had country acts, too. One of its biggest draws Cactus Café, and a little corner of heaven to hone their chops and following either at for years has been songwriter Bob Schneider, on Earth if your idea of heaven is a place the more rockin’ Soap Creek Saloon or on either under his own name or fronting the where the late, great ’s the east side of town. The on frequently X-rated party band, the Scabs. bad shows are talked about with the same East 11th Street, which recently celebrated You can always tell when Schneider or the amount of reverence as the ones when he its 60th anniversary, remains the oldest Scabs are playing, because the line to get in wasn’t stone drunk. standing blues joint in town. But the most wraps around the building. The Cactus is tiny—it fits 150 people, famous—at half that age—is Antone’s. Gulf which is just about perfect for an intimate Coast native opened his Rockers and performance by songwriters like Eliza blues club on Sixth Street in the mid-’70s; Songsters Gilkyson, Terri Hendrix, or it’s moved around a few times since, but While the Armadillo was breathing its . Had you the good fortune is currently located at the corner of Fifth last gasps and Antone’s was reveling in to visit the Cactus in the early ’80s, you and Colorado in the downtown Warehouse American roots music, a far rowdier noise could have seen there, or a District. Immediately upon opening, was being kicked up by punk bands like young dude with crazy high hair named Antone set about booking all the living blues , the outrageous and . legends he could find. But he also provided the really outrageous Butthole Surfers. A If you want to see Lyle in Austin these a launching pad for Jimmie Vaughan’s band, no-longer-with-us club across the street days, your best bet is to be in the right place the Fabulous Thunderbirds, which served as from UT, called Raul’s, was the den of at exactly the right time to score tickets to Antone’s house band for years. Stevie Ray choice for the punks, but some of them a Lyle taping of Austin City Limits. ACL is Vaughan and Double Trouble (drummer also found a home at the tiny Continental filmed in the studio of KLRU-TV, which is and bassist Tommy Shannon) Club on . The Continental also on the UT campus. You don’t have to be built up a heady following at Antone’s, too, also catered to Austin’s thriving a big shot to get tickets to tapings, but you and by the early ’80s Austin seemed to have scene, along with straight-up honky-tonk, do have to be listening to the radio (try 107.1 reinvented itself as a blues town. rock and singer-songwriters of the grittier, KGSR) for announcements on where and You can still hear the blues at Antone’s— more eclectic variety. , when tickets will be handed out. Ticket in primarily on Monday nights, when Antone’s who fronted and played guitar with Austin’s hand, you go to the studio and stand in line: all-star house band jams well until closing wildly popular True Believers in the ’80s, first come, first served. It’s a hassle, but as time. is another regular when picks the Continental for his annual last- anyone who’s ever attended an ACL taping she’s not on the road, and Double Trouble night-of-SXSW throw-down, while Jon Dee can attest, it’s worth it. Last year the show Graham—also a True Believer veteran—is half of the hottest weekly residency in town, sharing Wednesday nights with James McMurtry. The Continental Club is also home to Austin’s most acclaimed happy hour gig, Tuesday night’s “Hippy Hour” party with the incomparable . The real action downtown these days is on Red River, which intersects Sixth Street just west of I-35. At Sixth and Red River sits Emo’s, where on any given night there seems to be at least a dozen bands playing

Photos by Robert Knight/Retna and ACVB ACL taping with Lyle Lovett and Friends The ACL Festival at

Performing Songwriter 25 m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 0 6 Destination Anywhere Austin, Texas End booked one of the biggest bands on Earth, , which speaks volumes about the program’s clout. Before Coldplay taped its episode of Austin City Limits, the British band headlined 2005’s Austin City Limits Music Festival. Last year’s ACL Fest—the fourth—also featured Lovett, Franz Ferdinand, Oasis, the Black Crowes, Wilco and a host of local stars, including Spoon and Roky Erickson. The three-day festival is held in mid to late-September—unfailingly over the hottest weekend of the year—in

Austin’s sprawling, beautiful Zilker Park. To Jim Stringer performing at Ginny’s Little Longhorn Colin Gilmore performing at Hole in the Wall date, it’s been a resounding success, so much so that organizers had to cap attendance at hardened skeptics that there is so much and a rooster who could win you a fistful 65,000 people a day in 2004. Although it has live music that it couldn’t possibly all be of dollars if he has the notion to relieve yet to achieve the same level of media exposure staged in or around downtown. Other himself on your chosen number on a game as SXSW (which turns 25 this year), the ACL places worth seeking out include the Hole board. Yes, folks, Chicken Shit Sundays Festival offers considerably more live music in the Wall (on the drag), where the fare draw a big crowd … and, unless you want bang for the buck, especially for “civilian” music runs primarily from singer-songwriter to wager, admission is free. fans. SXSW, as an industry conference first and combos to roots-rock and occasionally foremost, caters more to journalists, label reps alt-rock. On Sundays, the place to be in With roughly 200 nightclubs, dancehalls and and bands on the prowl for networking contacts the late morning is Maria’s Taco Xpress other venues in town, it would be well nigh or the next big break. Non-industry types can on South Lamar—home to the best migas impossible to visit every live music room purchase wristbands to get into showcase gigs, breakfast tacos in town, and the gospel- in Austin on a single trip. Don’t even try, or but many are even harder to get into than blues stylings of the Imperial Golden you’ll end up exhausting yourself like some Austin City Limits tapings. Crown Harmonizers. Admission is free. hapless SXSW first-timer. Better to take a cue Later on in the day, head north to Ginny’s from the locals and do what Austin groovers But Wait, There’s More Little Longhorn, on Burnett. Ginny’s is the do best: Grab a cold Shiner Bock, enjoy the When looking for live music in Austin, “honkiest, tonkiest honky-tonk beer joint abundance of good tunes at your own leisure the best place to start is the alternative in Texas,” raves one local. More tellingly, and chill out. Or, in the wise words of local weekly, the Austin Chronicle. Even a quick it’s the site of the infamous “Chicken Shit songwriter Bruce Robison, “When it’s all too glance at the club listings should be more Sunday,” featuring country music from much, take a deep breath and ask yourself, than enough to convince all but the most the likes of Redd Volkaert or Billy Dee ‘What would Willie do?’” Photos by Winker