Saturday, October 31, 2015

Gothabilly on Halloween

Ghoultown is a gothabilly band from Dallas, and their website bio describes them as "an uncharted crossroads between Johnny Cash and Rob Zombie." Who could resist a little cowboy graveyard rock on Halloween night?

Here is a link to one of their videos. I especially like the horses in skeleton costumes.



Floydada: Pumpkin Capital USA

Floydada, Texas, which is up around the Panhandle, is known as "Pumpkin Capital USA." There's a good chance that the fat orange squashes that many of us have carved into jack o' lanterns come from Floydada. James McMurtry actually wrote a song about the town, although it is called "Levelland." Floydada wouldn't fit the meter. Below is a link to an article about Pumpkin Capital USA as well as a link to James McMurtry's "Levelland" video.

Floydada: Pumpkin Capital USA:


"Levelland" by James McMurtry:


Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Cormac McCarthy, The Road, and an El Paso Hotel

A few years ago, Cormac McCarthy, who could be described as a reclusive genius, granted an interview to Oprah Winfrey. McCarthy's take on language and the subconscious is fascinating, and the anecdotes from his hardscrabble life can be quite funny. In the interview, he discusses the birthplace of The Road, which was a hotel room in El Paso. When he describes the book's origin, he talks about imagining fire on the mountains beyond his hotel window. I can not help but wonder if his apocalyptic vision was somehow connected, subconsciously or otherwise, to the words written on a mountain across the border in Ciudad Juarez, "LA BIBLIA ES LA VERDAD. LEELA," or "The Bible is the truth. Read it." I imagine that this question has already been posed by a member of the Cormac McCarthy Society, but it's new ground for me. Here is a link to a segment of the interview.

Monday, October 26, 2015

John Prine Covering Blaze Foley

Good ol' John Prine is a formidable songwriter, but he is also an accomplished interpreter of the songs of others. In this clip of John Prine playing Blaze Foley's "Clay Pigeons" on Austin City Limits, he also tells the story of his connection with the Armadillo World Headquarters and ol' Blaze himself.





Saturday, October 24, 2015

Burrus Mill Recording Studio: Saginaw, Texas

As unlikely as it may now seem, Burrus Mill in Saginaw, Texas once was home to an important recording studio. Bob Wills recorded "New San Antonio Rose," which went on to sell more than a million records, in that studio. "Pappy" O' Daniel, a musician in his own right, hosted a radio show that broadcast statewide from that location, and the fame he achieved on the show helped him become the governor of Texas. Not long ago my grandfather told me about Pappy's gubernatorial campaign. A wagon traveled through the North Side of town giving away biscuits. "Pass me a biscuit, Pappy" was O' Daniel's slogan. In the 1930s, a free biscuit was always welcome, and I imagine that "Pappy" garnered at least one vote per cat-head.

When the major labels were in town to record regional acts, they would sometimes use Burrus Mill Recording Studio. Ted Daffan's Texans first recorded at the mill in 1940. Daffan, incidentally, was an early pioneer of country steel guitar. Okeh, a major label for "hillbilly" and "race" recordings at the time, produced sides by Ted Daffan's Texans in 1942.  Here is a link to two of the act's California recordings.



Milton Brown: Father of Western Swing

Although Bob Wills is indisputably "the King of Western Swing," Milton Brown is the genre's father. Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies played a style of music that was sometimes called hillbilly string or cowboy jazz. The group played at the Crystal Springs Dance Pavilion in Fort Worth, the venue that some have credited to be the birthplace of Western Swing.

Milton Brown would probably be better known today had he not died soon after a car accident on Jacksboro Highway in April 1936. That same year both a Bob Wills and a Milton Brown version of "Right or Wrong" was released. Younger generations are more likely to associate the song with George Strait, who recorded it in 1984. Here is Milton Brown's version of "Right or Wrong."



Friday, October 23, 2015

Townes: A Cameo Role

Listening to Willie and Merle's new album this week, I got to thinking about buying their "Pancho and Lefty" album on cassette for my dad back in the 80s. I believe that I bought an Iron Maiden album in the same transaction. Oh, the wild testosterone of youth... Anyway, after watching the video of "Pancho and Lefty" recently, I realized that Townes Van Zandt is one of the Federales. Watch for the tall man with the writing utensil.


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Thursday, October 22, 2015

Junior Brown on a Rainy Day

This afternoon was gray and rainy, and the meteorological soothsayers have called for a 100% chance of cats and dogs for the weekend. Such a forecast could have given this ol' boy the blues were it not for the intervention of Junior Brown and his guit-steel. Driving home from work I plugged in this groovy troubadour, and the heavens suddenly turned cerulean blue, the sun smiled in golden glory, and a chorus of honkytonk angels fluttered around and sang "I Saw the Light." Well, maybe I exaggerate... Anyway, a little Junior Brown can lift the spirits and lighten the mood on a rainy day. Here is the video for what is perhaps his best known song.



Sunday, October 18, 2015

El Paso: Inextricable Ties

I recently visited the West Texas town of EL Paso for the first time. In the past I had passed through on I-10, but I had never stopped. What I came to understand about El Paso is that although it has been a US city for more than a century and a half, its history is inextricably intertwined with that of Mexico. In fact, it is the place where the Mexican Revolution was largely planned.

During the Mexican Revolution, people used to watch battles from the roof of the El Paso Laundry, and some El Paso businesses sold arms and munitions to all sides. The exiled Mexican president, Victoriano Huerta, known as "the usurper," died at Fort Bliss and was buried in Concordia Cemetery. The city on the north side of the Rio Grande has indeed played an important role in the history of the nation to the south.

The Camino Real El Paso is one of the city's more well-known landmarks. Both Pancho Villa and General Pershing stayed at this hotel. This is a picture taken from the hotel lobby. The dome is made of Tiffany glass.


To learn more about El Paso's historical sites and their ties with the Mexican Revolution, please follow the link below:






Saturday, October 17, 2015

The Fields of the New Fatherland

One of my stories received an Honorable Mention in the Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post's 2015 short story contest. There was a 1,200 word maximum, and my story weighed in at 1,999 if I recall correctly. It was published online in the October 14 edition, which is special to me because that was my stepdad's birthday. Without him, I doubt I would know much about German Texas, much less write a story set there. Here is the link to the story:

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Texas Playboys

A while back Martina and I had the chance to see the Texas Playboys at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, also known as "The House that Bob Built." We managed to get seats in the loft among the rafters. Not being dancers, we greatly enjoyed the bird's eye view. We did, however, spend some time near the stage. We both like to soak in the ambience, and I always like to watch the guitar and steel players' hands to learn new tricks. Here is a picture that Martina took from the loft.


Oliver Loving

Today we visited the farmers' market in Weatherford, enjoyed a solid Thai lunch near the college, and visited the cemetery where Bose Ikard and Oliver Loving are buried. Loving was born on March 5, 1836, the day before the Alamo fell. He was a major player in the cattle drives, and Charles Goodnight carried his remains hundreds of miles so that he could be buried in Parker County. This story should be a familiar one to fans of Gus McCray.






Arts Goggle: A Funky Good Time

I greatly enjoyed the Arts Goggle yesterday. It was a funky good time. While I was there, I had the opportunity to hear  Michael H. Price​ read a fine carnival tale from DARK BORDERLANDS as well as hear Rob Bosquez skillfully tell the story of his strange encounter with the mythical chupacabra. I would like to thank Fort Worth Writer's Boot Camp and Wildcatter Exchange for adding this literary element to the mix of art and music.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Bose Ikard



Although I do not consider myself morbid or melancholy by nature, I often find myself gravitating toward cemeteries. I find them to be places of meditation, discovery, and pilgrimage. While living in Yellowstone, I once made a pilgrimage to Ernest Hemingway's grave in the Sawtooths. Around that time, I also visited the grave of John Steinbeck in California and that of Jimi Hendrix in Seattle. A few years later while living in Bohemia, I visited the grave of Goethe in Weimar, Germany. The purpose of my cemetery visits is to stand in front of the final resting place of someone that I respect and quietly thank that person for how he or she has made life better for others.

Recently I was told that an important cowboy by the name of Bose Ikard is buried in Weatherford, Texas. Ikard was a former slave, and he was Charles Goodnight's right hand man. He is perhaps best known as the prototype for Joshua Deets in Lonesome Dove. Both Ikard and cattleman Oliver Loving are buried in that cemetery. I have not yet ventured there, but I plan to in the coming weeks. 

Charles Goodnight wrote this epitaph for Bose Ikard:

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Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Arts Goggle

This Saturday at 4 pm I will be reading a short story at the Arts Goggle in Fort Worth on Block 11, between Alston and College. Check out the link below for the location as well as to see when various local writers associated with Fort Worth Writers' Boot Camp and Wildcatter Exchange will be reading their work.


If you have never attended the Arts Goggle, let me tell you that it is an enjoyable event with plenty of live music, visual art, and great food. It is a funky good time. 

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Buzz Aldrin in Fort Worth

Yesterday Martina and I attended a book signing with Buzz Aldrin at the American Airlines CR Smith Museum in Fort Worth. Mr. Aldrin sat behind a table near the museum's DC-3, and as he sat there I could not help but marvel at the notion of being in the presence of a man who stood on the surface of the moon and returned. To Buzz Aldrin, it was probably just another day. To me, it transformed the lunar landing from an abstract concept to a material reality. Standing in line, I thought about Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and how Buzz Aldrin was an embodiment of the monomyth, the universal myth of all mankind.

When our time came to get a book signed, I asked Mr. Aldrin what message he had for our local students. He thought for a couple of seconds and then spoke. "Never let the other guy win," Mr. Aldrin said. At first I was surprised by his words. Then I began to consider that this was a man who risked his very life to help his country win the race to the moon. He wasn't going to tell kids to mind their mamas and eat their spinach.



This is the official photo that hung above my bed for much of my childhood.


Saturday, October 3, 2015

Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg

The lederhosen time of year has arrived in Texas. I have plenty of fond memories of Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg. I remember my wife, who had to take dancing lessons before her graduation ball in Bohemia many years ago, telling my stepdad in a menacing tone, "You want polka? I'll show you polka." The line could have been in a schmaltzy version of The Terminator.

Even if you're not a fan of oompah, the energy is nice and the love of culture and tradition is ever-present. My mother donned her dirndl last night and volunteered as she has many times before. Although the crowds get larger every year, Oktoberfest in Fred is a fine time. "Ein Prosit! Ein Prosit!" as the song goes...


Image result for fredericksburg oktoberfest