Several years ago, I corresponded briefly with Robert Burns, after seeing that he had copies of old Austin posters, and I mentioned that I remembered one very well.

Robert was the art director, I think it was, for the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" movie, back in 1973 or so. I need to do another posting about the house for that on its own!

Anyway, the poster that Robert had was of a concert held on the baseball field just as UT was starting up again for the year. I say Sept 1970, but could have been 1971?

Anyway, the lineup for the day was:

The Allman Brothers
Leon Russell
It's A Beautiful Day
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (I don't remember them, but that was common for the time...)

It was a *fantastic* day of music, for sure.

While I was writing this up, I came across the following quote from Willis Alan Ramsey that relates to that concert (from http://www.willisalanramsey.com/content/Riverfront-times-review-2000-11-09.htm)

"Willis Alan Ramsey, his one and only album, at once captures that intimate milieu of folk songs and stories, then leaps well ahead of its time, owing in part to Ramsey's idiosyncratic tastes and a fortuitous encounter with Leon Russell. "I was booked into a motel called the Villa Capri in Texas, and staying at that hotel were the Allman Brothers, Leon Russell, It's a Beautiful Day and Pacific Gas & Electric. I saw their show and made it a point to knock on their doors. Leon was nice and receptive, and I was kind of cocky at that point. I thought I was writing some tunes that he should hear. Leon told me to break out my guitar. He and his road manager listened and gave me their numbers in California.

"They said I should come see them. Greg Allman and Dickey Betts were really nice as well. They invited me to come down and see them in Macon. This was right before the Allman Brothers took off. So I went to see all of them. Greg recorded a demo on me, and then I went out to see Leon, and he made a demo on me. Leon said, "I'm getting ready to tour. If you like, you can stay in my house and record in my studio at night.' That pretty much sold me! It all happened quickly. I was pretty confident in what I was doing, and suddenly I was over my head. I went from playing college coffeehouses and then I'm in Leon Russell's home studio and people like George Harrison are coming over. It was a completely different environment."

Austin was the birthplace of a musical genre that really deserves more attention. During the early 70's, the vibrant Texas rock scene had broken down and moved on. Big name (aka Big Business) acts dominated the music scene. As it always does, Austin responded by reinventing many of the rules and established notions and created the Cosmic Cowboys.

The true leaders of this movement never got the public credit they deserve but are usually cited as major influences by those that did make it big. My favorites are:

Willis Alan Ramsey - huge Austin influence. When you hear early Lyle, your hearing Willis

Michael Murphy - prior to his Michael Martin Murphy, horse riding cowboy days, Murphy kicked around Austin and produced what still could be an anthem for the town: "Alleys of Austin" Anyone have the lyrics? Update! I found them... see below.

B.W. "Buckwheat" Stevenson - Everyone has heard his "My Maria"

It's interesting to note that those three performers all came from Dallas from around the same period of time. South Dallas has produced quite a list of musical pioneers, SRV notwithstanding. Update: Here's a good listing of Oak Cliff notables. Anyone here heard of the "Oak Cliff 'Oh'"?

Not on my list are big names like Willie or Jerry Jeff. I think that the Cosmic Cowboy theme was already going when these guys showed up. I'm not saying that they didn't make great contribution... they just owe a debt to Austin and the true pioneers.

Alleys of Austin
(Michael Martin Murphey)

Out in the alleys of Austin,
There's a song on the side of the wall,
The bricks and the bottles and the mongrels
Are trying to make sense out of it all,
and the moon looks all too familiar--
The kids say "There ain't no man in there";
While the laid back baboon
By the light of the Texas moon
Is combing his auburn hair.
He's just combing his auburn hair.

"Fat Ron the Beadman" was a feature of the Drag back in the late 60s and early 70s. Back in those days, the street vendors used to be set up in front of the Co-op - just at the point of the main crossing of the Drag. Only some years later was there any regulation, and the move to the side street nearby.

Fat Ron probably wasn't the greatest of craftsman - his reason for being was stringing beads for goodness sakes, which he did well, and was *always* there.

Nothing special to his work - just little coloured seed beads on a string, with that being a widely accepted means of expression.

But Fat Ron was a character, one of those people that now (nearly 40 years later) I remember as being typical of Austin of those times...

Doug was a San Antonio boy but made it to Austin as quick as he could. I can't recall the name of the album recorded live at Armadillo in the mid-70's but Doug told a story from the stage about being in California and "Everyone told me that Austin was happening. So here we are." Doug and Augie did a lot to foster the Cosmic Cowboy genre and their Armadillo and Soap Creek shows were legendary.

The last time that I saw Doug was not at a music show... it was at Dan's Hamburgers on S. Congress around '81 or so. I pulled into the parking lot and parked next to a huge silver Cadillac that appeared to be full of stuff. Clothes, guitars, equipment, paperwork, basically the life support gear for a working musician. At the driver seat was Doug. We said "Hi", he went in and picked up a to-go order and drove away.

If you get here through a search, then you remember something listed on this page. Do us a favor and log-in and record that Austin memory!

Treaty Oak - still there in spite of the attempted VooDoo killing
North vs. South Tug of war - The North won, I believe
The Buccaneer - a seedy bar in the south
The old dinner theaters - on the edge of town... speaking of that!
The Edge of Town - a night club in a converted dinner theater
Dessau Hall - country girl, I think you're pretty
Jalapeno Charlie's - in that strange building on S. Lamar
The Hanging Tree - more S. Lamar weirdness
The Chaparral Lounge - what's this "new Chaparral" bullshit?
The Split Rail - I remember this as a biker bar
Duke's Royal Coach Inn - punk club on Congress... Joe King's homeroom
Maggie Mae's - remember when it was so narrow and one of the pioneers of 6th street?
The Salt Lick - before it was famous. The best Friday lunch was to fill a cooler and head out Camp Ben McCulloch road for the afternoon.
Holiday House - wild animals and burgers!
2J's - good burgers, loyal following
The Draught House - the one before the Draught Horse!
Lone Star Beer sign - stood above the Drag for a generation
Dry Creek Cafe - still kicking and lot's of ink spilt already... add your special experience
Scarbrough building and store - Austin elegance
The Silver Dollar - WAY before Dallas, the night club
The Raw Deal - the original... east 6th back in the day
Update: nice photo show of the old RD
The Poodle Dog - still there I think, as is...
The Horseshoe Lounge - got kicked out of there once
emmajoe's - small e, small place, small cover, huge talent every night

Before the fear-laden days we currently know, our State Capitol building prided itself on being open 24 hours a day. They had a security guard or two but you could drive right up to the building, park near the south door, and walk right in at 2:00am. I know this first hand because of the many times I did just that. It is an amazing building (this was WAY before they added the underground complex) and experiencing it in the still and quiet and solitude will stay with me forever.

It's still there, still beautiful, but essentialy lost to us at this point. Like so many freedoms and other things of beauty.

Talk about spooky... The Alamo Hotel even looked like it was haunted... which it was. Haunted by the ghosts of old Texas politics, haunted by the residual effects of time and social stratification. However, the Alamo Lounge was one of those places where the counter culture seeped into, bit by bit, and took it over. Much like Spellman's, The Lounge was the venue for many a-starvin' Austin picker. Probably the most interesting product of the Lounge is Lyle Lovett. He seemed to be the leader/headliner for a weekly picker session.

In those days, it seemed like the Alamo stood alone at the corner of 6th and Guadalupe. Now, it's hard to imagine that spot could have been so isolated even though isoaltion was what many of it's denizens craved.

Update!
I just watched "Be There To Love Me", the Townes bio-pic, and was reminded that the video for Willie and Merle's "Pancho and Lefty" was shot at the Alamo Hotel during its final days. Watching that video, actually looking "through" the video to see a snapshot of old Austin is very rewarding. Here is an outstanding memoire on the Hotel and the shoot: Pancho and Lefty, Part 1 and Pancho and Lefty, Part 2

I still recall walking into the UGL and seeing Earl's Heisman on display in the lobby. As I understand it, it was the real deal... just like Earl.

Relatively late in the old Austin scheme of things but perhaps the ultimate expression of what it all means to keep it weird- The Gibby Haynes and Robbie Jacks Show on 101X!

Never heard it? Never knew about it? Claim that you have Austin cred? Don't think so.

Here's a bit to get you started:
Clip1
Clip2

So Austin. So strong. So early in the morning. How did they do it?

Austin was well known for it's hippie culture. Hippies on the drag, Hippie houses, Hippie Hangouts, Hippie events (Eeyore's party is a direct descendant of hippie happenings.) What was interesting was how everyone seemed to get along. It was common to see Hippies mingling with the rest of the population and everyone getting along fine. This is another huge indicator of how modern society has lost the tolerance that once made it strong.
Update: I recently took a stroll through one of the ancient hippie neighborhoods (just west of downtown... you know where) and I was pleasantly surprised to see houses and yards that could pass for 1979 in Austin. Old school Austin bomemia has survived!