Anyone remember the two guys who ued to do an acoustic set at this place in the mid/late 70's? They were great/funny showman as well as great musicians. They'd pack the joint everytime they played.

I took pictures that night, but this is one I captured off of the web, from earlier in her career. Kindly and I were just swapping text about that concert on FaceBook last month. She had tickets, and we went together on a friend 'date'. JJ was with her Full Tilt Boogie band, and was cranked that night, on Southern Comfort and whatever she had left from the plane trip. She was best on stage, and was the 'in betweens' that took her from us later that same year... She never found the love she sang about, but left us all with blues in the night. Kindly and I stood on the folding chairs like a couple of teeny boppers. ;-) Farnham

The Vulcan Gas Company was a downtown venue where bands performed with psychedelic light shows as a backdrop. It was a place to see and be seen, to listen and enjoy. It may not have been a bar, but I vaguely remember alcohol's being involved somehow.

The Pink Lizard was a real dive located on the drag somewhere between the Orange Bull and 24th Street. It was a one story bar with low ceilings, wet floors, dim lights, and cold beer. The juke box was the best...Magic Carpet Ride, Hey Jude, lots of other great classic rock and roll table-top-dancing tunes. It was there in the late '60's and the 70's.

When I came to UT in '67, it was at the end of the alcohol burning big iron culture, just before the smoke fueled hip scene caught on, and the Drag (and even Speedway just south of the campus) was sprinkled with old dives that sold beer to students. The Orange Bull was one of those, on the Drag about 2600 block, above a dry cleaners.

When I became a Summer Orientation Adviser in '68, the group would meet there every Thursday after the kiddies went back to Dumas or Abilene. The Order of the UT drank too much beer and sang too many Hank Williams songs. Good times and fun people. I'm looking for pictures of the OB, if anybody has any.

I recently had the occasion to have dinner at Green Pastures with a fairly large group. It really brought back memories of this Grande Dame of Austin dining. The house and grounds were excellently maintained, the food was outstanding. It was a bit jarring to have a reflection of our modern times juxtaposed with the older standards: our waiter's tatoos clashed with the floral wallpaper.

However, I'm always happy to see a non-changing constant in our little town of rapid change. Green Pastures with its peacocks, its dark oak antique furniture, its grounds now in the epicenter of So. Austin gentrification does remain steady and as elegant as always.

Trying to remember where the Catfish Parlor was heading out by Lake Travis. Remember heading out there back in 1976/7 and thinking it took hours to get there. Also - trying to recall the name of the little store (again somewhere out by Lake Travis) that was the first in the area to sell Coors beer. Hey, when you're 21 ya did stupid things like drive 45 minutes for a 6-pak!

When I was a kid growing up in West Austin, my parents seemed to want to take me places I didnt care about darkening the door of, especially at the tender age of 7 years old or so. When my Mom met her future husband of 30 plus years we moved here from Ft. Worth with her to start a new life in 1966. We first met him, (my future step dad) at "The Tavern" at 12th and Lamar. It was still a beer joint then and owned by some of my step dads good friends Ticky and Lee Sulivan. My older brother and I waited in the car on this cool December night, but all the while we were mezmerized by the "Terminix" bug that sat atop of the rotating sign just across the street . We never thought our first visit would end up watching some larger than life sized cock roach spin round and round. We were finally asked to come inside and join the grown ups and this was the first of my many visits to the old swiss chalet looking building. This is where I literally cut not only my eye teeth but my initals were carved into one of the old oak wood tabels. My brother and I got bored rather quickly and one of the owners asked if we wanted to earn some extra money. We jumped at the chance to wash beer mugs in the kitchen. Just behind the kitchen was a quaint little spot that served as a pizza kitchen. That kitchen was a one man shop owned and run by the owner Buzzy Buck. Buzzy Buck's Pizza Kitchen must have been the first pizza delivery shop in Austin. Buzzy would take a phone in order, hand toss the made from scratch dough and pop a large pie in the oven and when it came out he locked the door of his tin shed behind the Tavern, jumped in his little orange Karmenghia VW, and off he went with a great piping hot delivery towards the campus area somewhere. This among other spots is just the tip of the old Austin iceberg that I will continue to share in later visits. Sorry gotta run...let me know if you want more and I will post as time permits....there are some great memories stored in my ol

There are many places of high-karma in Austin. These are those spots in town that are always in the center of culture and happenings. Over the years, these places consistently stay cool and must have good karma. Places like:

5th and Baylor
This spot has survived as the gateway to Austin's hippie house culture. This Hippie houses are now law offices and galleries... but still look like Hippie houses. This area also survived a serious attempt at bad karma when the Treaty Oak killing was attempted. Lot's of folks remember a cozy beer joint that was nearby

The Bremond Block
Elegance and family pride the Austin way. The B-Block is the place I have used over and over to show folks that Austin has always had style. This entire block is listed in the national register of historic places, the only listing like that. A 100% class act.

5th x 6th x Guadalupe x West Ave.
These few blocks have always been a happening area. In the really old days, Austin settlers gathered here to buy land. Later, this area was on the outskirts of downtown and the location of many a haunt and beer joint. As Austin grew, it was the site of both major debacles and timeless Austin.

2222
The whole windy road. This was the way to get to Travis for generations. Along the way, you could look down onto Lake Austin and undisturbed vistas for miles. Even in it's developed state, it's still cool.

Bee Caves Rd.
Remember when a trip to Soap Creek felt like a long drive in the country? Did y'all ever keep going all the way to Hwy 71 and Bee Caves Rd.? If you ever took your blender to Rosie's Tamale House, you probably did.

I used to love to go to Virginia's Cafe down on S. 1st about half way btwn Barton Springs and Ben White. Around about 74-75 used to eat some of the best chicken fried steak, pork chops etc. with the usual vegetables; Virginia, whom was very old, would cook it, serve it and run the cash register. You could get along just fine as long as you didn't try to strike up a conversation with her. She was damned busy and did not mind telling you so. So just eat your damned food or talk to someone else.