a word from a reader

So there’s a frequent commenter around these parts by the name of Tim who is an out-and-out stellar dude. He and I have emailed a bit, and I always love hearing what he has to say. Yesterday, he posted an amazing comment about Texas on Sujan’s post about Bobby Patterson that covers the roots/origins of Texas country music that I just had to put up here so everyone can read. It’s fantastic stuff. Below, Tim’s post.

I lived in Texas from the late 60s to the early 80s. A freaking nightmare that was redeemed only by the food and the music.

In the 70s, the music most associated with Texas was Outlaw Country. Folks like Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson left Nashville for Austin and set up an empire from the Armadillo World Headquarters. A handful of the folks coming out of that include David Allen Coe, Jerry Jeff Walker, Billy Joe Shaver, Robert Earl Keene, Michael Martin Murphy (who only added the Martin when he left Austin), Townes Van Zandt, and a whole slew of people who didn’t have three names: Merle Haggard (briefly), Delbert McClinton (from Lubbock, but definitely part of the movement), Nanci Griffith (who left Austin for Nashville. While not part of the original wave, folks like Lucinda Williams came in later.

Even for a kid who was into punk, I admired these people. They were true heroes to me, and at the time, many were truly hated, and did what they did anyway. Most still are, and all have records at emusic.

These were not the teddy bears, clowns and established commercial giants as they are today. Nobody was kidding about the outlaw thing. Among the reasons they were hated: long hair, drugs, sex, wobbly patriotism at best if not outright comminists [sic], and the worst violation of all: they wrote their own songs - ripping the foundations of country music right out from under it, and explicitly blasted for it back in the day. Not cool, man. Not cool at all.)

The 13th Floor Elevators were not only seen as heroic but legendary. Rather than go to prison for a teaspoon full of marijuana, he went to an insane asylum. He got out but he never came back, or at least the legend went. It was obviously more complicated than that, but he was held in awe as a fallen hero.

Before then, Stevie Ray Vaughn, the blues was the music of the hip parents…but still parents. emusic has a very nice surprise by him, a live session with Albert King. Download all.

Lubbock has been a huge part of the Texas music scene since Buddy Holly through Lyle Lovett (those two here only in compilations.)

Spanning that whole era and beyond is Lloyd Maines, the father of Natalie (Dixie Chicks), and a truly legendary pedal steel player. He played with many of the folks above, plus Guy Clark and Joe Ely.

Joe was so cool that a) he opened for the Clash on their 1980 US tour and b) when he started his own label, released the album here.

Along with two other giants of the Lubbock scene, Butch Hancock and Billy Dale Gilmore, Ely was part of The Flatlanders. (Lloyd M. wasn’t a member, but also played with the group, as well as each of them individually along the way.)

I know that some of these folks are too commercial to be cool…but they’re heroes I tell ya, heroes.

Last but not least, a shout out to Austin City Limits, the PBS show that was important to me in more ways than I have room to say here. A quick spin through emu will give you some idea why - an amazingly diverse group of musicians, not all of whom were from Austin, but all of whom gave me some hope of getting out alive. Heroic? Hell yes.

And that’s just a peek from a very narrow swath of a big place — Dallas is closer to Chicago than El Paso as the crow files. You can look it up.

And when you’re at the Dairy Queen on the backside of Waco, be sure to check out the fried okra and fresh catfish, and keep your eye peeled for a Texas Playboy or two. At least when I was there, I bumped into them regularly. And yes, Bob Wills is at emu too. Not necessarily a hero, but pretty damn cool.

I’d have taken more time to be articulate, but this is off the top of my head, and I’m late for getting to the bank.

Peace out, y’all. End the war.

For more great stuff from Tim, check out his ridiculously great exchange with Joe here. Tim, you had me at hello.