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My friend Greg had a party on Friday, so thats why we all went down there. Greg was one of the first people I played music with in Austin. I met him in the back of the Observer. He was looking for an Alt-Country band. The name sounded funny, so I called and asked what that was. “Its kinda like a country band, only without the rednecks”. Sounded good to me, so we joined forces and practiced a lot. I think over the course of a year, we played one open mike total.
Greg likes to hire bands for parties. At this one he had Dave Newbould.
Good stuff. Before the party, I did a quick hike/walk at Shoal creek. There is a trail that parallels Lamar. The weather was beautiful. At first I was a little weirded out by what looked like homeless people drinking all over the park. It seemed a little strange that they all had coolers. Finally I realized that they were really the athletic elite of Bohemians. Frisbee golfers. They all were just drinking beer. I saw probably 30 players, but no play.
I took all the precautions needed for a successful trip with my friends. Namely, my own car and my own itinerary. These are not the most motivated morning types. Not that I can speak any better of myself. At least Im not usually the slowest common denominator in getting out and on the road. I did manage to get up by noon to get to the Barton Springs trail. I walked it for a few miles and realized that it would be a lot better mountain bike trail. So I went back and did that. I didn’t get as far as I would have liked due to the heat/hangover. I forgot how rocky those trails can get. I really need to get me some Rox-shox. Rolling down the rocks at 20 mph really drives the adrenaline.
Sometimes I wonder what the @#$ I’m doing in Dallas. Oh ya…job.
The rest of the crew got up a 2pm for lunch. Since they were to tired, they just ended up next door at a place called baby Acapulco. The billboard that read “Red, Blue, Green and Yellow Margaritas, follow the rainbow” should have been a warning that the soundtrack playing inside would be “Its raining men”, “In the Navy” and a lot of Cher. (Not that there is anything wrong with that). Then they all went and took a nap until 8 pm.
I joined them for a bit of the nap, but had to hit the record stores. Cheapo Records Rocks. Where else can I find Sam Bush, Gourds and Drive By Truckers used? I picked up a copy of DBT’s Decoration Day too. Its a tribute to various aspects of Southern dysfunction such as delinquent daddies, trailer park living and benifits of keeping a loaded gun in your closet. How close the lead singer actually lived those tales, Ill never know, but he certainly spins a good tale. Makes me glad that Texas is not a “Southern” as Athens, Georgia. (Although I did recently go on a date with girl that admitted she sleeps with a loaded 22 under her pillow).
I stopped in at a place called 33 degree records in Hyde park. Talk about music snobs. The selection was eclectic to say the least. I did pick up a kick ass Donnas poster. We ended up at a place called Reeds. Its a kinda swanky joint. Older crowd. Christina (one of the girls in my crowd) wanted to do some swing dancing.
Sunday I hit more record stores and made it out to Kerbey lane to try out the Gingerbread pancakes. Of course, with four places to choose from, I had to pick the original one. Everybody else was too passed out to go, I so went by my lonesome (sigh). Darned good pancakes. If I tried to make em at home, I would boost the ginger content, but I like ginger.
Hit the Style Station on the way back. Its a used clothing place in Ross (just north of West). Oh…I had some Kalaches too of course.
To top of the weekend, we played TWO Boys Named Sue shows on Sunday. The first was a private party from the folks at TABC and 2900 in Uptown. They had a whole bottle of Tuaca for the band. Their annual white trash party was fun. The band got a little too festive however and our second set at Muddy Waters might have suffered a bit. (two members passed out ON stage. Most unprofessional. Some girl said we (the Boys Named Sue) had the highest tolerance she had ever seen. I responded with “Baby..(and I never use baby) tolerance is the receiving end of endurance”. I dont know what that meant nor where it came from, but she probibly would have been justified in slapping me. Instead, her eyes widened and she responded with “Deep”.