Pinthouse Pizza
Hopes Great SRV and Double Trouble CD Gets Released
RECEIVED Fri., Sept. 12, 2008
Dear Editor,
I read with interest Margaret Moser’s excellent article about the newly rediscovered recordings of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s early career [“They Call Me Hurricane,” Music, Sept. 5]. I remember hearing Stevie in the Triple Threat Revue at a dance club in San Antonio when a friend “discovered” them. I told myself at that time I needed to get out more, because this music really sounded better than I remembered most bands sounding. It turns out I was right.
The article also reminded me of an excellent recording from 1979 I heard last year. My friends Rick Dielman and Jim Yanaway recorded Stevie and Double Trouble at the Bluebird in Fort Worth, an old juke joint. This was an unusual setting, a classic old blues venue with hardwood floors and walls, recorded with microphones set 8 feet in front of the stage with a mixing board and tape recorder. The recording captured the raw energy and soulfulness of the live performance in a rare setting.
Because this show was on a Sunday night and there was not any music preceding Triple Threat's performance, the audience at first was made up of curious neighbors walking up to the club, with just a few domino players in the back of the club. But once Stevie began playing, the club started filling up with people walking in off the street and from their homes. People started calling their friends, telling them to come and check out what they were hearing. Before long, the place was full and jumping. Stevie covered many of the classic Texas blues players like Freddie King, Albert Collins, and Lightnin’ Hopkins.
Like the recordings in your article, this recording captures Stevie before he became famous but in one of his most soulful moments. Evident in the audience appreciation is the intense initial excitement of a new musical discovery, at least for those fans.
I hope this recording gets released at some point, but for the time being, at least those of us who have demo CDs of that night can travel back to a truly magic night in Texas music.
I read with interest Margaret Moser’s excellent article about the newly rediscovered recordings of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s early career [“They Call Me Hurricane,” Music, Sept. 5]. I remember hearing Stevie in the Triple Threat Revue at a dance club in San Antonio when a friend “discovered” them. I told myself at that time I needed to get out more, because this music really sounded better than I remembered most bands sounding. It turns out I was right.
The article also reminded me of an excellent recording from 1979 I heard last year. My friends Rick Dielman and Jim Yanaway recorded Stevie and Double Trouble at the Bluebird in Fort Worth, an old juke joint. This was an unusual setting, a classic old blues venue with hardwood floors and walls, recorded with microphones set 8 feet in front of the stage with a mixing board and tape recorder. The recording captured the raw energy and soulfulness of the live performance in a rare setting.
Because this show was on a Sunday night and there was not any music preceding Triple Threat's performance, the audience at first was made up of curious neighbors walking up to the club, with just a few domino players in the back of the club. But once Stevie began playing, the club started filling up with people walking in off the street and from their homes. People started calling their friends, telling them to come and check out what they were hearing. Before long, the place was full and jumping. Stevie covered many of the classic Texas blues players like Freddie King, Albert Collins, and Lightnin’ Hopkins.
Like the recordings in your article, this recording captures Stevie before he became famous but in one of his most soulful moments. Evident in the audience appreciation is the intense initial excitement of a new musical discovery, at least for those fans.
I hope this recording gets released at some point, but for the time being, at least those of us who have demo CDs of that night can travel back to a truly magic night in Texas music.
Sincerely,
Tom Caven
Tom Caven