Dancing About Architecture

So I dropped in at that new radio station (101X) to see how things look over there (it looks like, well, a radio station under construction) and who do I run into but P-ing Butthole Gibby Haynes and "Leatherface #4" Robbie Jacks, trying to get into the fortress where the station is located (One Texas Plaza, the behemoth built on the rubble of the Armadillo). It seems like everybody, young and old, is looking at the possibility of being an "on-air personality" for the station. And so, 101X Music Director/Assistant Programming Director "L.A." Lloyd Hocutt says, "Gibby thinks he can do a better [morning show] job than Sara Trexler, and we're calling his bluff." So if all goes well, after some training you can expect to hear the Gibby 'n' Rob Show mornings starting at 6am! I didn't get to ask Gibby how things went at the Survival Research Labs taping he attended a few weeks back in California, but according to former Butterscotch Tuna/current SRL member Flynn Mauthe, you'll likely see Herr Haynes blowing up shit with the rest of 'em in the next SRL video. This week's 101X radio theft, by the way, is Z-ROCK's Production Director/Music Director/on-air personality Jane Shasserre, who moves to 101X as an on-air/production worker in a couple of weeks.

No Home for the Armadillo

Eddie Wilson doesn't seem too disappointed about not having the big planned Armadillo World Headquarters 25th anniversary bash as planned. Citing the lack of availability of the big gun performers he had hoped to corral (Jimmy Buffett, for example), and an overload of other musical activity in the city, Wilson seems perfectly happy to settle for "having a wonderful time [with] nothing to do." He doesn't rule out the possibility of an Armadillo event in the future, even though it'll be too late for a proper Silver Anniversary. "Twenty-six may be `magnesium,'" he muses.

Pearl Jammed

Rampant rumors of Pearl Jam giving up their battle with Ticketmaster (leading to scads of comments on the Internet about "Eddie Chedder" and his lack of conviction) have proven false, but by now you probably knew that, right? What has a lot of people more concerned is the fact that the checks they used to purchase tickets from E.T.M. Entertainment Network, the company that is handling the PJ tickets, have not yet been cashed, leading to speculation about whether or not the band is going to actually play their upcoming Austin show. And with good reasons: for one thing, with the kind of money that's brought in by this big a show, they should cash the checks as quickly as possible and start collecting interest - unless the company was worried that the show wasn't going to go on, in which case, they'd have to cut a mess of refund checks instead of just tearing up the ones they'd received. Well, Pearl Jam's management says that everything is hunky-dory and that "People have been getting their tickets late but on time," adding that similarly delayed tickets made it from ETM to previous concertgoers in the proverbial nick. A fax sent from ETM to the South Park Meadows states that "Tickets... will be mailed to customers two weeks prior to the event" and that no one should worry unless they haven't got tickets by this Sunday.
After that, call 800/946-4090.

Thirty Days in the Outhouse

Did I say the Austin Outhouse was closing at the end of June? Well, now you've got one more month to hoist a cold one in the Outhouse atmosphere. Though the folks at the venue say they "had to pay dearly" for the extra month, they got it nonetheless. Still no word on where a new Outhouse may appear.

Eric Takes the Lead

"So," you're asking, "exactly how far along is that damn next Eric Johnson album?" Well, let me tell you what he tells us: Eric says that he'll be finished tracking the new 'un in the next few months, with that time mostly being spent laying down leads. After that comes the mixing, and the weary-looking Johnson says the shiny disc should be in your grubby hands either during or just after the big Christmas rush. When we last saw Johnson, he was in the process of trying to net Jeff Beck as a guest on the disc (Beck, handily, will be in town with Carlos Santana playing the Erwin Center on September 29 and, hey, what's another three months in the life of an Eric Johnson album?) as well as coordinating his schedule with Jimmie Vaughan's to get some licks out of JV for the instrumental track "SRV."

The Going Raitt

The story making the rounds is that Bonnie Raitt doesn't want her performance from the Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute to be included when (if?) the show is broadcast. It's a potent enough rumor, in fact, that Raitt's manager says "I'm getting rumbling through the Austin community that makes me nervous. My next call will be to Mark [Proct] to make sure there's [no] miscommunication." The truth is that Raitt wants to be sure that the proceeds from the video, like the concert, go to charity, and though neither she nor Eric Clapton has as yet signed off their permission to use the footage, there is no acrimony involved in the situation. Currently there are no "bites" on the project, and Proct continues to check out "every basic cable outlet that fits the bill." He mentions VH-1, A&E and the Disney Channel as examples, and says that once a deal is negotiated, then the performers will be contacted to get their approval. Also planned are a soundtrack and videotape release.

More Music on the Way

New albums you want? Check out some of these upcoming releases: Joe Ely's Letter to Laredo comes out on August 29. Guests include Bruce Springsteen, Raul Malo, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Will this finally be the "magic" one?... Monte Warden's Here I Am is due on July 11. Warden is apparently quite impressed with the guitar work on the disc; he's taken to describing it as a "David Murray record featuring Monte Warden." Perhaps he should've named the record Here Dave Is... Monte and the rest of the Wagoneers will have a new track on A Town South of Waco, a compilation being produced by Rob Patterson and Mike Stewart. The 12 acts confirmed so far for the project, which Patterson calls a "showcase of the emerging Austin country scene," also include Mary Cutrufello, Cornell Hurd Band, Don Walser, Dale Watson, both Bruce and Charlie Robison, Ted Roddy, Roy Heinrich, Libby Dwyer, Jeff Hughes & Chapparal, and the Derailers. Plans call for the album to appear on Watermelon Records on August 22... Don Walser has some more new tracks out as well. Okay, actually, they're old tracks. Well, they're old and new. Volumes one and two of the Don Walser Archive Series includes tracks from Texas Souvenir yet again, with unreleased songs from those sessions added... Sugar's upcoming Besides is new/old as well. The July release is a two-disc set, one comprised of the many bonus tracks from File Under Easy Listening's singles, the other of a live concert. Take note that after the first 25,000 copies, the live half will be discontinued... Widgeon's Sex and Vampires comes out on July 1st. Widge has a new trio featuring Val Shaffer and Ginger Baker's son Koci. They're called Y, as in "beyond Generation X"... Eric Taylor, who married Nanci Griffith with his former opening act Lyle Lovett in attendance, has his first album in 10 years due out on August 22. Iain Matthews produced that one at Congress House... Adding a new "unplugged" joke to the list, Shaver's next album, Unshaven: Live at Smith's Olde Bar, comes out on June 27th. It was produced by Brendan O'Brien and Nick DiDia, adding another Pearl Jam connection to this week's column (as well as Stone Temple Pilots and Soulhat and Johnny Law and... )

Keep Yer Pants on!

Did you hear about country singer Ty Herndon getting caught with his pants down? According to the Associated Press, he was on his way to perform at a state convention for police chiefs in Fort Worth when he decided to take a rest stop in a public park. The singer then allegedly asked a man to accompany him to a wooded area and proceeded to do a Pee-wee Herman imitation (and I don't mean the "Tequila" dance). Midway through, he asked the man if he was a cop. He was, and so the rest of the police didn't get to see Herndon perform that night. (The AP story failed to note the irony of his replacement at the gig being Woody Lee). And guess what? Herndon's loss is your gain! The first three people to call the Chronicle (454-5766) this Friday (6/23) at 5pm and tell my voice mail the name of Herndon's latest hit will win pairs of official Sony Records Ty Herndon promotional suspenders.

Pariah Legacy

A number of people are currently "scurrying around," trying to set up a foundation to provide counseling and referral to musicians following the suicide of Pariah bassist Sims Ellison, according to counselor/bass player Larry Cordle. The working title is "Services Invested in Musicians Support" (SIMS), and you'll be seeing more benefits upcoming to help fund the project. Ellison's father Don and brother/bandmate Kyle are spearheading the project, hoping to prevent future situations like Sims'. More information is forthcoming. And yes, this supersedes any "plaque in the park" nonsense you may have heard.

Mixed Notes

You'll just have to hum "At Seventeen" to yourself (or find the Howard Stern version), as Janis Ian's Austin Music Hall show has been canceled... If you still haven't caught the former Johnny Law guys, now known as Peacemaker, while they're back in town, they'll be opening for Banana Blender Surprise at the Black Cat next Tuesday... The Flying Saucers have a new member (surprise, surprise), and this time it's a drummer; Austin newcomer Michael McCarter... KVRX are going the "rave" route this weekend, with a benefit for the station taking place at Proteus on Saturday night... I don't think I told you the second stage lineup for this year's H.O.R.D.E. tour, so listen up: Wilco, Morphine, Soulhat. Got that? Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10am through STAR Tickets... "Ian-store" appearances this week include Abra Moore (former Poi Dog) at Waterloo Records on Friday at 5pm, Ian Moore at Waterloo next Tuesday at 5pm (a KLBJ-FM live remote broadcast) and Rhythm and Brass (What? No Moore?) at Tower Records Saturday at 2pm...n