Speaking of sonic boomers, the website of that name is the brainchild of former Austinite Bill Bentley, a man of no small accomplishment in the music industry. Bentley is in town this weekend to play the Bizarros reunion Friday, June 12, during Hole in the Wall’s 35th anniversary. He wanted me to write about the Bizarros, and suggested I contact “Moondog” Bellamy, but Bentley’s a writer at heart, and in an email, he said it so much better than I could.
“[Moondog] is from Odessa, came to Austin in the mid-60s to go to UT, English major, lived at College House and fell in with fellow bohemians. They started Lea Ann & the Bizarros around 1969-70, I think. Big Boy Medlin wrote some songs for them. I joined in 1971, and we started playing at Bevo’s Westside Tap Room, with Ike Ritter on guitar, various bassists, and girl singers Sally James and Betty Burda. Lea Ann and Jimmy Boone were pianist/guitarist. We moved to Hole in the Wall. Then several people left, and me, Mike, and Bellamy were joined by Speedy Sparks and Sterling Morrison.”
“Around 1978, Sterling got voted out (ouch!) and Bill Campbell was asked to join. That’s when we went to old Continental and asked if we could start there on Friday nights. It was wino bar empty at night. Everyone got drunk early and left. We got great, but it was the beginning of the end as far as having fun. I split in 1980, right after the band broke. But it was fun while it lasted. That’s the thumbnail sketch.
“The Bizarros’ genius was we would find a bar and play there every Friday night for years. People knew where to find us, and they would come late because as soon as the bar closed at 2, we’d convert our funds to beer and take all the cases over to Big and Bellamy’s house on Pearl Street and have all-night twist-offs, which were just drinking parties until dawn, with occasional bouts of Ike’s speed. This was really pre-coke, so a very pure, rocking scene. People danced in the living room and carried on indoors and outdoors. Great, great fun for almost ten years.”
Hole in the Wall’s anniversary weekend continues Saturday with the Hickoids and Sunday with the Superego All-Stars.
This article appears in June 5 • 2009.