Sometimes May can be the hottest month of the year. Not this year. Right now, it’s 69F at noon and tonight will fall to the 50’s.
In the summer, the crowds thin out. Some river guides move to places that are “in season” in the summer. Some locals migrate to their summer homes in Colorado, New Mexico – anywhere that’s cooler than here.
The music continues. The Boathouse is still down for the count, but the Starlight Theatre and La Kiva have picked up the slack.
And then there’s the porch. Between the Starlight Theatre and the Terlingua Trading Post there is a covered cowboy porch, with benches against the wall.
It’s 2016. The history of the building we know as the Boathouse in Terlingua starts in 1981, There have been a lot of changes there during its 35 year life.
Since I’m a relative newcomer to the area- I bought my property 10 years ago and have lived here full-time for just 3 years – I asked Mike Davidson, who’s owned that property since the early 80’s, to write a “history of the Boathouse” for us- it’s included at the end of this blog post. Continue reading “Changes at the Boathouse”
Carolyn Wonderland, Butch and Rory Hancock, Alan Munde, Jitterbug Vipers, Ghosts Along the Brazos… and more!
Slim would’a had fun…
Actually, Doug Moreland did a chainsaw sculpture of Slim that hung out on the stage during the festival…
Jeffro Greasewood, the former promoter of Rice Fest in Fischer, Texas, showed how a music festival is supposed to be done. He had a lot of help, most notably from David Crum who provided the big tents, helped set them up, and did some major landscaping to prepare for the show.
What: SlimFest oNe – a celebration of the world’s most dangerous guitar player featuring magical jam sessions and performances from Butch and Rory Hancock, Carolyn Wonderland, Jitterbug Vipers, Ghost Along the Brazos, Alan Munde and more.
There was some amazing music in Terlingua over the holidays:
Butch and Rory Hancock, Jimmie Dale and Colin Gilmore, Gurf Morlix, The Mastersons, Bonnie Whitmore, Jacob Jaeger, Kristopher and Ann Wade, The Jitterbug Vipers, Will Taylor (Strings Attached), Chet O’Keefe…
And some locals also played- The Whitmores, The Fabulous Vortexans (with Chase Peeler on Sax!), Jim Keaveny and band.
From a consumer’s point of view, it was a delicious smorgasbord of wonderful noises.
I play guitar and keys in the Fabulous Vortexans Blues/Jam Band and our show at the Starlight Theatre was packed. It is so much fun to play for a room full of dancing, happy people. That band at that venue on that night is becoming a tradition, and it’s one I treasure and hope to continue for years. I’ve come to expect New Year’s Eve to be packed.
However; I was surprised that the Townes Van Zant tribute (1/1/16) at the Starlight was so packed that there was nowhere to stand or sit. There were so many people listening to the music… and ordering drinks and food… and talking… and the waitresses zoomed by like smart bombs loaded with burgers and beer, gracefully bouncing off of people who drifted and rebounded like the rocks in an old asteroids video game looking for a safe place to stand… Continue reading “Holiday Music – Terlingua”
Before the Jitterbug Vipers unleashed their Viper Jazz on a standing room only crowd in the Boathouse, Sharron and Jeffro had a renuptual ceremony behind the Boathouse.
What’s a renuptual ceremony? Well, first there was the “Frayed (fraid) knot ceremony where Jeffro and Sha promised to not get married. Then they got married. Then, yesterday, they did it again.
After the ceremony, the attendees all laid on the dance floor and watched the sun dogs in the sky. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a sun dog before- it’s a rainbow directly overhead, best viewed from a prone position after a couple of shots of sotol.
Viper music was developed in the 1940’s to celebrate the underground- specifically pot-smoking- culture that was developing then. It’s a fun, swinging genre that leaves lots of room for virtuoso soloing by the musicians. Greg Harkins, Beth Gallagher, and Cinco laid down some very impressive leads.
Popularized by the gone but damn sure not forgotten Slim Ritchy (The Most Dangerous Guitar Player in Texas), the current line-up of the Jitterbug Vipers keeps the spirit and chops alive and jamming.
The Boathouse was absolutely packed. Some of the tourists seemed confused, and left early. This was not what they expected. Their places were quickly taken by those who “got it,” and the crowd stayed to the end.
The Vipers will be back at the Boathouse tonight. Long-time Terlingua celebrity Uh Clem will be at the Starlight.
The 2nd Annual Mark Kneeskern Art Party was just how Mark would have liked it. Costumes, art, dancing, music…
Yes, it was a party. However, it was a party for a good cause. In addition to remembering Mark, thousands of dollars were raised to teach art to children and provide a scholarship for a local graduate.
Wednesday night was another amazing night of music in Terlingua.
I met Sarah Burton at the Las Ruinas Campground, which I run and where she was staying for the night. She’s a Canadian singer/songwriter touring the Southwest U.S. for the summer.
She was late for soundcheck, so I cleaned the bathrooms and shower at the campground while she hurried to the Starlight Theatre, where she would be performing later that night.
Later, I joined her for dinner and then sat down to catch the first few songs, thinking I’d head for the Boathouse for Open Mic. Two and a half hours later, I was still sitting there. I turned to Buckner Cooke, who is entertainment manager and sound guy at the Starlight and said, “I would have paid for this show.”
Bucky informed me that he had just decided to charge a retroactive $10 cover.
Sarah is one of those rare performers who is able to take on the character of the protagonist of her songs. She becomes the song. Her show was mostly originals, with a few tasty cover tunes.
She played for a half-filled room, but people lingered over dinner and drinks and she held the crowd. I suspect that the next time she plays in Terlingua she’ll fill the room. I’ll certainly be there.
After Sarah’s show, she, Buckner, some of the staff from the Starlight, and I headed for the Boathouse, where Santa was hosting the Open Mic.
Santa sang. Chris Baker and Shanna Cowell sang and played. John Cronin, who plays with Ian Tyson, was visiting and he played and sang (Another Canadian!). Shannon sang and Trevor played. Trevor sand and played while I accompanied him. And then, Sarah played and sang.
Once again, it was just another night of amazing music in Terlingua.
The music started early yesterday with the Community Christmas Celebration at the Party Barn.
The primary school students started us off with “The 12 Days of Christmas Terlingua Style,” which was announced in English and Spanish. “And a rattlesnake under a rock…”
Then, older students performed on recorder and sang and danced to a carol.
Of course, Santa Claus showed up and was a huge hit with the shorter attendees.
It wasn’t an intuitive match-up. Butch’s songs have a timeless West Texas by way of Dharamsala vibe. Simple chords, deceptively simple lyrics that are as precise as diamonds.
Bruce’s songs sound to me like they’ve been excerpted from an interesting play. Possibly a play set in Eastern Europe. Like Butch, his songs tell stories. His melodies, however, can be based on modes that are more Eastern than Western. Certainly not Country and Western.
They’re both folk singers, and the combination and juxtaposition of their songs and styles made for a fascinating evening of music.
Inevitably, dancing broke out during the last set. Jim Keaveny, who knows a bit about writing songs, added percussion on his tambourine. Stories were told, beer and chicken-fried steak were consumed, and when they played “What’s So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding,” harmonies joined in from various places in the room.
