Frank Gutch Jr: Doug Sahm & The Search For The Perfect Taco… Plus Notes

‘At freaking Doug Sahm.  I thought I knew him, and I do know his music, but he was a lot more complicated than I’d ever heard.  Hell of a musician.  The epitome of crazy as hell.  Hellbent on glory.  And yet shied back from it whenever it showed itself.  If his life had been all stage, I think he would have been happier, but those times in between shows and rehearsals wore him down.  There are only so many shows in any one of us and Sahm had more than most.  A lot more.

I think I learned more about him watching the documentary Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove than I could have learned outside of following him since the sixties and the explosion of Texas music (and The Sir Douglas Quintet) all over the US of A.  There is a lot to learn and watching the film a few more times will more than likely fill in some holes, but man!  What a life!

Frank Gutch Jr: My Music Bubbleth Under

It should be no secret by now that when it comes to music I am drawn to the non-hits, the non-charters, and the obscure.  Some of the most beloved music of my past have consisted of  artists and songs only the most avant of the garde have treasured— the Little John & The Monks and the Cargoes and, until their fairly recent deification, the Big Stars.  It started innocently enough— the placement of Jimmy Bowen‘s By the Light of the Silv’ry Moon on radio station KEX‘s Barney Keep‘s playlist, but it was enough.