Music Matters

Austin Music Map: Sharing stories from the underbelly of Austin's music scene

One of a musicphile's best local resources for a glimpse into Texas's diverse music culture is KUT's Texas Music Matters. When I tune in for a Friday lunchtime respite, I'm never disappointed by the stories of Texas that give little known insight into the scene's most influential players.

While the greater state of Texas has plenty of fodder for stories, KUT (along with help from Localore and Zeega) is currently embarking on a new journey into the underbelly of Austin's music subcultures, specifically the haunts and trailblazers who have made Austin such a renowned, and sustained, hub of music creativity.

Spearheaded by KUT producer Delaney Hall, Austin Music Map is one of 10 national projects funded by a grant from the Association for Independence in Radio (AIR). The overall goal is to explore new avenues for creative storytelling, and, according to Hall, "change the relationship with listeners, where we're not just sending stories out to them." The project topics are varied — from uncovering the South Dakota oil boom to Boston's Chinese take-out food culture — but in Austin, it's all about music.

Austin Music Map will become an ambassador of sorts, opening doors — at least virtually — to the inner-workings of lesser known communities, that while hidden, have had a lasting impression on Austin's larger musical identity.

Austin Music Map will put a new spin on the cartography of Austin's underground scenes, both online and on the radio, and to do so, the project is going directly to the best sources for the city's music heritage: the public. As part of its research, Austin Music Map encourages local music lovers and subculture members to leave their mark. Sharing photos and recordings from the depths of the music scene are highly encouraged; stories are, too.

There's even a hotline where you can call in and tell your Austin music story, whether it's about a front porch hootenanny or an ever-popular icon sighting. On a recent Marfa Public Radio interview, Hall recalled a message left by David Peterson about iconic punk club, The Bates Motel:

I think he was there actually on the last night that The Bates Motel was in operation. And basically the entire crowd destroyed the club following the show... there were sledgehammers, they beat apart a washing machine, there were flame-throwers. It just sounded like the craziest show.

The Austin Music Map is already taking shape in the form of segments on Texas Music Matters, which airs each Friday at 12 p.m. on 90.5 FM, but soon, it will assume a new online identity. An interactive online map should launch by mid-September, incorporating user-submitted photos and stories. And while you can expect to find some above-the-radar spaces on the map, plan to uncover some hidden Austin gems, as well.

The project aims to cover elements that aren't the first things that come to mind when you think about Austin music. Austin Music Map will become an ambassador of sorts, opening doors — at least virtually — to the inner-workings of lesser known communities, that while hidden, have had a lasting impression on Austin's larger musical identity.

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Learn more about the Austin Music Map on its website. You can submit photos on Facebook and share your story using this form or by calling the hotline: 512-861-8266.

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Hidden Austin

The men behind Cash, Haggard and Clapton: Austin musicians with legendary pasts

Casper Rawls at Buck Bash, 2011
Photo by Caleb Bryant Miller
Redd Volkaert
Earl Poole Ball, Mr. Honky Tonk Piano
Bobby Whitlock
Photo by: Jim Chapin

Every week, local musicians with legendary backgrounds play solo and group gigs on Austin's famed stages, from the Continental Club to Saxon Pub.

Casper Rawls, Redd Volkaert, Earl Poole Ball and Bobby Whitlock have become staples of the Austin music scene in their own right, but before they planted roots in Austin, they played with some of the most legendary heroes of country and rock.

Though we don't live in an era where the Man in Black will pony up to a local stage, we do live in a town where you can pony up to the bar and experience the music of the men behind legends like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens and Eric Clapton. These are the local legends you need to know — and see live — at Austin's best music rooms.

Casper Rawls

Casper Rawls is, plain and simple, a Texas guitarist — and one of its finest at that. Rawls boasts an incredible resume that extends over four decades.

What he's most known for in the local country circuit is his part in founding Buck Bash, an annual event at the Continental Club each August (this year will be its 21st anniversary). Even though he’s a Texan by definition, Rawls has mastered the Bakersfield guitar sound created by Buck Owens — “It’s not Nashville at all: loose, big old beat, twangy guitars, great singing and harmonies,” Rawls told CultureMap in a previous interview.

That twangy sound does well here in Austin, where players — especially Rawls — bring it to life. Rawls played at Buck Owen’s Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, CA and still has a guitar that Owens sent to him to thank him for the annual Austin birthday bash.

Rawls’ project Planet Casper has been a weekly event at Continental Club for five years. Though currently on hiatus, Planet Casper will begin to orbit again in September, this time bringing everything from Badfinger to Buck to the Continental stage on Sundays from 3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Redd Volkaert

Redd Volkaert has been a fixture in the Austin music scene for over a decade. But before calling Texas home, he hung his hat in Nashville and spent the latter part of the 90s as Merle Haggard’s guitarist.

“One day the phone rang and Merle Haggard wanted to know if I was interested in working with him,” Volkaert writes on his website. “I had jammed with and got to know some of the guys in his band. So when Joe Manuel left to go with Lee Anne Womack, Merle asked the band who they wanted on guitar, five out of eight said me, so I am still getting even with the other three.”

With Haggard, it was all outlaw guitar, but Volkaert’s solo shows are much more versatile. He’s a modern master of western swing who can even make the Flintsones theme song take your breath away.

If you haven’t yet met the boisterous, bigger-than-life man and his unique sound, you’re missing out. You’re also missing out on a hell of a time at Continental Club. Volkaert plays a free Saturday afternoon show at Continental Club each week. Get there early if you want a seat, otherwise, bring your dancing shoes.

Earl Poole Ball

Affectionately called “Mr. Honky Tonk Piano,” Earl Poole Ball has a name that’s just as eye-catching as the list of music trailblazers he’s performed with over the years.

Like Redd Volkaert, Ball played with Merle Haggard, as well as Glen Campbell, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Buck Owens and Jerry Lee Lewis. But Ball is most known for his 20-year stint as Johnny Cash’s piano player.

Known as a honky-tonk master, Ball’s shows cover everything from the blues and country rock to high-flying boogie-woogie piano. He just ended a two-year residency at Saxon Pub, but he has more solo gigs on the horizon. In the meantime, you can catch Earl Poole Ball with Heybale — a local super-group of sorts that includes Redd Volkaert — on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. at Continental Club.

Bobby Whitlock

Sure, this list leans a little country, but there’s always room for some soulful rock n’ roll. Bobby Whitlock brings that to Austin with just one word: “Layla.”

Whitlock was a member of the short-lived, but monumentally influential, Derek and the Dominoes with Eric Clapton from 1970 - 1971. Though Whitlock isn't credited as a writer on “Layla,” his influence is heard on most of the tracks from Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, which, more than 40 years after it dropped, is still widely regarded as one of the best albums of all time.

Derek and the Dominoes may have faded quickly, but Whitlock’s career has not. He resides in Austin and plays a weekly gig with his wife, Coco Carmel. You can catch Bobby & Coco each Sunday night at the Saxon Pub.