by Phil Houseal | Nov 15, 2018 | All Articles, Education, Music, Philosophy
“No baby ever learns to talk from taking a class.” Mike Reiss, writer for The Simpsons 11/14/2018–We try too hard to “teach” rather than let people “learn.” While interviewing a renowned guitarist about how he was going to lead a string workshop, I was...
by Phil Houseal | Oct 31, 2018 | All Articles, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
Nov 1, 2018–Confession: When I first played in a Texas dance hall, I didn’t get it. Everyone ignored the band. I was used to being on stage in clubs and bars where the band was the show; the dancing was incidental. This was the opposite. Ray Benson, founder of the...
by Phil Houseal | Oct 4, 2018 | All Articles, Events, Music, Philosophy
Oct 3, 2018–One night while playing drums in a smoky bar somewhere in Texas, I kicked off the band on a Hank Williams song we’d played 99 times before. But on this night for some reason, I listened to the words for the first time. It was, I realized, a good song....
by Phil Houseal | Sep 27, 2018 | All Articles, Events, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
Sept 26, 2018–When you talk about “picking” with folk and bluegrass singer/songwriters Katy Lou and Penny Lea Clark, you need to make sure you are talking about playing music and not harvesting the colorful legumes that gave their band its name–The Purple Hulls....
by Phil Houseal | Sep 20, 2018 | All Articles, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Sept 19, 2018–When I heard the news that the world lost Mark Hierholzer last week, I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to write about it, either. But I changed my mind. Mark Hierholzer made a lot of people change their minds. For those not aware of his...
by Phil Houseal | Sep 6, 2018 | All Articles, Education, Music, People of the Hill Country
Sept 5, 2018–When you think of Schreiner University, the first thing that comes to mind is not mariachi music. But if an enthusiastic group of young musicians have their way, mariachis might take their place alongside Mountaineers. When Courtland Gully, a Junior from...
