by Phil Houseal | Nov 3, 2023 | All Articles, Education, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
Nov 1, 2023–If you’d told me I would get emotional while picking up a tire, I’d have punctured your sidewall. Believe it or not, I visited a Discount Tire for the first time this summer. It’s like the Buc-cees of tire chain stores. My first clue it was a special place...
by Phil Houseal | Oct 4, 2023 | All Articles, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country
Oct 4, 2023–Every time it seems the modern music scene is abandoning “veteran” music-makers on the bandstands of history, a young artist comes along that rediscovers a classic genre, makes it her own, and shares it with a whole new generation. Meet Miss Georgia...
by Phil Houseal | Sep 20, 2023 | All Articles, History, Music, People of the Hill Country
Sept 20, 2023–My recent column about my One-Hit-Wonder song Rocky Mountain Oysters caused an unexpected and un-merited surge in interest about my songwriting career. While attending a recent dance hall night, several fans requested that I sing The Fredericksburg Phone...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 23, 2023 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
Aug 23, 2023–No matter how many times you snake along Farm to Market Road 1376, a small tingle rises when you turn off on Luckenbach’s Town Loop. I vividly recall my first trip here in 1978. It was like a pilgrimage to Lourdes. The song Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 9, 2023 | All Articles, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Aug 9, 2023–Here’s a life lesson for aspiring musicians: “The more you play, the more you play.” That’s the motto of a recent Hill Country resident, who also, oh, happens to have been the fiddler for Asleep At The Wheel for eight years. “I still feel like a student,”...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 2, 2023 | All Articles, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country
Aug 2, 2023–In one of those anomalous alignments of the universe, I’ve been asked several times recently how I came to live, work, and write in the Texas Hill Country. There’s a romantic version, a Hitchhiker’s Guide version, and a screenplay version of my origin...
