by Phil Houseal | Dec 27, 2017 | All Articles, Events, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
Dec 27, 2017–“How can we go to a Jake Hooker show and not dance!” According to Sheila Hooker, wife of the popular dance band front man, that is a common plaint from fans about the band’s first “sit down” theater show set for Jan 6 at Lantex Theater in Llano. It’s a...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 21, 2017 | All Articles, Events, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Dec 20, 2017–How come the Grinch gets all the hot Whos? That was my takeaway after a challenging week performing as Dr. Seuss’s beloved nemesis in Regan Mann’s tap dance production at Fredericksburg Theater Company. First, let me establish that this role challenged my...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 14, 2017 | All Articles, Events, People of the Hill Country, Venue
Dec 13, 2017–I came face to face with steampunk for the first time in 2010. Literally. It happened during my tenure as director of Club Ed community education program. As a marketing hook, I would adopt various personas to make my catalogs stand out. Over the years, I...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 9, 2017 | All Articles, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Dec 6, 2017–Have you ever taken an outdoor shower? Not been in a rain shower. But taken an actual shower. Why not? There is no personal pampering experience more sublime than standing bare under God’s firmament, relishing the cool freshets of pure water tumbling over...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 30, 2017 | All Articles, Events, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
Nov 29, 2017–For Michael Martin Murphey, changing up his Cowboy Christmas Show would be “like coming to town and not singing Wildfire.” “The audience would kill us if we changed it,” said the American music legend during an interview about his Dec 2 show at the...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 21, 2017 | All Articles, Events, Music
Nov 22, 2017–’Tis the season of nutcrackers, ballerinas, and dancing sugarplums, whatever those are. So of course Regan Mann of Fredericksburg Dance Company wanted to toss a little grinchiness into this sometimes syrupy season. Sure, her dancers will offer a...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 17, 2017 | All Articles, Food, Philosophy
Nov 15, 2017–As Thanksgiving brings its predictable menu of comfort food, dispensed in your family tradition, I started thinking about how as we grow older we tend to seek out stronger flavors. The pungency of goat cheese and truffles. The tang of red wine and black...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 9, 2017 | All Articles, Events, Philosophy, Venue
Nov 8, 2017–I was at Ground Zero for the birth of eSports, and didn’t realize it. The year was 1982. The location was Ottumwa, Iowa. More specifically, it was inside a storefront video game arcade called Twin Galaxies. After a challenging day teaching at Evans Junior...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 2, 2017 | All Articles, Events, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Nov 1, 2017–“I like being a storyteller.” Honestly, I didn’t know much about singer/songwriter Radney Foster before interviewing him. But when those were the first words out of his mouth, I knew I was meeting a kindred spirit. Foster–who will be doing an acoustic show...
by Phil Houseal | Oct 27, 2017 | All Articles, Events, Music, Venue
As published in the Kerrville (TX) Daily Times Spotlight Oct 19, 2017–The big, bright, brash sound of the seminal rock band Chicago had such an impact on Mason Swearingen, he remembers clearly the first time he heard it. “My earliest childhood memory is sitting in my...
