by Phil Houseal | Jul 3, 2013 | All Articles, Events, History, Music
July 3, 2013–When promoter Gene Wolf asked if I wanted to interview Larry Gatlin before his upcoming Hill Country show, I said yes. I had a question I’d been waiting 30 years to ask him. So when the phone rang and I heard, “Phil, this is Larry Gatlin. How are...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 12, 2013 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
June 12, 2013–All we wanted was to play classical music in a bar. We didn’t know we were part of a revolution. It started one cold, dark night back in February when our local string quartet–Theresa Britt, John Reeve, Tammy Widener, and I–stepped on stage at Hondo’s,...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 5, 2013 | All Articles, History, Music, Philosophy
June 5, 2013–Everyone should dance. I’m not in the habit of handing out advice to my children. First, I don’t have any advice. Second, if I did, they wouldn’t take it. I never did. But when my oldest son set off for college, I felt I should say something profound. So...
by Phil Houseal | Mar 27, 2013 | All Articles, History, Philosophy
Mar 27, 2013–When did men stop wearing hats? I’m talking the classic fedoras of the ‘40s and ‘50s. Think Sam Spade, James Cagney, Jimmy Durante, Elliot Ness. Clark Kent. All of our granddads. My dad. My abiding memory of my dad is his Sunday morning ritual, with him...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 14, 2012 | All Articles, Events, History, Music, Philosophy, Venue
Part II of my visit with Ray Price. Read Part I… Nov 14, 2012–When I first came to Texas, I was expected to learn a drumming style called the “shuffle beat.” I had never heard or seen the two-step, let alone been inside a real dance hall. That beat, my band...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 14, 2012 | All Articles, Events, History, Music, Venue
So what do you ask a legend? If you could interview country music superstar Ray Price, what would you say? This gave me considerable pause when Gene Wolf of Sharity Productions arranged a phone interview in anticipation of Price’s Christmas concert at Cailloux Theater...
by Phil Houseal | Sep 12, 2012 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Sept 12, 2012–This sentence is supposed to make you want to read the rest of this column. I am fascinated with the power of first lines. Their importance is under appreciated. One brief string of words has the burden of drawing the attention of potential readers from...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 1, 2012 | All Articles, Education, History, People of the Hill Country
Aug 1, 2012–A significant milestone happened in the music world this month. You might have missed it, because it took place down a ways from Fredericksburg–10 billion miles down the Milky Way, to be exact. A recording from the 1970s left the solar system. It was the...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 25, 2012 | All Articles, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
July 25, 2012–Is it an itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny coverup or a double-D big deal? Or maybe it’s just B.S. The national news media have picked up the story about a town in Texas that is causing quite a stir around here. According to the versions I have been reading,...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 4, 2012 | All Articles, Music, People of the Hill Country
April 4, 2012–For someone whose handmade guitars have been called “the perfect instrument,” “the Rolls Royce of guitars,” and “the guitar I want to take to heaven with me,” Mark Piper is surprisingly humble. “I don’t have a huge ego,” said Piper, who after a 30-year...
