Month: December 2005

Taken just last night, Christmas Eve. These are the boys…l to r–Orion, Zane, Scott and Hawk. Joy to the World. Peace on Earth. Goodwill to all Men. May the Spirit of the all-encompassing loving Christ Child permeate all. Merry Christmas.

Yesterday, December 8, 2005, was the 25th anniversary of John Lennon’s abrupt departure from his spot at the Head of the Parade. I miss him dearly. He was a hero in the ancient sense. He stood for something much bigger than himself. I think his legacy evokes and compels Standing For Peace on a personal level, too…so here’s an image addressing his lasting living memorial… We knew what the warmongers were doing almost 3 years ago, we knew we were being lied to, and we’re not surprised it’s turned out so poorly on so many levels. All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance.

I’m including Freddie King here because I never hear his name anymore, and I consider him to be one of the best bluesmen I ever heard. He was also pivotal, in my mind, to Austin becoming the all encompassing musical center it’s become. In the early days of the Armadillo, when they were still searching for an audience, Freddie King would draw the hordes of hippies like nobody else. There was a musical and cultural cross-pollination that occurred on those hot un-airconditioned summer nights that set up all that came after. The hippies, it turned out, discovered they absolutely loved Freddie’s joyous renditions of the Blues Freddie died too young, but his Muse carries on, annointing others in their turn…

Back in the days before I knew better, I used a direct flash to light one of my favorite performers. I always find it startling to be able to see into someone’s mouth while they’re singing, and I really dislike flattening out ambient stage lighting with direct-axis on-camera flash. Nevertheless, it works here… It’s a good shot of Zappa at his sparkling, witty and irreverant best.