You know I always like some personal stories mixed in with the musical/historical. So this was certainly a fave. It's amazing how many such "venues without piers" existed and are now splinters of their former selves. As if we needed another example of the ravages of climate change. Don't think any of these piers are going to be rebuilt. Now if we want to see our live music on the water, we go on nostalgia cruises! I will admit to considering the yacht rock cruise a few years ago. Which seems an oxymoron -- it has to happen on a yacht for goodness' sake!
Certainly thought about your Earworm nuggets while writing this one, Steve! I'm just gonna go out on a limb, and say that this is the first article mentioning both Shep Fields and ZZ Top on the same page! And, don't be surprised at a rebuilding of one or some of these long-lost jetties! You never know when one of them just might re-a-pier.
But, you're right about the oxymoronic phrasing of what might, otherwise, be a wonderful experience! I, too, would love to go on a yacht rock cruise, especially after my one disastrous music-related cruise ended in tragedy: It seems I booked passage on the Heavy Metal Cruise🚢, and against all odds--wouldn't you know it?--the dang thing sank.
We just couldn't see it coming...which probably had more to do with our vantage point than anything else...the promenade deck. Ozzy, standing right next to me, started yelling, "SHARON! Why is the water risinGLUBGLUB?!"🌊I'll think twice next time the good folks at Heavy Metal Helicopter Tours approaches me at the mall.🚁
In regards to the rebuilding of such landmark venues as the Balinese Room, I feel it would require a huge investment in a new pier to pier architectural file sharing system.
You are making me think that they should remake The Titanic movie but as a heavy metal cruise. Ozzy would play Leo and Sharon would play Kate. I see the billions pouring in.
One of the only reasons I can never commit to moving to Galveston is the potential of the storm. Such an amazingly weird town once you start digging into its history, past the tourist shops and the Seawall. Actually, the Seawall itself is a great place to start. An engineering marvel! Galveston might be better known as the home of pirate Jean Lafitte, but I choose to also remember that Barry White was born there.
I didn't know that Maestro White was a Galvestonite, Jamie! Growing up in Houston, many would be the times we'd drive the 50 miles to the island for a day at the beach! I remember a few of the seafood restaurants we'd go to (I think Guido's was one). I wrote about my band, Brimstone, playing Galveston's Moody Civic Center in about '72, where Trapeze had played just a few weeks before!
It's behind a paywall, but I think I have a preview before the break. It has to stay paid because it was one of several exclusive articles I gifted my Paid Subscribers last summer! But, here it is:
Trapeze, dang! Wonder what they thought of winding up on the island.
Gaido's is the spot (they have the best logo, Gaido's spelled out in the shape of a fish—I always wanted a t shirt when I was a kid. Gaido's and Willie G's (Post Oak?), that shaped all Gulf Coast seafood for me, hahaha!
Playing Moody must have left you with some real memories (or not so real, as memories get wily after a while)!
THAT's the spelling! I guess I grew up, and over time, figured it was like Guido ("gwee-doh"), but with a long i! Thank you! NOW, I'll try looking it up to see what I can find, and whatever happened to it!
Well, one of the Moody memories is in the article, where we drove back to our seawall motel after the show, and could see from the driveway that one of our rooms' door was open and teens were streaming out!😱
Does anyone remember the name of a dance club with live bands like the Boogie Kings that was right on the beach in Galveston in the late 60s, early 70s thanks
The Bamboo Hut came up in some research, but personally, I can't recall any other Galveston rooms that booked bands. Maybe our readers might have an idea.....if so, drop it in the comments here! Thanks, Bobby!
My bro and I even learned how to play Pinochle, which I find hilarious these days! That had to have been the '60s when I was barely into double-digits! I haven't played in, like, 55 years! 'Twas the first time I heard the word "meld"...and, haven't heard or used it since!
As for Top's discography, you're right about "Fandango!" I think their MTV-era output is, understandably, the most-recognized. But, if "kids these days" only glom onto those videos, they'll miss some pretty bitchin' tuneage!
Excellent! Another fantastic little ole band from TayHoss. You know I love Billy. Great true story. Thanks. We all need some Reverend Billy Gibbons in our life :)
Thanks, Paul....All this family lore that I grew up with! It was sometime in the '70s when I started to quiz Mom about now-famous Houstonians (Rogers, a guy named Gibbons, lounge singer Ronnie David, Bobby Doyle, and others), and if she ever booked them when they were just scrounging for club dates, and the odd convention-entertainment gigs.
She showed me some old contract copies she had kept, and she vaguely remembered the Gibbons name (can't recall if she mentioned Billy's dad and ork, or not). I DO remember her mentioning something about sidewalks, and when pressed, I confirmed that, at some point, she had booked them at some club(s), and I remember telling her, "Do you know who you once booked?!" When I mentioned "an early ZZ Top," that meant nothing to her, so I showed her pix and records of them!
Although they had nothing to do with Houston, personally, she once booked Alabama around Texas for a time, before their recording contract (and resultant tours), and, as she said, they outgrew her, and needed a national agent for bookings, tours, etc. This'll never find its way into a story, but she once helped dress comic, Phyllis Diller, before a gig! Don't know how...just right place/right time. Mom was there, she knew people, and Phyllis needed a hand.....!
You know I always like some personal stories mixed in with the musical/historical. So this was certainly a fave. It's amazing how many such "venues without piers" existed and are now splinters of their former selves. As if we needed another example of the ravages of climate change. Don't think any of these piers are going to be rebuilt. Now if we want to see our live music on the water, we go on nostalgia cruises! I will admit to considering the yacht rock cruise a few years ago. Which seems an oxymoron -- it has to happen on a yacht for goodness' sake!
Certainly thought about your Earworm nuggets while writing this one, Steve! I'm just gonna go out on a limb, and say that this is the first article mentioning both Shep Fields and ZZ Top on the same page! And, don't be surprised at a rebuilding of one or some of these long-lost jetties! You never know when one of them just might re-a-pier.
But, you're right about the oxymoronic phrasing of what might, otherwise, be a wonderful experience! I, too, would love to go on a yacht rock cruise, especially after my one disastrous music-related cruise ended in tragedy: It seems I booked passage on the Heavy Metal Cruise🚢, and against all odds--wouldn't you know it?--the dang thing sank.
We just couldn't see it coming...which probably had more to do with our vantage point than anything else...the promenade deck. Ozzy, standing right next to me, started yelling, "SHARON! Why is the water risinGLUBGLUB?!"🌊I'll think twice next time the good folks at Heavy Metal Helicopter Tours approaches me at the mall.🚁
In regards to the rebuilding of such landmark venues as the Balinese Room, I feel it would require a huge investment in a new pier to pier architectural file sharing system.
You are making me think that they should remake The Titanic movie but as a heavy metal cruise. Ozzy would play Leo and Sharon would play Kate. I see the billions pouring in.
One of the only reasons I can never commit to moving to Galveston is the potential of the storm. Such an amazingly weird town once you start digging into its history, past the tourist shops and the Seawall. Actually, the Seawall itself is a great place to start. An engineering marvel! Galveston might be better known as the home of pirate Jean Lafitte, but I choose to also remember that Barry White was born there.
I didn't know that Maestro White was a Galvestonite, Jamie! Growing up in Houston, many would be the times we'd drive the 50 miles to the island for a day at the beach! I remember a few of the seafood restaurants we'd go to (I think Guido's was one). I wrote about my band, Brimstone, playing Galveston's Moody Civic Center in about '72, where Trapeze had played just a few weeks before!
It's behind a paywall, but I think I have a preview before the break. It has to stay paid because it was one of several exclusive articles I gifted my Paid Subscribers last summer! But, here it is:
https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/1i-was-a-teenage-lead-singer-the?utm_source=publication-search
Trapeze, dang! Wonder what they thought of winding up on the island.
Gaido's is the spot (they have the best logo, Gaido's spelled out in the shape of a fish—I always wanted a t shirt when I was a kid. Gaido's and Willie G's (Post Oak?), that shaped all Gulf Coast seafood for me, hahaha!
Playing Moody must have left you with some real memories (or not so real, as memories get wily after a while)!
THAT's the spelling! I guess I grew up, and over time, figured it was like Guido ("gwee-doh"), but with a long i! Thank you! NOW, I'll try looking it up to see what I can find, and whatever happened to it!
Well, one of the Moody memories is in the article, where we drove back to our seawall motel after the show, and could see from the driveway that one of our rooms' door was open and teens were streaming out!😱
Does anyone remember the name of a dance club with live bands like the Boogie Kings that was right on the beach in Galveston in the late 60s, early 70s thanks
The Bamboo Hut came up in some research, but personally, I can't recall any other Galveston rooms that booked bands. Maybe our readers might have an idea.....if so, drop it in the comments here! Thanks, Bobby!
"Balinese" (and Fandango! for that matter) never get enough due. Loved the waving of the personal story as well.
Any family gathering at my grandparents involved a game of Pinochle... and chain smoking with rocks glasses that were never empty.
My bro and I even learned how to play Pinochle, which I find hilarious these days! That had to have been the '60s when I was barely into double-digits! I haven't played in, like, 55 years! 'Twas the first time I heard the word "meld"...and, haven't heard or used it since!
As for Top's discography, you're right about "Fandango!" I think their MTV-era output is, understandably, the most-recognized. But, if "kids these days" only glom onto those videos, they'll miss some pretty bitchin' tuneage!
Excellent! Another fantastic little ole band from TayHoss. You know I love Billy. Great true story. Thanks. We all need some Reverend Billy Gibbons in our life :)
I saw Billy and the new ZZ band last April, near where I live. https://pau1.substack.com/p/zz-top-in-penticton-sunday-april Cheap Trick too.
Thanks, Paul....All this family lore that I grew up with! It was sometime in the '70s when I started to quiz Mom about now-famous Houstonians (Rogers, a guy named Gibbons, lounge singer Ronnie David, Bobby Doyle, and others), and if she ever booked them when they were just scrounging for club dates, and the odd convention-entertainment gigs.
She showed me some old contract copies she had kept, and she vaguely remembered the Gibbons name (can't recall if she mentioned Billy's dad and ork, or not). I DO remember her mentioning something about sidewalks, and when pressed, I confirmed that, at some point, she had booked them at some club(s), and I remember telling her, "Do you know who you once booked?!" When I mentioned "an early ZZ Top," that meant nothing to her, so I showed her pix and records of them!
Although they had nothing to do with Houston, personally, she once booked Alabama around Texas for a time, before their recording contract (and resultant tours), and, as she said, they outgrew her, and needed a national agent for bookings, tours, etc. This'll never find its way into a story, but she once helped dress comic, Phyllis Diller, before a gig! Don't know how...just right place/right time. Mom was there, she knew people, and Phyllis needed a hand.....!
That was just Mom! Dad had his own coterie of celeb-types he'd invite over! The name Seger Ellis was heard often in the house in the '60s, and he https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seger_Ellis and Arnett Cobb would be frequent visitors! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnett_Cobb
I'll check out your Top/Cheap Trick article! That's a cool bill, and not nearly as odd a match-up as it might've been perceived back in the day!