102: Lou Lewis of Rattlesnake Milk
On Episode 102, I am joined by Lou Lewis, the lead vocalist and lyricist of rollicking country-punk outfit Rattlesnake Milk. Lewis and company are largely informed by the flatlands of West Texas on their second album, a 10-tracked self-titled full-length that they released earlier this Spring. Through this string of character-driven narratives and truck driver country highway rollers, Lewis captures a gritty, dust-blown bunch of Flatlanders who are working the land--and being worked by the harsh land themselves. During this episode, we talk about those who influence & inspired Lewis's writing, farming in the South Plains, cultivating their sound, Mid-2000s era Lubbock music, contemporaries like Daniel Fluitt of Thrift Store Cowboys & Red Shahan, and discovering songwriters like Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, and Townes Van Zandt and their impact.
This episode's presenting partner is The Blue Light Live and Wicker's Mesquite Smoked Jalapeno Jelly.
Interview Transcript
Note: Transcripts aren’t always accurate since they are computer automated and haven’t been edited for spelling, grammar, etc.
Thomas Mooney 0:00
everyone welcome to new slang. I am music journalist Thomas Mooney, your host and on this episode, Episode 102 I'm joined by Mr. Lou Lewis of rattlesnake milk. For those who may be unfamiliar rattlesnake milk is originally from Lubbock. All those guys have been in bands from here over the years. They've played in a handful of really, really great Lubbock bands we're talking about like Brandon Adams and the sad bastards. One Wolf, one of my favorites, VEDA moon, who had been in a bevy of bands over the years, psychic flowers probably being the biggest we talked about that mid 2000s era of Lubbock music during this. They also just recently released their second album, a 10 track self titled effort that really is one of the best representations of how Lubbock, the panhandle, the South Plains, and how really like West Texas sounds, his train beat rhythms, these packed punches of surf guitar blitzes, and the characters who inhabit the songs are the same folks who are pumping gas next to you at the convenience store on the edge of town. They're sitting at the bar on a Saturday night just looking to take the edge off that week. Specifically, one of the things I think they get bright about these characters and songs like Abernathy, elouise blood and cowboy killers is just how rough they are. There's a toughness to them. And I don't mean that in a rough and tough, rude kind of way. Rather, it's one of those things where life hasn't been the most pleasant or easy. I think it's super easy to generalize West Texas, you know, it's like the Oh, it's hot, flat far and just dole out here. And it's like that everywhere. Well, that's just like, obviously not the case. I say this all because rattlesnake milk really picks up on those nuances, the experiences of those cotton farmers of the opening track Abernathy they're different walks of life in comparison to the to the log book juggling cross country truck driver of the song Dave Dudley, or the Select chain smoker of cowboy killers like Abernathy, that may as well be like the river era Springsteen. It goes from like this complete romanticism of marrying young and beginning your life to being woken up from that dream with a draft letter. It's incredibly dark, but there's like this really romantic element nestled at the core of this line. In the end, if you die, you know my ghost is gonna come and haunt you. I don't know about you, but I feel like that line specifically really represents this couple. But back to the bigger larger point rattlesnake milk really rolls around in the dirt, and just like lays out in the sun on this album. The songs are by and large, a grittier darker at times, but ultimately, an earnest and honest representation of this area. And to be specific, it feels like a 60 mile bubble where Plainview is the epicenter and love acts on the edge. And it's just the proverbial sea of endless cotton rows and the occasional pump jack, grazing pasture, horse, corral and feedlot. As always, if this is your first time listening to Newsline, please hit that subscribe button. It's on all your major podcast platforms. Before we get right into the interview, I wanted to talk to you a second about podcasting and buzzsprout it feels like everyone has a podcast these days. It's been really great to see people use podcasting as a storytelling outlet and to find like minded people, you may have seen new slang take a really big jump this past year, and one of the main reasons has undoubtedly been transitioning over to buzzsprout as my podcast host, they've really made all the quote unquote unfun things about podcasting so easy. For starters. That's why new slang is on every major podcasting platform now, and why it's been so uniform and organized online. I've always enjoyed speaking with songwriters and bands and artists, that's a given. But now buzzsprout has made it so much easier on the publishing side. So if you've ever been interested in launching your own podcast, I'd highly recommend buzzsprout which if you follow the link in the show notes, you'll be able to a sign up with buzzsprout be be given a $20 amazon giftcard and see helps support new slang. Again, that link will be in the show notes. And as a reminder, I just did launch a new slang merch store. Currently we have magnets, koozies buttons and stickers working on a handful of new t shirt ideas. I'm also thinking about coffee mugs, key chains, caps, and maybe even coasters. Let me know what you think about those ideas. I'll have a link to that store in the show notes as well. All right here is Lew Lewis of rattlesnake mill. So you guys released this new record just a minute ago basically. And I know it was like kind of a you know a long time coming for y'all you would you guys had been working on this for a while and
I guess like what what does Like releasing like a record that you've been putting your heart and soul into, right? As like we're in this like strange pandemic time.
Lou Lewis 5:14
Man. That's that's a good question. You know, it's one of those things like, the first record we did was almost eight years ago, which seems crazy that we didn't have a record put out. throughout that whole time when we were playing tons of shows. Really, we were we finished recording that record two years ago. And we were kind of going back and forth with a couple little labels that didn't work out. And they're just very surreal, like, oh, we're finally putting out a record in eight years and you know, pandemic, which is pretty nuts. But, you know, everything happens to do pretty cool. Luckily, we found these guys in Austin that are doing some cool stuff, and they wanted to help us put it out. And I think people in this time are looking for something to distract them from out of madness. And I know I bet we'll get into some crazy music lately. Yeah, like we ended up working out pretty good.
Thomas Mooney 6:22
Yeah. What do you What? That's what I was gonna ask like, what have you been doing to to distract yourself to find a sense of a little bit of normalcy
Lou Lewis 6:34
means the lately, my new thing is I've been getting really into like bushcraft which I don't know if you're familiar with that term. But it's basically like, you know, just making a bunch of stuff out of sticks and camping building tools, just about a bunch of books on like primitive trapping and hunting just really nerding out on some weird, primitive tool. There was stuff like that lately. That's been anything else. Oh, cool. Good music. I've been really getting into Colombian Caribbean music. Yeah. So I've been going down to all this crazy old Colombian golden Colombia's kind of got a weird obsession with cumbias and bushcraft.
Thomas Mooney 7:31
Yeah, I mean, that's, that's really cool, though. I
mean, like, the,
what I've found talking with people lately has been that they have been like, filling their time. That, obviously, you guys just released this record, you guys would be on tour right now playing shows. So like, what do you do with that time? A lot of these people have have found, I don't want to say like, I don't know, like, not stuff that they've what they've been doing is I've been finding stuff that
is
I guess, like scratching that artistic itch, you know, that creative itch? And it may not be but it's not necessarily always songwriting. You know what I mean? And I think like, that, all of that kind of stuff helps out the art in general. You know, it's been a
Lou Lewis 8:28
bit about songwriting, or doing anything with my hands anyway. Yeah. You know, art and music are so intertwined. I like making art. I've always been like some collage work and some little stuff like that. But whenever I got into doing this bushcraft stuff, you're outside your nature, even though it's hot, but you're just having this weird connection to? I don't know, it's like tapping into your ancestry or something.
Thomas Mooney 8:57
Yeah, what also like, I think a lot of stuff like that, when I'm been working with my hands. It feels like you're very focused on the task at hand. But then there's also like this aspect of being able to zone out and like think about other stuff at the same time. It's a mix, where you're able to like, be doing whatever it is and focusing and using a lot of brainpower on whatever that is. But then also, you're thinking about in processing, other things that ends up where you're able to use that space
for
songwriting in a way you know what I mean? Or like ideas, story ideas and stuff like that. Has that happened to you? What's like the like the last thing that you kind of were like, Oh, shit, man, I need to write a song about this.
Lou Lewis 9:55
We Sorry, sir.
Thomas Mooney 9:57
I said like, what was like the last thing that you kind of Have you ever have you gotten like an idea out of that, like when you're doing this and like you're going, oh man, that's like a really great idea, I need to jot this one down to, to work on later. Has any of that happened?
Lou Lewis 10:12
Man, I can't really remember anything off the top of my head, just kind of going through. Here, just, you know, reflecting on the past, I've been doing most of that lately, just reflecting on where I came from. And you know, all the all the good times I've had with my family and growing up in the panhandle. It's more like a reflection, I'm sure it's gonna end up coming up. In some of the new stuff, we're writing nothing crazy. We got 10 songs about the record next month. And then I have another batch, like a concept record, in the can for after that, too. And then I got a bunch of weird little similar stuff. And then so it all comes out later. But I think while I'm doing these things, I'm kind of just processing grilling up on the claim, being out there and kind of missing that area a lot. Because it's such a contrast from where I'm at now. Yeah.
Thomas Mooney 11:17
Well, you know, like you grew up, up here in the panhandle, I always feel that, like, wherever you grow up, you kind of don't appreciate fully until you get somewhere else.
Lou Lewis 11:28
Right? What,
Thomas Mooney 11:29
what is it that you missed the most? Other than, like, family, stuff like that? Is there was there anything specific that you're just like, man, they just go back home?
Lou Lewis 11:38
I definitely understand that. That concept, but it was never one of those things. For me, I always looked on, you know, I had so many good experiences relevant there. And I spent a lot of time with one of my best friends growing up in olton, which is 20 miles west of my view. And I ended up farmers room for a while at a high school. And he still, he's actually putting a bunch of work now. Yes, they're starting to find group out there, which is insane to think that the conservative place is now growing importance. But yeah, just, I mean, if you go out there at night, it's completely flat. It's just, I've been all over the country, on shows here and there, we do a lot of camping because we're broke. So it's either sleep on somebody's floor and a bunch of cat hair camp out somewhere decent. So we try to Canva there's just nothing like Southern poems to this. It's almost like you're out there on an ocean of dirt when we see stars completely around you all the way down to the earth 360 degrees and they're so bright. You know, when you're out there and young tasting psychedelics or whatever you want to be into just really just blows you away sends you to another place to hear the Kyle's often at this point. It's just very cinematic out there. That was really appreciated that
Thomas Mooney 13:15
Yeah, well, I always love about even though like I'm from further down south and it's, it's still flat out there. I mean, like, we don't have any trees, like up here. I always feel like it makes you feel incredibly small. And that like is in this strange way kind of like reassuring. Like, yeah, we're not going to like even though you can have like a major impact. It's not like you know, we're I don't know like you just feel small and it feels there's a little bit of comfort in that for some reason.
Lou Lewis 13:47
Oh, man, it's a great way to put it there is and now that we're on subject I realized that I hate it because has a wooded areas. I don't hate it. I appreciate it, especially being this bush dress that he needs to rebuild with. But it's very claustrophobic when he grew up in such a spread out area.
Thomas Mooney 14:08
Yeah,
Lou Lewis 14:09
I think it's good. It's good to feel small, like it's good to be reminded that something, all this stupid shit that I'm worried about doesn't really matter. Because if you think about it, you're nothing.
Thomas Mooney 14:25
Yeah,
Lou Lewis 14:26
I think everybody needs a reminder of that. Yeah,
Thomas Mooney 14:29
I've tried to explain that to people were like, I know that sounds weird. But in like, places where there is like a bunch of woods or a lot of like, hills and a lot of just urban development even I'm like, man, it just feels claustrophobic here. I felt like, I'm not able to like fully breathe. You know, it's out here. You're able to get like a big, you know, breathe deep. And I don't like it just even though there's A bunch of dirt and dust kicked up. Because like you're just able to, like spread out.
Lou Lewis 15:06
Yeah, I think that's in our natures to kind of create being out there. And the openness like, that's where you see all these people moving out to Santa Fe and towels because they're tired of just in crammed room somewhere. Being part of the crazy rat race. Everybody's seeking some, like primitive stuff out there.
Thomas Mooney 15:31
Yeah. You. You mentioned farming earlier. I know that like Butch Hancock is talked about, like his first record, that first record that he did. Like he wrote all those songs while driving a tractor. And so they kind of have like that rhythm to him of driving a tractor and it just, it feels like that has happened a lot with your music to that you can feel like this rhythm of, of cultivating the land. Did you do did you do a whole lot of writing? Well, while farming out there. We're out here.
Lou Lewis 16:07
Yeah, yeah, definitely did. It's funny. You mentioned that story. My buddy Julian was telling me about that story. Recently. It's just such a great story about him writing a song for the Cherokee because they were on the third key I believe or something. I really get crazy as he did, but I mean, it was definitely impact before historically, I was writing to Andrew, our guitar player for rattlesnake. No, I've known him since high school. We're in a band. It was very similar to 311 back in the day. We're super young. We need him has been fun to and we were just doing like very close rock stuff is like basically mixing you know, explosions in the sky with Mars Volta like really intense, but also really open and pro stroppy. But then we moved to Brooklyn, we were making music up there for a little bit and we couldn't afford it ran out of morals came back to Texas with our tails between our legs and mesilla started farming for Eric nobody I grew up with just being out there and there's no really reminder of the year I was listening to a bunch of KTV 1591 it was no glory back then. Just being transported back to the 50 or 60 just being on the track or working late line dip and a bunch of tobacco and that's when I get home to start writing it kind of weird things that wound up being rattlesnake I think I wrote all the songs when I was 500 at least the majority of them
Thomas Mooney 17:50
yeah
yeah I remember the I've got that record that the ponza record here on my on my computer here I eaters
Lou Lewis 17:57
right what is it Oh yeah, you got that record? Yeah. Then promise with a deep cut I know
Thomas Mooney 18:07
that's awesome. It's weird cuz it's
back in like
I'm trying to explain how like Lubbock even though you can there's there's a very there's a lot of like singer songwriters who have come out of here like READ WRITE and Ross Cooper and people like that
right but
this luck used to be a lot more alt rock and a lot more just rock and roll in general indie rock kind of stuff and there used to be more places for that to actually be played and listen to it feels like there's not as many venues to that that do that kind of music anymore.
Lou Lewis 18:49
I'm really glad you brought that up because that's actually so much over we touch on is a seeing what was going on kind of before like during before rattlesnake milk started was primarily happen at bashes on Broadway the original bash before it got remodeled and it was really cool I think they're buying at that stage at the drag all these like crazy bands that played that little stage the owner Mike Fuqua is I want to get into that but I'm not a fan of them ended up ruining it but there were some legendary shows. These two guys in town ronit brothers, they would bring in a bunch of really amazing things like the OCS high school all these crazy surf like bands that are huge now that thinking about them playing bashes is insane. Yeah. Yeah, that was a huge part of the scene in thrift store. cowboys was like the bridge between that thing in the blue, I think, right. So I knew Danny I met Daniel Bryan, he knew us in the band. He was always so nice. And so humble. You've never thought this guy's like a rock star legend. So they're still in play. I was blown away, obviously. I was like, Oh, man. The students the real deal. Yeah,
Thomas Mooney 20:23
yeah. When I met Daniel, it was like, I guess it was at the Rouse records on university. And that's how I knew him first, just going to that record store and like, looking around, going through the back and like looking for I will always look for like, stuff that I couldn't find, you know what I mean? Like, I, I know, there's a chance that or there's a great chance, I'm never gonna find what I'm looking for. But I'm gonna like, still look and then I find some good stuff. Like I found like a Smith single there one time that like they came in who was at the front or like, you're never gonna be able to find anything like that here, you know? And I found it like in one of those back closets. But anyways, like I that's where I met Daniel first. And then like, I remember hearing about thrift store Cowboys, but it was so much. I think, like, the first time I heard them, it had to be like, finding their MySpace page or something like that. And because there was no Spotify, there is no, like, iTunes music was a lot different back then. And then when you like, kind of connect the dots, then it's like, oh, man. Yeah, it was I talked with Daniel. A couple. I guess it was about a month ago for a podcast interview. We talked a lot about the those old days.
Lou Lewis 21:43
Yeah, I listened to that. I was great, man. I remember him telling me a couple of stories. drinking whiskey. It was good to hear and talk about all that stuff.
Thomas Mooney 21:52
Yeah, going back to it, like the indie rock scene kind of thing here. I think like bringing in all these bands, because I remember like, even just like it felt like there was more music even Monday through Friday or Monday through Thursday. happening. And that's like the really like a lot of the times where these bands coming through town would have to play luck for one of those dates. Because it's hard. Like, why are you going to play luck on a Saturday when you can play a bigger market on a Saturday or Friday? So like, that's when right but i think like the bigger point on all that is like these touring bands coming through meant that there was a lot of or a space for local bands to open. And that meant like there is more bands happening and just added necessary necessity.
Lou Lewis 22:49
Yeah, for sure. We there are so many bands, local bands. I think a big part of that was the nine a was an ad on ktrc the student radio station a tech, I think we have like 100 DJs, there were none of us were paid. They're just like a big group of like minded people that were into, you know, drinking a lot and going to shows and, you know, a huge percentage of those people probably played instruments that they started band when everybody was fighting each other's bands. And it was like, this weird conglomeration of everybody helping each other out playing in little opening clusters is torn through an image for a while there there was, you know, there'd be three, four shows a week in batches, and they're all good. So that's a lot of opening slots for bands to fill in created this environment where people are just willing to throw some songs together and not worry about them being masterpieces, but just getting together and doing performance, which is really cool.
Thomas Mooney 24:04
Yeah, no, it's weird, too, is like I never I never thought about like those bands in the future. Like I never thought about I mean that in like, now there's a lot of those bands were like, Man, I wish I had like a copy of like something. I don't even like there's somebody that didn't do like full length records or anything, maybe like an EP or like an online EP or, or, like did right, or you could
Lou Lewis 24:31
find it on my face.
Thomas Mooney 24:33
Yeah, like the my space thing. I that's where like, I felt like, you could fall into that rabbit hole and you can still do it. Like there's a lot of those pages still up. But sometimes like the music just does not load or it takes forever to load. So you just have to leave the page up. I've done that though. Like there's just been there's been so many of those. I'm trying to think of like even some one of my favorite bands was Do you remember The band Cappella, or Coppola?
Lou Lewis 25:03
Oh, yeah, Coachella. Yeah, it wasn't that.
Thomas Mooney 25:07
Corey ame or Yeah, Corey Ames was like the drummer, I believe and I remember who else was.
Lou Lewis 25:11
Oh, right.
Thomas Mooney 25:12
Yeah. It was such like it was like a little three piece and it was like, just some like really great garage rock kind of stuff happening.
Lou Lewis 25:23
Yeah, did I remember that Korea was causing a lot of bands? Because he was one of my favorite bands. Did you ever see the rubber band?
Thomas Mooney 25:32
No, I guess not. No.
Lou Lewis 25:34
Yeah, he played drums and it was two sisters. Amber and Jordan Davis. And they just have the most amazing voices ever. No, I mean, they have multiple sisters and they are all super talented. They are originally from Chicago, Atlanta, Georgia, and just like hosta bus down the road. But their voices are just so beautiful. tree for input. Yeah. Yeah, like the that whole scene was just creating me an answer. We reconnected for Marcus. I was going to Texas State and he was just making music and Sean we started making some music and I think he decided to move home and I was thinking about going back to the big family so I applied to tech rules and go back to and we ended up just you know meeting so many people so quick that we're playing shows and just got really inspired and started making like taking it to the next level getting some cell phones is just crazy seeing all these people hanging out together playing shows together. I was just so blown away by it was very special.
Thomas Mooney 26:58
Yeah. One of the you got to tell the a little bit of the I guess like maybe the first time I had heard about you guys are you specifically it was because like there was a new story about Bill Murray coming to one of y'all South by Southwest shows when you had a different land
Lou Lewis 27:19
yeah that was great show. It was close to play itself by and I've never really been to many shows in Austin we ended up booking like some crazy nine share the same burgers just knew all these people because so many awesome things would come through play level like I'm like you said just some getting through to the west coast coming back on the West Coast that being a meeting all these these bands from Boston, maybe a little South but how shows you just doing all these meetings like nine or 10 shows in two days. One of them was a bridge show super late at night with industry and bridge where they just like set up a little PAC System on the power to legally perform is really going to be anything crazy, but we show up most like 200 people there when the cops show up and they're trying to shut it down and was our turn to play and I go on go set up all the people who gathered around the top box and was just like don't play. We're gonna have to take you to jail. And I look at the guys and this is due and we just started jamming and normally knows what to do. Awesome. Yeah. Like what I remember. Like obviously,
Thomas Mooney 28:48
obviously wasn't there but like I remember there being like a news clip about that. First saw the interview.
Lou Lewis 28:57
sound so fucking stupid. I guess the best night ever, ever. That's probably all I said. was pretty full. Yeah.
Thomas Mooney 29:13
I don't know. It's probably like a, like a 40 minute clip or something like that, like a minute or like a 42nd something like that clip? I don't know. But yeah, that's like the first time I like I'd ever seen you guys. And I was like, wow, Bill Murray says it. Like and then then it's like the the hunt is like trying to actually like hear the music in your room. You know, looking on your, whatever desktop you have going through the MySpace pages. And I don't even know if like, Did you guys ever have anything on Bandcamp or anything like that? Did we ever had any What? Anything on Bandcamp? I don't know if like band camp was really running as
Lou Lewis 29:52
Yeah, Yeah, we did. Yeah, we had to do the ponda stuff on going for me Yeah Give me a second flowers on key he had a naked picture stuff on bank so that was kind of like the demon dance and then I ended up doing some demos of the rattlesnake milk songs and I was living with my grandparents and logo grew my hair parents and a small little town. I came into town with a CD though demos and headed over to Dave Lewis house and was like Daniel fluid Daniel Martin promotable Zach who is obviously I can Brandon Adams stand and Warren will go to hell pretty much like all my favorite things I think Alan Brown's probably there I just put up just like a go on here some shit up through the CD. And that was like dude who else kind of started that one for exactly what it is because the demos sound a lot different kind of appointment for town which is kind of more rapid doing like Buddy Holly style because I was listening to a lot of PC stuff. So that means that you got together to gym first time and just do that signature
that day this train was just we just started flying like I mean I think we
that's so good morning and I think we got nine songs on that first practice and he knew every every break every course every stop and we just say we got so try to cancel that again to play with.
Thomas Mooney 31:37
Yeah, like
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I don't even know like
they're still like that. That it's there's that rockabilly thing at the heart at the core. But this one feels like you guys just are. I don't know. It feels like you're embracing a little bit more. What West Texas is where that first one felt like you guys were more traveling around.
Lou Lewis 33:58
Yeah, because I feel like that that first one. Go ahead. Yeah, the second the second one is definitely a lot more mature. You know, we just figured out like I mean, I think the ultimate approach has always been especially with the second one was just make it sound like I was just obsessed especially moving away from they're obsessed with kind of capturing the way that landscape makes me feel You know, sometimes it hits the mark and sometimes it's way off the mark. I can't control that, you know, you just want to get some shit at the wall and hope it sticks. Well. Yeah,
Thomas Mooney 34:40
that first record like I know you guys reference a whole lot of like tour and stuff as far as like traveling across like Arizona, New Mexico kind of thing, California. And here like a lot of these songs are rooted in like Abernathy obviously like and you reference Plainview and a few other Small towns up around here a bunch more. We're already the songs like, actually inspired by people you know, around here.
Lou Lewis 35:13
Yeah, drove a lot. Yeah, Joe loves to kind of like folk folk or, like fuku. Like everybody knows these crazy people in White Pine View as a weird reputation for doing kind of wild, reckless like, growing up and just some crazy, you're crazy rodeo guys. You got your, you know your mess people. Or we got this like, just, there's always like a slight a little bit of danger when you're complaining views kind of what it feels like, especially at nighttime, especially in high school and everybody starts drinking, people are getting stabbed with screwdrivers and hand over is just like a weird, weird place. So girls know, hearing stories about these people meeting new people and experiencing a lot always comes out I have this nice record that we're doing and I got to kind of really hone in on some things that I know that really made an impact on me just for stuff that they went through, that I saw, you know, their kids that I grew up with going through stuff like
Thomas Mooney 36:31
Yeah, well, like on this record, like the song Abernathy. Obviously, that's the record opener. And it feels like very, like obviously, this is that songs about being drafted into the Vietnam War. And, like right after getting married and like thinking that your life is going to be, you know, complete, like it's, this is how we're going. And then all of a sudden, getting a draft letter is just like a wrench thrown in the middle of it. I don't know, like I felt like that the way that record or the way that song opens up. Like you can just feel like the the traveling of that letter hitting that person. You know what I mean? Well, I guess like, Where were you first? Like, what was that? Song first? Kind of? That's that story that that narrative hit you? What? When?
Lou Lewis 37:26
How are you? When did you first start? Oh, man. So I think my approach to songwriting is probably a lot different than most people. Because I'm growing up, I'm never really focused on lyrics I was never released, I was really feeling heavily emotion through a melody like melody and feeling it was the most important thing. So I've never really learned like, no 20% of the words, but I never really paid attention too much. And that really comes across on the pollens, flowers. Making pictures on the first round is what we will create in particularly because the first rattles will walk record, I feel like I'm really talking about anything. It's just kind of like wordplay and kind of making things. And just like real life subject matter. But on the second one, we write the songs, I have the note in my head, and we probably played those shows those songs live. I'm not exaggerating, 60 times before I even had words. So every time we'd go up there, I just started making the boards just on the spot, pretty much do that with all my songs. And just kind of make them up, make up the words as we go live. And eventually that starts moving in. And as I'm going to the gig or afterwards or whatever, I'll start like kind of developing that storyline further and further. So I might be like a real basic vague idea and just kind of works itself out after playing with allies, obviously, that we can do that right now to the pandemic. So I'm going to have to approach you a little bit different, but I think that it's all just kind of came together. I had an idea about two people fall in love or open where I find because it's just my head is like the perfect place. And I think I was probably watching the Apocalypse Now, which is my favorite movie. One of my favorite movies. Because we're twist Vietnam to start going from there.
Thomas Mooney 39:38
Yeah, like it feels like that song. It felt so real that I knew in my heart It had to be like it was like your uncle or something. You know, like that's how
Lou Lewis 39:50
you feel so yeah, you know, it's there's nothing MoMA, my Mexican uncle in Vietnam, but it's not about he always told me you don't have to You go look at all but my mom told me he was
Thomas Mooney 40:11
obviously like there's a the the song Dave Dudley, which most people know as, you know, him playing like truck stop or truck trucker kind of country. I always loved that kind of like 18 Wheeler kind of country songs. I thought Sergio was going to start doing a little bit more of that. After that metal modern. There was like a little bit of that happening on there.
Lou Lewis 40:34
Yeah, man, I'm a I'm a huge fan of now it's kind of just paying homage to him. I got my CDL a couple years ago, randomly for this job. It was almost going to be like a full fledged term driver, and I loved doing it. But my best friend's Coby catch up there and telling me I grew up with him his brothers, they started a little trucking business. That was just scheming. I pretty much had that idea from the get go, I think maybe Brad? Brad IVR bass player. We had probably just like, run it dry, drunk and super drunk in the words that I think originally the courses had something to do with to stepping on a flatbed. But it wasn't exactly how it is now, but it was probably hilarious. It just kind of turned into what it is.
Thomas Mooney 41:29
Yeah, yeah. I don't know. Like this record right here. Again, even though like it, you say like that first record. less serious. It's almost like, we're like no real narratives. That that really? Right? I've been thinking about that. Since you've said that. It's almost like that first one is more based on like idioms. Or like expressions, like some of the stuff that like really sounds cool. And, like putting it to music, because like, there is a little like, even like the title, you know, Snake rattle and roll. A little bit more of like a homage to like, idiom kinda used. And this one's a little bit more like narrative based.
Lou Lewis 42:14
Yeah. Yeah, I think this one, we're just trying to be a little more serious.
Yeah, just kind of tighten, tighten everything up. You know? We will do so many years of not putting anything out and we play live. And people would just be like, Oh, well, we'd love to get your record would be like, Well, unfortunately, we don't have it. I mean, we've seen it again. The next year, we'll be like, Hey, I checked out your stuff on Spotify. And I didn't just they were watching a completely different band. Would that first record stand by so we really wanted to put the money into capturing how out sounds new and that's what we recorded here in Lockhart where we live at this good dandy studio. Which is really, really nice studio, but also really expensive. Yeah. Oh, that hurts the pockets.
Thomas Mooney 43:16
You know, like, it's also a lot more cinematic. It feels like there's a lot more of that, that post rocky ness. I always think that like, especially on those last two, three shore cowboys records, they're not like a post rock band. But like, there's a lot of those elements happening in those songs. Right? How like, is that like how big of a influence has has like a band like that, being that they're from around this area? How much has that had like an influence on wanting to capture? What's what the sound of the panhandle is?
Lou Lewis 43:57
Oh, man, I mean, if you if you're asking, you know, how big of an impact thrift store is, you know, they're like, they're like God's to us. You know, laundry room. We all always love Super Reverb, the spacey stuff in really, really hurt thrift store adding metal into their music, doing what they do and just we just couldn't believe it. Especially like CMOS guys, how far you know how nice they were in seeing that they're making this amazing. You know, super cinematic soundscaping row poetic country it's just, I mean, I love flatlanders I love Terry album. A little Butch Hancock I love all those those traditional local guys but know that their store, label electronic treating us that to me captures The sound of can pose and point of view and all those terms were all my family's. Actually, I got a lot of my Mexican family from posting. I think Daniel told me one time he grew up with some of my uncle Danny singing harmonies at church, which was kind of crazy connection. Yeah, I mean, I think that's just their, their special group when they were doing stuff that one that was even not even just the music just the way they were touring. They had a real band that had mercy at records, they have shirts they had you know, booking agent Daniel year, he was kind of like a mentor, almost just he had so much inside and out and we're just like, tapping into this crazy resource that I really didn't even understand how great it was to kind of look back on
Thomas Mooney 46:02
Yeah, like you know what I think the one of like the most important parts of a thrift store and of Daniel Markham to NBA is like, they kind of like gave you give gave like the the there appears and like the people come in right after them. Like the this like strange confidence this like allowance to, uh, you can, you don't have to try and be on the radio. Or you know what I mean? You'll have to fit these boxes like you can write about music about this area that tries to sound like this area and it's okay.
Lou Lewis 46:41
Yeah, for sure. Well, I'll go ahead. I could just I can speak all those guys was pretty good all day. Oh, guys. They've always been so good. And all the bamboo so here we are on red, red, as well as being super rad. Parker boys reached out to help out. Yeah, I guess Daniel also, I guess it kind of mentioned earlier if you'd like to bridge to the blue light, like we'd have been in like the Pong concert you know, garage rocky scene over there and bashes on whereas weirdos hung out, we always knew blue light existed, but it was kind of one of those. Oh, you don't know whether they're just completely insane. But one thing to know. Daniel asked us to go to blue eyes for them, I believe one of the first times we played and then we met Lance. And those guys are super rad with this single life, like and asked us to come back. So we're bridge between the two.
Thomas Mooney 47:46
Yeah. Well, you know, traditionally, like, the blue light was, like back in the back when it was first open. Like in the 90s, late 90s. And early 2000s, it was a lot more just like straight and narrow, Texas country. Like, that's all they did. And it was way more like that. And if it's since Lance, and Dustin six and Derek have gotten it, especially since they've gotten it. Like they've kind of spread out to liking not because they've always liked a lot of music. But you know, they're a lot more open to just your I hate to use this term of Americana, but like a lot more of that kind of sound. Where you know, it's that's why they've been able to get guys like you in guys like, your traditional Texas country. But then also, you know, guys like Jason is will have played you know, so it's, it's a lot more of a diverse countries sound.
Lou Lewis 48:57
Right? Definitely. I mean, yeah. We also the thing back then with the blue eyed is that we we dressed a certain way that wasn't necessarily to welcome that blue eyed and go over there and maybe get a pitcher of beer tracker on your head. Next thing you know, you're fighting for cowboys. You know, that's just the blue eyes and also, it's just part of part of being in love with this a lot of people drinking the food and also getting fired. That's what we did a lot of the time that just kind of like a we'll stick our side over here. Let's just do your thing over there. Yeah, Daniel also was kind of a bridge between, like, maybe you feel more accepted for being different.
Thomas Mooney 49:46
Yeah, like the, one of the best shows I remember happening was, it was Daniel's going away show and it was like, basically like all of like, all these bands that were I think like everyone was local. Except like, darker. Technically. You know, it was like all these bands that like Daniel had ties to all playing blue light on a Sunday. So it was like you guys
be a
red
Lou Lewis 50:21
Yeah, that's the first time I ever saw read play or net read. And I was blown away is completely like some more bluesy sort of stuff that I can't see your blues is still so good. Yeah, yeah, that back then
Thomas Mooney 50:41
does that I guess that was a little bit more his old band read in the vitals, which was a little bit more bluesy. There was a lot more of that bluesy kind of streak going. Yeah. You know, I've always thought like, had like the best band name
Lou Lewis 51:00
was, yeah, isn't that exactly sure where they ended up doing our Transformers? For sure. But
Thomas Mooney 51:07
yeah, that was a show. Yeah. What I was gonna say is like, who also played that show? Who? I think he he's Stephen St. Clair.
Lou Lewis 51:19
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Stephen. Yeah.
Thomas Mooney 51:21
Yeah. But like I'm saying like his his old band. Almost cowboys was like the best band name. That's like the best band name I've heard. That. just didn't have like you ever made it?
Lou Lewis 51:34
Man, I love me some Stephen sinckler. Good day room great songwriter.
Thomas Mooney 51:39
Yeah, he's another. Where's a record out? You know, like, that's a hard record.
Lou Lewis 51:45
You have to like, basically, yeah, that's Steven. Stephen was one of the first guys I met him. Okay. Actually, no, yeah, he was good friends with Amber, Amber and Jordan. In the rubber band that we hung out with? mucilaginous I think him and him for Well, that's crazy. It's crazy. Seeing the town change. No, I live in Kentucky but all our Mexican families from Lubbock. So I spent every other weekend there. We'd always have our big parties there. Every Easter we're my aunt she used to be kind of famous to homeless in the back and lower back in the day. So her band would come by and all their family come by over there in North lobe look in the body. Oh, and it becomes three bars and everybody's dancing. Just like really heavy, good music vibes. Around she's like one story of one thing. I think love is always kind of been in place just to cultivate music. Obviously, Buddy Holly.
Thomas Mooney 52:54
Yeah, well, I think like, you know, traditionally, music has been something to, to get out of, like working, like hard actual, like working hard labor. And out here, you know, that means right? You know, Oh, um, you start playing music. So you don't have to farm or work at your dad's whatever. Or you know what I mean? And there's really love, I guess, like the culture here has, has been cultivated around music because or art in general, kind of because it's so far away from everywhere else and there's less than there was less to do. You know, you're drinking or playing music or, you know, both.
Lou Lewis 53:41
Yeah, for sure. And also, there's just not nothing else to do there. No, you get drunk. The work room probably get underpaid. And you put on I can't speak for everybody when we were living. We were about 15 for two years and the home castles were we call it three stories in the basement. There Seven, six of us living in there for seven one form. Thinking Tyrone was $900 so we're all paying like $125 we just making as much music as possible and drinking as much beer and whiskey as possible and just kind of pushing, pushing the levels of you know, balancing out. Surviving, making music.
Thomas Mooney 54:30
Yeah,
I'm just thinking about this right now. This episode is sponsored by the blue light live my all time favorite music venue in bar. As you know, the covid 19 pandemic has been difficult on small businesses, music venues, bars and musicians. There are a handful of ways that you can help though. For starters, go over to www dot blue light lubbock.com click on the merge tab at the top of the page and order yourself a blue light hat t shirt. In koozie Second, if you haven't purchased Monday night lights, a 50 song compilation of Lubbock songwriters organized by songwriter and photographer extraordinary Charlie stout and myself, head over to www dot Monday night lights.com. The proceeds of this 50 song collection go directly to the bartending staff, we launched it a few months back, and we were blown away by the response and reception. And of course, if you're just hearing about it, now, go ahead and get it today, this collection will never be on iTunes or on Apple Music. So the only spot you'll be able to get an ad is at Monday night lights.com I'll throw both links into the show notes for easy access. Alright, back to the show. The the fact that like luck used to be dry, had an influence on pushing people to, to
Lou Lewis 55:52
move. That's a good point, we don't really even appreciate being able to go to the store as much. You know, I kind of liked it better it was, it was like a little adventure. drive out to the strip, goes to the VA docks or wherever he is working, grab some beers, got some liquor, and we got to go back out safely to be able to get to demonstrate to so yeah, it's just uh, wow, also, man, it was, you know, you go through and it looks like Las Vegas on the strip back in those days. And, you know, we tried some kind of use robot to go get us in high school. Because time used to dry candle, so you couldn't invite anyone in there. So we've been looking, you know, you pull up with the guys and they soak in the joys. And when we see these crazy, Las Vegas lights down that whole strip, you just say Wow.
Thomas Mooney 57:04
That's what's so strange now is that it's liquor stores in town is normalized now, like, you will never know the difference because there's one like every few blocks now. And it's so because when I grew up in Fort Stockton, you could buy liquor in town. And when I moved up here, it was like, Wait, what? Wait, why? Why is that the case? Like what? It was like there's such a weird cultural shock, I guess like, Yeah, well, why you're lying, right? Like the first time you hear it. You're you think it's like a joke or something?
Lou Lewis 57:41
Yeah, it's crazy. What you can't vote with, you know, it's crazy. Like in Arizona, you can buy liquor at the gas station, 24 hours a day. And on Sundays.
Thomas Mooney 57:51
Yeah, I think that's in the first go to
Lou Lewis 57:55
the first time we went out there, I was like, What? Are you kidding me? Crazy. Go ahead and give me one of those wild turkeys. Yeah,
Thomas Mooney 58:08
it's, that's, it's such a, I don't know. They're just as a strangeness around like our alcohol consumption in this country. Where like some people, some states, it's just like, accepted. And then other states. It's like, I feel like anytime you try and like, outlaw something, people want it more. Because it's, it's hard to get it's considered taboo or whatever. And looked down upon, but I don't know, I felt like that. I felt like would love it being so conservative, conservative. It's made, like the art population here, even though it's been it's typically been so small, a lot more tight knit. And that's meant a lot more creative juices come out. Because like you realize, you have all these peers.
Lou Lewis 59:02
Yeah, it's cultivating a weird sense of creativity out there. Yeah, you feel I mean, so that's okay. very distinct from that. We always had an old look. It's like feeling like an outsider as part of it. You're not married by the time you're 20 or 22 or 23. You don't have kids, you're making music. You're dealing with the bars here. You know, you're not just doing it you're doing with every ounce. By the way you walk around and the way you dress and everything else. You know, you feel like an owl. People look at you different everywhere you go. And that's good. That's good to feel like an owl and to feel like you are special and you can make something different. And it just kind of fuels that fire.
Thomas Mooney 59:54
Yeah, I wonder like how it is how it was back in the day because like I know like Terry Allen and like a flatlanders. I think we like we think of them all hanging out together, back when they're growing up or something, but it wasn't necessarily the case it was. They didn't really know each other. Especially like Terry and yeah, and the other guys because he was, he's a little bit older. But then coming back, I know Terry's talking about like, coming back from going to school coming back from California. And like hearing about guys like Joe playing and being like, oh, why did I guess I need to meet these guys, you know?
Lou Lewis 1:00:33
Yeah. Yes. We can think about next and you know, sure. It was so cool. Then a fly on the wall. Those guys hanging out.
Thomas Mooney 1:00:47
Yeah. Have you
Lou Lewis 1:00:50
ever seen those pictures of that tornado? Put on?
Thomas Mooney 1:00:53
Yeah. Like that's. Yeah, I know. There was a few. They did a couple of years of that. And I know like one of the reasons why they said they canceled it was because the city of Lubbock was complaining about these crowds, like stomping out like the buffalo grass.
And it's like,
y'all realize there was a bunch of Buffalo like it. There's a reason why it's called buffalo grass. And like, all these buffalo didn't ever stomp it out. So you're telling me like once a year concert is like, What are you talking about? You just don't want the music here. You don't want the problems. But he brought in, I guess, like, you know, there is he brought in like Linda Ronstadt one year. And like Stevie Ray Vaughan. And like, obviously the main brothers, and like Terry Allen in the panhandle mystery band, a lot of bands like that. That's it would have been wild to to be there.
Lou Lewis 1:02:00
All day, we got to bring that back. Hey, newsflow is sponsored by newsflow.
Thomas Mooney 1:02:08
Yeah, maybe. So. You've hung out with Joe before, haven't you?
Lou Lewis 1:02:14
There's a little bit of Yeah, I did work for general Sharon for a little while here in Austin. Just a couple weeks, Brad, basically, even more. on drugs we ever did. At the same time, though. Their daughter Marie was our tour manager eliminatory did to the west coast. And she just again, the parents need to know if you want to come work out out here at the ranch. And I was like, Oh, yes, Jeff. Was there so nice. I think the first time the whole band went over there, Joe was just walking down the yard shooting turkeys Wild Turkey, like corn in place. And Paul was just telling us all the stories right off the bat just superseding Russians just so made when she has some good stories as well. I've had a couple months are on fire with Abe Lincoln to Cuba. And she's just, they love people from moment to moment. Yeah. Everybody, the owner of the Dallas area. We got a special is that special bond that exists?
Thomas Mooney 1:03:27
Yeah, one of the stories I heard about the tornado jam was trying to think of who told me Okay, so I think one of the stories about the tornado jam stuff. Oh, God was like the night before they were going to perform the night before tornado jam that day or whatever, like Linda Ronstadt and all these people were in town, and that they were looking for a place to go hang out and play. And there was like, a end of the year, like graduation bash thing happening happening at the Cotton Club. And they're like, oh, let's go over there. Let's go play. And so like they, this graduating class of whatever school had rented out the place, and here comes like Terry Allen and Joey Lee and Linda Ronstadt and they go up on stage and like start performing and play and and I guess they had like, there had been like a house band or something playing that's why they're able to play or whatever. And the the guy who had like had the place had only been paid to rent out the to stay open basically until midnight. And so when midnight came he he shut the breakers down on on them on stage. I'm telling you, it's like how Much of like a fucking loser Do you have to be to just like, shut the breakers down Linda Ronstadt. Like Come on. Just
Lou Lewis 1:05:10
lucky class.
Thomas Mooney 1:05:12
Yeah. But that's also like very, very much a loving story. Like you can just envision that happening in Lubbock because it's such a Yeah, all these. We're all this like as a collective group of people coming together playing a show just on happenstance of like, hey, let's spontaneous trip there being a graduating class. And then the guy who has the building open shutting everything down because he's not paid till after or after midnight, you know?
Lou Lewis 1:05:44
Follow the rules here. Sorry. Yeah. When was like the first time you ever learned a lot of weird little stuff like that?
Yeah, well, like, there's like a lot of people that hockey towns I go to. Sometimes when people talk, it's pretty cool. There's a lot of, there's a lot of good. I asked him to go to the real bad raft or just being snooty. And all this stuff to talk about, which I totally get I hated asking for I came down this way. The one point we had made is, there's a lot of good music that goes down. If you like, watching music, like I do. It's not a bad place to be.
Thomas Mooney 1:06:27
Yeah, well, that's like, any place you can do the stereotype about, and it feels like he really, you're basing all that off of where like, You're, you're seeing that from afar, or you're seeing it from, you know, a couple of nights in whatever town and you get it, you get a warped sense with that. Yeah, to like, spend some time because like Lubbock obviously gets a bunch of people think this is, you know, the edge of the earth or something out here. And, you know, you spend a couple of weeks up here and that's how you know, a place you know, because like, anyways,
Lou Lewis 1:07:08
yeah, it's kind of like read to read sit on your podcast. You know, love is the biggest one in town and I think Austin is like the biggest little town in Texas because a lot of bands all the scenes are very nice, you know, so it's a little corner of the music scene. Everybody knows each other. Everybody's probably dated somebody that girl for them for normal. It's just the same. Normal. Yeah.
Thomas Mooney 1:07:37
Yeah, I was I was gonna say to like, Nashville gets like a bad rap
about
Oh, it's only you know, everyone wants to be a top 40 kind of country star and it's all bro country. And it's like, no, they've got like, so much other great music happening there too.
Lou Lewis 1:07:55
Oh, yeah, there's Oh, it's awesome. That there's so much more rock and roll than proceed but they got a cool scene.
Thomas Mooney 1:08:05
Yeah, well, and I know they're, I think like who really broke down? I'm sure it's it's always been like where there's a lot of like other rock and roll stuff happening. We're all country. I'm sure that's always the case. But in the last I don't know like 20 years or so the people who have really broke down that barrier barrier or that stereotype have been guys like jack white and Dan are back because they they're both up there and they're not playing Yeah. country you know, they're they're a frontman for two of the biggest bands we've had in our
our life
Lou Lewis 1:08:42
you know, like cool so yeah, for a little while there's like fingers right around the time natural childbirth got huge, I guess. Really big. There's so many people knew about the national dislike being bands that sounded like natural child and just just like some some stuff like that that was being made and next thing you know, there's a bunch of bands coming out of there that are similar, but they have their own twist and it's pretty cool stuff.
Thomas Mooney 1:09:15
Yeah, yeah, I was gonna ask you like when did you? I guess like first hear somebody like Terry play, or like the flatlanders you've ever wondered about who did he say first? Or like Who did you like what do you remember that like the first time you heard Terry Allen or any of those older guys?
Lou Lewis 1:09:36
Well, so I think the first time I heard about the flatlanders was Dana food. He was telling the story that he was talking to somebody I wonder like it was yesterday he said climbing to the top guys will come to your party and drink all your whiskey. When you say no to somebody else got some pretty cool who apparently asked asked him, he just told me ended up looking it up later. But I never listened to him. I was just like, oh, there's like the biggest thing to come out of love with these lessons. So I think this only record one time when I was driving Dallas to see my family, my dad sort of put it out. I guess in my head I was picturing the flat longer sustain, like, rattlesnake milk or something like a train the this this kind of quintessential sound what I feel like the flight rolling. And then I was like, Whoa, isn't completely know what I thought at all. And it took me a little bit at the first time I was just like, well, not too crazy about it. And then I got I think I started listening to the adesa tapes. This is probably eight years ago. And then I was just blown away. And they're just the tapes to me is just so good. It's one of my favorites. I've listened to that record to the worst alumni record so much.
Thomas Mooney 1:11:03
Yeah, like that's, like back like, it's weird, because they've, they've asked, they've obviously made records, since like, they broke up, like there's a couple of those records that came out in the 2000s. And that, to me doesn't feel like the same flatlanders as like what you would have seen back in the 70s. So like the Odessa tapes is were very much more of a representation of that. And isn't that like doesn't have like them playing like a singing song? Yeah.
Lou Lewis 1:11:37
I think if I'm not mistaken, do just in case they recorded in like 72 boom, it basically broke up and we're all there separately that Buju like June was surges is Connie gunnels is traveling the country with carnivals. And I think Jimmy was moved to Austin to do his career move somewhere. And then 10 years later they go we have this recommendation printed down when in the studio recording more imaging, which is basically follows demo a lot of those things off the desk. I probably butchered that story, but it's something along those lines. But interestingly, we were getting together and making music. Yeah,
Thomas Mooney 1:12:26
well also it's kind of what I've read is that I think now like you kind of think of them as being but you think of like Joey Lee being a little bit more of like the front man, I guess because he like is you were also like basing this off of him having this really great solo career, you know, opening up for the clash and shit. And right when they first started it wasn't like him having like, he wasn't like the the singer he is now you know, it's there's a reason why I was called like Jimmy Dale and the flatlanders you know, because he was more of the voice. And it feels like those that 10 years or whatever that run is that that Joe really found his his footing on like, what kind of performer he was wanting to be.
Lou Lewis 1:13:20
Yeah. I don't know who they are. They each have their own special little part in that group rules. For sure, you can tell like, I'm not I'm a huge fan of the bush songs. Jimmy's boys doing Chelsea's harmonies. Like when they're together treating someone special for sure.
Thomas Mooney 1:13:44
Yeah, yeah, it's uh, some of those records are like hard to find like some of their solo stuff. Like I know like a lot of boys Say that again. I said a lot. Some of their like their solo stuff is hard to find especially like from Butch. Like you have to really dig when you're ordering on Amazon and pay overpriced prices from some CD store from in Europe or something I don't know sometimes there's
Lou Lewis 1:14:12
super explain Have you ever heard Joe's he did this all electronic. He recorded it on like an apple computer.
Thomas Mooney 1:14:19
Yeah, there's a I guess like when it came out then it was high rez and then like those the remaster? The remaster of it is before 84 Yeah.
Lou Lewis 1:14:35
Yeah, whenever I was working for Joe, they had this big barn full all the stuff and peeked in and there's just you know, mounds of guitar cases. I don't know if there's a guitars in them. But I'd like to think there was but Sharon pointed out that computer he recorded that record on Yeah, just told
Thomas Mooney 1:14:54
you What's strange about that is like telling someone the other day about you imagine how I'm trying to explain what he was doing to like his contemporaries of the day like, like trying to explain to like guy Clark like, No, I'm writing I'm recording this record on a computer. Like probably just like well that
Lou Lewis 1:15:17
everybody does. Yeah
Thomas Mooney 1:15:21
it's sound so good though, you know, it's I really love those like the, the weirdness of it because it's like it's country but it's also you know Kraftwerk.
Lou Lewis 1:15:36
Yeah it's a craft love of craft where again Yeah, the joke got that joke got that real interesting like rock and roll kind of sultry. relatio is interesting here man on electronic formulas TV again.
Thomas Mooney 1:15:56
Yeah, it's a he's had such a a I don't wanna say strange but like such a diverse career because you know those early tapes are like those first records you know he's opening for the the clash and he's like just the epitome of cool back then. And then like there is like the the electronic and then like he's had like these real way more like singer songwriter records and then he's done the stuff with where it's more acoustic in has accordion and more of like the the the Spanish Mexican border flare to it. I don't know that there's so much there to work with.
Lou Lewis 1:16:43
Yeah, dude. It's crazy to register me whenever I was. In high school I went to a small little Christian school and point of view until my senior year when I was playing the public school that evening and just like little school where other farmers should scramble middle pounds and add some Sunday kids to get a good solid Christian upbringing. So there's like nine kids in my grade. Like the whole school is like kindergarten controlled by people probably. Our English teacher she was the last and only she smoked cigarettes because I can smell them all. thoughtless and crazy these teachers look cigarettes but she showed us a town song and Joe Ed song she had printed out the lyrics and was one of one of the class periods and then I didn't even like thinking that realize what I was listening to. God was until years after but uh it was pretty cool her showing us that in terms of our fan favorite songwriters this weird one Yeah,
Thomas Mooney 1:18:03
well, you know, I was talking with someone about towns about how I felt like a lot of us probably came across him in our late teens and you're kind of like drawn to that dark mystery depression stuff about you know like these a lot of those songs are very much about death and alcoholism and like the
I guess like you
It feels like you're more so drawn to that because it's so not it's not talked about and I don't know like there's this weird thing with it where it's later where you realize like, Oh, you know here he does have all these other songs that are more like the talking blues stuff. Or like showing there's a lot more stuff about that's a lot lighthearted in there. But for like those first couple years like you're just like, Oh, I listen to Townes Van Zandt for you know the song like nothing or waiting around to die and like I don't know like there's it's a to fully appreciate towns It feels like you once you start adding all those other songs then you
Lou Lewis 1:19:24
Oh, yeah. All my favorite counseling for the sad almost served if you said 10 songs, which luckily for me, you got a bunch of Yeah. That just I love the way you can notice rattlesnake and milk I love minor chords. Minor chord progressions. Maybe came from growing up listening to mariachi music or I don't know exactly, but it's it's in the fishing towns. Those So much. As soon as I first started, it was just an ember and it was in Austin I just got out I went to school in Nashville and briefly ran into some trouble a blow, don't want to give you the details, but had to come back to Texas. And I ended up going into a community college in Austin got a little crappy student apartment. And they had this awesome reason network because it was called channel 14 on basic cable. So in one hour, I was hanging out and when they play like a whole block of towns, there's just like live videos, performances, a couple of emails that came in, was in plain white here, and just all that stuff was just blown away. And I didn't really get into it too much then. It was probably not until when I moved back to work when I started really listening to a lot of Tales. But uh, easier. He's the best of all time. For sure.
Thomas Mooney 1:21:04
Yeah. Like the first time I ever like the first time I got something was because I had read about like some re issue that was happening in a magazine. And I was like, you know, the the way they're, you know, Texas singer songwriter Townes Van Zandt the greatest thing, you know, since sliced bread, you need to buy this record cathing and I remember for first thing in like, Oh, yeah, okay, well, I'll go get some I'll go get a town's record. And then like, go into like Best Buy like them not having anything then go into like Walmart. Yeah, really having anything and then I remember like my so like, a lot of the CDs I got growing up was because my mom had like, had like this the subscription kind of thing to like Columbia house kind of stuff like the you know, get in Buy one get another seven for you kind of thing. Right,
Lou Lewis 1:22:02
right. Yeah.
Thomas Mooney 1:22:04
They had a compilation of towns. And it was like, it was the two records late great. Townes Van Zandt and high low and in between, on the same CD. And that was like, the only thing they had. So I was like, well, I gotta get that one. So I that's where I got it from was be like, Columbia house music.
Lou Lewis 1:22:28
That's awesome. That's a great story. Yeah, it's,
Thomas Mooney 1:22:31
I feel like that's where we grew up in it. This is one of those. We're gonna sound like, get off my lawn kind of thing. But I feel like, I love having Spotify and Apple Music and like, even just YouTube, at your fingertips, you got anything you want. But growing up even just 10 years ago, the the search for trying to find whatever record it is, or was was part of like, why you appreciated that record at the end.
Lou Lewis 1:23:07
Right? For sure. So there's definitely some satisfaction for like digging through a bunch of stuff and finding what you're looking for.
Thomas Mooney 1:23:16
Yeah, and it goes back to like that whole MySpace thing to only being like a couple songs on someone's MySpace page and trying to have those as your
Lou Lewis 1:23:27
name. The other thing about towns too, is that you can tell like people that really like towns listen to them. They're always a little while there's got a little crazy yeah. I think I remember I just started radio station at Tech. And they had you know, once you there for a while you get your specialty show, but Alan Brown who did a lot of booking bashes and stuff back then later on at the time, numerous got passed, they had to all country specialty show where they're playing. kind of you know that there's George Jones. There's a strict no drinking policy at the radio station. And that was one of the biggest things they always told me whenever you're training. I ended up getting the show block right after them and I walked in during their show. They had a bottle of whiskey out and they're drinking and the time that I kid kind of put it away real quick because they didn't know me. These guys are cooler without breaking the rule. drink whiskey uniform town was boring. me that. I'm cool from the normal money. spent our money on whiskey this world couldn't pay the gas bill movie. We're having a what? 711 take bath and
Thomas Mooney 1:24:57
I promise I'm cool.
Lou Lewis 1:25:00
Give me an Android. We didn't have heat for a long time. Actually one whole month in summer in a bed that someone will agree and pay our electricity. We're trying to get her and drink. Wish. And God we grew up out of that phase. But as part of that level there's always a weird little jack Kerouac mind wandering and logo. Only solution only just spread the road. Yeah, like it.
Thomas Mooney 1:25:39
There was there has always been a little bit of that. And like I guess like Joe is always kind of been Joe Joe. He's kind of like the jack Kerouac of Lubbock.
Have you ever read
Yeah. Is like
his like his. I guess he's got like two books, like one's poetry and then one's
Lou Lewis 1:25:59
a bit of that bonfire roadmaps which he wrote is so good. Yeah. She's crazy. Also, man. Oh, at that time, we were all living in Overton pretty much you know, being fluid and tober never to any market where they basically everybody will overtake around a brother's rad ID that was just all of us was walking through each other's houses all the time. You didn't really have to drive anywhere you'd like to scheming usually bashes just like this cool. Like a bunch of musicians were really close and finding out.
Thomas Mooney 1:26:40
Yeah, yeah, it's a I don't know love. It's always changing now. It feels like that's. That feels even though it wasn't that long ago. I feel so distant at the same time.
Lou Lewis 1:26:52
Oh, no. Yeah, it was like a foreign time.
Thomas Mooney 1:26:58
everyone thanks for listening to this episode of new slang. Be sure to check out rattlesnake milks latest record, check out episode sponsors workers jalapeno jelly and the blue light live here in Lubbock. Alright, I'll see you next week for another two interviews.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai