WATERLOGG PRODUCTIONS: Rare Janis Joplin Recording Uncovered on The Joe Bev Experience - Saturday, October 12

Friday, October 12, 2012

Rare Janis Joplin Recording Uncovered on The Joe Bev Experience - Saturday, October 12 - 3 pm (ET) on CRAGG

Joe Bev presents documentary on the birth of Austin music, part of "The Joe Bev 3-hour Block" airing every Saturday, starting 1 pm (ET) / 10 am (PT) at cultradioagogo.com

Host Joe Bevilacqua (Joe Bev) presents "From Moonshine to Armadillos: The Birth of the Austin Music Scene" on 12th edition of The Joe Bev Experience airing Saturday, October 12 at 3 pm ET / noon PT on cultradioagogo.com right after Joe Bev's Comedy-O-Rama Hour and Jazz-O-Rama Hour (part of "The Joe Bev 3-Hour Block" starting 1 pm ET).

Veteran award-winning producer Joe Bevilacqua hosts this hour long program outlining the History of Threadgill's and Armadillo World Headquarters and their contribution to the birth of the Austin music scene and their influence on the Nashville Sound and Country Rock.

Featuring commentary and music by many of the key players of the time.

"This program offers a soup to nuts history of Austin's growth into the live music Mecca that it's become today. The show is more than just contemporary talking heads and music--it features an amazing collection of archival interviews and recordings (including tape of some never-before-heard early Janis Joplin performances, which should qualify as an authentic archival treasure). The production is well put-together, flowing smoothly between many different elements." -Eric Nuzum, NPR's Vice President for Programming.

VISIT THREADGILL'S WEBSITE

THE HISTORY: Perhaps country music lover and bootlegger Kenneth Threadgill had more in mind when he opened his Gulf filling station just north of the Austin city limits in 1933, for the day that Travis County decided to "go wet" in December of the same year, Kenneth stood in line all night to be the first person to own a liquor license in the county.

Soon, the filling station became a favorite spot for traveling musicians since it was open 24 hours for drinking, gambling and jamming. Kenneth would sing songs by his beloved Jimmie Rodgers nightly. Musicians who came to play were paid in beer. Such was the atmosphere at Threadgill's, it was only when a curfew was enacted in 1942 that its owner had to get a key for the front door, before that it had yet to have been locked. The quintessential Austin beer joint continued to flourish into the sixties, and changed with the social climate of the era by inviting the folkies, hippies and beatniks to his Wednesday night singing sessions with open arms.

Janis Joplin

Threadgill's love for people and music smoothed out the conflicts that usually occurred when longhairs met with rednecks at the time, and because of this, a new culture tolerance emanated from the club, which had a profound effect upon its patrons and the music that came from it. It was here that Janis Joplin developed her country and blues hybrid-styled voice that would blur the lines between country and rock n' roll.

In 1974, when Austinites and the nation were extolling the benefits of living in the heart of the Lone Star State, and the "Cosmic Cowboy" movement, which had its roots directly planted in the history of Threadgill's and Armadillo World Headquarters, was at its peak, tragedy struck Kenneth Threadgill when his wife Mildred died, and he decided to close his club. After nearly succumbing to the city of Austin's desire to demolish the original Threadgill's site which had become an eyesore, it was purchased by Eddie Wilson, owner of the Armadillo World Headquarters, a sister venue of a kindred spirit. Wilson's idea, however, was to make Threadgill's a Southern style restaurant, based on the success of the menu that he offered at his kitchen at the Armadillo. So, on New Year's Eve 1980, the Armadillo closed, and on New Year's Eve 1981, Threadgill's opened as a restaurant. It was an instant success.

Willie Nelson Art

In 1982, the main building burned down, but Wilson reopened only three months later with an added commissary kitchen and banquet hall which has evolved into the Country Store Museum and Eddie Wilson Memory Archive and Upstairs Store. Threadgill's World Headquarters In 1996, Threadgill's World Headquarters was opened in south Austin, right beside the residence of the Armadillo Headquarters. Wilson has made a distinction between the two locations: the original, north location has the theme of Austin between the 1930's and the 1960's. The south location celebrates the history of the Armadillo and its salad days of the 1970's. The memorabilia of the Headquarters represents the hey-day of this era from the juke box which contains many of the artists who played the Armadillo to the piano that hangs from the ceiling which has been played by artists as diverse as Jerry Lee Lewis to Captain Beefheart. At either venue, Wilson is proud to boast that "in matter of music and food, we represent a time before disco or microwaves."

Joe Bevilacqua

Joe Bevilacqua is a veteran radio theater producer and voice actor. He also works on stage and is the winner of the 2012 New York TANYS Award for Excellence in Acting. He has performed at the Improv, Caroline's on Broadway, Catch a Rising Star, the Comic Strip, opened for Uncle Floyd, worked with Al Franken, Shelley Berman, Louis Black and Rick Overton. Joe has also MC'd shows featuring Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Mahr and Gilbert Gottfried. He has been regularly heard on National Public Radio and Sirius-XM Radio and has produced hundreds of hours of audiobooks. He currently produces and hosts three radio hours per week for the Internet radio station Cult Radio-A-Go-Go!