Location: Really deep in the heart of South California Gender:
Posted:
Apr 22, 2024 - 5:51am
ScottFromWyoming wrote:
Justine and I took a 5000-mile roadtrip, accompanied by Charlie for the first leg. Met up with maryte and dinosauce from Austin, pyro in Shreveport, and triskele and schlabby in OKC. Except for a brief exchange with schlabdragon at Reinstock (we each had obligations that prevented us from hanging out), this was our first time "meeting" any of these people, despite knowing them for literally decades!
Here is an album of photos from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. As I mapped out this road trip, I saw that we were going to pass through Lubbock, so I knew I wanted to drive around and think about Buddy Holly. Turns out there's a nice Buddy Holly Center there, so that was a good respite from the mind-numbing drive across the Texas panhandle. Likewise, I knew that the Louisiana Hayride radio show had been broadcast out of Shreveport. I didn't do any research but I assumed that whatever little theater they used would have been long gone by now because all I ever hear is how decayed Shreveport is, that it's just a foul blighted dump on the river. It's anything but! Some gorgeous old homes and parks, great food and wonderful people. Of course it has problems but how people can only ever see the worst of a place is a mystery to me.
The biggest surprise to me is not only the wonderful Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, but that it's in great condition and still in use often. I was just hoping to walk down the sidewalk where it used to be and think about seeing Hank or Elvis perform. In fact, they had just had their "cotillion" the night before, so when we were there to check it out, we were able to go right in. A young guy who was working security sort of raised a finger to say "hold on," but we were so old he didn't want to get rough with us. I asked him if he knew about this building, and he said "no, I just moved here and this is my second day on the job." So I told him it was a palace built at the height of the Roaring 20s, when Shreveport was a major shipping hub and a cultural center more important than New Orleans or Nashville. It was home to the Louisiana Hayride, a radio program on a 100,000 watt AM clear channel station that could pump live music out to half the continent and Mexico. The first radio appearances of Hank Williams and Elvis Presley happened right here. What I didn't know was that at some point the Muni created some little dioramas out of what used to be maybe coat check rooms and utility closets. Original Elvis jumpsuits, an Earl Scruggs' banjo (I just typed Earl Scruggs' jumpsuit and now I'm wrecked). I knew I would remember the name of the Nudie suit's owner but I do not. It's not a Nudie, either, but y'know. Fancy.
I went out onstage and took a photo from the spot where Elvis would have stood the first time America heard him live on the radio. Holy shit.
Also included is a photo of pyro pointing to the Airheart logo and autographs on a backstage wall where decades of performers have signed the wall. Such a special day!
Clicking takes you to the album; RP used to allow embedding the slideshow but it doesn't work now.
point to ponder:
The dedication on this building is 1929. If there had been building delays of a year or two, or even just a few months, would this have ever been built? So would Hank and Elvis ever have found a place to play?
Awesome!
Thanks for the pictures and story. What a great road trip!
I love going places and pointing out to the locals what they don't know about their places.
Location: Blinding You With Library Science! Gender:
Posted:
Apr 21, 2024 - 9:08am
ScottFromWyoming wrote:
Justine and I took a 5000-mile roadtrip, accompanied by Charlie for the first leg. Met up with maryte and dinosauce from Austin, pyro in Shreveport, and triskele and schlabby in OKC. Except for a brief exchange with schlabdragon at Reinstock (we each had obligations that prevented us from hanging out), this was our first time "meeting" any of these people, despite knowing them for literally decades!
Yes and no. Stopped in Okemah and visited the little memorial park. Our intention was to visit the Woody Guthrie Center and Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, but I didn't notice that they're on their off-season schedule so are closed Monday and Tuesday. But we were feeling pressed for time anyway and were glad to have another day to drive home. So we visited the Greenwood District and I got a haircut, and we hit the road. Jack.
Yes and no. Stopped in Okemah and visited the little memorial park. Our intention was to visit the Woody Guthrie Center and Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, but I didn't notice that they're on their off-season schedule so are closed Monday and Tuesday. But we were feeling pressed for time anyway and were glad to have another day to drive home. So we visited the Greenwood District and I got a haircut, and we hit the road. Jack.
Justine and I took a 5000-mile roadtrip, accompanied by Charlie for the first leg. Met up with maryte and dinosauce from Austin, pyro in Shreveport, and triskele and schlabby in OKC. Except for a brief exchange with schlabdragon at Reinstock (we each had obligations that prevented us from hanging out), this was our first time "meeting" any of these people, despite knowing them for literally decades!
Here is an album of photos from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. As I mapped out this road trip, I saw that we were going to pass through Lubbock, so I knew I wanted to drive around and think about Buddy Holly. Turns out there's a nice Buddy Holly Center there, so that was a good respite from the mind-numbing drive across the Texas panhandle. Likewise, I knew that the Louisiana Hayride radio show had been broadcast out of Shreveport. I didn't do any research but I assumed that whatever little theater they used would have been long gone by now because all I ever hear is how decayed Shreveport is, that it's just a foul blighted dump on the river. It's anything but! Some gorgeous old homes and parks, great food and wonderful people. Of course it has problems but how people can only ever see the worst of a place is a mystery to me.
The biggest surprise to me is not only the wonderful Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, but that it's in great condition and still in use often. I was just hoping to walk down the sidewalk where it used to be and think about seeing Hank or Elvis perform. In fact, they had just had their "cotillion" the night before, so when we were there to check it out, we were able to go right in. A young guy who was working security sort of raised a finger to say "hold on," but we were so old he didn't want to get rough with us. I asked him if he knew about this building, and he said "no, I just moved here and this is my second day on the job." So I told him it was a palace built at the height of the Roaring 20s, when Shreveport was a major shipping hub and a cultural center more important than New Orleans or Nashville. It was home to the Louisiana Hayride, a radio program on a 100,000 watt AM clear channel station that could pump live music out to half the continent and Mexico. The first radio appearances of Hank Williams and Elvis Presley happened right here. What I didn't know was that at some point the Muni created some little dioramas out of what used to be maybe coat check rooms and utility closets. Original Elvis jumpsuits, an Earl Scruggs' banjo (I just typed Earl Scruggs' jumpsuit and now I'm wrecked). I knew I would remember the name of the Nudie suit's owner but I do not. It's not a Nudie, either, but y'know. Fancy.
I went out onstage and took a photo from the spot where Elvis would have stood the first time America heard him live on the radio. Holy shit.
Also included is a photo of pyro pointing to the Airheart logo and autographs on a backstage wall where decades of performers have signed the wall. Such a special day!
Clicking takes you to the album; RP used to allow embedding the slideshow but it doesn't work now.
point to ponder:
The dedication on this building is 1929. If there had been building delays of a year or two, or even just a few months, would this have ever been built? So would Hank and Elvis ever have found a place to play?
Justine and I took a 5000-mile roadtrip, accompanied by Charlie for the first leg. Met up with maryte and dinosauce from Austin, pyro in Shreveport, and triskele and schlabby in OKC. Except for a brief exchange with schlabdragon at Reinstock (we each had obligations that prevented us from hanging out), this was our first time "meeting" any of these people, despite knowing them for literally decades!
Here is an album of photos from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. As I mapped out this road trip, I saw that we were going to pass through Lubbock, so I knew I wanted to drive around and think about Buddy Holly. Turns out there's a nice Buddy Holly Center there, so that was a good respite from the mind-numbing drive across the Texas panhandle. Likewise, I knew that the Louisiana Hayride radio show had been broadcast out of Shreveport. I didn't do any research but I assumed that whatever little theater they used would have been long gone by now because all I ever hear is how decayed Shreveport is, that it's just a foul blighted dump on the river. It's anything but! Some gorgeous old homes and parks, great food and wonderful people. Of course it has problems but how people can only ever see the worst of a place is a mystery to me.
The biggest surprise to me is not only the wonderful Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, but that it's in great condition and still in use often. I was just hoping to walk down the sidewalk where it used to be and think about seeing Hank or Elvis perform. In fact, they had just had their "cotillion" the night before, so when we were there to check it out, we were able to go right in. A young guy who was working security sort of raised a finger to say "hold on," but we were so old he didn't want to get rough with us. I asked him if he knew about this building, and he said "no, I just moved here and this is my second day on the job." So I told him it was a palace built at the height of the Roaring 20s, when Shreveport was a major shipping hub and a cultural center more important than New Orleans or Nashville. It was home to the Louisiana Hayride, a radio program on a 100,000 watt AM clear channel station that could pump live music out to half the continent and Mexico. The first radio appearances of Hank Williams and Elvis Presley happened right here. What I didn't know was that at some point the Muni created some little dioramas out of what used to be maybe coat check rooms and utility closets. Original Elvis jumpsuits, an Earl Scruggs' banjo (I just typed Earl Scruggs' jumpsuit and now I'm wrecked). I knew I would remember the name of the Nudie suit's owner but I do not. It's not a Nudie, either, but y'know. Fancy.
I went out onstage and took a photo from the spot where Elvis would have stood the first time America heard him live on the radio. Holy shit.
Also included is a photo of pyro pointing to the Airheart logo and autographs on a backstage wall where decades of performers have signed the wall. Such a special day!
Clicking takes you to the album; RP used to allow embedding the slideshow but it doesn't work now.
point to ponder:
The dedication on this building is 1929. If there had been building delays of a year or two, or even just a few months, would this have ever been built? So would Hank and Elvis ever have found a place to play?
Thanks for stopping by! And thanks for the images, too.
Justine and I took a 5000-mile roadtrip, accompanied by Charlie for the first leg. Met up with maryte and dinosauce from Austin, pyro in Shreveport, and triskele and schlabby in OKC. Except for a brief exchange with schlabdragon at Reinstock (we each had obligations that prevented us from hanging out), this was our first time "meeting" any of these people, despite knowing them for literally decades!
Here is an album of photos from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. As I mapped out this road trip, I saw that we were going to pass through Lubbock, so I knew I wanted to drive around and think about Buddy Holly. Turns out there's a nice Buddy Holly Center there, so that was a good respite from the mind-numbing drive across the Texas panhandle. Likewise, I knew that the Louisiana Hayride radio show had been broadcast out of Shreveport. I didn't do any research but I assumed that whatever little theater they used would have been long gone by now because all I ever hear is how decayed Shreveport is, that it's just a foul blighted dump on the river. It's anything but! Some gorgeous old homes and parks, great food and wonderful people. Of course it has problems but how people can only ever see the worst of a place is a mystery to me.
The biggest surprise to me is not only the wonderful Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, but that it's in great condition and still in use often. I was just hoping to walk down the sidewalk where it used to be and think about seeing Hank or Elvis perform. In fact, they had just had their "cotillion" the night before, so when we were there to check it out, we were able to go right in. A young guy who was working security sort of raised a finger to say "hold on," but we were so old he didn't want to get rough with us. I asked him if he knew about this building, and he said "no, I just moved here and this is my second day on the job." So I told him it was a palace built at the height of the Roaring 20s, when Shreveport was a major shipping hub and a cultural center more important than New Orleans or Nashville. It was home to the Louisiana Hayride, a radio program on a 100,000 watt AM clear channel station that could pump live music out to half the continent and Mexico. The first radio appearances of Hank Williams and Elvis Presley happened right here. What I didn't know was that at some point the Muni created some little dioramas out of what used to be maybe coat check rooms and utility closets. Original Elvis jumpsuits, an Earl Scruggs' banjo (I just typed Earl Scruggs' jumpsuit and now I'm wrecked). I knew I would remember the name of the Nudie suit's owner but I do not. It's not a Nudie, either, but y'know. Fancy.
I went out onstage and took a photo from the spot where Elvis would have stood the first time America heard him live on the radio. Holy shit.
Also included is a photo of pyro pointing to the Airheart logo and autographs on a backstage wall where decades of performers have signed the wall. Such a special day!
Clicking takes you to the album; RP used to allow embedding the slideshow but it doesn't work now.
point to ponder:
The dedication on this building is 1929. If there had been building delays of a year or two, or even just a few months, would this have ever been built? So would Hank and Elvis ever have found a place to play?
Location: Blinding You With Library Science! Gender:
Posted:
Jul 24, 2019 - 7:00am
ScottFromWyoming wrote:
maryte wrote:
Yibbyl and BluEyes are the loveliest people! I've met up with them twice when they've come through Austin the last couple of years (with various combinations of dionysius, cc_rider, and PoundPuppy)!
I thought the plan was to camp at Lassen but they instead appear to be at the coastal town where Geomorph is often spotted...
Yibbyl and BluEyes are the loveliest people! I've met up with them twice when they've come through Austin the last couple of years (with various combinations of dionysius, cc_rider, and PoundPuppy)!
I thought the plan was to camp at Lassen but they instead appear to be at the coastal town where Geomorph is often spotted...
Location: Blinding You With Library Science! Gender:
Posted:
Jul 24, 2019 - 5:49am
ScottFromWyoming wrote:
3FWs, Yibbyl and BluEyes having pizza in HOT California... Photos on the FB but won't post here. :cheers:
Yibbyl and BluEyes are the loveliest people! I've met up with them twice when they've come through Austin the last couple of years (with various combinations of dionysius, cc_rider, and PoundPuppy)!
