What is it about Texas?

[kiteman]

"Don't mess with Texas"

that's why.

[Katastrophe]

Well, I was born in Texas, and, after 20 + years of playing, I still suck at guitar. Does that help?

Seriously, the musical landscape is so diverse in this area of the world. In Texas you can find a thriving music scene for just about any genre of music you can imagine. Living near Austin in the early nineties, you could go to Antone's for incredible blues, the Back Room for rock and metal, Emo's for alternative, Top of the Marc for jazz, the Continental Club for just about everything, the Broken Spoke for country. There were clubs on the drag by UT that catered to the punk crowd.

In that time and place, competition for gigs was fierce, and you had to be good, or the club owner wouldn't waste his time to give you a shot to play. At the same time there were places like the Austin Rehearsal Complex (ARC) and the band co-op where bands would practice, and they would all hang out and / or exchange ideas and jam.

To this day it's possible to take lessons from some serious talent, and that helps the musician population to develop and grow. It's a cool place to be for live music, to be sure.