The Amazing 1969 Houston Music Scene

Bands, clubs, cops, and roadies

Houston Bands, Clubs, and Cops

These fantastic late 1960s bands were Bubble Puppy’s friends and contemporaries. Imagine going to a Houston club where you could see these amazing bands every night. The following list is not comprehensive; It's just the bands I remember.*

Bands on the International Artist’s Label

Endle St Cloud in the Rain

The Golden Dawn

The Thirteenth Floor Elevators

Lightnin' Hopkins

The Nazz - distributed by I.A. and featuring Todd Rundgren

Ginger Valley - from Corpus Christi

Lost And Found

The Red Crayola

Other Bands Around Houston

Fever Tree

The Moving Sidewalks

Neal Ford & the Fanatics

The Children

The Children featured a female lead singer, Cassell Web. When the Bubble Puppy lived on Roseneath Drive in Houston, Cassell was Rod Prince's girlfriend. We all hung out together, and I got to know her well. I would run into her again. Here’s how our next meeting happened.

My New Wave band, D-Day, was courting a record deal with A+M Records in 1980. A+M hired Craig Leon, a well-known producer, to record a demo for us. We showed up at the session, and with him was Cassell. She was Craig's assistant/co-producer. I had not seen Cassell in over 10 years. It was a fun session, and D-Day signed with A+M on the strength of the Cassell/Craig demo! Cassell and Craig now live in London, and both have successful careers.

The Grits

The Grits were a popular Houston band. Their lead guitarist was Snuffy Walden. You've probably never heard of Snuffy, but you've listened to his TV soundtracks! As W.G. Snuffy Walden, he became the TV theme song king! He composed and performed the music for hit shows like Thirtysomething, The West Wing, The Wonder Years, and many more. He is still at it in L.A. The Grits drummer, Linda Waring, became famous for playing drums with Delbert McClinton.

Big Sweet

Big Sweet’s drummer, Orville Strickland, was a friend of mine. Orville was right-handed and played on a right-handed drum kit. He told me he was naturally left-handed. His dad didn't want him to be left-handed, so he would tie Orville's left hand behind him, forcing him to be right-handed. After a few years of this, poor Orville started having sleep issues. Orville told me that one night, while he was sleepwalking, he went after his dad with a knife!

Roadies

There were two roadies named Moose and Tank who worked for several bands around Houston. Both of them were ex-bikers. They were huge men – terrifying to look at – and could carry Bubble Puppy’s enormous Sun Amplifier Cabinets under their arms. I even saw them carrying those cabinets up the stairs at load-in when we played Love Street!

Need a new van? They'd steal one. Need a part for a motorcycle? They had a room full of stolen motorcycles to choose from. They did none of this for Bubble Puppy, by the way.

Bubble Puppy has had several roadies over the years. My favorite and good friend was Lynn Lease, a Vietnam medic. We used to cruise around on motorcycles. We often cooked meals together. We tried to eat healthy, which was hard to do in a rock and roll band house. We also had a circle of friends who would host potluck dinners. After dinner, the group would meditate. I miss Lynn.

Houston Clubs

There wouldn't have been so many great bands in Houston during the late 1960s without great places to play. Here are just a few of Houston’s great clubs and a park where regular concerts used to be held.

The Catacombs

The Cellar

Love Street Light Circus and Feel Good Machine

The Houston Music Hall

Of Our Own

La Maison

The Plantation

Milby Park

The Catacombs

The Catacombs Club was in a Houston strip mall. It occupied two storefronts. The wall between them had partially collapsed, leaving a big circular opening that looked like a cave entrance—hence the name. Bob Cope ran the joint. He wore a black eye patch and one black glove and was quite the character!

We were booked at The Catacombs not long after I joined Bubble Puppy. I started driving, in my VW Bug, from Austin to The Catacombs. I hadn't had my license very long, was not an experienced driver, and didn't have a map. I took Hwy 59 to Houston, and my only directions to the club, once I arrived in the city, was to take a right on Loop 610 and start looking for So-and-So Street. I missed that street before I started looking and kept driving and driving, looking for the street I had already passed. I went around Houston on Loop 610, which took over an hour. Finally, I returned to the intersection of 59 and 610, found the street, and arrived at The Catacombs exhausted, but just in time to play the gig.

Love Street

Bubble Puppy loved to play at Love Street, and because International Artists owned part of Love Street, we played there often. The light show, the stage, and the club's management were all top-notch. I frequently went to Love Street on rare nights off from Bubble Puppy gigs. Once, while laying in the "zonk out area," I was lucky enough to see Johnny Winters, with Uncle John Turner on drums and Tommy Shannon on bass. What a show in the intimate environment of Love Street.

Love Street “Zonk Out Area” at Allen's Landing

Houston Police

You can't talk about a club scene without talking about the cops! Houston cops were notoriously brutal. As an example of just how cruel the cops could be, they arrested a Mexican-American named José "Joe" Campos Torres, beat him, handcuffed him, and then dumped Torres in the bayou. The officers initially faced no charges. Years later, those officers were arrested and jailed with the federal government's help. We knew this story and feared the cops when playing in the bayou area!

The Houston police once stopped me for no other reason than I had long hair. The officer wanted to check my driving record but said his police radio was out. He grabbed me by the collar, dragged me across the parking lot to a pay phone booth, and shoved me into it. Then he called the police station to get my traffic record, which was spotless. The cop had no reason to stop me; he just loved harassing hippies.

Next up on Bubble Puppy Bites

Bubble Puppy realizes we have no future with International Artists, and we plan to leave.

*More on The 1960’s Houston Bands

If you want to dive deeply into Houston Bands, I suggest reading "The Boys from Houston" by Vicki Welch Ayo. Here she is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vicki.ayo

David Fore's musical news!

On January 1st, I released my new CD, "I'm Too Shallow to Sing the Blues!" This project features 10 songs in my quirky rock-n-roll country style. Are you curious? Click here to listen or buy it on BandCamp!

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