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!

Justine and I took a 5000-mile roadtrip, ..

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!

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!

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!