Houston Fighting Senate Bill that would put Music Museum in Austin

If the museum ends up in Houston, this is where it should be:



The building, amazingly (as far as I know), still stands. The Love Street Light Circus and Feel Good Machine (known as Love Street by virtually everyone at the time) opened in June of 1967 and stayed open for about 3 years. Inspired by a trip to San Francisco in (I think) 1966 by David Adickes, best known as an artist and for his sculpture (he did the 76 foot statue of Sam Houston in East Texas somewhere), he saw the Filmore's light show and it intrigued him. Spotting the building that later housed Love Street because some real estate people thought he might be interested in opening an artist studio there (that's the story), he reached the 3rd floor during his tour and had an epiphany. It would be perfect for a night club, a smaller version, perhaps, of the Filmore. Adickes would do the light show himself. The rest, as they say, is history.

I went there in '67, and during the summer of 1968, worked in a club across the street doing the light show. My cousin's band had leased the venue for the summer and I had a gas using an overhead projector, two clear glass pie plates, bottles of mineral oil, and a bunch of little bottles of food coloring in a little attic space, projecting it behind the band, pulsing the images in time with the music. Every chance I got, I went to Love Street (our club, sadly, became a biker hangout - not good for business). The 13th Floor Elevators played there countless times, as did Billy Gibbon's early band, the Movin' Sidewalks (who I saw open for The Doors at the Coliseum - the Sidewalks were great! The Doors had to up their game, ha ha), Fever Tree, Bubble Puppy, and many other early psychedelic rockers. Heck, Lightning Hopkins played there once. They had more than the psychedelic groups, although that was easily the main attraction.

So, to be fair to my native city, Houston has a very early rock history. Love Street opened before Austin's best known early club, The Vulcan Gas Company (and yes, I went there several times - heck, went to Austin as often as I could manage). Later, Liberty Hall was another famous venue (as were several smaller clubs I could mention) that could serve as a museum site, if it hadn't been demolished. I still think Austin should have the museum, given its status as the state capitol and because it is famous around the world for its music scene. If Houston gets the museum, though, I won't get upset. I experienced a lot of its early rock history myself.

 

Based on some of the logic in here, shouldn't it be in Lubbock where Buddy Holly was born?

Otherwise? Austin, obviously.

 

If Houston had a Museum of Southern Rap, I would get a lifetime membership.

 

They can get the museum when UH gets a P5 invite.

 

Historically, Houston's music legacy dwarfs that of the rest of Texas. But the cosmic/outlaw country scene put Austin on the map back in the 70's, and Austin is absolutely more important currently, and the city sold their literal soul to the tourists and carpetbaggers a few years ago so why not give them something else to do? It's the obvious place for it.