Friday I'm In Love: Numbers the Documentary

You were here for Houston's golden age when it comes to local music. I can't speak to what's happening lately because I'm old. But those bands you mentioned along with deadhorse, Fleshmop, Joint Chiefs, Dry Nod, Brown Paper Dog, and so many other incredible bands were playing out. And most of them lived in band houses all along Lexington, all of which have been razed now. In the early 90s there was a party on that block almost every night with kegs and much live music. Those were the exact four years for the best in local music and all of those bands felt like they could have gone really big.

I've had the great pleasure of working on plays with members of de Schmog, Sprawl, JC's, Fleshmop, Carolyn Wonderland and so many others from the local music scene then.

My very first play, which I'd written in playwriting school, was performed almost exclusively by members of those bands and others. I was anti-actor back then and only wanted to use musicians as actors in my plays. The first play only had one actor in it that wasn't a known, local musician. And when I did start working with actors I made them all come with me to see whichever band Matt Kelly (Sprawl, Joint Chiefs, Rugrash, Lick Lick) was playing in to say: See that? Do it like that!

And I've continued working with them. My last big original music-theatre project Bluefinger (which I created in 2010 in cooperation with Frank Black of Pixies) featured Matt Kelly (Sprawl) and Michael Haaga (deadhorse) in the leads.

Music has always been a huge part of the original work I've made with my two companies (Infernal Bridegroom Productions and The Catastrophic Theatre) but, owing to illness, I haven't been able to make a new music project until the one we started rehearsing tonight, bringing it all back home.

In our earliest days, as we had our first play 25 years ago this May 6, in 1993, our entire company never missed a Rockets game. We made fun of the Jazz in Tamarie Cooper's original summer shows and one night we held curtain over an hour because a Rockets playoff game went into overtime and we weren't about to start until it was over.

Tonight was the first rehearsal for our latest music-theatre project, which I've mentioned here a lot.... Small Ball, commissioned by Daryl Morey, written by my favorite writer, with music from my favorite composer, and directed by me and my lifelong collaborator Tamarie Cooper.

You guys should have seen the ear-to-ear grin on Daryl's face throughout the whole night. And, being the super nice guy he is, he ordered pizza for the full cast and crew. This is going to be so much fun.

If you want to see it, make sure to get your tickets in advance. This one will sell out like crazy.

Here's the link to our home page (a new site we launched tonight) to read more about the play and buy tickets. (We are Houston's only Pay-What-You-Can theatre, one of only a handful of theatres across the country that allow ticket-buyers to set their own price and every single performance is Pay-What-You-Can.) If you got to www.catastrophictheatre.com and scroll down the page you can't miss it.

And here's the NYT sports section story that announced the project for those who haven't seen it and are interested.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/sports/basketball/daryl-morey-rockets-small-ball.html

I always love to meet a Clutch Fan so if you let me know you're coming and ask for Jason (my not-so-secret identity) your first drink's on me.

 

I remember using my older brother's id to try to get into numbers but the bouncer cut the id up. The bouncer left his maglite flashlight on the stool by the front door so I took it and ran. Damn I was a stupid kid but not as stupid as the tide eating generation.

 

Those were great years for live original music in Houston.

And bluefinger was awesome and well worth the drive in from Austin to see. Might have to see about driving in for your new production.

 

were you the one who did jesus christ superstar with matt kelly back in 1991 or so?

it definitely seemed like a great time to be going to local shows in houston. toho ehio was another band i liked from that time. and buddah on the moon, who i believe torn n' frayed drummed for!

its funny how many of the same people we know. i know matt k. and im actually friends and/or bandmates with all the musicians from the austin production of speedy motorcycle. ill PM you. if you come to a show be sure and say hi (and please dont reveal my identity!).

 

Hey now!! Yes I was in Buddha on the Moon, along with some other bands in the 90's like Atlas, Color of the Sky, Libertine, Coterie and Casino. Yes Libertine NOT the Libertines, this was 1996 so years before the newer band.

 

We still have Waterloo Records here in Austin, but I don't know how they're able to afford to stay at Lamar and 6th. It's lucky for Austin that they remain. So much is gone.

 

There is a Waterloo Pub on Main St, in historic downtown Louisville, CO...which essentially is Boulder, if Boulder were allowed to grow in area.

Turns out, they are the same owners as Waterloo Records. Me thinks they have money.

 

Love me some Buddha on the Moon. Used to book them on the regular when I was booking Catal Huyuk.

 

Thanks for that and making some great memories for me!

 

Short answer wrt JS Superstar is no, I wasn't.

Slightly longer one is that it was when Jay Maulsby/"Jesus," one of my best friends (and also frontman for Fleshmop and later Joint Chiefs), sent me the Public News review to entice me to move back to Houston to put on my first play, In the Under Thunderloo, which he'd read and wanted to write music for, that I first considered coming home to Houston.

So I did come back, based on that renegade Superstar sounding like exactly what I wanted to be doing, and Jay did write the music (and played a major role) and his band Joint Chiefs were the band for the play with special guests from other bands and with an 18 year old Carolyn Wonderland in the female lead. I had only meant to move back long enough for the play to happen. I'd been living in Portland, OR after NYU and didn't think I wanted to live in Houston.

After the play there was such demand for another, I tried directing. I hadn't directed my own play and never studied directing at all. That led to the formation of Infernal Bridegroom and kept me in Houston for 10 years, from 1993-03 before taking a four year break to wander around the country directing at regional theaters. After 4 years I missed my friends and was ready to come home and start the new theatre.

So I didn't do JC Superstar but it is the reason I ever came back to Houston to make theatre here.

 

Back at you, bud. Thanks for the memories. That 1-2 years I was at Catal were truly the most fun years I ever had. I felt so lucky to be surrounded by such great bands. You guys (and all the others I regularly booked) really had an impact on the theatre I make. And Tracy Jo from BotM has been in our audience a lot.

We've always made the theatre we make with those bands in mind and I've always wanted us to have the same audience great local bands did and we made our show to appeal to people that thought theatre was dumb and would much rather be seeing a band because so would I.

I was never concerned with traditional theatre audiences, though they found their way to us and now we have a ton of them too. Every friend I had would have rather seen a band than a play. That's the main reason our plays have been as they have. They've always been meant to appeal to the bands I loved and the fans that loved those bands.

One of the most touching things to me about our audience today is that it still has a lot of local musicians and local music fans in it. That was always the mission. Also lots of bartenders and lots of barflies. I've always felt like it was the natural order that, if you're a barfly like I was for so long, your bartenders should feel cooler than you. If you won their friendship or respect it felt special. So in 1998 when all the Rudyards bartenders and owner pitched in to write us a very large donation it blew me away and we had a copy of it framed in our office, the check I mean.

And Rudz owner Lelia Rodgers was a board member until recently and Brad Moore, ex-Keenlies and owner of so many of Houston's best bars and restaurants now, is on our board today.

It's been so fun talking about those years here. They were my favorite years of my life so far.

 

I certainly hope they do. Interesting comment about growth. I haven't been to Boulder in years. Austin attempted to control its growth, especially to the West and Southwest, where the ecosystem is far more fragile than the rest of the city. Damn near every attempt by the city was overturned by some legislative bill pushed by members from places like Amarillo, who were being given large campaign donations by big developers. The results, much to the dismay of most longtime residents like us, can be seen today. I like Boulder and it's a beautiful place. I hope it stays that way.

 

Wow, who needs a documentary. I'm enjoying reading through this thread more than I think I would enjoy any documentary...

Like I said in another thread, we spent a lot of time on the Westheimer strip during the late 80's....but we were usually too afraid to get out of the car... I didn't realize until later on that Numbers had so much live music. Back then, I thought it was more of a dance club. I did see a few shows there in the 90's. Saw Ben Folds Five there after their debut album before anyone had heard of them.

I think we spent more time seeing local bands at Fitzgerald's than anywhere else in Houston. Used to see a band out of Denton called Ten Hands there all the time.

I used to listen to KPFT on Saturday nights back in the day. That was a great way for a dumb 15-year old kid from the suburbs to get a taste of that whole scene - from the safety of his own bedroom. Anyone remember Chuck Roast? He had a show on 90.1 every Saturday night I think. Vinal Edge Records? Over on Stuebner Airline? I used to love having my mom drop me off there for an hour or two while she ran errands. Wonder if that's still around....

 

Anyone listen to KTRU on Friday's 10-1am after the S&M show, in the late '80s? That was me, with one of my few claims to fame as the first radio DJ in Houston to air 4AD music ... from my own stash. Bought mostly from the defunct Record Rack @ Westheimer/Woodhead, as I recall. They were the only place that let you open the seal on an album to try before you buy ... either that, or they allowed me to be a seal-breaker because they figured out I was a radio DJ, who bought then promoted a lot of their stuff.

That was also the time when KTRU became the strongest college radio station in the US, jumping from 600 watts to 50,000. cool story. To put that into understandable terms, KPFT is just now broadcasting at 100,000.

 

No VE moved to the Heights!!

 

Hear a lot of great music of all varieties on KTRU and heard a lot of bands for the first time on there.

 

We must have ran into each other at one point. btw: one of my most favorite shows was Snakefinger at Power Tools -- May, '87. There was only like 20 ppl there, 10 of them my group. They sat down and chatted with us afterwards.

trivia time: Anyone know what Power Tools was originally called?

 

I freaking love Chuck Roast. He's been in our audience for years and I've always looked up to him so it's meant a lot to me that he never misses one of our plays. He was interviewed in the last year and asked to name his top 5 favorite things about Houston and our theatre made his short list. I'm always so touched when someone I really looked up to and admired comes to be a fan of our work.

Ten Hands was a fantastic band. So many great bands came out of Denton.

And I felt the same as you did in those years which was why I didn't frequent Numbers. I also thought it was more dance club than live music venue though I was obviously wrong to think that. I spent a lot of time seeing my friends' bands at Fitz too.

 

I know quite a few people that would know. I know the old owner Bruce pretty well, many people that work there or did at one time. My old band played there a few times. Not ashamed to say that i spent a lot of time there in my youth and still go every once in a long while. I absolutely love that era of music and it still moves me. Im going to do some digging.

Here are a couple of goodies from that era...