|
home | SHOP | Stories | Interviews |
|
Links |
Fire in the Water, Earth in the Air: Legends
of West Texas Music
"Indeed, Oglesby's introduction of more
than two dozen musicians who called Lubbock home should be required
reading not only for music fans, but for Lubbock residents and
anyone thinking about moving here. On these pages, music becomes
a part of Lubbock's living history."
|
This review originally appearred
in: Fire in the Water, Earth in the Air: Legends of West
Texas Music. Why Lubbock? How can one explain the wealth of rock'n'roll, country, blues, and jazz artists who come from Lubbock? Why does an isolated, conservative agricultural town like Lubbock, Texas, generate such innovative artists in numbers that seem so disproportionate to its population? Certainly any book about West Texas music must undoubtedly focus on the music and musicians from Lubbock, and these questions predominate those found in Christopher J. Oglesby's fine collection of interviews published by the University of Texas Press as Fire in the Water, Earth in the Air: Legends of West Texas Music. An oral history of West Texas musicians, writers, and artists, Lubbock-raised and now Austin resident Oglesby conducted twenty-seven interviews between 1998 and 2005, most of them in the years 1998 (six) and 2000 (fifteen). The author makes no claim to completeness. Indeed, Oglesby's collection of "legends" is more the result of serendipity than a master research plan: "The interviewees in this book were simply the ones whose paths crossed mine and who were gracious enough to share time discussing their lives in West Texas" (p. ix). Despite such happenstance, Oglesby presents a remarkably readable contemporary story of West Texas artists and music culture. In his brief introduction, Oglesby highlights the paradoxes
that characterize West Texas: "Despite such avid church
attendance, Lubbock has double the national average of sexually
transmitted diseases in teenagers and has among the highest teenage
pregnancy rates in the country." He also illuminates the
dualities: "[I]n conservative Lubbock, one is either a 'partier'
or a 'churchgoer."' (p. 3). How does one compile a collection of interviews and oral histories into a coherent narrative? Oglesby answers this question by rejecting the tendency to simply arrange the interviews alphabetically. Indeed, each interview, introduced by a brief biographical sketch, flows very well from the one that preceded it, revealing just how interconnected the web of influences and connections can be in local music. Those interested in West Texas music, issues related to music and place, the construction of music and identity, the Lubbock-Austin music connection, and information about musicians not often included in discussions of West Texas music will find much of interest in these interviews. Perhaps after reading this book, readers will agree with Jimmie Dale Gilmore that "regular, everyday people that nobody ever heard of in general are every bit as interesting and as talented as people that get all this spotlight put on them" (p. 224). Kevin E. Mooney
|
home | SHOP | Interviews | Stories | video | About Us |
|
Did ya' know? |
Copyright
2000-2008 Chris Oglesby All rights reserved |