Hi Wes. Thanks for the description of the latest Buddy Holly get together. I
attended the first gathering back in 1978 when Bill Griggs the president of
the then Buddy Holly Memorial Society organized the first get together of
Buddy's fans. That certainly was a memorable weekend. We were entertained by
the Crickets JI, Joe B, Nicky Sullivan and last but certainly not least,
Sunny Curtis who sang for us a song he had just written and not yet recorded
"The Reel Buddy Holly Story." Also, the Late Dick Jacobs who produced
Buddy's String Sessions attended. I also attended the next 3 conventions in
Lubbock in 79, 80 and 81. I was there for the unveiling of the statue of
Buddy sculpted by Grant Speed. I captured all the goings on using a good
Sony cassette recorder. Those were the days. M ----- Original Message -----
From: "Wes" <pogoer@...>
To: <NotFadeAway@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2003 7:48 PM
Subject: [NotFadeAway] Re: Third Annual Buddy Holly Music Festival and
Symposium


> Hello all,
>
> Apologies for this rather long post but since some have expressed
interest...
>
> I recently joined this group, and since I live in Austin, Texas I took
advantage
> of cheap airfares to attend the festival n Lubbock from August 28 through
31. It
> was well worth my time from beginning to end. In form, it's something like
a
> wedding ceremony followed by a reception, at least in the way that a
> celebration follows serious business! The Buddy Holly Center is not a huge
> building, but the space is used well and interestingly. There's a gallery
with a
> permanent exhibition on Buddy's life (guitars, clothing, childhood toys,
his
> personal record collection, even his Cub Scout uniform), a small theater
> continuously showing a short documentary on his life (along with a few Big
> Bopper videos!), two galleries for temporary exhibitions, and a gift shop.
> There's also a courtyard, where Butch Hancock (who also has a photo
exhibit
> on view) performed on Thursday evening.
>
> The action then moved to the International Cultural Center on the Texas
Tech
> campus, where a songwriters' panel featured Taj Mahal (who was late
getting
> in because of travel delays), Stacey Earle, Mark Stuart, Trish Murphy,
Kevin
> ("son of Bob") Montgomery and Robert Reynolds. The artists talked
> fascinatingly about their craft and played one number apiece.
>
> Friday was the major day for the panels, where "Buddy Holly: Lyrics,
Music,
> and Cultural Memory" was followed by one on the local legend C.B. "Stubb"
> Stubblefield, whose barbecue joint was the focus of the Lubbock music
scene
> in the '70s and early '80s (Stubb later moved to Austin and sold the
restaurant;
> he died in 1995). The panel was put together by Sharon Ely (wife of Joe)
and
> featured Joe, Butch Hancock, Terry Allen (who created a large statue of
Stubb
> that graces the site of the former barbecue) and his wife, actress Jo
Harvey
> Allen. A luncheon next door featured performances by Holly imitator John
> Mueller (who was out of 'uniform' but still good) along with Taj Mahal (a
very
> cool guy who also gave the keynote speech), Kevin Montgomery, Reynolds,
> and some others. Maria Elena and Buddy's brothers Larry and Travis
> attended.
>
> The afternoon panel featured Maria Elena, Carolyn Hester (a folksinger who
> had known Buddy in the Village in the '50s; Buddy also produced some
tracks
> for her which remain unreleased), and Tommy Allsup and Carl Bunch (who
> played with Buddy on the Winter Dance Party tour). They talked about
> Buddy's days in New York and the notorious conditions on the last tour
> (Bunch, who had been hospitalized for frostbite before the Clear Lake
date,
> mentioned that some on the bus had set newspapers on fire to keep warm,
> opening the windows to let the smoke out). I was amazed that the
auditorium
> was less than half-full for this amazing panel.
>
> Saturday there was a panel at a downtown club on 'the business of music'
> (which I skipped) and a tour of the BHC gallery with Bill Griggs
(Lubbock's
> number-one Holly fan and historian). Griggs also moderated a panel on '60s
> West Texas music, with the likes of Tommy X Hancock, and George Tomsco
> of the Fireballs. In the late afternoon there was another courtyard
concert with
> Willis Alan Ramsey and Beth Wood, which I skipped.
>
> On Sunday there was a free concert on the Center grounds, on two stages:
> the courtyard (softer, more folk-like music) and the parking lot (rock).
The
> highlights for me were Ponty Bone (Texas zydeco) and the Texana Dames,
> and, in the courtyard, Kevin Montgomery and the Roadtrippers; Montgomery
> did a lovely version of "Wishin'," which his dad and Buddy sang back in
the
> day. And of course, who could forget Maria Elena getting up on stage
during
> the set by Patricia Vonne (a Texan of Mexican heritage who sings in
English
> and Spanish), playing castanets and dancing!
>
> I was surprised that the seminar and festival wasn't better attended; I
heard
> that the reason it had to be held the weekend before Buddy's birthday, and
> not this weekend (Sept. 6-7), was that the National Cowboy Symposium had
> dibs on the stage! (I heard this from the owner of the eccentric and
wonderful
> Hi-D-Ho diner, which is well worth a visit if you visit.) However, there
were
> quite a few Brits who made it to Lubbock, as well as people from Spain,
> Canada, and all over the US...
>
> Lubbock is a friendly place where everybody seems to know each other, and
> the same goes for everyone attending the festival. The only thing I regret
is
> missing out on the Saturday night jam at Moose Magoo's bar (because I
didn't
> hear about it until after the fact -- aargh!). Montgomery, Reynolds and Al
> Perkins jammed with Joe Ely, Mueller, Allsup and Bunch for three hours
> (reports Montgomery himself on his website). You've gotta check the local
> paper for listings...
>
> By the way -- happy 67th, Buddy, wherever you are...
>
> Wes
>
>
> --- In NotFadeAway@yahoogroups.com, Naomi Reid <naomi_reid21@y...>
> wrote:
> > Hi everyone,
> > I would like to go to it, but I live in England so i cant. Let me know
what it
> was like won't you? By the way, what actually happens there?
> >
> > Naomi
> >
> > voxxjaguar <djf1965@h...> wrote:
> > thanks for posting this, jon
> >
> > is anybody here going to this?
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>