Welcome to my feedback page, a low-tech forum where I share and respond to the evaluative comments - good and bad - I receive from visitors to Randy's Rodeo. I also post more specific feedback on more specific pages - for instance, comments about a particular artist would be posted on that artist's page. Wanna toss in your two cents? Drop me a line...

October 28, 2016. I love your site! I was searching for an old Halloween song with the lyrics "She's mostly ghostly," but can't find it anywhere online. Any ideas? - Eric Gustavsen

Randy Responds. Thanks, Eric! I'll bet you're thinking of the track from the 1958 RCA LP Monster Rally by Hans Conried and Alice Pearce, which Sheb "Purple People Eater" Wooley also recorded the same year. Sadly, Monster Rally has never been properly reissued in any format - though one song is on RCA's Screamers compilation.

September 18, 2003. Just wanted to congratulate you on a great website. I haven't heard anyone mention Raul's (an early punk rock club in Austin, Texas) in years. I think I was one of the original twelve apostles who started going to Raul's when it first opened. Your Sex Pistols at Randy's Rodeo is the most comprehensive I have seen. Would you believe I recorded it in stereo on a portable reel to reel I snuck into the show? It's a little crude, but the only recording I know of in existence.

As for the guy (Dec. 6, 2001) that wanted information on Lou Ann Barton. He's right... she is a treasure whose talents will never be widely known. I saw her on a couple of occasions at what was the Cadillac Bar (?) on Broadway in San Antonio with Stevie Ray Vaughn backing her up. I was a pimple-faced kid who loved good music and mustered up the cojones to walk up and tell them how much I liked their show. I even told Stevie not to ever change his style... he must've listened!!!! But, I have to say, he was one of the UGLIEST people I ever saw when he took his hat off! Well, enough of that... those were the good ol' days - Randy's, Raul's, and the Armadillo!!!! - Dan

Randy Responds. Thanks for the enthusiastic feedback, Dan. At some point you just gotta make that Sex Pistols tape public... wow! Sounds like you have a lot of neat memories of Austin before the yuppies ruined it... I got here in 1985 when the transformation was already underway. There's still a lot of cool stuff here, it's just harder to find - and it takes longer to get there!

January 21, 2003. Hi! Do you sell the piano sheet music for "Nut Rocker" by B. Bumble & The Stingers? If the answer is yes, please contact me. - Robert Wright

Randy Responds: Randy's Rodeo doesn't sell anything, per se. We're affiliated with Sheet Music Plus, however, and they show no listing for it. Sorry - it's a cool song! "Nut Rocker" was adapted from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet, and you should be able to find plenty of copies of that on sheet music. top of page

December 13, 2002. Still fighting the fight... So much today requires attention and activism: pollution, third world labor, imperialism, and capitalism. A lot of punk today has become very fast and hard-core and a lot of it sounds the same to the untrained ear. However in the past the Dead Kennedys and in the present the Dropkick Murphys broke the mold a little bit and got very creative with very distinct styles. I am a punk from SLC Utah, and its good to see our scene grow - there are so many new bands all over the U.S. and there's a lot of talent in many of them. - John Zimmerman

Randy Responds: Um, cool! top of page

November 8, 2002. Just read a little thing here in Randy's Rodeo. I was searching the net for this place because I remember the Sex Pistols played at Randy's Rodeo in Texas, right? Anyway, thought I'd say "hi." - Brenda

Randy Responds: You are correct! Randy's Rodeo (the website) is named after Randy's Rodeo (the nightclub) in San Antonio, Texas. A longtime fixture in San Antonio nightlife, the country ballroom was the unlikely scene of one of just a very few shows the Sex Pistols (legendary 70's punks) ever played in the United States. Click here to read all about it. Thanks for visiting! top of page

August 14, 2002. I just wanted to let you know that I love your website. After reading the About Us section I noticed that you are a lot like myself except you are a little older. I am 19 and have been collecting and enjoying as much music as I can afford. I also got my first guitar at 12 and love to strum out a few songs every now and then. I have one question - why did the record store go out of business? - Mike Bobby

Randy Responds: Enthusiastic praise is always welcome - thanks, Mike! My record store (ABCD's in Austin, Texas) went out of business for the traditional reason - we ran out of money. Life for the independent record retailer is hard and getting harder. In many ways, though, my passion for the business (and the music) was unabated, but I couldn't keep the doors open. I was lucky to find a buyer (the Austin-based franchise of CD Warehouse) who gave me a good price and continues to serve my former clientele.

As for Randy's Rodeo, it's a labor of love that I suspect will keep me busy for years to come. Hope you visit again. BTW, I was 19 when I got my first guitar, too. Sadly, my musical career fared no better (or even worse) than my retail career.... It just goes to show that you should do something because you love it. If it makes you happy, all the other rewards (if any) are gravy. top of page

April 19, 2002. This is not intended to criticize the webmaster who is probably only doing what he/she's been told to do, but rather to send a message to whoever determines web functionality.

It's very annoying to find web sites that feel it necessary to hijack your browser's Back button. I am sure there are many who haven't any idea how to escape sites like yours so they probably shut down their browser in frustration. Especially frustrated if they got to your site from the 10th page in a search engine list and must now start all over again, because they probably have no clue what page of the list they were on. When I run across these sites, I make every effort to avoid them in the future. - Ron M. Bond

Randy Responds: My sincere apologies for any inconvenience. What you experienced, Ron, was not my "hijacking" your browser but, rather, an unintended side effect of a script intended (ironically) to prevent web surfers from getting locked outside our "frames" navigational system. Due to your comments (and those of others who experienced similar problems), I completely redesigned Randy's Rodeo in May, 2002, using PHP scripting to eliminate the need for frames. top of page

April 5, 2002. Hey Randy... I was browsing around your site. Pretty cool! If you're around this weekend, let's have a drink. - James Foster

Randy Responds: Sounds great, James. Who the hell are you? top of page

March 22, 2002. Love your website - it truly feels like a part of home in a sense, as I also grew up in Texas in the 70's and, unlike most of my Kiss-addict cohorts of the time, shared your remarkable eclecticism. (Where was this website in 1978 when I really needed it?)

I especially enjoyed the detailed accounts of the Sex Pistols concert at Randy's Rodeo - didn't realize all the connections to the Austin Chronicle and the punk scene I would encounter as a UT student in the 80's. I too am trying to do what I can to keep the faith, especially after the passing of Joey Ramone, making punk an integral part of a novel I'm trying to sell, and reminding my Blink 182-addicted college comparative literature students about REAL punk music. (Can't wait to relay the story of Sid Vicious slicing his arm for the cowboy.) I missed that tour but can relive it vicariously through your site - I was still in 9th grade and trapped in Lubbock, but my parents had recently returned from London with my requested UK pressing of Never Mind The Bollocks with the less-garish-than-the-USA-verison color scheme, purchased under the counter.

Wish there were more room on your site for the likes of Johnny Thunders and the Dictators, but the depth of your Elvis Costello piece makes up for it. Ever listen closely to the harmonies on "Welcome To The Working Week"? You can hear Clover's uncredited singer, Huey Lewis, plain as day. Thanks again for putting it all in one place. - Matt McCutchin

Randy Responds: Aw, shucks! I'll get to the Dictators and Mr. Thunders eventually - this website is currently just a hobby, albeit an obsessive one. BTW, I'm pretty sure the internet wasn't invented until at least 1979. top of page

March 12, 2002. Nobody needs your help to find a record! I'd like to say "great site," but being unable to simply back out of it brings up phrases more along the line of "what the fuck?" and "this site sucks!" I mean, c'mon guy.... - J.E. Dickey

Randy Responds. Um, thanks for sharing. This problem (unintentional, I assure you) was corrected in May, 2002. top of page

March 5, 2002. Cool site... I'm kinda where you are. I cut my teeth on eighties punk, a la Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, et al.... I also found a lot of life in the crossover sounds of the Crumbsuckers, Leeway, Cro-Mags, etc.... Then, like you, I became more interested in the growing post-punk movement, especially with bands like Husker Du. And, like you, I find today's "punk" to be not only clichéd and entirely too commercialized to be taken seriously as a counterculture movement, or altogether silly, as well.

Soooo... let me ask you about a NEW underground musical movement. Have you been introduced to the "No Depression" style? It's a mix of old punk and alternative with almost country type sounds. It's some really good stuff... a really fresh sound. Now, I'm not talking about "rockabilly," and when I say country, I don't mean George Jones. Often steel guitars and harmonicas make their way to the fore, but there is a lot more leftover punk and alternative than country in the music most of the time.

Some of the bands spearheading the movement are Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Vigilantes of Love, and 16 Horsepower. There is a print and net version of a magazine called No Depression that covers the movement. It's a major publication, but it has the feel of your old Maximum Rock and Roll fanzines. Heck, even Maximum R and R is stocked in mainstream bookstores now. Did you know that Tim Yohannan died a few years ago? Anyways....

Just saw your country section... Steve Earle is a big name in No Depression and is a fine example of the kind of sounds it promotes. Also, Wilco rose from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo, a band I'd mentioned. U.T. actually split into two bands... Wilco and Son Volt. Son Volt recently broke up, with Jay Farrar (vocals/guitar, also in U.T.) going solo, and issuing a solo album at the close of 2001. OK... I'll leave you alone now. - Jason

Randy Responds: Thanks for the interest, Jason. Rest assured, I'll be covering more No Depression sounds as I build the site. Mainly, I'll place them under the Alternative heading, reserving the Country section for hard-core honky tonkers, other pickers, and, of course, grinners. As for modern Punk, I try not to throw stones. It's just, as I've said elsewhere, been there, done that. top of page

March 3, 2002. You're full of shit! Just kidding.... This is my first look at your website - sorry it took me so long. It looks great, but knowing me as you do, I'm sure my opinion doesn't count for much in the music department. All I want to know is, where are the reviews of the vast catalog of work of the Osmonds?! - Joyce Anthony

Randy Responds: I'd expect better treatment from my own sister-in-law, but then she married my brother - who's gonna trust her judgment? But seriously, Joyce, if you're making fun of the Osmonds ("Down By The Lazy River" is a rock masterpiece!), we're gonna have a bone to pick next Thanksgiving - and it won't be no wishbone, baby! top of page

January 6, 2002. I've been told that Austin, Texas, has Branson, Missouri, beat for good country music. We've been going to Branson for their shows but would rather see Texas shows. Please send me information about where and when we can see some shows in and around Austin. We want shows that our kids can go to. - Danny Crustner

Randy Responds: Since the heyday of "Outlaw Country," Austin (my hometown since 1985) has been a lightning rod for great country music - both native and imported. I can't really think of a more up-to-date, comprehensive online live music resource than the website of the Austin Chronicle, our hipper-than-thou weekly rag. The Broken Spoke, Continental Club, and Gruene Hall are but a few of our venerable venues - the latter being the best choice for family outings. top of page

December 6, 2001. You have a great site, work in progress or not. Are you sure you're not English? You sure have an English sense of humor, mate. I stumbled across your web site when surfing the net for information on Lou Ann Barton. I live in South Carolina, although I was born in England and spent thirty years of my life in a village about twenty miles from London. I love the English groups and singers of the 60's and 70's, because that's the music I grew up with, but I pretty much like most types of music. My wife says of me that I think there's been no good music recorded since 1979. I would not go that far!

Last month I was watching Austin City Limits on PBS. The show was featuring Jimmie Vaughan, but then Ms. Barton came on. Until then I had never heard of her, but she... well, I can't put it into words her effect on me. And this was not one of those performances I've since read about where she struts on the stage, flicking her cigarette to the floor.

Since then I have been trying to find out all I can about her, including contacting Antone Records and placing four phone calls to various numbers in Texas. The current bios on the web are very short, just covering the bare bones. As far as I can discover, Ms. Barton has no fan club and has released very little material.

One of the bios on the web made a statement that she has "a tremendous talent that will probably never be fully realized" or words to that effect. The lady intrigues me. Do you have any info on Ms. Barton you can pass on? As you are part of the Austin music scene, I wonder if you've ever met her? Anything you can tell me that would add to my scanty knowledge would be greatly appreciated. I realize how hard it is to make a living as a small businessman, and I appreciate your comments about the chains. For four and a half years I have owned a small used bookshop, but business has been so bad this year that I am quietly confident that I will have to close in the New Year. It's a hard life. - Dennis Hutchinson

Randy Responds: I, too, have a bit of thing for Lou Ann Barton. She does, indeed, have a tremendous talent, and she projects a smoldering, intense sexuality. Both have rarely been captured on record. Met her? No, though I think we went to the same party a couple of times. My page on Lou Ann is currently "bare bones," too, but I'll be expanding it in the future.