Austin in the mid-80's was a happenin' place. The local punk scene was hoppin', and thanks to Stevie Ray Vaughan and others Austin's long suffering roots 'n' blues scene was finally getting some national recognition. A bevy of six-string wizards known collectively as Big Guitars From Texas made a couple of records that celebrated the joy of ax. Virtually everybody who was anyone back then - Evan Johns, Don Leady, Mike Buck, Sarah Brown, Keith Ferguson, Ray Benson - participated; the songs covered a wide range of styles and were strictly instrumental.

I have thrown down a gauntlet of challenge, though, because the records are long out-of-print. Released originally on the Jungle label, the two LP's - Trash Twang & Thunder (1985) and That's Cool, That's Trash (1986) - were compiled onto on a single compact disc (minus a few tracks) in 1988. On vinyl or otherwise, the Big Guitars are worth scouring the used bins for - first check Amazon, and then happy hunting!