Vulcan Gas Company
Encyclopedia
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. The Vulcan opened its doors at 316 Congress Avenue in the fall of 1967, and closed in the summer of 1970. Houston White, Gary Maxwell, Don Hyde, and Sandy Lockett started the Vulcan. By 1969, management was primarily by White and Lockett, along with Jim Franklin
Jim Franklin (artist)
Jim Franklin is an artist best known for his poster art created for the Armadillo World Headquarters, a former Austin, Texas music hall....
. There was a substantial sound system installed by Sandy Lockett. Charlie Sauer was the principal audio engineer for the last year of operation. Bobby Hedderman and Marty McDermott managed the club for the last few months.
A name plaque for the Vulcan is still on the front wall of the historic W.B. Smith building, named after the dry goods store which first occupied the building in 1884. In 1967 this end of the street leading to the Texas Capitol was not particularly prosperous and rents were relatively low.
The Vulcan provided a concert stage for unconventional bands of various genres, most notably the 13th Floor Elevators
13th Floor Elevators
The 13th Floor Elevators were an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland, which existed from 1965 to 1969...
and the Conqueroo. By 1969, Shiva's Headband
Shiva's Headband
Shiva’s Headband, an early Texas psychedelic rock band, formed in Austin in 1967. The group was the house band at the Vulcan Gas Company, a late 1960s Austin nightclub. The band is credited with a significant role in the founding of the Armadillo World Headquarters. The bands first royalty check...
became the de facto house band, and in the first half of 1970 the Hub City Movers played frequently at the Vulcan.
The club had homemade benches and old church pews for the audience. The main floor, in front of the stage, was used for dancing. Smoking marijuana inside the club was discouraged and rare. Alcohol was discouraged, but common. The Vulcan was never able to get a liquor license, since Houston White, one of the owners, had been convicted (conviction later overturned) for selling some acid to an undercover cop. For some time, the Vulcan used space in the adjoining building to the north for selling sandwiches and soft drinks and as office space, but this auxiliary space was eventually abandoned to reduce rent.
Since there was no liquor license and beer could not be sold, almost all of the income came from gate receipts, typically $1.50 per person. That was the main cause of the club's ultimate demise. Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
, as a favor to White and Lockett, played a benefit concert, along with the Hub City Movers, March 10 & 11, 1970. Even that concert was not enough to offset ominous financial difficulties.
The elevated stage at the northwest end of the hall was rustic, but the psychedelic light show offset that appearance. The light show was operated from a suspended platform on the south side of the room and near the ceiling - reached by a ladder. There was a large horizontal drain pipe across the back of the stage—that pipe is prominent in many photos of performances at the Vulcan.
There is one feature that most customers never saw, but is still a part of the Vulcan legend: the freight elevator. It was in the back, next to the doors that opened onto the alley. Made of wood and powered by human muscle via a rope that worked a reel of steel cable. The ride up was difficult, but the ride down could be very exciting. Sometimes too exciting. The cable often got snarled and had to be unsnarled by hand.
For much of the history, concerts were advertised with both large posters and letter sized handbills, similar to those produced for concerts at the Avalon Ballroom and The Fillmore
The Fillmore
The Fillmore Auditorium is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California, made famous by Bill Graham. Named for its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it lies on the boundary of the Western Addition and the Pacific Heights neighborhoods.In 1968,...
. Gradually, the larger posters were sacrificed to save cost, and eventually the handbills were abandoned for the same reason. A comprehensive annotated collection is available at the complete illustrated list of Vulcan Gas Company posters and handbills.
Some acts that played at the Vulcan
- 13th Floor Elevators13th Floor ElevatorsThe 13th Floor Elevators were an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland, which existed from 1965 to 1969...
- 1948
- Afro Caravan
- Angela, Lewis and the Fabulous Rockets
- Austin Suburban Loan Co
- BirthBirthBirth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
- Blues Bag
- Bubble PuppyBubble Puppy-Origins:The group was formed in 1966 in San Antonio, Texas by Rod Prince and Roy Cox. Looking to form a "top gun rock band" based on the concept of dual lead guitars, a staple of southern rock that was highly unusual on the psychedelic music scene, Prince and Cox recruited Todd Potter: a gymnast,...
- Big Sweet
- Canned HeatCanned HeatCanned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
- Captain BeefheartCaptain BeefheartDon Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
- Children
- Conqueroo
- Consolidated Smoke House Limited
- James CottonJames CottonJames Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
- Endel St. Cloud in the Rain
- Sleepy John EstesSleepy John EstesJohn Adam Estes , best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was a American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.-Career:...
- Fat Emma
- Fugs
- Georgetown Medical Band
- The Golden DawnThe Golden Dawn (American band)The Golden Dawn are an American psychedelic rock band formed in Austin, Texas, in 1966, that broke up and then reformed in the early 2000s.The band released one album, entitled Power Plant, before breaking up soon after the album's release in 1968...
- Good HumorGood HumorGood Humor is an American brand of ice cream novelties sold from ice cream trucks as well as stores and other retail outlets. Originally, Good Humors were chocolate-coated ice cream bars on a stick, but the line was expanded over the years to include a wide range of novelties...
- Greezy WheelsGreezy WheelsGreezy Wheels is an Austin, Texas-based rock band that formed in the 1970s. They played frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters, to the point of being regarded as the house band....
- GritsGritsGrits are a food of American Indian origin common in the Southern United States and mainly eaten at breakfast. They consist of coarsely ground corn, or sometimes alkali-treated corn . They are also sometimes called sofkee or sofkey from the Muskogee language word...
- John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
- Lightnin' HopkinsLightnin' HopkinsSam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
- Hub City Movers
- Jomo
- Freddie KingFreddie KingFreddie King , thought to have been born as Frederick Christian, originally recording as Freddy King, and nicknamed "the Texas Cannonball", was an influential African-American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert...
- Mance LipscombMance LipscombMance Lipscomb was an American blues singer, guitarist and songster. Born Beau De Glen Lipscomb near Navasota, Texas, United States, he as a youth took the name of 'Mance' from a friend of his oldest brother Charlie .-Biography:Lipscomb was born April 9, 1895 to an ex-slave father from Alabama and...
- Liquid Marble
- Lord August and The Visions of Life
- Lost and FoundLost and FoundLost and Found is the third full-length album by Mudvayne. The album was released on April 12, 2005 through Epic Records. The album had major success in the U.S., debuting at number #2 and being certified Gold by the RIAA shortly afterward. It has sold about 800,000 copies as of August 2006...
- Fred McDowellFred McDowellFred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
- Steve Miller BandSteve Miller BandThe Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...
- Moby GrapeMoby GrapeMoby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music...
- Mother EarthMother Earth (band)Mother Earth was an American blues rock band from California, fronted by Tracy Nelson.Nelson, who hailed from Madison, Wisconsin, began her career as a solo artist, but formed the Mother Earth ensemble after moving to San Francisco...
- Mustangs
- Naked Letus
- New AtlantisNew AtlantisNew Atlantis and similar can mean:*New Atlantis, a novel by Sir Francis Bacon*The New Atlantis, founded in 2003, a journal about the social and political dimensions of science and technology...
- New Moan Hey
- Night Hog
- Ohio Express
- Onion Creek
- PocoPocoPoco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
- Ramon Ramon and the 4 Daddyos
- Jimmy ReedJimmy ReedMathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
- Rubaiyat
- SaltSaltIn chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
- Shepherd's Head
- SherwoodSherwood-United Kingdom:*Sherwood Forest, north of the city of Nottingham, England; the place where the legendary Robin Hood is said to have lived*Sherwood, Nottingham, a residential area of Nottingham*Sherwood -United States:...
- Shiva's HeadbandShiva's HeadbandShiva’s Headband, an early Texas psychedelic rock band, formed in Austin in 1967. The group was the house band at the Vulcan Gas Company, a late 1960s Austin nightclub. The band is credited with a significant role in the founding of the Armadillo World Headquarters. The bands first royalty check...
- Sky Blues
- South Canadian Overflow
- Space American Eagle Squadron
- Strawberry Shoemaker
- Sunnyland Special
- Swiss MovementSwiss MovementSwiss Movement is a live jazz album recorded on June 21, 1969 at The Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland by the Les McCann trio, Eddie Harris, and Benny Bailey.The song "Compared to What" became a pop music hit.-Track listing:...
- Texas, with Jimmie Vaughn, Denny FreemanDenny FreemanDenny Freeman is an American Texas and electric blues guitarist. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman has also played piano and electric organ, both in concert and on various recordings...
, Paul Ray - Texas Pacific
- Texas Rangers
- Zakary ThaksZakary ThaksThe Zakary Thaks were an American garage band from Corpus Christi, Texas, formed in the mid 1960s.The band developed out of the Marauders, a teen group which included Chris Gerniottis , Pete Stinson , and Rex Gregory , and who then became the Riptides, adding lead guitarist John Lopez...
- Thingies
- Big Mama ThorntonBig Mama ThorntonWillie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953. The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million...
- Velvet Underground
- United Gas
- Untouchables
- Water Brothers
- Muddy WatersMuddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
- Wild Chickens
- Big Joe WilliamsBig Joe WilliamsJoseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...
- Johnny WinterJohnny WinterJohn Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
- Zig Zag Quartet