REEL SOUTH

Hey, I'm Darius Rucker. Coming up on Reel South. We're kinda rolling into our 50th year right here at the Broken Spoke. -

Darius

For the country western faithful, Heaven is Austin's Broken Spoke. We've had people like Bob Wills right here, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Dolly Parton, Ernest Tubb, Jack Feder, the list goes on and on and on. Oh the key's in the mailbox come on in -

Darius

But for this honky tonk, every Texas two-step forward pushes the bastian to the brink. -

Male

This street has changed so much in the last few years. We're losin' a lot of the old feel of Austin. -

Darius

Shuffle into "Honky Tonk Heaven," on Reel South. -

Female Narrator

Support for this program is provided by South Arts, sponsors of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

bluesy guitar rock

keys jingling

light switches clicking

bottles clanking

honky tonk music

-

Musician

Ready?

chatter

Welcome to the Broken Spoke, the last of the true Texas dance halls and damn sure proud of it. We ain't fancy but we're darn sure country. The good news is we ain't gonna change nothing, we ain't got none of them hanging fern baskets on our ceilings out here, none of that Pierre water either. When you go to put on your hamburger, don't ask for that Grey Poupon, you're getting the real mustard out here. But let me tell you what we do got. We got cold beer, good whiskey, we are home of the best chicken fried steak in town and we got good country music. We've got Dale Watson tonight!

cheering

On the south side of Austin Every Texan knows If you wanna two-step, go find the Broken Spoke When I look at the places that sort of define Austin as a musical destination, the Spoke is gonna be the very top of the list. I came from across the damn country to come to Austin, Texas in order to play at the Broken Spoke. We've got people that come from all over the world to hear this music just 'cause it's better, there's proof of that. Ain't a single one of you sons of bitches gonna go home tonight and listen to the music of Utah, you're just not gonna do it. We're kinda rollin' into our 50th year right here at the Broken Spoke. We've had people like Bob Wills right here, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Dolly Parton, Ernest Tubb, Jack Feder, the list goes on and on and on. -

Announcer

That's a true Texas dance hall! What's James White He hates clean, that red rustic building It will never change James and Annetta have kept that tradition going where you feel like you're going to a neighborhood place that feels down-home and comfortable like an old slipper. They have kept that tradition alive of a family atmosphere with country music. There's not many places that you could actually bring your children, your baby in a bar, and have a good time. We've been together at the Spoke from day one. It's always been a mom and pop operation. I couldn't have done it without my wife, Annetta, you know, and she helps me every day up there. I'm in charge of BS and PR and my wife's a-workin' half the family. So, I'm raised a straight, innocent Baptist and he taught me to gamble, to drink, to cuss. I've played here every Tuesday night for the last three or four years and, I mean, I get people here from you name it, any country, from Australia all the way to Russia, and they come here because it's the world famous Broken Spoke and I think that's a testament to what James and Annetta have really done here, keeping it true to its roots and I think that's something a lot of things are missing this day and age. When you walk in the Broken Spoke and you open that door, it's like, it's like time stood still.

friend laughs

People make pilgrimages 'cause it's a real honky tonk and there's none left. I hope they never, ever, never, ever Mend that Broken Spoke

cheers and applause

-

Musician

Never mend the Broken Spoke! It may change on the outside but it ain't changing on the inside.

old honky tonk music

You know, I built this place back in 1964 with the help of a bunch of good-old South Austin boys. The roofers I had that helped me, they was pretty good drinkers, you know? They coulda did a lot better job than what they did, but anyway, that's one reason why this roof leaked. It's been leaked for over 25 years, and I got kinda tired of it, so I said, "You know, I'll just get me a corrugated tin, "I'll put a roof upside-down, I'll let it go "to a drain over here." And down the down spout, I drilled a hole in the wall and then the water came down there, down the down spout, out the side of the building and the roof still leaked but the customers didn't get wet so it worked out pretty good. This is a sacred stage. You can see it's worn and you know people like, I walked by Bob Wills up on this stage and Willie Nelson's been up here and we had a hole up here in the ceiling so they say, "Well, that's Bob Wills' hole." That's where he would fiddle through the ceiling. And the musicians, they like to kind of punch holes in here with drumsticks and arms or hit it with their fists. You know, but anyway, when we did it, I put plywood behind it where they wouldn't knock it in so easy 'cause every time we had a big star, it seemed like we'd take their picture on stage and here'd be Ernest Tubb up here walk into full view and then they have a big ol' square missing and my wife said, "Boy, that looks bad, "got a big hole in the ceiling right over "Ernest Tubb's head." So anyway, we put this thing but when I was doing that, I found a bunch of beer bottles, I found a bunch of trash, and I found a bunch of marijuana cigarettes and stash up there that some musician had left behind. The stage is such a low ceiling building, you know, that it's very low ceiling. Guys like Ray Benson, you know, he has to stand on the floor to keep from his head sticking through the roof, you know, when he's playing here. And they dance right there and we have a bet every night as to how many people are gonna fall into the monitors at my feet and the record was five. But no, it's, and everybody's like, "Hi Ray, how ya doin'?" And I'm singing, I'm singing. I'll give you love that's above And beyond the call of love at night I'll never never make you cry I'll give you love that's above And beyond the call of love Ain't love something that money can't buy Darlin' if by chance, I do any glance And I found my destiny Now I wanna carry you off and marry you If you will agree I'll give you love that's above And beyond the call of love And I'll never, ever make you cry I'll give you love that's above And beyond the call of love Ain't love something that money can't buy There's a closeness between the band and the, you know, you put a band up on a big, high stage and that kind of separates you from the audience and it's right down here on the stage, it's not two feet off the dance floor. People, they come dancing by and sometimes they'll be dancing backwards and they fall over the stage. Their feet will come out from under them and uh, they're all, "Okay, that's good." Ain't love something that money can't buy -

Musician

Ain't it the truth? Alright. What's different about the Broken Spoke is it borders, it's got a great border between honky tonk and dance hall because in the front there, it's kind of a honky tonk vibe and you know, serve good food and like I said, it's real intimate and you see the history there but then you go in the back, it's more like the dance halls where the dance floor's the main thing and the band just keeps on going. You know, the thing about playing the Broken Spoke, it's different than playing anywhere else and musicians don't understand that when I go on stage at the Broken Spoke, it's not about me, it's about being a dance band leader. You've gotta play polkas, you've gotta play shuffles, you've gotta play waltzes, you've gotta play straight country beats and you're pretty much living and dying by those four or five beats throughout your show. So if you're gonna go up there and think you're gonna play an acoustic song, I don't care if you're Bob Dylan, people are gonna like boo you off the stage immediately. Oh, I lie when I drink And I drink a lot Don't believe me when I've had a few Oh, I lie when I drink As a band director, the last thing you wanna do is have a bunch of guitar leads and a bunch of selfish musicians noodling on forever. These things should last about three minutes, otherwise, you're gonna wear people out. That's what they expect, they wanna keep movin' and keep dancing and you know, check your ego out and just keep the music going. 'Cause I lie when I drink and I drink a lot Don't believe me when I've had a few Oh, I lie when I drink, help me out, help me out, And I drink a lot I only drink when I'm missing you The thing I love about it in Texas is it can be white, black, or brown, and there are huge audiences for all of that. The dance hall prevails. Figure this with country music, you know, go watch a show from even the traditional Ryman Auditorium Grand Ole Opry or go watch Grand Ole Opry on TV. If the performance is good, the most excited the audience can get is they clap in time, they don't dance in Tennessee. Maybe too many Baptists, I don't know what their problem is but it's always been Texas is dance heaven. In the corner at my table by the jukebox Why don't you come and join me When you ain't able to face these hard knocks All I hear is where the sorrow don't ever stop In the corner at my table by the jukebox Yes, sir! And I can't dance at all, not a lick. But I like watching people that do, that know how to, you know, and there are people there that really know how. I tried to get Annetta's daughter to show me how to dance and she took about two steps with me and she said, "That's it. "Impossible." Always step to the left when you're getting ready to start like this, one, two, three, four, five, six, and one, two, three, four, five, six, and one, two, three, four. We do what I call the Broken Spoke Swing because it's the only place that actually has continued for 50 years the old classic two-step. Then step to your left, step, step, small steps. One, you're dancing yourself, so step to your left, three straight, touch, touch, three straight. Hell yes, absolute perfect, my friend. I remember as far back as walking around and I would hit my head on the tables, like, I must have been two. She was about table level when we uh-- Well, oldest daughter, Terry, she at first she started out on like on two little chairs she slept in, when it got around midnight at night you know, or 11 o'clock, and then she graduated to three chairs, then she graduated to a booth, but she was always with us and that's where she learned how to dance, was at the Broken Spoke. And so now, I guess I would call her and which is the truth, that she is the best country music dance instructor, I mean, that there is as far as I'm concerned. The secret to my lessons is getting in the man's head because he is bored to tears from the moment he steps out there and he doesn't really wanna do this. He's only doing it 'cause he's thinking, "I better get really lucky tonight if I do this." You're my lead, we conform to the lead 100%. You are the leader. Come here you little sassy pet. Now, zig-zag his feet because we're gonna give him the opportunity to quit worrying about stepping on you. This bone, this is a man's pocket that your, your go around, do you know what I mean? I tell people that I play music for men and women that wanna touch each other in public. Grab somebody and it don't matter what foot you start with, here's how you old-fashioned Texas waltz. Here it is. Slow, quick quick, slow, quick quick, Slow, quick quick, slow, quick quick, slow, The other foot, the one foot, the other foot, Slow, quick quick, slow, quick quick, Slow, quick quick, slow, here we go quick, The other foot, one foot, the other foot, Slow, quick quick This was the only place that i got comfortable coming to alone. I would just come in and someone would come up to me and ask me to dance, and you've got two people that have never met before, they don't know anything about each other, very often huge age gaps, it doesn't matter but you have this connection with this total stranger. It's such an amazing human connection to move in sync with someone else and dancing, to me, feels like you're just kind of riding the music, you're riding along on top of it. Bobbing your head only gets you so far. The dance tradition never died in Texas and that's kind of what the whole deal is with the Broken Spoke. They refer to Saturday as dance night. Dancing in Texas, what a big, huge part of the culture that is. You know, everybody in my family, everybody danced. Everybody we grew up with danced. The band played Westfalen and everyone started to dance The dance tradition in Texas goes all over the state. You had German and Czech communities that did it. We have Hispanic communities that do it, you know? And Texas music incorporates elements from all of that, the mariachi sound, the polka sound of the Czech bands is a big deal and it all went together to make the dance tradition such as we have even today. Slow, quick quick, slow, quick quick, Slowly we go Texas dance halls are what makes Texas unique. And they used to be in every town and we played 'em all and I miss 'em. I was the only one sittin', I was nervous You know, when people got together throughout Texas history you know, they get together, they have dances and had musicians and people would, would dance and that was a big part of the thing 'cause it's social interaction, ya know, courtship and that whole ritual that goes on around music. It's reminiscent of the early days, you know, when, you know, the countryside was populated with people off of ranches and cowboys, and it's a preservation of a culture that's not so prominent nowadays.

birds chirping

Texas pretty much defines what a dance hall is. There's so many of them around here that it's been so deeply rooted for so many years, you know. The thing you do is you, either a Friday or Saturday, you, you go to a dance hall, you know. You may go to a beer joint all week long or your favorite honky tonk or on the Friday or Saturday, but one of them nights, you usually go to a dance hall. That's just, its kind of Texas culture. Growing up in the Austin area, I used to go to a lot of these old honky tonk dance halls and my parents would take me when I was like eight or nine years old and I always had a lot of fun and that had a great deal of bearing on why I built the Broken Spoke, because if it wasn't for me going to these dance halls when I was young, having fun, maybe I never would have went in that kind of business, ya know? -

Musician

A three, four, one, two, three, four! I've got a standing reservation At my local drinkin' spot I arrive here every happy hour exactly on the dot That little corner table where nobody bothers me For they know my heart is breaking And I don't want company Well, here we are at the Broken Spoke and my famous Tourist Trap is what I call this place right here even though I don't really have anything for sale in here, it just, it's kind of like my own personal museum and I enjoy coming back here and I can tell stories about every picture. But anyway, this is me and Jerry Jeff Walker, this is three in the morning and I took Jerry Jeff Walker home that morning and everybody calls that Jerry-duty. You know, "Oh, you had Jerry-duty tonight?" I said, "Oh, I guess I did have Jerry-duty." Then over here, that's me and my wife and George Jones there, old possum Jones. All these people have been here, like this here, like Dan Rather, he came out here a lot. Kitty Wells, that's right behind the Broken Spoke. That's her bus in the background. And then, George Strait, I started booking the Ace in the Hole Band and I call it, 'cause you can see right here, it says, you know, the Ace in the Hole Band, that's how I put it in the paper, then at the last, I start putting featuring George Strait at the Broken Spoke and that went on for a long time and then when he got that one hit, I remember Tom Foote came up to me and he says, "Well, George ain't gonna be here tonight, "cause he's up in Nashville recording." So I thought, well, I've heard that a lot of times, you know, people go up there and they record and it doesn't go that far but this time, he hit it big time. Over here, I built this case especially for Bob Wills and my house, where I grew up as a kid, everybody knew who Bob Wills was and kind of like a household name. Uh-huh, take it away boys. And so anyway, it was a big moment for me back in 1966 and 1967 and 1968, I got to book Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and I was 25 years old and all them guys at the bar, they figured I didn't know what the hell I was doing and I said, "Well you know, I got Bob Wills tonight." And they immediately jumped into this talk about "Aww hell, he'll be drunk, he won't show up, "he'll be chasing some woman." Or he'll be sick in the hospital, he ain't gonna be here." 'Bout that time, Bob Wills opened up our front door and he had his fiddle under his arm and cigar in his mouth, and cowboy hat on, and the old drunks at the bar about fell off the bar stool 'cause they said, "Damn." They started whispering, they said, "That's Bob Wills." There's just been so many things. I've seen Ernest Tubb here twice, the great Ernest Tubb and Floyd Tilman and even Tex Ritter, Roy Acuff. This place has become a fixture for country music in Texas. Thanks, thanks a lot, I got a broken heart, that's all I've got This is one of my Uncle Ernest Tubb's great staples here in Texas, you know, we call it the Little Austin Opry, you know. This is one of the places he loved to play. He could play anywhere he wanted to. He's Ernest Tubb for Christ's sake. You know, I've got a picture of y'all onstage at the Broken Spoke with Ernest Tubb and then I've got a picture with you and Ernest Tubb on stage but I showed 'em to Joe Ely and he said, "Well, you know it's really funny because after "we got off the stage, Ernest Tubb said, 'thank you, little buddy.'" He said little buddy, he says, "I don't really remember what your name is "but the one man right there, he wrote Mr. Bojangles." -

Male

You know, Ernest Tubb, I think that says what kind of place this was. And you are gone, Honey, thanks a lot And then, uhh, 1967, I got a chance to book Willie Nelson and the Record Men, and he had a song called Mr. Record Man. Willie, he used to be a DJ and so, he kind of played the song, Mr. Record Man, I'm looking for a song I heard today There was someone blue singing 'bout someone who went away When he came to Broken Spoke, he was clean-shaved and he wore kind of a turtleneck or a sports coat or a vest and had short hair and I had him a lot of years and I booked him for like 800 bucks a night and the last 20 some odd years, it didn't really cost me anything because he would just come out, you know, when he could and he would sit in with different bands. Bout her name at night And Mr. Record Man, get this record for me One of the best beer joints ever. Best beer joints ever and Ray Benson said, he said that if you went to the Spoke with long hair, you would get your ass kicked and you would get a haircut, you know? And you were playing those places before-- I went in there to see if I could get my ass kicked. To see if you could get your. How'd that work out for ya? You just played some music and they didn't care. Played some music and I haven't had any problems yet. It was always my goal to play the Broken Spoke, you know? We had come from Amarillo, and in Amarillo we were playing to two separate crowds, which sometimes crossed these really wild Amarillo rednecks and cowboys and stuff and, of course, the hippy crowd was beginning to pick up on country music. And we were the only band in town that was playing Bob Wills, you know, and we were playing a lot of Bob Wills. So, the cowboys or the redneck-types, you know, they had to like us and we actually did have long hair when we were in Amarillo and when we came to Austin, there was some crossover and there was some, you know, animosity a little bit in the early days but nothing like it was in Amarillo. I mean, Amarillo when we did this, there were fights every single gig. Unlike San Francisco, hippies in Austin embraced and loved and celebrated great beer, so beer was cool and then the rednecks discovered pot and it's like, look out. The hippies and the cowboys got together and they decided they liked each other okay, so I never, you know, I used to go into truck stops with long hair just to see what they'd do and people were trying to change and accept. It's kinda like the gay thing, you know, people are finally accepting it. Finally, you know... Then the marijuana thing, you know, it's not a big deal. I thought it was something that we could get all of them hippies and all of them cowboys, all the rednecks, all under one roof and they'd started intermingling together and started getting along and that's when I started booking Alvin Crow. Oh, the key's in the mailbox, come on in I'm sittin' here wishin' dear I had your love again I never even ask you where you've been Oh, the key's in the mailbox, come on in Donnie A

guitar solo

At the time, there was not a lot of bands doing the Bob Wills and western swing sort of thing. A lot of the country bands, what we call the traditional country bands at the time were doing this softer country-politan, country-pop sort of thing and I wanted to focus on the hard-hitting country music of, you know, like the early Ray Price and Buck Owens and Bob Wills and that sort of Hank Williams.

fiddle solo

I knew from experience it would strike these hippies in the same way it would strike the rednecks, you know. I'd seen it before and these hippies, who had been raised on this country stuff and then sort of moved away from it, it was sort of bringing 'em back home, you know, that there's no conflict between loving The Doors and loving Bob Wills at the same time. There's not a conflict. You back on any turn Oh, the key's in the mailbox, come on in I'm sittin' here wishin' dear, I had your love again I'll never even ask you where you've been Oh, the key's in the mailbox, come on in Yes, the key's in the mailbox, come on in Riding down the canyon when the sun goes down A picture that no artist there should paint White-Faced cattle going down the mountainside I hear a cow a-howlin' for his mate And the old cactus blooms are blooming Sagebrush everywhere, Granite spirals a-standin' all around, I tell you boys it's heaven To be ridin' down the trail When the desert sun goes down Good ole cowboy song. Anyway, we're out here at the James White Ranch in the hill country, the beautiful hill country. I kinda get my strength like Lyndon Johnson, President Johnson, he always said he'd get his strength from the hill country and I feel the same way when I come up here, you know. But you know, a lot of people, they ask me, they say, "Well, where did you meet your wife?" And I say, "Well, I met her in a honky tonk, you know." And they say, "Well, how did that happen?" And I say, "Well, I was in this old place called the "Sportsman Inn out there on Highway 290." It was right across from a roping arena and me and my girlfriends would go out there because we knew the guys would come over after the roping and the bull ridin'. And anyway, I seen a pretty blonde girl out there dancing and she was dancing, kind of fast dance, and she had a red dress on and I said, "Well, you know, I'm gonna ask her "for a dance here just as soon as she gets "through with this dance." And that's when I first met my wife and way back in about 1961, wasn't it? -

Annetta

Mhmm -

James

1961, so she's been putting up with me all these years and. He's a good lookin' guy, yeah, but he's a rascal, ya know. I was raised pretty straight and I remember when he called me back up when he got back from overseas and I thought, "That's James White, huh?" And I said, "Well, I'm gonna wear flats, "I'll probably walk home 'cause he's too fresh." One of my best feelings was getting on the plane and heading back to stateside so I got my discharge but before I did get my discharge, I got to thinking what am I gonna do when I get out and I thought well, you know, it'd be nice if I could have a place of my own, something similar to what I have at the Broken Spoke today. You know, similar, and I got to thinking about the wagon wheels kinda going around my brain, ya know and I thought, well you know, I just remembered this old movie called Broken Arrow. So I thought, well hell, I'll just get me a couple wagon wheels, I'll knock a spoke out and I'll name it the Broken Spoke. Well, the day I got out of the Army, I came underneath a big old oak tree there in Lamar and there wasn't nothin' there but pasture land. There wasn't another building in sight and I just visualized a place like no other and I named it the Broken Spoke, and it was a fun time, popping that beer. I mean, beer was 25 cents a bottle and I'd pop it as fast as I could, two in each hand, you know, and I'd work 16 hours a day, seven days a week and then she would help me and hop tables, whatever I asked her to do whether it was bartending. He said, "You have to learn to drink beer." And I said, "Why, I don't like it." And he said, "Well, when someone wants to buy you a beer, "you have to be social and accept it." So I learned to drink beer, and I've been on a diet ever since. Got a dead soldier? Yes, ma'am, thank you. -

Annetta

Y'all come back and see us. Have a great night. Bye-bye, thank you. -

Man

Have a great night, sir. I think it's an accomplishment that, you know, husband and wife like me and my wife, Annetta, can work together all those years and-- Still love each other. Still love each other and still get along. I do all my Dad's bling shirts up at the Spoke. Like this one has all the bead work, all the bead work and the rhinestones so it takes me about, God, I don't know, it probably took me maybe like six months or so to do it but that's all individually done. I want him to be the special one with all the rhinestone shirts. I don't want anybody else out there with the rhinestone shirts, it's like he's the star, ya know? I worked up there since I was 18 and I know how to cook, I know how to cocktail waitress but don't like to do it. And anyway, you have to learn everybody's job, especially when you have a small business, it's like a skeleton crew so if somebody doesn't show up, you have to do their job. And so sometimes if I take the money up there in the mornings and the cook decided not to show up, I was the cook for the day and my Mom knows that 'cause she's been doing it for years. The guy next to me had it. Ruby red and what? Oh, I know it. -

Woman

And then I'm gonna get six shots of tequila. How many? I've learned a lot of lessons from my parents. My Mom is one of the toughest, hardest working people I know. I mean, she will do anything up there. She will plunge a toilet, she will cook, she will bartend all night long and she's 70. And that's all, five. -

Female Bartender

Woo, haha! -

Man

Get a water! Okay, chicken fried steak, this is just flour and cracker meal, and then you dip it over here, and then we're gonna do it again. Used to, we'd bread it as we went but when James decided to put my recipe in the paper one time, The American Statesman, I breaded eight cases that night. My arm was so sore the next day from breading cutlets, but you know, and the Statesman told us later said, "Oh, best recipe we ever put in the paper." I went, "I know." Yeah, Annetta in the kitchen is tenacious. There's really no other word to describe her. She whips those boys into shape, you know? She has been doing it, it's her recipes, her food. You know, and she absolutely loves it and it's something that she takes a lot of pride in and man, she can crank some food out. And we make gravy twice a day and you have to be ready to stir. And then you just kinda lay it in there. You wanna be careful, this grease is hot. And you don't call it white sauce like the Yankees either, it's called white gravy and there you go. Oh, I absolutely think anybody that hard-working is a dying breed, you know? I think the tenacity that it takes to stay in business these days is something that is lacking and unfortunately, the economy and the growth doesn't necessarily support small businesses any longer and it makes it very, very hard to stay in business. So yeah, absolutely, it's a dying breed. Y'all have a good one now, thank y'all, have fun. Pardon me, sorry. Hi. My Dad, the life lessons I've gotten from him, people love this about my Dad. They love the fact that he stands there at the door on Friday and Saturday, shakes everybody's hands, tells everybody hello and when he gets off the stage after he's done his speech, he walks through the crowd, he shakes everybody's hands, he takes pictures with whoever wants to take a picture with him. And he loves it anyway, so. But it's that genuineness that people don't have that much anymore and it's that good old boy manners that he has and people really love that. -

James

Thank y'all, thank you. -

Cliff

How you doin'? Thank you very much. Nice to meet you, I'm from Canada down here. It's my first time here. You mind if I get a picture with you? -

James

Sure! James treats that door the same way a preacher might treat leaving a church, you know. When you go in and out, he's gonna shake your hand, he's gonna talk to you, he's gonna look you in the eye, and he's gonna tell you he's real glad you're here, and you know what? He means it and you can tell that and you can see that and you can sense that. How ya doin? Doin good. Good to see ya. Thank you for comin' out. So, I think James standing there, you know, in his flashy shirts and talking to people as they come and go, that's a very, very big part of the Broken Spoke, you know? Thank you for comin' out, man. Thank you very much, thank y'all, thank you. Thank you, man, have a good one. Whenever you look up to the front and see Mr. White in that red shirt with that yellow tie and a couple hundred people dancing, you know, that's just about the pinnacle of it, everybody havin' a good time, you know, no trouble nowhere, and he's the most honorable man with accounts, everything, and there's a couple times that I didn't have enough money to really pay the band and Mr. White just put it in. You know, you can't beat that, can't beat it.

birds chirping

engine revs

I didn't know it was gonna be this good but it's my dream, you know? I get to do exactly what I wanna do and that's run the Broken Spoke and people let me do it so I can't really ask for anything more, you know, anything better than that. Yeah, I feel right at home over in South Austin. That's where I was born and bred way back in 1939 on these streets, but you know, this street has changed so much in the last few years and it's just getting way too many apartment houses and we're losing a lot of the old feel of Austin by tearing down a lot of these old buildings and putting up, you know, fancy hotels and fancy apartment houses and they call it change and this, that, and the other, and progress. It's just, I hope they never get over-built but to me, it looks like they're getting too many apartment houses. You know, this last decade or so in Austin, you know, the sort of international cache, if you will, of Austin has increased dramatically. You know, South by Southwest and other things have really elevated people's awareness of Austin and I was always a music fan here in Austin but was understanding the dynamic of how challenging it is for these venues to even, you know, hang on. So how do we maintain the Broken Spoke in light of a population boom in this town? When I was growing up, we would ride our horses down the shoulder of South Lamar and it was, you were in the country. My Dad, his great aunt and uncle, bought this property back in 1917 and they paid 59 dollars an acre. James White got involved, he was one of my Dad's probably first tenants. My Dad and our family owned the land and the buildings all across this area so when we sold it, everything got sold and James White's always been a tenant. He owns the Broken Spoke but not the building or the land, and we wanted to keep the Spoke intact and just wanted to find somebody that wouldn't bulldoze it and that was quite an endeavor 'cause everybody just wanted to come in and knock it down and start over and get the best bang for their buck and so it took a while. That was never in writing, we did all verbal, and they honored it. I walked up to my son's soccer practice one time and all the dads were talking about the travesty that was the development around the Broken Spoke. So I joined that conversation and told them that I was building it and it got quiet. Part of their decision-making process in deciding to sell us the property at that point in time was that we weren't going to nuke the Spoke. There were a number of people that looked into the site, and the fact that we looked at it and that was never a consideration, really, to relocate the Spoke. It's difficult to say whether if in the future, some owner, whoever that may be, will decide to keep the Spoke, I cannot imagine that they wouldn't but, you know, who's to say? Garry P. Nunn, alright! Well when you get down on your luck And you ain't got a buck In London, you're a goner Even London Bridge is fallin' down Then move to Arizona now, I know I I'll substantiate the rumor That the English sense of humor Is drier than the Texas sand You can put up your dukes or you can bet your boots I'm leavin' just as fast as I can I wanna go home with the armadillo Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene Friendliest people and the prettiest women You've ever seen Well I decided that I'd get my cowboy hat And go down to Marbalark Station, I think I've been there 'Cause when a Texan fancies, he'll take his chances Texas will be taken, that's for sure People do realize that it's a unique environment. It's something that, it's more or less, at least for now, is being preserved but of course, it's fragile, it's fragile. No telling what can happen, we live in a city that's, that doesn't really value in a lot of ways, they say they do but the truth is, they haven't shown the city that it values landmark places like the Broken Spoke. So hopefully, it'll stay around as long as we can. I wanna go home with the armadillo Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene Friendliest people and the prettiest women You've ever seen

cheering

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Musician

Thank y'all! -

Man

Thank you, Alvin Crow, Gary P. I would have granted James M. White tax-exempt status years and years ago, okay? I would have done everything to support this place, I'm talkin' about it as a politician, whether you're the mayor or the governor, you know? We're willing to give Samsung Electronics a tax abatement to put a semiconductor fabrication facility, a fab, we're willing to give Samsung a tax abatement and I don't, that's fine, but this is important, too. This is real important here. It wouldn't cost you nearly as much as Samsung. There should be some sort of historical importance granted to this building and these people. They have been major contributors to the Austin, Texas way of life and that ought to be worth something. Once I became an adult, I felt like I really owed it to my parents to work up there and I feel like it's my job to continue it for people, other generations when they come. One of my favorite things that I always hear from tourists when they come in, they always say, "This is what I thought Texas would be like," and that there isn't that much of Texas, like that old-style stuff left and I don't know what to expect, like, if and when he isn't around but I hope that it stays as popular as it is and I hope I honor him. Sorry. It's just very important. I know he wants it to keep going for a long time. He's built up a very big legacy and he never dreamed that it would be this big when he started it. He said he just didn't, he just started a dance hall. He didn't know that it would grow to this, so that's what I'm gonna try to do and I'm gonna keep it the same 'cause that's what he wants. There will never be any rock bands at the Broken Spoke or no rappers and I'm not saying that's some bad. I listen to a little bit of rock and roll but I mean, that's not what he wants. / He doesn't, he wants it to be country and he stuck to that and I think that's one of the other reasons why it's still going so strong because it's always that. Like, he doesn't ever deviate to something else so hopefully the building will be able to withstand those many years. But as long as we can keep it in one piece, that's what we're gonna do, we're gonna keep it going. -

Alvin

Why don't you put your hands together, welcome to the stage, Mr. James M. White. Alright, thank you Alvin, thank you all. We wanna welcome you all to the Broken Spoke, the last of the true Texas dance halls and darn sure proud of it. We ain't fancy but we darn sure are country. The good news is we ain't gonna change nothing. We ain't got none of them hangin' fern baskets on our ceilings out here, none of that Pierre water either. When you go up under your hamburger, don't ask for that Grey Poupon. You're gettin' the real mustard out here. Well, let me tell you what we do got. We got cold beer, good whiskey, we are the home of the best chicken fried steak in town and we got good country music. We got Alvin Crow and the Pleasant Valley Boys tonight. If you like waltzes and polkas, Two-Steps, cotton-eyed Joe, Deep in the heart of Texas, There's a place that you should go It ain't fancy but it's country Wear your jeans and your cowboy hats It's across that old river 'cause that's where it's at It was born on the south side of Austin Broken Spoke was its name It'll always be a winner It's destined for fame With hammers and nails, they built it With Texas-style on their mind After how many years has it been now, James? Oh, about 50 years. Still one of a kind It's a red rustic old building With a dirt parking lot There's a big old oak tree by the highway That means quite a lot So if you like waltzes and polkas Two-step, cotton-eyed Joes, Deep in the heart of Texas, There's a place that you should go Yes, deep in the heart of Texas, There's a place that you should go Alright, thank you all, the Spoke, thank you very much.

honky tonk music

bluesy guitar rock

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Female Narrator

Support for this program is provided by South Arts, sponsors of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.