Inner Sanctum Records

Last updated
Photograph of the Inner Sanctum Records staff in Austin, Texas, taken in January 1978 -- (L-R) Big Al Ragle, Joe Bryson, Neil Ruttenberg, James "Cowboy" Cooper, Stephen Goodwin, Richard Dorsett. Inner-sanctum-500-pixel-1-78.jpg
Photograph of the Inner Sanctum Records staff in Austin, Texas, taken in January 1978 -- (L-R) Big Al Ragle, Joe Bryson, Neil Ruttenberg, James "Cowboy" Cooper, Stephen Goodwin, Richard Dorsett.

Inner Sanctum Records was a record shop in Austin, Texas. The retailer was variously cited as the first indie record shop in Texas and, at the time of its closure, the oldest in Central Texas. [1] [2]

Contents

History

In 1970, college student/entrepreneur Joe Bryson bought Phil's Record Store, which sat in a shotgun location at W. 24th and Rio Grande Streets, and renamed it Inner Sanctum Records, named after the 1940s radio show. The store would soon relocate to a large, old house at 504 W. 24th Street, just off "The Drag" (Guadalupe St.), near the University of Texas at Austin. This building also housed Aunt Sally's Bookstore, The Leather Bench and other businesses, as well as the offices of the political magazine The Texas Observer (when not running the store, Bryson would often visit the Observer offices in the presence of Molly Ivins and Kaye Northcott).

Bryson increasingly relied on fellow music aficionados to keep the business running. James "Cowboy" Cooper, Gary Barnes, "Big Al" Ragle, Richard Dorsett, Rick Moore, Kirby McDaniel, Stephen Goodwin, and Linda Nozik all worked at the store.

Between Cooper's knowledge and Bryson's enthusiasm, the store created a synergy that helped spawn progressive country. Inner Sanctum became one of the most influential record shops in the United States and the most popular independent store in Austin during the 1970s, coinciding with the emergence of the Southern California sound that influenced many Texas-based artists. The store became a source for recordings by Doug Sahm, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, The Lost Gonzo Band, Joe Ely, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Willis Alan Ramsey, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Murphey (later known as Michael Martin Murphey), B. W. Stevenson, Billy Joe Shaver, Kinky Friedman, The Byrds and many others.

The store became more successful and Bryson decided to move into a larger space in the building, but ended up having to keep the current space, as well. Thus, Inner Sanctum Too, was established as an auxiliary shop featuring classical music, and was managed by Kirby McDaniel and David Sobey. Meanwhile, the main store's inventory grew to include the entire spectrum of recorded music, featuring extensive catalog offerings of popular and progressive rock, R&B, soul, blues, disco, jazz and what came to be known as world music. The store was also one of the first in the country to offer second-hand records for purchase. It also started a notorious practice of "renting" records for about $1 a day, a practice quashed by the major record labels when they became aware of it by the latter part of the decade.

Country to punk

As the prog country "Cosmic Cowboy" trend lost momentum, the store staff embraced the growing punk rock trend with zeal. Importers became the store's most important suppliers, with shipments arriving at least once or twice a week with singles, LPs and magazines from the United Kingdom punk scene. Buyer Neil Ruttenberg made punk rock the store's specialty and helped catalyse punk's local popularity. DIY bands began rapidly appearing throughout Austin, which already enjoyed a reputation as a haven for live music. Inner Sanctum became the local source for recordings by artists such as the Sex Pistols, Devo, The B-52's, Joy Division, Throbbing Gristle, Stray Cats, Elvis Costello, The Clash, The Stranglers, Grace Jones, The Police, U2, Tears for Fears, OMD, and Simple Minds.

Supporting local music

As local bands began to record and release their own recordings, they could rely on the Inner Sanctum to stock them. To celebrate, the store would usually host a record release party with a keg and refreshments, lending a feeling of closeness to the scene. Some of these local acts included The Huns, Standing Waves, F-Systems, The Skunks (a band that featured "Fast Eddie" Munoz, a one-time Inner Sanctum employee and later a member of The Plimsouls, and following Munoz' departure, Jon Dee Graham), The Next, Terminal Mind, The Big Boys, The Dicks, The Norvells, Joe "King" Carrasco and the Crowns, D-Day, Delta, Radio Free Europe, The Explosives, Kamikaze Refrigerators, Sharon Tate's Baby, The Violators, The Inserts, The Judys (from Houston), and many more. Outside of punk and new wave, parties were held for Uncle Walt's Band (who performed in-store), Alvin Crow, soul band Extreme Heat, Butch Hancock, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Greezy Wheels, Roky Erickson, Uranium Savages, Joe Ely, Beto y Los Fairlanes and others. Doug Sahm and his friends frequently patronized the store. Major label recordings were subject to release parties, as well (such as an Elvis Costello Look-A-Like Contest upon the release of My Aim is True), or just a party to celebrate the fact that such artists, like The Plasmatics, Graham Parker, Joe Jackson, Robert Gordon & Link Wray, Tom Robinson Band, Magazine, and The Textones (Carla Olsson and Kathy Valentine), were performing in town.

Most of the staff were also musicians, band managers or otherwise involved with the local music scene. In 1976, McDaniel started a Sunday night radio show, Rock Of Ages, on the UT radio station KUT. He played a wide spectrum of music that was readily available in the store. By 1978, Stephen Goodwin started making appearances as "The Old Codger" and other regular guests dropped by, like Paul Ray (of The Cobras and the KUT program Twine Time), disco DJ Casey Jones, writer Joe Nick Patoski, playwright Greg Barrios and Neil Ruttenberg. When McDaniel exited the show in 1979, Ruttenberg (taking on the moniker of "Rev. Neil X") took the reins at the height of the punk–new wave era. When he departed, he relayed the controls to store manager Jack Kanter in 1981. Both Ruttenberg and Kanter's editions of the show occasionally featured live performances in the studio from artists like Alex Chilton. Kanter's show was visited regularly by The Big Boys (featuring Randy "Biscuit" Turner). Kanter also served for a while as manager of the band Delta, while another staffer, Will Sharp, managed The Next.

Location

504 W. 24th St. came to be known as Bluebonnet Plaza, and housed a head shop (Pipes Plus), a hair salon, and other businesses along with Inner Sanctum. [1] [2] [3] Two popular restaurants flanked the building on either side: Octopus' Garden (later Mad Dog & Beans) and Les Amis Cafe, the latter of which was featured in the motion picture Slacker and the subject of a 2005 documentary, Viva Les Amis. [1] [2] [3]

Demise

Following the departures of both Kanter and Ruttenberg in the early 1980s, Bryson eventually sold the store. By 1997, property values throughout Austin had increased dramatically, and Inner Sanctum and the other tenants of Bluebonnet Plaza were forced to vacate when the owners decided to renovate the building. [2]

Quotes

Before Austin was trumpeting itself as the Live Music Capital of America, it hosted a number of important music scenes, many of which only later had relevance out of town. In the early '70s, during the heyday of what was then called 'progressive country', the place you bought the records of the artists you heard in the clubs was Inner Sanctum, a slightly seedy record store by the University of Texas campus. A lot of the Inner Sanctum stock wasn't available anywhere else. These days, with the decline of independent record stores (and record stores in general) it's hard to remember how crucial these places were to fomenting independent music scenes before internet connectivity made hooking up with like-minded people much easier.

From, by permission, an encomium on Inner Sanctum written by Ed Ward, Rock and Roll historian for National Public Radio's Fresh Air [ This quote needs a citation ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Texas</span>

The U.S. state of Texas has long been a center for musical innovation and is the birthplace of many notable musicians. Texans have pioneered developments in Tejano and Conjunto music, Rock 'n Roll, Western swing, jazz, punk rock, country, hip-hop, electronic music, gothic industrial music, religious music, mariachi, psychedelic rock, zydeco and the blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Austin, Texas</span>

Austin's official motto is the "Live Music Capital of the World" due to the high volume of live music venues in the city. Austin is known internationally for the South by Southwest (SXSW) and the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festivals which feature eclectic international lineups. The greatest concentrations of music venues in Austin are around 6th Street, Central East Austin, the Red River Cultural District, the Warehouse District, the University of Texas, South Congress, and South Lamar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Sahm</span> American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (1941–1999)

Douglas Wayne Sahm was an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in San Antonio, Texas. Sahm is regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important performer of Texan Music. He gained fame along with his band, the Sir Douglas Quintet, with a top-twenty hit in the United States and the United Kingdom with "She's About a Mover" (1965). Sahm was influenced by the San Antonio music scene that included conjunto and blues, and later by the hippie scene of San Francisco. With his blend of music, he found success performing in Austin, Texas, as the hippie counterculture soared in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armadillo World Headquarters</span> Bygone Texas music hall in Austin

Armadillo World Headquarters was an influential Texas music hall and beer garden in Austin at 52512 Barton Springs Road – at South First Street – just south of the Colorado River and downtown Austin. The 'Dillo flourished from 1970 to 1980. The structure that housed it, an old National Guard Armory, was demolished in 1981 and replaced by a 13-story office building.

Progressive country is a term used variously to describe a movement, radio format or subgenre of country music which developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a reaction against the slick, pop-oriented Nashville sound. Progressive country artists drew from Bakersfield and classic honky-tonk country and rock and roll, as well as folk, bluegrass, blues and Southern rock. Progressive country is sometimes conflated with outlaw country, which some country fans consider to be a harder-edged variant, and alternative country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Douglas Quintet</span> American rock band

The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established, the band relocated to the West Coast. Their move coincided with the burgeoning San Francisco psychedelic rock scene of the mid 1960s to early 1970s. Overall, the quintet were exponents of good-times music with strong roots in blues and Texas-regional traditions. The band's songs were most noted for the instantly distinguishable organ sound of Augie Meyers' Vox Continental.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro Escovedo</span> American musician

Pedro Alejandro Escovedo is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk rock, roots rock and alternative country, and is most closely associated with the music scene in Austin, Texas but also San Francisco and New York. He comes from a family of musicians.

<i>Shotgun Willie</i> 1973 studio album by Willie Nelson

Shotgun Willie is the 16th studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson, released on June 11, 1973. The recording marks a change of style for Nelson, who later stated that the album "cleared his throat". When Nelson refused to sign an early extension of his contract with RCA Records in 1972, the label decided not to release any further recordings. Nelson hired Neil Reshen as his manager, and while Reshen negotiated with RCA, Nelson moved to Austin, Texas, where the ongoing hippie music scene at the Armadillo World Headquarters renewed his musical style. In Nashville, Nelson met producer Jerry Wexler, vice president of Atlantic Records, who was interested in his music. Reshen solved the problems with RCA and signed Nelson with Atlantic as their first country music artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gals Panic (band)</span> American ska punk band

Gals Panic was an Austin, Texas ska-punk band, formed in 1992 and active in the '90s. The band's name comes from the Kaneko arcade game of the same name. The band and their music were featured in the 1995 Steven Soderbergh movie The Underneath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary P. Nunn</span> American country music singer-songwriter (born 1945)

Gary P. Nunn is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is best known for writing "London Homesick Blues", which was the theme song for Austin City Limits from 1977 to 2004. Nunn is also considered the father of the progressive country scene that started in Austin in the early 1970s.

Raul's was a live music nightclub at 2610 Guadalupe Street in Austin, Texas in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which started off as a Chicano music venue, but then specialized in punk rock music. The location is near the University of Texas campus.

The Skunks are an American three-piece rock band formed in 1977 in Austin, Texas. The band debuted in early 1978 at Raul's, quickly became a mainstay of the Austin music scene. They rapidly expanded their fan base beyond early punk/new wave into clubs whose audiences crossed the spectrum, including the Armadillo World Headquarters, the Continental Club, Dukes Royal Coach, Club Foot, Liberty Lunch, and many others in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Skunks music channeled classic rock influences, such as The Rolling Stones and The Who, with 1970s cult figures such as the New York Dolls and The Velvet Underground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Sublett</span>

Jesse Sublett is a musician, writer, and visual artist from Austin, Texas. As a musician, he is best known for his long-running rock trio, The Skunks. His essays and journalism have appeared in a wide range of publications, and he is also known for his mystery novels featuring a bass-playing sleuth named Martin Fender.

<i>Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson</i> 1990 tribute album to Roky Erickson

Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye is a 1990 tribute album to singer-songwriter Roky Erickson, founder of the 13th Floor Elevators and solo artist, whose career was subject to significant periods of challenge from schizophrenia. The album was released by Sire Records in the United States, and by WEA International in Europe. The album was produced by Bill Bentley, who also produced a 1999 tribute album to Moby Grape co-founder Skip Spence, who, like Erickson, was subject to the challenges of schizophrenia. The album's title is said to be Erickson's definition of psychedelic music.

Bill Bentley is an American music industry executive, particularly notable for having produced tribute albums of the music of significant cult artists Roky Erickson (1990), Skip Spence (1999), Doug Sahm (2009) and Lou Reed, in addition to other recording projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Sahm discography</span>

The discography of Doug Sahm started in 1955 with the release of "A Real American Joe" on Sarg Records. Sahm fronted three bands early in his career: The Pharaohs, The Dell-Kings and The Markays. He released the song "Crazy Daisy" (1959), and he had a local hit in San Antonio, Texas with "Why Why Why" (1960) on Renner Records. Sahm had another local hit with "Crazy, Crazy Feeling" (1961). After he disbanded the Sir Douglas Quintet in 1972, he was signed by Atlantic Records in October 1972, and he released his solo debut album Doug Sahm and Band.

<i>Doug Sahm and Band</i> 1973 studio album by Doug Sahm

Doug Sahm and Band is the debut solo album of American singer-songwriter Doug Sahm. In 1972, after leaving the Sir Douglas Quintet, Sahm moved to Austin, Texas. He was signed by Jerry Wexler to the newly opened country music division of Atlantic Records, and started the album sessions by October 1972. It featured appearances by Bob Dylan, Dr. John, David "Fathead" Newman, Flaco Jimenez, David Bromberg and Kenny Kosek.

<i>Buddy</i> (magazine) Music magazine, free, serving North Texas

Buddy is a free monthly music magazine serving the North Texas and Northeast Texas regions. It was first published in Austin, Texas, in October 1972 as a free bi-monthly. Stoney Burns (pseudonym of Brent Lasalle Stein; 1942–2011) and Rob Edleson (né Lewis Robin Edleson; born 1946) were the founders. The magazine's name is a tribute to Buddy Holly (1936–1959), who Burns said "changed my life." Buddy is described as a rock music magazine but, from its beginning, has included news and feature articles about performing artists and events of other genres, namely Texas progressive country, blues, jazz, folk, punk, and garage band music.

<i>Groovers Paradise</i> Album by Doug Sahm

Groover's Paradise is an album by Doug Sahm, produced by musician Doug Clifford and released on Warner Records in 1974. Following his return to Texas after his success with the Sir Douglas Quintet in California, Sahm settled in Austin, Texas. As the local music scene thrived, he was featured as the main attraction in local clubs and he recorded his debut album for Atlantic Records.

<i>The Return of Wayne Douglas</i> Album by Doug Sahm

The Return of Wayne Douglas is the last studio album recorded by Doug Sahm. It was released by his own label, Tornado Records.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Savlov, Marc (29 April 2005). "Remembrance of Things Weird:Nancy Higgins' 'Viva Les Amis'". Austin Chronicle . Austin Chronicle Corp. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 VanScoy, Kayte (28 August 1997). "What a Drag: West Campus Loses a Piece of Historic Charm". Austin Chronicle . Austin Chronicle Corp. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  3. 1 2 Savlov, Marc (26 January 2001). "Slacker, the Map". Austin Chronicle . Austin Chronicle Corp. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 2008-06-17.