• 2 • Action Magazine, November 2018

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George Chambers...................................7

Sam Kindrick ..........................................4

Everybody’s Somebody..........................6

Music Matters ........................................8

Scatter Shots ..........................................9

• DEPARTMENTS •

• FEATURE •

Editor & Publisher ................Sam KindrickAdvertising Sales ....................Action Staff..........................................Amy Heller ReifPhotography.............................Action StaffDistribution............................Ronnie ReedComposition..........................Elise Taquino

Volume 43 • Number 11

Action Magazine, November 2018 • 3 •

advertising is worthless if you have nothing worth advertisingPut your money where the music is. . .

Advertise in Action Magazine

• 4 • Action Magazine, November 2018

Doctors have reached a final decision on treat-ment of my cancer. My prognosis looks pretty good. Ithink I am going to beat the cancer.

I know nothing is set in stone, but If I’m fortu-nate enough to have everything work out as planned,here is what will happen.

My thyroid glands will be removed November7 at St. Luke’s Hospital. They call this a total thyroidec-tomy.

About three weeks after the thyroid operation, Iwill start a 3-week radiation regimen to reduce and theneliminate the tumor on my sternum. As mentioned ear-lier, my thyroid cancer spread to the breast bone.

The radiation program will include 15 20-minutetreatments over a 3-week period. The mass on my chestshould be gone when this part of my treatment is com-pleted.

The final step will be the oral administration ofa radioactive iodine dose which, hopefully, will chasedown and zap any cancer cells which can be detectedin my body.

Although my thyroid cancer metastacized to thesternum bone, it is still classified as thyroid cancer; andthyroid cancer responds well to the radioactive iodine.The iodine is supposed to kill it.

So what about Action Magazine?We may miss an issue because of this medical

interruption, and we may not. Whether we print a De-cember issue will depend entirely upon how I feel andhow I respond to treatment following the thyroid surgery.

I hope I can work through the radiation regi-men. We will see.

I have been a working journalist for 61 years.The hardest piece I have ever written was on the Feb-ruary 15, 1993 suicide of my son Grady.

The second hardest story for me to pen, I knowin my heart, would be a farewell to Action Magazine. Ithought long and hard about this possibility after thecancer diagnosis. I came close but could not do it.

No farewell piece will be published at this time.It could happen, but not now.

Since the March issue of 1975, featuring WillieNelson on the cover, we have published non-stop with-out missing a single month. So this has really beentough for me.

As mentioned earlier, the hard truth is that Ihave metastatic thyroid cancer which has spread to mysternum. The hardest part of it all has been the waitingand indecision within my own brain while a cadre of top-rung medics discussed my rather unique case. It hasbeen more than three months since the diagnosis.

The cancer could have spread to other parts of

my body, including lungs, liver, brain, and other bones.But body scans have found it to be only in the thyroidglands and the sternum. Fortunately for me, the canceris a slow moving variety.

Doctors first discussed surgically removing bothmy thyroid glands and part of my sternum. They havesince scrapped the idea of cutting into my breast bone.Removal of the cancerous thyroid glands has alwaysbeen on the radar screen.

I realize that I was very close to a nostalgicfarewell to the little tabloid magazine which has beenmy heart, soul, and livelihood for the past 43 years.When I first feared that surgeons might remove my ster-num and probably part of my rib cage, I knew that mylife would never be the same again if I allowed such aprocedure. I knew I would never go along with any sur-gery so radical. I felt pretty rough. I was vastly relievedwhen my current doctors ruled out any bone surgery.. Needless to say, I feel much better with the newmedical plan and the doctors now caring for me.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmanhimself could not muster a medical group to top the il-lustrious team of trained professionals I have workingon my cancer case. They include ear, nose, and throatsurgeon Benjamin Webb; radiation oncologist KeithEyre of the Start Center for Cancer Care; endocrinolo-gist Daniel Katselnik; oncologist Amanda Bucheit; andprimary care doctor Robert Noland. Thoracic surgeonsDaniel DeArmand and Bill Davis were both consulted,and both of them recommended radiation therapy asopposed to the radical chest surgery which was dis-cussed and quickly rejected by both doctors.

Dr. Webb will remove my thyroids. Dr. Eyre willsupervise the radiation treatments.

So it is what it is, as Tim Duncan would say, andI know Hank Williams was spot on when he wrote hisprophetic hit I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive.Invincibility is the hallucinogenic luxury reserved for thevery young and the very dumb. I am just old enoughand, hopefully, smart enough to see and accept whatGod has in store for me.

This does not mean that I have given up on life,God, or my calling as a word mechanic.I have every in-tention of beating the cancer for as long as God wills it,and returning to the physical activities I have been ableto participate in throughout my life. I know in my heartthat I will continue to write in some capacity for anyonewho might want to read my stuff for as long as I am ableto make words appear on a computer screen.

I owe so much to so many.Start with the late Harry Jersig, president of

Lone Star Brewery in San Antonio who financed Action

Magazine’s 1975 beginning as an entertainment jour-nal that spotlighted the improbable birth of Texas outlawredneck rock, also referred to as “progressive countrymusic.”

I had just been fired from my column writing jobwith the Express and News. Willie Nelson and WaylonJennings were thumbing their noses at Nashville, pack-ing hippie joints like Armadillo World Headquarters, theAlliance Wagon Yard, and Soap Creek Saloon in Austin.Willie was already a fixture at John T. Floore CountryStore in Helotes. Johnny Bush was bigger than life. Dar-rell McCall was getting more than passing attention.Ray Benson and Asleep At The Wheel were rolling infrom West Virginia. I was hanging out with Nelsonwhen I approached Jersig with the proposal of an en-tertainment magazine.

I recall my exact words:“Mr. Jersig, I would like to sell you the back

cover of an entertainment tabloid which does not yetexist.”

I told Jersig I would feature outlaw musicians inthe publication; that it would be an honest effort; andthat I would never kiss anyone’s ass for monetary favor,political gratuities, or advertising dollars. I told Jersigthat Action would be bright, brash, informative, and al-ways entertaining. I knew Jersig liked me, but I was non-theless surprised by his immediate response.

Jersig wrote me a $1,000 check for that first Ac-tion Magazine back cover, and we were off to the raceswith a kick-ass fairy tale publication which has neverbeen equaled for irreverent honesty and mule-stubbornlongevity in this part of Texas.

At that time, Lone Star was featuring many ofthe so-called “outlaws of country music” in their ads,those renegades who would eschew the traditionalNashville recording industry order for tennis shoes, ban-danas, hand-rolled marijuana cigarettes, and indie la-bels for their original recordings.

It was a perfect fit for Action Magazine andLone Star Beer. We featured them all in the Lone Starads--Willie, Waylon, Jerry Jeff Walker and the LostGonzo Band with Gary P. Nunn, Willis Alan Ramsey,Kinky Friedman and his original Texas Jew Boys Band,Janis Joplin, Gary Stewart, Rusty Wier, Michael MartinMurphy, Ray Wylie Hubbard, B.W. Stevenson, LeonRussell, Emmy Lou Harris, Ray Benson, and manymore.

While musicians have numbered in the majorityof Action Magazine features, I have never consideredthe tabloid a music magazine. It has always been an en-

Continued on pg. 10

Action Magazine, November 2018 • 5 •

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• 6 • Action Magazine, November 2018

by Jim Chesnut “Who Is George Cham-bers? Ask Willie Nelson,”says the bumper stickerseen around town. George Chambers is avirtual San Antonio native,who has been a southTexas dance hall musicbandleader since beforedrums were used inbands. It is his chosenmedium, and he is or waslegendary among per-formers such as WillieNelson, Charley Pride,George Jones, LorettaLynn, Stonewall Jackson,Larry Gatlin, Reba McIn-tyre, Eddie Raven, andcountless others whoused Chambers and hisband, The Country Gen-tlemen, as a backup bandbefore they had their own. When folks in SouthTexas want dance music,they always say, “LetGeorge do it.” And Georgedoes it very well withsome of the best rootin’,tootin’, boot-scootin’ musicever put out on guitars, fid-dles, dobros and otherodd assortments of musicmakers. Because of their relia-bility and exceptional mu-sical talent, George andhis band, The CountryGentlemen, have openedfor just about every majorlabel artist appearing inTexas. Many of the musi-cians who worked withmajor artists like WillieNelson, Charley Pride,George Strait, BarbaraFairchild, Frenchie Burke,etc. worked with Georgeand his band and/orrecorded with him ondozens of record albums.Even Willie Nelson oncejoined George to recordBloody Mary Morning. In 1970, Chambersstarted a nine-year-oldmusical virtuoso namedBobby Flores on his illus-trious career that, today,shines above all dancebands in Texas. There’s not much to befound on the Internet

about George Chambers,because he is a quiet,unassuming performerwho resists self-promotionand has never coveted thespotlight. His passion ismusic, specifically singingand playing rhythm guitar.I’ve had the pleasure ofknowing him and workingwith him for about 40years. He is the most gen-uine person I know. Born in 1938—yes, hejust turned 80—Chambersstarted playing guitar atthe age of eight. He grewup in the Jefferson HighSchool area and wouldride the city bus downtownto take lessons from ateacher, Mrs. Haffner. Heplayed his first profes-sional job at age 13 in1952 at Floore’s CountryStore in Helotes, Texas—yes, it’s been around thatlong! The rest of his musicaltraining has come from anapprenticeship of sorts.Working with and aroundother professional musi-cians on-the-job providesa real-world laboratorythat yields a music educa-tion unavailable in theclassroom. A few years ago, jour-neyman Chambers andThe Country Gentlemenreturned to his almamater, Southwest TexasState Teacher’s College inSan Marcos (now TexasState University), to playfor the annual Strutters’ re-union, where he was rec-ognized by several of hisclassmates from 1957-1961 who said, “Are youstill playing? We remem-ber dancing to your musicwhen we were kids!” And,that is a mark of distinctionthat most musicians willnever know. Chambersdiscussed the elements ofhis music. “It starts withtime signatures,” he said.“Texas dancehall musicuses 4/4 and 2/4, alongwith shuffle variations, and3/4. For our live shows, weuse bass, drums, rhythm

guitar, lead guitar, pedalsteel guitar, fiddle, andsometimes keyboard. Inthe studio, we often usekeyboards.” “We nearly always tryto use 2- and 3-part har-monies,” he said. “Har-mony just adds so muchto the fullness of oursound.” There’s a line in an Al-abama song, “If you’regonna play in Texas, yougotta have a fiddle in theband.” We talked abouthow fiddle is used in Texasdancehall music. Cham-bers was asked to de-scribe the differencebetween Bluegrass fiddleand the Texas variety. “Bluegrass tends to befaster, while Texas fiddleuses more accents,” heexplained. According to MeganRomer, “A fiddle is thesame instrument as a vio-lin but is differentiated bythe way it is tuned. “Inmany folk and ethnicmusic forms, the fiddle iscommonly cross-tuned orplayed in an open tuning,much like a guitar or banjomight be. Open tuningsallow a fiddler to playchords while also playingthe melody, and thereforeget more sound out of theinstrument” (http://world-music.about.com). The fid-dle is a versatileinstrument that providesportability and versatilitythat is so important toTexas dance bands likeChambers’. According to Cham-bers, another important el-ement in his music is thepedal steel guitar. JerryBlanton plays pedal steelwith Chambers, and is anextremely talented player. Talking with Chambersis like talking with the cu-rator of The Museum ofCountry Music in Texas, ifthere were such a thing.He talks with authorityabout what was used be-fore a man named BudIsaacs first started using

the pedal steel. Accordingto www.harmony-central.com, “Isaacs for-ever changed the pedalsteel guitar . . .” Before the pedal steel,four-neck lap guitars simi-lar to the single-neck mod-els first heard in Hawaiiwere used by Chambersand others to express theplaintive emotion of coun-try music. Chambers evenrecalls a time when drumswere missing from dancebands. “Rhythm was built on openchord chop techniqueswith rhythm guitars andthe standup bass,” hesaid. “How long have youwanted to play music, andwhy country music?”Chambers was asked. “As long as I can re-member. I grew up want-ing to be a cowboy singer,kind of like Roy Rogers,Gene Autry and Tex Ritter.When I was a kid, everyradio station in townplayed some countrymusic. It’s just part of ourculture here in south

Texas. Back then, though,you didn’t have country-only stations until afterElvis hit and rock-n-roll-only stations started to ap-pear. To hear more of it, Ihad to play it,” he said. When asked who has in-fluenced his music morethan anyone, Chamberssaid “Hank Williams andWillie Nelson.” “How so?” Chamberswas asked. “Hank Williams was theconsummate soul of coun-try music. He remains thebest country singer I’veever heard,” he explained.“You believe him when hesings.” What about Nelson? “He’s done his ownthing ever since I can re-call first playing with him inthe ’60s,” he said. “Willie’salways been outside thebox, and I like that; hecauses you to stretch as amusician.” “How would you saycountry music haschanged in the yearssince you’ve been play-ing?” we inquired.

“It has come from thestraight-ahead countrythat I prefer, like Roy Acuffand Stonewall Jackson,thru what I call “middle-of-the-road” country, likeKenny Rogers and DollyParton, to today’s sound,which is probably derivedfrom southern rock,” heexplained. “Recordingsare different, too. Backthen you would capturethe creativity of a band allat once, with everyone inthe studio playing at thesame time. Now, it seemsmore manufactured, withone track being laid downat a time with lots of signalprocessing. I don’t think itis as authentic today.” Chambers began mak-ing records in 1958 withthe release of “Time” onHarlem records. I don’tthink he knows how manyrecords he’s recorded. In1966, Hanna-Barbera, anAmerican animation com-pany started by MGM, es-tablished a record labeland released two singleson Chambers, The Ribbon

Continued on pg. 10

Action Magazine, November 2018 • 7 •

The legendary George Chambers

Chambers was pickingbefore drums becamepart of country bands

It may be just me, but itseems like every time Iturn around I hear or readabout a new open micnight being offered some-where. In case you don’tknow, venues featureopen mic nights to attractpatrons to increase saleswithout spending much, ifany, money.

At first, I didn’t like themvery much, and here’swhy; I believe that livemusic performers shouldbe paid for their work.After all, it takes a lot oftime, money and effort todevelop the skills neededto perform music. But, as I get older I re-alize the ‘should bees’ onlywork in a perfect world,and we certainly don’t livein a perfect world. And,because of that, I havebeen stung a bunch oftimes by the ‘should bees’of my own creation. Here’s the reality; many

venues willing to featurelive music simply cannotafford to pay performerswhat they ‘should bee’paid. I wish that weren’tso, but it definitely is. So, Iam resigned to the pres-ent situation that exists.Open mic nights tend tomeet important needs;performers need places to

practice their skills in frontof audiences, and venuesneed more customers. I think it works bestwhen open mic nights arehosted by seasoned livemusic performers who canserve as mentors to otherperformers who aren’tquite ready to handle athree or four hour gig bythemselves. Too, I thinkvenues ‘should bee’ willingto pay the host for her orhis time and talent that ittakes to run the event.And, from what I under-stand, most venues arepaying the hosts.

Open mic nights proba-bly don’t appeal to every-body. It depends on myown mood, but there aretimes when I have a hardtime listening to an origi-nal seven-minute song. Inmy not-so-humble opin-ion, songwriters need tounderstand that manypeople (if not most peo-ple) have attention spansof a chicken. We live in anon-literate society thatcommunicates 140 char-acters at a time and getsits news from watchingsome talking head read tothem on TV. If you’re still readingthis column, you’re notone of those folks, and Ithank you. To members of the au-dience who share my owntendencies for impatience,we need to give thosefolks a chance to ferment,to rise, if you will. Openmics are about the onlyplace they can get theleavening ingredients theyneed to become the tastymusical morsels we soenjoy when fully baked. Ok, so the metaphorneeds work. I have written else-where that music benefitscommunities in which welive and has its own way ofbeing understood in the

human brain, differentfrom other sounds. AlfredHitchcock reportedly said,“Music is born into a manlike a heartbeat and youcan’t rip it out withoutkilling him.” Google it. Music makes peoplehappy. Happy peoplemake happy neighbors.Happy neighbors makehappy communities. Some of tomorrow’saccomplished live musicperformers may be incu-bating in today’s open micnights and may be instru-mental in helping maintainhappy communities, if theyaren’t already. Our supportof their efforts could havea positive effect on one ofour fellow citizens some-time in the future. You justnever know. So, if you are interestedin hearing some of ourpromising performers, youmight start with JohnWhipple’s TuNesDay atthe Pigpen open mic onBroadway on Tuesdays,Greg Bourbonnais’ openmic at Big Bob’s Burgerson Hildebrand onWednesdays, and Trouba-dour Thursdays at LasChiladas on NW MilitaryHwy. I know there aremany others, but theseare the ones I am most fa-miliar with.

Jim Chesnut is a state-certi-fied public manager, a gradu-ate of Texas State University inSan Marcos and a formermajor label recording artistand staff songwriter withAcuff-Rose Music in Nashville.After 25 years away from themusic business, he began per-forming in and around San An-tonio in 2008. Since then, He

has self-produced and re-leased five CDs. Since January2016, he has had seven con-secutive Top-10 national indiecountry singles, four of whichreached #1 in the national Top-40 chart of IndieWorld CountryRecord Report. He has been afreelance contributor to ActionMagazine since the beginningof 2016. Contact info:jim@chesnutproductions.com

• 8 • Action Magazine, November 2018

Music Matters

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Action Magazine, November 2018 • 9 •

Help Roberta Sisters Morales is apowerful sibling singingteam that will never beseparated without a fight. Roberta Morales, theblond half of the duo hascancer.

Lisa Morales, thebrunette half of SistersMorales is leading thefight to save her sister. This is not Roberta’sfirst brush with the dis-ease. She had overcomecancer which had affecteda leg numerous years ago. We contacted Lisa foran update on her sister.Here is Lisa’s reply to theSam Kindrick Facebookpost which offered ActionMagazine support forRoberta: You are such a sweet-heart! I’m sorry you’regoing through so much! I’m going to takeRoberta this week (to M.D.Anderson) whether they’reready or not. She hasbeen told she has cancerbut we’re going to believeshe is going to live andwon’t take any other an-swer. We have a gofundmeaccount in her name orpeople can send dona-

tions to Roberta Moralesp.o. box 29792 San Anto-nio, TX 78229 We’re trying to raisemoney to pay to get her inand cover her bills whileshe can’t work. All the love to you andyour family!!!

Hugs and prayers Sam.

Don’t accept anything

other than you’re going to

get well! We have featured theSisters Morales on thecover of Action Magazine.The blend of sibling har-monies they project is aGod-given phenomenonthe likes of which we havenever encountered beforeor since. They might well bebilled in another place andperhaps another time asAngels Morales. That’show good they are. We are betting onRoberta and Lisa to winthis battle with God’sblessing and the prayersof thousands.

Blue Star show Roy Holley’s Talk AboutTexas live radio show was

broadcast last month from

Blue Star Brewing Com-

pany on South Alamo

Street.

Special guests on theshow were Joey and Mag-gie Villarreal, owners ofthe Blue Star brewery,food and entertainmentcomplex which includesthe brewery, a restaurant,the Joe Blues Club whichfeatures Will Owen Gageon Monday nights, a bikeshop, and a provisionsoutlet that sells groceries,soap, and other items. Blue Star features avariety of live music in ad-dition to the Mondayblues.

The Villarreals alsoown and operate Joey’son St. Mary’s Street, a 30-year-old neighborhood barthat has endured and sur-vived through good timesand bad without missing a

beat. Also included on thelive show were Geoff Lind-sey, manager of the BlueStar bike shop, Rick andMitzi Anderson, owners ofChoke Canyon Lodge inThree Rivers; Holley’s girl-friend Sunny Barr; and Ac-tion Magazine publisherSam Kindrick and wifeSharon. Live jazz music wasprovided by Chris Cuevas.

Goodbye Tony Nightclub crooner andonetime Fred AstaireDance School franchiseowner Tony Alderete diedlast month of pancreaticcancer.

A former Marine pilotand golden gloves boxerin his youth, Alderete wasbest known in San Anto-nio for his Frank Sinatra-style vocal work in Italianrestaurants such as Ca-parelli’s. Father of two boys andtwo girls, Alderete’s asheswere interred at Fort SamHouston National Ceme-tery. Most of Tony’s singingwas done solo, athoughhe was known to some-

times share the stage withdaughter Lisa.

Blues shindig Shawn Pittman andJason Moeller will head-line this year’s San Anto-nio Blues Societycelebration and charitygala on November 17 atSam’s Burger Joint. Pittman is a San Mar-cos musician who is alsoa member of the SABS. Moeller is a drummerwho was with the originalFabulous Thunderbirds. The opening act will beA.C. and the Bad Billys. Doors open at 7 p.m.Show starts at 8 p.m. The annual celebrationpays tribute to legendaryblues man Robert John-son, while at the sametime continuing its missionof raising money for theSam Baird Scholarshipfund which helps deserv-ing area students. Tickets will be availableat the door. To order onlineit’s www.SamsBurger-Joint.com. This scholarship con-tinues the legacy of notedmusician and SABS mem-ber Sam Baird who sup-ported and nurtured thegrowth of the San Antoniomusic community formany years. Announced in2006, this local scholar-ship fund is awarded tostudents displaying aca-demic strength and musi-cal ambition. This award ispresented annually at theFiesta Blues Heritage Se-ries and is a very specialevent involving family,

friends, and a very appre-ciative audience. SABS works in con-junction with art and musicdirectors to announce andpromote this opportunityto eligible local students.This is an ongoing en-deavor in which the soci-ety puts full effort intoworking with schools, par-ents, corporate sponsors,and community leaders toget as many students in-volved as possible. Here is some RobetJohnson history offered bythe society. Robert Johnsonrecorded for Don Law atThe Gunter Hotel in lateNovember, 1936. Don Lawwas a producer for theAmerican Record Corpo-ration, the predecessor toColumbia Records.Recordings took placeover three days; Novem-ber 23, 26, and 27. Tworooms were used; rooms413 and 414. Robert wasin one of the rooms withthe microphone runningover to the next roomwhere Don Law's teamwas with the recordingequipment. The Sheraton-Guntherhotel has a suite desig-nated as the Robert John-son room. The hotelconstructed a beautifuldisplay in the lobby com-memorating the record-ings. Through the effortsof the San Antonio BluesSociety and endorsed bythe Robert Johnson BluesSociety, the Robert John-son Historical Marker wasplaced in the lobby.

Joey Villarreal

Maggie Villarreal

Roberta Morales

Roy Holley

Tony Alderete

tertainment magazinewhich features colorfulcharacters, many of thembeing musicians such asWillie, the late Leon Rus-sell, Jerry Jeff Walker andmany, many more.

I have never both-ered with record reviews. Idon’t care about charts,polls, or ratings for localbands. And I have alwaysbeen open to writing aboutanyone I want to writeabout.

Many of the color-ful characters I have fea-tured in Action Magazinehave become friends. Thelate Hondo Crouch wasmy buddy. I used to getdrunk with Chill Wills andcowboy cartoonist AceReid. I talked MinnesotaFats into donning a SantaClaus suit for an Actioncover shot in Danny Levin-son’s old Tiffany Biliardson San Pedro. LegendarySan Francisco tattoo artistLyle Tuttle has become afriend through local tattoolegend Honest CharliePotter. Rhinestone cow-boy and “death row” con-vict David Alan Coe and Iare fast friends. I havecopies of his books andhe has mine. I may be theonly journalist left on earthwho Coe will allow in hisdressing room.

I wrote the first ar-ticle ever printed on coun-try star Johnny Rodriguez.It was about Johnny Rod’s

infamous goat stealing es-capade. I was a personalfriend of Bracketvillemovie mogul Happy Sha-han and Texas Rangerlegend Joaquin Jackson. Itwas these two who first in-troduced me to Ro-driguez, who has been onAction’s cover with RangerJackson. And I helpedbabysit Rodriguez in re-covery program meetingsby night while Alan Brownwas defending him by dayon a murder charge.

My travels havetaken me from Montreal,Canada where I helpedbook two acts for Hemis-Fair in 1968, to Chicago’sNavy Pier where WillieNelson had women hang-ing from chicken wirestage netting like sexcrazed monkeys onquaaludes. This was backwhen I rode with the Nel-son and Family band asWillie toured state fairsfrom Mississippi to Michi-gan.

Willie was playingan afternoon show inJackson, Michigan whenthe late Billy Cooper and Iinadvertently smokedangel dust which washanded to us by a Jack-son whore who somehowwound up on the tour bus.Cooper and I completelylost our senses, lockingWillie off his own bus, afterwhich I floated thousandsof feet into the air where Iswear today I met andshook hands with theDevil. Don’t laugh. This re-

ally happened.Through Action

Magazine I have becomeclose with songwriter AlexHarvey, famous for songslike Delta Dawn andRuben James. Leon Rus-sell got spooked everytime he saw me with acamera. He had a phobiaabout gettng his phototaken. The late DougSahm was my friend, andAugie Meyers and I havebeen close through someof the toughest times ofMeyers’ life. The samewith Johnny Bush, the“country Caruso” who losthis voice with me watch-ing. These guys have sur-vived diverticulitis, heartattacks, bypass opera-tions, kidney transplants,polio, and the weird one-in-a-million voice killingdisease spasmodic dys-phonia.

I once performedon stage with KinkyFriendman, singing Ass-hole From El Paso. I inter-viewed famed Dallasstripper Candy Barr. I metElvis in the Alpine HighSchool auditorium. Oldfriends I haven’t seen in along time are Ray Sawyerand Dennis Locorriere,stars of Dr. Hook and theMedicine Show. I metthem at Frank Miller’s oldBo Jangles Club on WestAvenue.

Porn stud JohnHolmes was an ActionMagazine cover article. Iinterviewed Holmes at theold Bits and Pieces Club

on San Pedro, a favoritestopping place for VinceVance and the Valiants.

World championbronc rider Casey Tibbswas an Action cover fea-ture. And famed San Anto-nio madam TheresaBrown was another closefriend. Theresa got meand golfing great LeeTrevino kicked out of theold San Francisco SteakHouse.

Guich Koock, whoonce owned the town ofLuckenbach in partnershipwith Hondo Crouch, waswith me in the GunterHotel when the two of uswere tabbed for speakingparts in the Goldie Hawnfilm Sugarland Express.Guich played a singinghighway patrolman, whileI portrayed the Texasnewspaper idiot who triedto interview Goldie’s kid“Baby Langston.”

Koock went onfrom Sugarland to play therole of Harley Pucket inthe TV series CarterCountry.

I later had a majorrole playing myself as“Preacher Sam” in theBrackettvilel movie thatnever got out of the can. It

was called The Adven-tures of Jody Shannon.Wild Man Ray Liberto wasmy longtime friend. A for-mer brother-in-law ofJohnny Cash, pianopounding Liberto was thesaloon entertainer in JodyShannon.

Infamous book-maker Jack Hanratty paidmy way to Las Vegaswhere I covered for ActionMagazine Benny Binion’sfirst world championshippoker tournament at theGolden HorseshowCasino. I loved Hanratty. Iwas a pallbearer at his fu-neral. I returned to Vegasafter this to interview for-mer San Antonio gamblerTony (Tony The Mex) Sali-nas.

This doesn’tscratch the surface. Thereis much more, and I amgrateful and humbled tonow be featured in theWittliff Collections mu-seum at Texas State Uni-versity, which includes theworks of such literary lu-minnaries as Cormac Mc-Carthy, Larry McMurtry,Sandra Cisneros, and themusical accomplishmentsof Asleep At The Wheel,

Willie Nelson, and JerryJeff Walker.

I have yet to viewmy display at Texas State,which I donated along withsome 4,000 photos frommy Action Magazine col-lection. Wittliff curatorHector Saldaña and musi-cian Jim Chesnut say thedisplay is impressive. Notbad for a convicted felon. Ihave had my days incourt.

There are stillcopies available of my pa-perback book titled TheBest of Sam Kindrick, se-cret life and hard times ofa cedar chopper.

I once set myselfafire with a 5-gallon can ofgasoline. I have third de-gree leg scars to prove it.And just this past summerI almost cut my foot offwith a chain saw.

Bookie Jack Han-ratty named the autobiog-raphy which has yet to bewritten. Jack said it wouldhave the only name thatwould be fitting.

Hanratty called ityears ago. He said itwould be The OutlawJournalist. I hope to startwriting it some day soon.

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and Flood of Tears. Bothreceived favorable reviewsby industry trade maga-zines at the time, but failedto rise to the top of thecharts. The label foldedafter about a year. One ofhis albums, Dance Time inTexas, is a collection of in-strumental standarddancehall favorites suchas Cotton Eyed-Joe,Chicken Dance, and JoleBlon. Each song is playedwith precision, utilizing thebest stylings of pedalsteel, fiddle and electriclead guitar. Strong dancebeats are established bybass guitar and drums. Chambers’ music hasnot changed much

through the years, be-cause he has remainedtrue to his traditionaldancehall roots. Consis-tently, he has chosensongs that tell the humanstory, songs about joy,loss and pain. “Yesterday’ssongwriters like HankCochran wrote from theirexperience—from theirgut. Today, writers collabo-rate in teams and try toput a series of clever linestogether that radio sta-tions will play. I like the oldstuff better,” he said. In conclusion, I’d like tostate that I have learned agreat deal from GeorgeChambers through theyears. His devotion to theelements of authenticcountry dancehall musichas served as a musicalcompass for many of us

who have worked with himin live performance and inthe recording studio. My own occasional useof the shuffle beat in myrecordings is a result ofhis influence on me. Thereis no telling how manydates a year he plays, ei-ther with his band or as asolo act, singing cowboysongs, standards, andsome of his own record-ings at saloons, restau-rants, Bar and BatMitzvahs, public hangings,or anywhere else peopleappreciate the real deal.God has truly blessed thisworld with my friend,George Chambers, Mas-ter of the Texas Dancehall. Happy birthday,George, and I hope youhave 80 more years tomake us want to dance.

• 10 • Action Magazine, November 2018

Chamberscontinued from pg 7

Sam Kindrickcontinued from pg 4

Action Magazine, November 2018 • 11 •

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