Janice Williams Loves Austin

Just a couple of weeks ago I wrote about Billy Gibbons taking the stage with Heybale at the Continental Club. My husband Mark was on stage as the drummer (subbing in for Tom Lewis) playing along with the best classic country band in Austin AND Billy Gibbons AND Brad Paisley. That was quite a night. Seeing Billy Gibbons up close again made me remember my first experience seeing ZZ Top in concert in 1979 or so. I knew I had pictures from that night somewhere, but even a trip to the attic didn’t turn them up. Tonight, I cleaned the office closet, which is stuffed full of genealogy, writing, love notes from Mark, art supplies, Let’s Learn About Austin source material, and PHOTOS, lots and lots of photos. I happened upon a stack of “radio pics” and there it was. The evidence of my first meeting with Billy and Dusty and Frank. I say evidence, I might have to get someone else that was there to swear this is me. Anyone that knows me know might not recognize the young Janice Williams.

Okay, that was a trick. I’m not either one of those girls. I have no idea who they were. I have a feeling they weren’t Amarillo girls. I think they came with the tour or were brought in. So, the real young Janice:

Can you tell which one I am in that group? I’m the girl drinking the TAB! I just noticed that. I’m afraid that shows the age immediately. At least it is a can and not one of those bumpy-textured bottles that I gagged on for the first 20 years of my life. Thank god for Diet Coke . . . but I digress.

I was working at the time at KPUR in Amarillo (1440 AM). This was probably the first big concert that I got to go to as a disc jockey. And backstage! I had had a little bit of backstage experience at my first radio job (KBUY-Amarillo), but this was my first rock show.

Who is with me and Billy? Dan Wilson on the left. He was my boss and afternoon drive at the time (I did nights). Dan and I later did the morning show together for a couple of years. He’s a big shot in San Antonio in Hispanic radio now. I haven’t seen him in years. Behind me is Dean ? somebody. He did the news at the station and I’ve lost all track of him. Down front, appearing to pass out, is Jack Randall, real name Jack Light (which I always thought was the better name). I think Jack worked weekends back then, but he later did all-nights for the station and we worked together for years. He is still in Amarillo and works for the newspaper, last I heard. How about the glasses on Dan and Billy? Thank goodness I had on my contacts or I would have had my big ugly glasses, too. They were in style. Seriously! So was the velveteen blazer I am wearing (which coordinated with the turtleneck better than it appears, I hope).

And one more picture with me and Jack and Dusty Hill, doesn’t he appear to be the happy one?

Take note of how short their beards were at the time.

As for the concert, it was really one of the most memorable concerts I had ever seen. The album Deguello had come out in the summer of 1979, just as I started at the station. I can remember how the album cover smelled! It was not just the typical cardboard, it was very shiny and had a distinctive plastic smell and was sort of embossed. We played “I Thank You,” “Cheap Sunglasses” and “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide.”

And who opened the show that night? Austin’s own Van Wilks, who was also managed at the time by Bill Ham. I met him for the first time at the Geezinslaws’ CD release party at the Texas Roadhouse in early 2006. He played guitar on their classic version of “Stairway to Heaven.” Very nice guy. And I have a picture of us together somewhere in this house, too.

I’m discovering a problem with this blogging thing . . . there’s always another picture or story I want to share! Now that I’m writing this story, I’m also remembering the great autograph I got from Billy Gibbons that night. It had cactus and shadows and took up the whole page. Where have I put these things? I look forward to the day that all my papers are enshrined in the Janice Williams Memorial Library. It will be wonderful when someone else has catalogued them all and I can easily go find every picture and memory.

My blood is boiling over this news article about a mother in Garland (DFW) who lied to help her daughter win tickets to see Hannah Montana (or whatever that kid’s real name is). How lousy is that?

Not long after I got fired I made a list of things I would NOT miss about radio. I guess this is one that I missed . . . people who lie to win contests. And it happens, it really happens. That is why I tried to never set up a contest where you could “plead your case” with a sob story in order to win.

Also the beggars. EVERYTIME we announced there was a Willie Nelson show, I would get calls, days before the show even, saying, “Oh PLEEEEEAAAZZZZZZZ, it’s all I’ve ever dreamed of, to see Willie. My whole life I’ve wanted to see Willie.”  Really? Seriously? Then maybe you could have put away a dollar a month your whole life and bought this ticket? And he’ll be back next year, too, maybe you could plan in advance and buy a ticket like real people do? I remember the first time a Willie show came into my world and I know I went to the West Texas State box office and bought a ticket. And I didn’t have a job or income! (okay, I was 16)

And, yes, we’d get the “sick child” letters, too. And do you know how lousy it made me feel to have to say no? I don’t know if they were legitimate or not. And I didn’t say no to all of them either. Sometimes I could see there was a legitimate need and I didn’t know who to direct these people to (not for tickets, for real needs) so I would help them out. But when people started pleading their case for tickets with a sick child it really irritated me.

I remember this last trip that Rascal Flatts made through Austin. I got a request for tickets from someone outside of our listening area that obviously didn’t even know we didn’t play Rascal Flatts, pleading to make a dying kids dream come true by giving them tickets.

If you anticipate a day coming where you would need tickets for someone that is sick or needy, you need to establish a relationship with a disc jockey right now. That is my advice to you. Hundreds of people know that we had a relationship because they called or emailed. If any of those people had made me aware of a sick child, and THEN came a day when they asked for tickets, I would have been much more inclined to help.

It developed a very very good sense of the bullshitter listening to callers over the years. I’m wondering now how I could put that “ear” to use in a new job.  IRS?

If you’ve seen my main site you can see where I’ve spent my time today. It is getting closer to what I want it to look like - - - i.e. less “homemade” and more appealing to the eye. I wish I had taken some graphics courses somewhere along the way so I would know some of the basics. Since I didn’t, I know what I like, but I don’t know how to achieve it.

Today I am cleaning out a closet and I finally found a missing packet of letters. I thought these letters had somehow disappeared, but they showed up today. Hooray! These are letters from listeners. Not my local listeners here in Austin, these are letters from listeners when I worked for ABC Radio in Dallas. Most of these letters are from prisoners in other states. Some very interesting stories (and drawings, too!) there. Those stories still to come.

But first, another Christmas adventure. Last week my friend Marsha read an article in the New York Times about cemetery and grave decorating. You’ve read about my cemetery visits to see my own relatives, but I can also appreciate cemeteries where I don’t know a soul. The article said that the San Fernando II cemetery i San Antonio was one of the cemeteries that is being decorated more and more at Christmastime, despite the cemetery rules. Marsha and I decided we would drive down to San Antonio and see the cemetery.

I served as a poor navigator, but we eventually stumbled upon the San Fernando II cemetery. There is also a “III” and an original San Fernando Cemetery. The San Fernando Cathedral is Texas’ oldest church and has a fascinating history. We didn’t go to the cathedral downtown, but I hope to one of these days.

We soon saw what the article was talking about with graves decorated with poinsettias (real and silk), Christmas trees, presents, food, tinsel, and more. It almost has to be seen to be understood, but the pictures will give you an idea.

This was one of the more simply decorated graves. I liked the little Santa doll on the marker.I hope I didn’t appear to be gawking or making fun of these graves while I was there (or now). I understand the need of the friends and relatives of these people to connect with them at the holidays. It is a way to include the whole family.

If you didn’t know about this custom,you might assume this was a new grave and the funeral had just occurred, leaving the flowers and decorations behind. But, no, this is just decoration for Christmas. Obviously, one of the more elaborate graves at San Fernando.

But this is my favorite:

The statuary in this cemetery was beautiful, and I liked how this grave’s Madonna was included in the decoration. Bless the Mireles family. I hope they had a good Christmas.

I got home that afternoon and told Mark about our adventures. He asked whose grave we went to see. I explained that I didn’t know anyone that was buried there, I only went to see the decorations. Mark has always been quite supportive of my cemetery interest and has gone with me many times, even climbing high, chain-link fences, to get to the graves we wanted to see. But he thought this was pretty weird. Unusual, yes. Weird, I hope not.

I think this is a beautiful tradition, but I don’t know that I want it to catch on and be widespread. I wasn’t even able to get my house decorated for Christmas this year, I don’t know when I’d find the time to decorate graves, too.

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December 26, 2007

And more Christmas

Filed under: Family — Janice @ 5:39 pm

Hope you’re not falling behind on reading the entries, this is the second today. . .

Just got this great picture of the “boys,” my nephews, Brandt and Connor. My sister and her husband and the boys and my mother all had Christmas at her home in DFW. After all of our traveling, we were happy to stay home, but also hated to miss the festivities there. My sister just sent the scrapbook of their day. Here the “guys” (they are certainly not boys anymore) show off the Baylor shirts we gave them. Brandt, left, is a sophomore at Baylor and on the crew (the rowing team). Connor, right, is one semester into the freshman year and just became a “community leader” or CL at Baylor. And that’s my mom observing.

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