Austin has a great music history from it's '60's origins with KAZZ FM and Sonogram Records spinning The Thirteenth Floor Elevators and The Sweetarts to The Vulcan Gas Co., Janis Joplin and Johnny Winter. The 70's saw that sweet mingling of cowboy and hippy called "Outlaw" at The Armadillo and Oat Willies to the early punk scene at Raul's, Duke's Royal Coach Inn, Club Foot, Studio 29. It's been a great ride and made Austin the live music capital of the world. Enjoy a memory or two from our ticket archives. A paper testament to Austin's music history.
| Date: | Wednesday / Thursday, October 13-14, 1976 |
| Artist: | Commander Cody |
| Venue: | Armadillo World Headquarters , Austin, TX. |
| Ticket Price: | $ 4.00 |
GEORGE FRAYNE, a student in graduate school at the University of Michigan in 1967, put a band together with his pal JOHN TICHY, an engineering PhD candidate. The first group was more of a 'happening' than anything else, featuring the TAP DANCING GREEN SISTERS, PAT THE HIPPIE STRIPPIE and, of course, the GALACTIC TWIST QUEENS with a supporting cast of anywhere between 5 and fifty hippies.
After graduation, in 1968, Cody was not able to cope with an actual job situation (Assistant Professor of Art) at Wisconsin State University. George drove 14 hrs a week back and forth to Ann Arbor every weekend to appear with the band and their new singer harp player, Billy C Farlow, of Decatur Alabama.
George and Billy C. penned the first original tunes, "Down to Seeds and Stems Again" and "Back to Tennessee" in a library during a break in finals. After 2 semesters, George quit teaching and jumped into the Ozone Van with Billy C. and the steel guitar player, then the West Virginia Creeper, and headed for The Coast.
In San Francisco for the summer of 1969, the band caught the tail end of the famous Psychedelic scene. They found a home in the saloons of Berkeley and after packing a local dive known as "Mandrake's" every night, they got some executives from Paramount Records to sign them up. After three moderately successful albums the fourth Paramount record hit paydirt, and was featured by Rolling Stone Magazine in their best 100 albums of all time. "Live from Deep in the Heart of Texas" was recorded live at the Armadillo World Headquarters, (the coolest club that state has ever seen, then or now), and stands as everybody's favorite. The crowd was so great that Wally Heider, recording in SF, leaked out AWHQ crowd noise, to other live albums they recorded, to make other bands sound better.
The band was quite the enigma - anti-war, country, rooted in hippie and redneck all at the same time. By 1976 the band was still very popular and had a tremendous following. I saw them in Missoula Montana in the spring of 1976 opening for ZZ Topp. There were as many Montana cowboys and hippies there for Commander Cody as there were for ZZ Topp. This show (at AWHQ) was later that same year and was no doubt highly anticipated and well attended (thus the two night showing). After all, as previously mentioned, they cut one of Rolling Stone Magazine's Best 100 albums on the stage of the Armadillo two years before (1974).
In l977 Cody, Kirchen, Stein, Tichy and Billy C. all went in different directions, Cody making 2 albums on Arista and working with Delaney Bramlett and Nicolette Larson. He teamed up with Bill Kirchen's Moonlighters in 1979 and that combo lasted a few years. Some of that personnel are featured on the Relix release, "ACES HIGH" (April 1990): Austin deLone, Tim Eschliman (Rhythmtown-Jive), and Tony Johnson as well as Keith Crossan Tommy Castro), Gary Vogenson, and the brief return of Billy C. Farlow.
In 1992 the Lost Planet Airmen included vocalist and guitarmeister Peter Walsh (formerly with Seatrain and Hoodoo Rhythm Devils) bass guitar monster Dave Tolmie (Maria Muldaur, Roy Rogers). Glen Sherba (Burbank based guitar gunslinger, studio sessions with Cher, Badfinger, etc).
In 1995 Dave Erdmann replaced Billy C. on lead vocal and designated songwriter. Ed Michaels joined the band on drums (Roy Rogers and Norton Buffalo).
Metal thrasher Sugar Ray samples Cody 'Lincoln' vocal for Atlantic Records hit "Mean Machine". Royalties forthcoming .....
Most currently...
In 1997, Frayne relocated to Saratoga Springs, New York, and a new configuration of the Lost Planet Airmen magically appeared.
It was original Airmen John Tichy who recommended guitar wizard David Malachowski. In '95 and '96, David was bandleader/guitarist/vocalist for Twain, as she supported her "The Woman In Me" release and has also bent strings for Janie Frickie, John Michael Montgomery, and Les Taylor. David has resurrected the long dormant "truck driving song" aspect of the Airmen, and has even contributed a self-penned song to the set list. Guitar slinger Mark Emmerick was also referred to the band by an original Airmen, Bill Kirchen. Mark has played with Greg Allman Band and the Toler Brothers and has been known to play a mean slide guitar. Groove master Steve Barbuta was stolen from the James Montgomery Band, and has played with Edgar Winter and Avenue Blue. Steve offers the band a wide pocket. Bass monster Clyde Davies has toured with the Star Spangled Washboard Band and Richie Havens in another life, and always has a unique perspective...
As always, our hero, the old Commander himself, is behind the piano, leading the musical mayhem and controlled chaos. This fresh edition harks back to the virtuosity and spontaneity of the original band, and the response from critics and crowds has been overwhelmingly positive.
The legend of the Lost Planet Airmen continues...
Archives: Ticket Stub 1 Ticket Stub 2 Ticket Stub 3 Ticket Stub 4 Ticket Stub 5
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