Episodes

Episode 88: Willie Nelson, Frontier Justice, and Tex-Next Cuisine

Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Jason Kempin/Getty Images

This week: From SXSW in Austin comes our all-Texas show: Music legend Willie Nelson talks Crazy… Judge Roy Bean serves justice on the rocks… And Rico explores tex-next cuisine. Plus laffs and music from two SXSW buzz bands: a thilly joke from Toro y Moi and and a tasty tune from Yuck.

Icebreaker: Toro y Moi
Chaz Bundick, the man behind Toro Y Moi, parties poolside with (or without) panthers.

Small Talk: Jake Silverstein
Jake Silverstein – editor of Texas Monthly – plunges us deep into the heart of…the Amarillo mayoral election. It took another bizarre twist this week, when city officials upheld discrimination against hyphens.

A History Lesson with Booze: Judge Roy Bean and “The Fightin’ Words”
This week in 1903, Texas’ most unlikely Justice of the Peace — Phantley Roy Bean Jr. — died. He literally held court in his frontier saloons, so we served ourselves a summons to one of the best cocktail spots in Austin to let another bartender lay down the (liquid) law:

“The Fightin’ Words,” as presided over by Adam Bryan at Bar Congress in Austin, TX:

In a shaker, add:

  • 1 oz. True Blue corn whiskey (from Waco, TX)
  • 1/2 oz. Maraschino
  • 3/4 oz. Yellow Chartreuse
  • 3/4 oz. lemon juice

Add ice, shake and strain into a small stemmed glass. Sip and enjoy the sweet/pungent taste of justice.

Guest of Honor: Willie Nelson
Music legend… classic songwriter… outlaw… folk hero… Willie Nelson makes it tough to choose your adjectives. He penned mega-hits for Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison, broke open the Nashville scene with his “Outlaw country” music, and became an activist for a slew of sociopolitical causes. And there’s more coming, including a Ray Charles tribute album (out this week) and a Spring/Summer tour that makes us tired just looking at it. Finally, this Saturday, director Billy Bob Thornton’s bio-doc about Willie closes the Film Festival at SXSW. In this chat with Brendan, he recalls growing up in his native Texas, his Crazy start… and then promptly forgets both.

Main Course: Tex-Next Cuisine
After a week of pounding BBQ sliders and breakfast tacos at SXSW, Rico seeks an Austin alternative. Enter BarleySwine, an innovative gastropub on the vanguard of the city’s recent food renaissance. Manager/chef Bryce Gilmore — the son of a Southwestern food restaurateur and one of Food & Wine magazine’s nominees for People’s Best New Chef — talks trailers, trout, and the tex-mex dish he still can’t do without.

One For The Road: Yuck – “Georgia”
With its approachable 90s sound and smart hooks, the motley London crew Yuck sparked major buzz at SXSW. Their well-received debut album and national tour should only fan the flames. Take a listen to “Georgia” – a song perfect for meeting someone in the middle.

Music On This Week’s Show:

Sea & Cake – “The Argument”

Aphex Twin – “Boy/Girl Song”

Tipsy – “Liquordelic”

Joe “Fingers” Carr – “Somebody Stole My Gal”

Mighty Mighty – “Law”

Willie Nelson – “This Cold Cold War with You”

The Zombies – “Nothing’s Changed”

Yuck – “Georgia”


Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Willie Nelson Talks 'Crazy'

Guest of Honor

Music legend, classic songwriter, outlaw, folk hero: Willie Nelson makes it tough to choose your descriptor. He penned mega-hits for Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison, broke open the Nashville scene with his “outlaw country” music, and became an activist for a slew of sociopolitical causes. And there’s more coming. In this chat with Brendan, he recalls growing up in his native Texas and his 'Crazy' start… and then promptly forgets both.