Original Saxon Pub 1971-1974
Between the closing of Chequered Flag and opening of Castle Creek, it was THE listening room in town
The original Saxon Pub was an A-frame restaurant on the Interstate 35 frontage road near 38 1/2 Street taken over by singer-songwriters. When it opened in 1971 at the former Canary Hut (shown above in 1955), the ads touted the steaks and seafood, with the after-dinner music labeled “Folk Entertainment.” But it didn’t take long for the Saxon to become “where the songs, attitudes, and creative interplay between songwriters and pickers went down,” said Craig Hillis, who played guitar for various Saxon acts. In Nov. ‘71, Texas Fever was the first act to be named in the ad, to let folks know they were formerly Ray Wylie Hubbard’s popular Three Faces West.
The Chequered Flag had closed in June ’71 and Castle Creek wouldn’t be opened for another year, giving the Saxon a nice window to be THE listening room in town. It was owned by local realtor Richard J. Filip’s Nottingham Inns Inc., and managed/booked by Jess Yaryan III, former bassist of Lavender Hill Express, who knew the talent that was out there. The only competition was token, with the Other Place following a similar restaurant/folk club format from ’71-’73, and booking some of the the same acts. But it was in Dobie Mall! Situated in the Longhorn Room of the Texas Union from ’68-’73 was Le Potpourri coffeehouse, where solo acts like Townes Van Zandt, Mike Murphey and Keith Sykes from Memphis would play for a week at a time.
The singer songwriter to become known as Michael Martin Murphey made his big splash in Austin with a three-night stand at the Saxon in Jan. ’72. He soon after moved here from California, with bassist Bob Livingston. Other regulars included B.W. Stevenson, Willis Alan Ramsey, Uncle Walt’s Band, Bobby Bridger, Big Bill Moss, John Vandiver, and Bill and Bonnie Hearne. “It wasn’t the only bohemian salon in town,” said Hillis, “but it was significant.” Shannon Sedwick of Esther’s Follies fame was a waitress there, before she and husband Michael Shelton (kitchen manager) opened Liberty Lunch in Dec. 1975.
Later manager Doug Burant and investors bought the club in Feb. ’74 and shortened the name to The Pub. But by the end of that year it was out of business and replaced by the short-lived Red Dog Saloon. The building’s still there, most recently housing a Mexican restaurant.
The original Saxon was where Steven Fromholz established himself solo after the breakup of Frummox, his duo with Dan McCrimmon that recorded the Bosque County classic “Texas Trilogy” on 1969’s From Here to There (ABC). After playing guitar with the Stephen Stills Band in 1971, Fromholz came off the cocaine highway and put together the comedic Captain Duck and the Farmer’s Electric Co-op Boys with Hillis on guitar, Travis Holland on bass and drummer David Fore (Bubble Puppy).
When the second Saxon Pub opened on South Lamar in 1990, co-owner Hillis sought continuity by tapping Fromholz to christen the new joint, affiliated to the original in name and intimacy only.
WANTED: Interior photos of the original Saxon Pub. Email yikescrawford@gmail.com.
"The singer songwriter to become known as Michael Martin Murphey" was a deejay in Dallas in 1968 on the Dallas' first FM underground rock station KNUS-FM under the moniker "Murph". The only other deejay on that station that I can remember by name was one called "Strider" (y'know like from Tolkien). The station was my 14-year old mind's first exposure to The Red Crayola, The Velvet Underground, The Jeff Beck Group, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Ill Wind, The Small Faces, Condello, and much much more. They would play at least one song from practically every LP being currently released at that time. I would save up my lunch money allowance & head to Preston Record Center & purchase an LP every week. I picked one out largely based on the cover & what I'd heard on KNUS. I hear & read people still in Dallas going on & on about the old days & KZEW-FM. But I never hear them talk about the real pioneers in rock radio there: KNUS & KFAD...
The original Saxon Pub was my venue debut as an Austin musician when, as an 18 year old kid, I would sit in with '74 Kerrville New Folk winners Jimmy Ray and Christy Lou, who performed as Lou-Ray. Sometimes Cotton Collins would also sit in, playing twin fiddles with Christie Lou, and joining us outside for a little reefer between sets. "Take away the ladder, 'cuz I ain't comin' down!" he would holler. (Christy Lou died in a tragic motorcycle accident on 2222. Fifty years later I still play music sometimes with Jimmy Ray as "The Border Blasters.") I'm not sure why I was there mid-afternoon one day, but as I was parking, a Cadillac convertible pulled up behind me. It was Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry coming to set up for the night's show.