Oral histories

Allen Olsen interviews Ernie Durawa.
Ernie explains the bajo for Doug Sahm. He talks about the West Side Sound. He talks about his early life and musical influences. He talks about his time playing conjunto at clubs and eventually blues music in San Antonio. He discusses the Charlie Alvarado shooting incident and how he was as a person when he knew him. He tells an unnerving story about Jimmy Casas. He talks about his friendship with Doug Sahm and tells stories throughout their career. He talks about rock and roll and conjunto music. He talks about how he had to learn to read music.

Allen Olsen interviews Oscar Lawson and Henry Hernandez.
Oscar and Henry open with their early life and their musical influences, including the radio station, KCOR. They talk about their early bands and playing gigs together. They talk about the record labels they've done and eventually switching to Spanish music. They talk about working with Joe Jamma and him being nominated for a Grammy. They speak of memories from their career.

Allen Olsen interviews Charlie Alvarado.
Charlie talks about his childhood, family, and musical influences. He explains his year in Korea as a Marine and playing music there. He talks about the band he was in before the Marines and the nightclub he would play at. He discusses how he started playing rock and roll, and how passionate he would play his saxophone. He explains how Charlie and the Jives got started with him leading it. He talks about the racism and segregation he has seen in the fifties. He mentions other artists that he's worked with or met. He explains what the Jiveman Award is. He mentions recording his first songs. He dives deeper into his thoughts on West Side Sound and the instruments it involves.

Allen Olsen interviews Frank Rodarte.
Frank talks about his early life, family, musical influences, and being exposed to the saxophone. He talks about famous musicians and the early gigs he did before moving to Vegas. He talks about Elvis Presley briefly. He talks about playing rhythm and blues rather than Mexican music. He explains the structure of music and how it differs through the genres. He gives his opinion on how he perceives race in the music industry. He claims he was falsely accused of sexual assault and speaks about getting arrested for it. He talks about the social movements in the sixties and tells a story about dealing with racism. He talks about his religious journey and returning to his Christian faith during his career. He tells a story about filling in for saxophone for Jerry Jeff Walker's band. He talks about his time playing as Los Blues for mafia gigs. He talks about things that Augie Meyers did that upset him and forgiving friends who had disrepected him.

Allen Olsen interviews Augie Meyers.
Augie opens up about his childhood, his musical influences, having polio, and talks about the bands him and Doug Sahm were in. He talks about the famous bands his band, Sir Douglas Quintet, would play gigs with and whether they inspired him or not. He briefly explains his band being arrested and then having a bad reputation in regard to the Charles Manson controvery and hippie movement. He talks about the records he's recorded and then describes West Side Sound. He tells stories of working with Bob Dylan. He talks about having his own label and how he wrote songs. He gives his opinions on the West Side Sound today. He explains the music that he enjoys. He talks about the riots and resistance movements in the sixties, and experiencing racism. He explains how much he loves and misses Doug Sahm since he passed away.

Allen Olsen interviews Rick Davila.
Rick gives his opinions on what West Side Sound is and what makes music Chicano. He explains how conjunto is a part of the West Side Sound. He talks about his friend Augie's hit song and trying to get it on the radio in the beginning. He gives his opinion on politics and briefly explains the struggles of Chicano people. He explains the political songs he participated in. He discusses the diversity of conjunto in San Antonio. He explains the similarities and differences between conjuntos and norteños. He explains the difficulty for crossing the Mexican border to go play in Mexico. He talks about how conjunto music started to become more accepted and getting it to a higher market. He talks about his time promoting music. He discusses issues and jealousy that he sees in the music industry. He talks more about West Side music. He talks about different ethnicities in the music business.

Allen Olsen interviews Flaco Jimenez.
Flaco speaks about their early musical life and influences, which include his dad. He talks about the conjunto bands he was in and the clubs he played in Texas during his youth. He explains experiencing racism when performing with his band. He speaks about changing up his conjunto styled music slightly and having to dress nicer with his band. He gives his opinions on ethnicity in music and explains his definition of Tex-Mex. He talks about applying rock to his music in a recording studio. He describes how he was paid and eventually got lawyers to work for him. He talks about his career currently (at time of interview).

Jacob Mankovsky interviews W.C. Clark.
WC talks about growing up in Austin with his family. He gives his opinion on what blues music is and how its scene has changed in Austin, affecting his music. He shares a story about a baby at one of his performances. He explains what he thinks his role is as a musician and how he helps people learn. He briefly discusses the awards he's won. He discusses his current band and how they toured around the world. He talks about his favorite places and people to play with. He describes how he writes music and the emotion behind it. He talks about losing his drummer and fiance in a car accident and writing a song about it.

Rosalba Cortez-Concha interviews Earl Poole Ball.
Earl begins with his early life, family, and musical influences. He explains how/why he moved away and ended up in Houston, where he'd end up playing music. He describes the music scene in Houston, comparing it to Mississippi. He talks about moving to California and its music scene. He discusses moving to Nashville to be a producer. He talks about his time touring with Johnny Cash and how it affected his musical growth. He talks about moving to Austin, Texas and how the diverse the music scene has been. He discusses his most significant accomplishments as a musician. He talks about the bands he's in now and what they do. He finishes with giving advice to young artists pursuing music.

Rosalba Cortez-Concha interviews Earl Poole Ball.
Earl begins with his early life, family, and musical influences. He explains how/why he moved away and ended up in Houston, where he'd end up playing music. He describes the music scene in Houston, comparing it to Mississippi. He talks about moving to California and its music scene. He discusses moving to Nashville to be a producer. He talks about his time touring with Johnny Cash and how it affected his musical growth. He talks about moving to Austin, Texas and how the diverse the music scene has been. He discusses his most significant accomplishments as a musician. He talks about the bands he's in now and what they do. He finishes with giving advice to young artists pursuing music.