the big guns

back in prehistory, mike haskins played gtr for the nervebreakers, dallas proto-punks who actually existed from around '73 but gained fame, acclaim, and notoriety closer to the end of that decade, opening shows for the ramones, sex pistols (remember the pic in rolling stone of barry kooda with the fish in his mouth? of course you don't), and like that. plus, they served as roky erickson's backing band before relinquishing the duty to the explosives out of austin (two of whom were once-and-future members of jerry jeff walker's lost gonzo band). despite the fact he looked like donnie osmond (still does), mike knew the good shit and laid it down with conviction. i especially remember one memorable gig at tootsie's with the fort worth cats where somebody called the cops and mike continued playing "the kids are alright" right up until the moment when one of fort worth's finest pulled the plug on his twin and forcibly removed his les paul jr. from his hands.

these days, mike leads the big guns, an instrumental outfit that blends surf 'n' twang with a healthy dose of morricone-esque spaghetti western flavor. he still has a full head of hair, although most of his band boys don't, and they'll be holding forth this saturday at lee harvey's in dallas. because i suck and hate driving to dallas, i doubt i'll make it, but if you're not similarly challenged, tell mike i said hey. they start at 9pm, play three sets, and have a new cd, to boot.