Bodes Well

Marfa Marfa Marfa

Posted on January 14, 2010 by jason9 Comments

Marfa was the location for shooting Giant - the James Dean movie from the 50’s. Not too much has changed around here since then. Actually, there are lots of galleries and new local businesses, but they’ve kept all the original facades so it looks like nothing’s changed.

I’m a permanent skeptic of any local phenomena marketed to drum up tourism for anywhere, so I wasn’t biting on the Marfa Lights. Angela and Bode insisted, though.  It was 10 degrees, so we didn’t sit out in the middle of nowhere for too long, but of course we didn’t see any. Some people swear by them – even live in fear of them. Anyway, the lights were way better over at Padres.

Our first night in town had us watching the college football “national championship” game at Padres with 100 other disappointed Longhorn fans. It was still lots of fun and we made some new friends in Marfa.

We met the guy that made the fire-pit at the hostel from a few nights ago.  He’s actually a well-known local sculptor and his work is all over town. He and his wife live in a converted school bus somewhere out in the desert and are a really interesting pair. They invited us over for a bonfire later in the week, so we’ll have to figure out if we can make it.

We also found out that Dave and a few other folks we know from Houston were backing up a Neil Diamond tribute show. Paul Minor opened. Not bad timing.

Mr. Diamond was actually Jackie Pepper (who’s actually someone else) and he had a fairly entertaining bit. The show was more about his version of a Neil Diamond persona rather than an actual tribute show.  The band was stellar, but Jackie didn’t spend too much time learning the lyrics.  He made it through maybe 50% of the words and howled and grumbled his way through the rest with things that actually did sound Diamondesque.  Kudos for maintaining the illusion for the entire show.

Songs you sang to me, sounds you brang to me.
-Neil Diamond, “Play Me”

I learned how to laugh and I learned how to cry.

We also stumbled upon EarthPig. He goes by his real name these days (Adam), but we always knew him as EarthPig and had no idea he was here in Marfa. He’s an inventive musician who used to gig around Austin with his own unique lap-guitar style. He moved here several years ago and opened the mobile Food Shark with his wife.  He even converted a school bus that serves as a heated dining room.  If your food truck gets featured in Bon Apetit and Food and Wine, you’re doing something right. Once again I’m reminded there is no formula for success. Just do what you like and do it well.

We’ve only been here a day, but I have a feeling that if we stick around through the week we’ll almost be locals. And, Bode will be a shuffleboard prodigy.

There are a few things you notice about Marfa after a while. The hipster guys are still sporting ironic mustaches. There are no police – they were voted out. Everyone just seems to be doing whatever they feel like and things are just fine. Young hipster girls and hardened cowboys date – it’s weird. Maybe they just want an honest mustache.

Two random favorite Neil Diamond songs (you can’t have just one):

Angela: Sweet Caroline / Forever in Blue Jeans
Jason: I Am I Said / Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon

Marfa Winter

Posted on January 13, 2010 by jason10 Comments

We woke to sub-freezing temperatures and snow in the desert. Not exactly what we had in mind when we imagined driving through West Texas to avoid winter weather.

If you’ve driven a ‘71 bus, you know the heat isn’t all that great and the defroster is sub-optimal. By the time we made it to Alpine, the windshield was iced up and we were looking through tiny port holes just above the defroster vents.

After a quick coffee break to warm up, we finished the final 30 mile drive to Marfa.  Funny how all the towns out here are on average 25 or so miles apart – a good day’s trek by covered wagon.

As soon as we get to Marfa – not even 10 seconds later – the first person we see crossing the street is Dave.

Angela and I have both known Dave for around 20 years, and we each knew him before we even met each other. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but we can both say we knew Dave before he wore shades permanently.

Anyway, Dave’s a pretty well-known guy these days.  He currently owns and operates Padres in Marfa – the only nightclub in town (and it’s a good one). He’s got a local radio show, he’s on the City Council (he won by 2 votes,) the Rotary Club, etc. He’s been in a 100 bands (last SXSW he played 7 gigs for 7 different bands in one day) and toured all over, opened and managed several successful nightclubs in Houston that are still going strong, was the MC for the Houston Roller Derby, has been a Buddy Holly impersonator, machinist, hot-dog slinger, you name it.  To boot, he’s tall, dark, and handsome and has a velvety smooth crooner voice that literally makes women swoon. And, he’s a really nice guy.

Anyway, Dave moved out here to slow down and get away from a pretty hectic lifestyle in Houston… one of the Urban Refugees that Marfa seems to attract. The problem is that like many folks out here, he now has twenty different things going on and hasn’t slowed down at all. Such is life.

Dave invited us to stay at his place.  An actual house, since he was kicked out of El Cosmico – a local hipster Airstream trailer park. He says his Airstream wasn’t nice enough.  Anyway, he warned us that his place was pretty grim and coming from him, that’s really something. To call it a bachelor pad would be an insult to bachelors. We’re not picky, but to put it bluntly, it’s a craphole. Actually, that would be an insult to crapholes. Dave calls it a crackhouse, so we’ll go with that. He’s moving next month. However, it does have two things – heat and Dave – and that’s plenty for us.

I actually know two David Beebe’s. The other one is a professor in Wisconsin.