316 CONGRESS AVE.

FORMER LOCATION OF: VULCAN GAS COMPANY

HEYDAY: 1967-70

“Back in ’67, most of the music scene revolved around the university, and the college kids wanted to hear cover songs. But the Vulcan was the first serious original rock ‘n’ roll club in Texas. The bands all knew about the Vulcan and they wanted to play there, so we had everyone from Jimmy Reed to the Velvet Underground. Houston White (Vulcan manager) had this policy that we would try to get as many of the blues legends as possible and so we booked Lightnin’ Hopkins, Sleepy John Estes, Big Mama Willie Mae Thornton and Mississippi Fred McDowell, who played his very first show in Texas at the Vulcan. Johnny Winter met Muddy Waters for the first time at the Vulcan and they ended up collaborating on Grammy-winning records. Johnny was opening for Muddy and they each did two sets a night. The first night, the Muddy Waters band didn’t see Johnny’s set and they’d never heard of him so they just did a ho-hum set. The band hadn’t dressed up at all — they were wearing their `podunk gig’ clothes and Muddy was singing `Got My Mojo Working’ and he was looking at his watch. But they did stick around for Johnny Winter’s second set and he really lit a fire under them. The next night the Muddy Waters band was all wearing suits and Muddy had his hair done and they just blazed.

“The Vulcan ended up being choked by the weeds that were sprouting all around it. The drug culture started catching on to the rest of the world — not just hippies and musicians — and after a while kids were coming down to the club not for the music, but to score drugs.”

TESTIMONY FROM: Jim Franklin, who was the art director of the Vulcan and a co-founder and “ethereal essence in residence” of the Armadillo World Headquarters.

FOOTNOTE: Ten years after the Vulcan closed, the building was the site of Duke’s Royal Coach Inn, which caught a ride in the stretch between the fading of Raul’s and the opening of Club Foot.