A month or two back, a bunch of texans were in town to pick up some horns and generally just take up space in my listening room... so I made them get out and about the town... and here are some snaps from our visit to Stax Records...
The original Stax building was torn down, but thankfully a group of locals rebuilt it properly. The original recording space, which was just the old small theatre, was rebuilt. They also built a really nice music school next door.. and the above typical rural southern church is an original that they moved piece by piece to the inside of the museum... they flushed out the rest of the property with museum exhibits and a record shop... nice!
If you are unfamiliar with Stax (I am not sure how anyone who is interested in music could not be aware of Stax, but...) then think Motown with an edge to it... some things were laid back, but think Booker T's Green Onions or anything by Otis Redding... there are a lot of heavy names from Stax, but I have recently been really digging Ruby Johnson... how she is not a household name is beyond me.... have a YouTube listen here
and then there is the obligatory audiogeek content... wow.. they had a large format Altec system.... apparently not really used, though... it was "restored" for the museum... ouch... veneered... no compression driver.. and a cheap plastic 12" in the horn... man, what a shame... I really need to volunteer to turn this into a working audio display... I do know some of the people involved in making the museum happen.. I guess I need to finally add it to my "to do" list...
and this is what they actually used for monitors... it is amazing that their records sounded as good as they did! Inside one cabinet is a jensen woofer... in the other, an Altec... then they are upside down... and the horns are in the ports... man.. I could not believe my eyes when I first saw this a few years back...
and finally, there is that... as you all know, I am not into "bling"... but I would totally cruise in that car.. the super plush white fur... the huge gold grille... that color! yeah, people still talk about Isaac Hayes cruising down McLemore in that car.. an inspiration for kids in the neighborhood...
there is a box set of Stax singles... it is truly amazing.. if this music is your style, then I highly recommend it...
Peace,
Me
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Forget about the speakers man, the car is pure P.I.M.P Pimp.
ReplyDeleteWord UP.
J.
Willie the Pimp would be proud. Jeffrey, You will need the customary felt hat with the mink trim and the accompanying fur coat to go parading in that sled!
ReplyDeleteG.Lenz
would love to hear the STAX horns playing unison thru that rig. The first LP I ever bought was Otis Blue (still got it)...thanks for great post Jeffrey
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