Tex & the Horseheads is an American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band, which emerged in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of Punk rock, music, Punk ideologies, ideologies, Punk fashion, fashion, and other forms of expression, Punk visual art, visual art, dance, Punk literature, literature, and film. La ...

of the early-1980. They were described as "passionately committed and intense in delivery" in a 1984 review by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. Their original run was from 1980 to 1986 and during this time they enjoyed a sizeable

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

. As of 2007, the band has reunited and tours the Los Angeles area sporadically.

Biography

Tex & the Horseheads are often cited as among the first bands to play "

cowpunk Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject mat ...

." The sound of Tex & the Horseheads, and correspondingly the sound of cowpunk, is characterized by a fusion of classic-styled country-and-Western music and street-tough LA punk bands. Tex & the Horseheads set themselves apart by appropriating

aesthetical Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

and fashion elements from

deathrock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music subgenre that merges punk rock and post-punk with Gothic fiction, gothic and glam rock visuals and elements of horror film scores. Often overlapping with, and sometimes considered a subgenre of, gothic ...

bands like

Burning Image Burning Image are an American deathrock band formed in Bakersfield, California in 1982. Burning Image first released a 7" single with the songs "The Final Conflict" and "Burning Image, Burning" in the summer of 1984. The compilation ''1983–1987 ...

45 Grave 45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. History The band was founded during the punk rock movement by Paul B. Cutler ...

, and

Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religion ...

. Tex & the Horseheads' members include: Texacala Jones, Mike Martt, Gregory "Smog Boaz" and David "Rock Vodka” Thum.

Jeffrey Lee Pierce Jeffrey Lee Pierce (June 27, 1958 – March 31, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and author. He was one of the founding members of the band The Gun Club, and released material as a solo artist. Early life Pierce was born ...

, of

The Gun Club The Gun Club were an American post-punk band from Los Angeles that existed from 1979 to 1996. Created and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, they were notable as one of the first bands in the punk rock subculture to i ...

, was an original member of the group and was highly influential in both supporting the formation of the group. Tex and the Horseheads released two records, a self-titled record in 1984 and ''Life's So Cool'', produced in 1985 by

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used in the British, Canadian, and American legal systems, when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law ...

, member of X and of

the Flesh Eaters The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardins ...

. A live album, titled ''Tot Ziens; Live in Holland'', was released by

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...

in 1986. Their songs dealt with themes of heartbreak, love, drug and alcohol dependency,

grief Grief is the response to the loss of something deemed important, particularly to the death of a person to whom or animal to which a Human bonding, bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, ...

, loss, and financial difficulty—all a testament to their

destitute Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...

roll-and-tumble lifestyle, as well as Texacala' s real-life struggles with alcohol and

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

in the latter half of the 1980.

Collaborations

Until disappearing from the Los Angeles music scene in the 1990s, Texacala performed with all-girl cowpunk group, the Screaming Sirens. In 1987 she formed Texorcist along w/ Dave Catching on Guitar, Billy Koepke on Bass & Louie Dufau on Drums, In the late 1980s, Texacala participated in an all women's performance troupe of LA scene-makers, The Ringling Sisters, whose members all fronted Los Angeles based bands. Members of the group included

Pleasant Gehman Pleasant Gehman is an American author, writer, poet, actress, dancer and musician from Los Angeles. Career In the 1980s, she was the singer for the punk rock band Screamin' Sirens. Her articles on rock 'n' roll, American pop culture, sex, t ...

(Screamin' Sirens), Iris Berry (Lame Flames), Debbie Dexter (Devil Squares), Debbie Patino (Raszebrae) and

Johnette Napolitano Johnette Napolitano (born Jonette L. Napolitano; September 22, 1957) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and bassist for the alternative rock group Concrete Blonde. Early life Johnette Napolitano was born and r ...

(

Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde was an American rock band from Hollywood, California. They were active from 1982 to 1994 and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, then from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloodletting'' (1990), its top- ...

). Tex's role in The Ringling Sisters involved performing as a story teller and back-up singer. Texacala recorded a solo record in 1998, and subsequently toured extensively with a backing band the TJ Hookers, as well as fronting Texorcist and working with Los Platos. In 1994 she formed Burnin' Bridges along with former Texorcist Bassist Billy Koepke. They recorded 10 songs for a planned record with Richie Ramone producing but the record was never released.

Reunion and future plans

In 2007, Tex & the Horseheads reunited and played shows around the LA area. Texacala has since moved to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

and has remained active in music there. Texacala has stated that she plans to write a book detailing her experiences as a musician. She has also stated that she plans to "have some new songs coming out on itunes and plan on putting them all on cd soon for the website I'm working on. I want to make as many of my recordings available as possible, posters, flyers."

References

External links

Video on Youtube of Big HousePart III
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tex and The Horseheads Cowpunk musical groups Punk rock groups from California American death rock groups Punk blues musical groups Enigma Records artists