The road had done me in, I needed to hide out and get my thoughts together, write something, play something, do nothing for awhile. I booked 3 nights at the Western 1924 Lofts above Duett's Texas Club in Martindale, Texas. Set on the upper banks of the San Marcos River, the Aerodynamic Room was a renovated, old, poshy spot, and I can posh with the poshiest poshers that ever poshed, thanks to my wife and daughters. The next 3 days went by slowly, I left a 5 star review and tried to capture the hazy memory of what went down...
"Felt like a 3 day dream. The pad, Duett's Texas Club, Harper's Vintage, the artist next door. Peace and quiet by day, then rocking and swaying and popping for a few hours, then back to peace and quiet and birds and river and moon. Best bed I've ever Aired To The Bee and Bee, and I've been around. Acoustics were nice, the patio was proper. All amenities were stocked just right and orderly. Thanks for the Tide, not all places set you up, detergent is pricey. No nickle and diming here. Cool to open the windows on a breezy day, the draft hits. River access is close, if that's your thing. Good bike loop of about 8 miles, includes a bridge crossing. Mansions are on the other side of the river, if you're curious. I was. Lockhart State Park is incredible, and close. Barb's BBQ was sold out and Smitty's was disappointing. The burger at Duett's is incredible, I ate it twice. The pork bellies were, eh. They have Flensburger Pilsner in a bottle. Matt Kirk and The Gueyfarers rocked."
The Gueyfarers (pronounced Wayfarers, after the shades) were the reason I came to Martindale, they were headlining a late afternoon show on Sunday, my final day there. I was acquainted with the drummer, Brandon Custard from Viva Big Bend in '22, he was filling in for The Watters and we had talked for a bit before their fabulous Planet Marfa show, which I bóotleg recorded. Martindale was a musical interlude of sorts, the Texas Cosmopolitan Roadtrip was halfway through, time to party, time to ride. Immediately, I started acting like a local, hanging out at Duett's, riding the town, and browsing around. Found my way out to nearby Lockhart State Park for a round of golf and shot a personal best 79, making a 15 footer on the final hole, just one of those days.
The Friday night and Saturday night acts were fine, even spectacular at times, but Matt Kirk and the Gueyfarers were another level. A complete and built band, they started out with Ophelia, moved into their own catalogue, took a quick break, covered Dylan's From A Buick 6 on my request, and finished with a new tune about the urgency of life, Matt knew time. After the show, Custard told me they were having a cigarette out back and invited me to hang out. Matt told me about his new album and we got into other topics, regular stuff, his recent interview tears, McMurtry stories, smoked turkey, shoe technology, Gruene Hall, and London, Texas. It was a cool hang, they were encouraging and curious about the Texas Cosmopolitan project and understood the creative potential; I left Martindale the next morning inspired and determined, my mind relaxed and observant.
