The Cosmic Culture Club

The Austin Christmas Collection: First Edition

December 1, 2023

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Various Artists

Overview

The Austin Christmas Collection is a three-volume set of albums released between 1981 and 1984. It’s a hodgepodge of local talent. Some are well-known on the Austin scene, while others are a bit more obscure. Volume One was released in 1981 and features notable artists such as Marcia Ball, Gary P. Nunn, and Bob Livingston. It’s a random collection of musical styles that provide a pleasant snapshot of an often-overlooked moment in Austin music.

Vibe

Drop the needle on this album, and imagine it’s the 1980s. A Christmas Eve ice storm has locked down the city streets, sending respectable citizens scurrying to their houses to wait for Santa. You walk into Donn’s Depot because the lights are on, and you can get there. The bar is empty aside from the neighborhood regulars and a smattering of road-weary musicians who’ve parked their tour bus for the holiday. The bartender is serving her signature Christmas drink. It’s just an “Old Fashioned” with a splash of cranberry juice, but nobody is complaining. Everyone is laughing, and the musicians are swapping turns on stage, playing whatever Christmas song they happen to know.

Companion Album

Dreams Come True is also a collaboration of local Austin talent that features the three definitive female vocalists from the Austin blues scene in the 1980s. Released a decade after the Christmas album, a more seasoned Marcia Ball joins forces with Angela Strehli and Lou Ann Barton to deliver a powerhouse of a blues album. It was one of the best-selling albums from Antone’s label and is a true masterpiece. Play it with The Austin Christmas Collection and enjoy an evening with the musicians who played the soundtrack to Austin nightlife in the 1980s.

Eggnog Martini

You can go through the tedious process of making your own eggnog, or just buy a carton from the professionals and solely focus on turning it into a cocktail. We opt for the latter. After thorough research, we have concluded that the best way to spike the nog was developed by Rob Floyd—who was the lead mixologist for The Bazaar by José Andrés. He trades the traditional rum or brandy for a combination of vanilla vodka and Amaretto that results in a decadent after-dinner treat.

Ingredients

4 ounces eggnog
1 ounce vanilla-flavored vodka
1 ounce amaretto
Cinnamon
Freshly ground nutmeg
Cinnamon stick

Directions

Combine eggnog, vodka, and amaretto in a cocktail shaker with ice.
Shake for 20 – 30 seconds.
Strain into a chilled martini glass.
Dust with cinnamon and nutmeg. (Freshly grating nutmeg over the martini adds a subtle showmanship to the presentation.)

Holiday Album

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Holiday Lounge

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Featured albums from the Listening Lounge

Read My Lips might be the purest example of Austin blues music available, and a statement album from one of the city’s biggest stars. Lou Ann Barton dominated the Austin Music Awards in the eighties. She won female vocalist of the year three times in five years before they gave up and put her in the hall of fame. Her voracious style was something legendary music journalist Margaret Moser liked to describe as “a voice that can peel chrome from a trailer hitch.”

Under the Double Ego was Kinky Friedman’s melancholic goodbye note to the music industry. It would be thirty-two eventful years before he recorded another studio album. When he recorded this one he was disillusioned and chose to work with the Austin based Sunrise label, despite their limited distribution network, rather than deal with corporate record executives. The album was produced locally by Sammy Allred (member of the Geezinslaws and long time radio personality who would eventually be included in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.) The Texas Jewboys disbanded before the album was recorded leaving Kinky to assemble studio musicians from the crowded local talent pool, which included recruiting Chris O’Connell from Asleep at the Wheel fame.

On a cold February night in 1978 The Skunks played what is widely regarded as the first punk rock show in Austin, and for the next six years they continued to be a definitive presence. The three piece lineup evolved over the years, with bassist Jesse Sublett serving as the anchor. They pioneered a new sound leading acclaimed journalist Margaret Moser to declare, “In Austin’s punk rock history book, the Skunks are the first page.”