Thanks folks. Keep 'em coming.

The artist group I'm part of is making a publication on The Dicks as part of an exhibit in Austin and we are also talking to other locals who were involved in the early punk scene. Hopefully what will emerge is not just a portrait of The Dicks but also a snapshot of what it was like to be part of underground music in Austin in the early 80s.

Last night I interviewed Margaret Moser who writes for the Austin Chronicle and was at the Dicks first show. She had some really fantastic insights into the early Austin scene and The Dicks and laid down some great history. We're off to a good start!

Can you try to connect with Yow? He used to make flyers for fake shows and was an all around scene gadfly, I've heard. Probably has some great stories?

Ace wrote:Is Gary Floyd still a communist?

I am not sure, but he is still rotund.

Ace wrote:Is Gary Floyd still a communist?

I don't know, but he's a Hindu and has been for years.

I got to hang out with Gary for an afternoon in Frisco a couple of years ago. It was totally random--the guy I was staying with and I went by to pick up his friend America, and it turned out she was Gary Floyd's roommate. Malignant Growth had played a show with the Dicks back in '83, so we talked about that and the scene back then--how most hardcore bands were rote and sexless but the Dicks (and the Growth, I'd like to think) totally swung. We also talked about country music quite a bit, which we've both turned to in our middle years. Mainly, though, we discussed how strange it was that these two fat old Southern punk rockers had turned to Eastern religion (I am a Buddhist). He was very friendly and fun, and I hope I get to hang with him again.

What questions would you ask members of Dicks?

I love you.

People associate The Big Boys with The Dicks as both seminal in the history of Texas, and specifically Austin, punk rock. However, reputedly there was a pretty intense rivalry between both bands. What was the true story behind this?

Tell us about some fights with Austin frat boys (and, after having lived in Austin, I know the frat boys there are a very, very special breed of shitbag).

The MayorofRockNRoll wrote:reputedly there was a pretty intense rivalry between both bands. What was the true story behind this?

Tell us about some fights with Austin frat boys (and, after having lived in Austin, I know the frat boys there are a very, very special breed of shitbag).

I did not know there was a rivalry. Thanks - this would be a good thing to ask about.

Margaret touched on the frat boy issue a bit when I spoke to her. Part of it seems to be because the club Raul's was so close to University of Texas but it would be good to hear more about this as well.

I'd be curious about how the Dicks felt about the Explosives, the Standing Waves, the Skunks and other similar bands on the Austin scene who helped kick off the scene at Raul's but got lost in the shuffle after the hardcore scene took hold (and were more "new wave" than punk rock).

I'd also like to know if Gary still hates the police, and still spends his Saturday nights at the bookstore (and if so, which one).

Oh, and tell Gary and Buxf they're geniuses.

The MayorofRockNRoll wrote:People associate The Big Boys with The Dicks as both seminal in the history of Texas, and specifically Austin, punk rock.

True.

The MayorofRockNRoll wrote:However, reputedly there was a pretty intense rivalry between both bands. What was the true story behind this?

Not true.

ssakmule wrote:I am not sure, but he is still rotund.

Not true.

I'd heard about this supposed rivalry from a guy named Skip Hyatt, who was a dishwasher in a bakery I used to work in and had been in a band with Biscuit some time before Biscuit died.

Skip, actually, has some insights into the whole thing and would actually be a really good person to talk to. Unfortunately, I have no idea how you'd get a hold of him. I'm not entirely certain he's even still alive, honestly.

This may be gossipy, but I've also heard tale of a supposed fling betwixt Gary Floyd and Biscuit. That, however, may not be the most substantial thing in the world.