Month: March 2024

bookmark_borderGhosts of DFW music history: Pantego Sound Studio/Metal Magic Records

Posted on by PAO Productions
This is part of a continuing series of posts exploring locations of former DFW musical landmarks

Much has already been written to chronicle Pantera's early years, their formation, history in the Metroplex, and their subsequent rise to fame, and it's not my intention to duplicate that here. Rather, this post is instead going to focus on the story of their in-house record label, Metal Magic, and on the studio where they recorded their early output: how these came to be, the story and history behind them, and the role they played in helping launch the band's career. The story begins with Jerry Bob Abbott, a country music singer/songwriter, musician, producer, sound engineer, and the father of Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott. The tale of Metal Magic Records is as much the story of Jerry Abbott's early career in the music production industry as it is of Pantera's early rise to fame.

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bookmark_borderGhosts of DFW music history: Insomnia Coffee Bar

Posted on by PAO Productions
This is part of a continuing series of posts exploring locations of former DFW musical landmarks
Insomnia Coffee Bar in 1997
Image courtesy of Central Motion Pictures
On an sweaty August evening in 1997, I headed down to Deep Ellum to meet up with some friends. After finding a place to park my car, I journeyed down Elm Street and made contact with my group, and although I don't remember whose idea it was, we ended up patronizing a coffee house to pass time before seeing some local music. In the group was my coworker, Heather, and her boyfriend at the time, Chris, her friend DeShanna, another co-worker named Glenn (a forty-something year old scenester who probably had no business being down there with a bunch of teenagers), and Björn, a former foreign exchange student turned annual visitor from Germany. Björn was excited at being able to buy brownies at the coffee shop, declaring to me that he was only able to get them when visiting America. I ordered a turkey sandwich, and after taking a few bites I realized that it contained real turkey and not the turkey slices I was accustomed to getting when ordering sandwiches. After leaving the café, our group finished off the night at Trees with a UFOFU and Bobgoblin show, and I ended up trying to bum $10 for a copy of UFOFU's with everyone coming up empty until Glenn was able to help me out. For the next few years I wouldn't recall much about that coffee shop, but I would always remember that sandwich and the brownies and the night's experiences that followed our visit. Thus was my introduction to Deep Ellum's premiere coffee house and hangout at the ripe old age of eighteen. Continue reading "Ghosts of DFW music history: Insomnia Coffee Bar"