The Armadillo World Headquarters ("behind the Skating Palace") in 1976
Armadillo World Headquarters (The 'Dillo orArmadillo WHQ) was an influential Texas music hall and beer garden inAustin at 525½ Barton Springs Road – at South First Street – just south of theColorado River anddowntown Austin. The 'Dillo flourished from 1970 to 1980.[1][2][3][4] The structure that housed it, an old National Guard Armory, was demolished in 1981 and replaced by a 13-story office building.[5]
In 1970, Austin's flagshiprock music venue, theVulcan Gas Company (1967–1970), closed, leaving the city's nascent and burgeoning live music scene without anincubator. One night,Eddie Wilson, manager of the local groupShiva's Headband, stepped outside a nightclub where theHub City Movers were playing and noticed an old, abandonedNational Guardarmory.[6] Wilson found an unlocked garage door on the building and was able to view the cavernous interior using the headlights of his automobile. He had a desire to continue the legacy of the Vulcan Gas Company, and was inspired by what he saw in the armory to create a new music hall in the derelict structure. The armory was estimated to have been built in 1948, but no records of its construction could be or have been located. The building was ugly, uncomfortable, and had poor acoustics, but offered cheap rent and a central location. Posters for the venue usually noted the address as 5251⁄2 Barton Springs Road (Rear), behind the Skating Palace.
The name for the Armadillo was inspired by the use of armadillos as a symbol in the artwork ofJim Franklin,[7] a local poster artist, and from the building itself. In choosing themascot for the new venture, Wilson and his partners wanted an "armored" animal since the building was an old armory. Thenine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) was chosen because of its hard shell that looks likearmor, its history as a survivor (virtually unchanged for almost 50 million years), and its near-ubiquity inCentral Texas. Wilson also believed the building looked like it had been some type of headquarters at one time. He initially proposed "International Headquarters" but in the end it became "World Headquarters."
In founding the Armadillo World Headquarters,[8] Wilson was assisted by Jim Franklin,[7] Mike Tolleson (né Robert Michael Tolleson; born 1942), an entertainment attorney licensed by theState Bar of Texas in 1968, Bobby Hedderman from the Vulcan Gas Company and Hank Alrich. Funding for the venture was initially provided by Shiva's Headband founder's father, Dan Perskin, and Mad Dog, Inc. an Austin literati group that includedBud Shrake.
The Armadillo World Headquarters officially opened on August 7, 1970, with Shiva's Headband, the Hub City Movers, and Whistler performing.[9]
"New Riders of the Purple Sage"1974 Armadillo World Headquarters poster(Michael Edward Arth(de)graphic artist)
The Armadillo caught on quickly with thehippie culture of Austin because admission was inexpensive and the hall toleratedcannabis use. Even though illicit drug use was flagrant, the Armadillo was never raided. Anecdotes suggest the police were worried about having tobust their fellow officers as well as local and state politicians.
Frank Zappa at the Armadillo World Headquarters, September 13, 1977(Mark Steven Estabrook, photo)
Soon, the Armadillo started receiving publicity in national magazines such asRolling Stone. In a story from its September 9, 1974, edition,Time magazine wrote that the Armadillo was to the Austin music scene whatThe Fillmore had been to the emergence of rock music in the 1960s. The clientele became a mixture of hippies,cowboys, and businessmen who stopped by to have lunch and a beer and listen to live music. AsGary Nunn put it, "It's been said that our music was the catalyst that brought the shit-kickers and the hippies together at the Armadillo."[10] At its peak, the amount ofLone Star draft beer sold by the Armadillo was second only to theHoustonAstrodome. TheNeiman Marcus department store even offered a line of Armadillo-branded products.
Despite its successes, the Armadillo always struggled financially. The addition of the ArmadilloBeer Garden in 1972 and the subsequent establishment of food service were both bids to generate steady cash flow.[9] However, the financial difficulties continued. In an interview for the 2010 bookWeird City, Eddie Wilson remarked:
"People don't remember this part: the months and months of drudgery. People talk about the Armadillo like it was a huge success, but there were months where hardly anyone showed up. After the first night when no one really came I ended up crying myself to sleep up on stage."
This predicament was blamed on a combination of large guaranteed payments for the acts, cheap ticket prices, and poorpromotion. The club finally had to lay off staff members in late 1976 and file forChapter 11 bankruptcy in 1977. Another factor in the club's demise was that it sat on 5.62 acres (22,700 m2) of land in what soon became a prime development area in the rapidly growing city. The Armadillo's landlord sold the property for an amount estimated between $4 million and $8 million.
The final concert at the Armadillo took place on December 31, 1980.[15] The sold-out New Year's Eve show featuredAsleep at the Wheel andCommander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen. Some reports say the show ended at 4 am, while others claim that the bands played until dawn. The contents of the Armadillo were sold at auction in January 1981, and the old armory was razed for a high-rise office building.
Cobras:Denny Freeman (guitar), Larry Lange (bass), Rodney Craig (drums), Joe Sublett (né Joseph M. Sublett; born 1953) (saxophone), Paul J. Constantine (born 1950) (trumpet), Larry Medlow "Junior Medlow" Williams Jr. (1953–1997) (vocals, rhythm guitar), also withAngela Strehli & Paul Ray (né Paul Henry Ray; 1942–2016) (vocals)
Recorded November 1979, released in 2011;OCLC904409936
Freddie King (vocals, guitar); John Thomas,Darrell Leonard (trumpets);Jerry Jumonville (tenor and alto sax);David "Fathead" Newman (tenor sax); Jim Gordon (né James Wells Gordon) (tenor sax, organ); Joe Davis (né Joe Lane Davis; 1941–1995) (bari sax); Alvin Hemphill (organ); K.O. Thomas, Louis Stephens (piano); Michael O'Neill andAndrew "Jr. Boy" Jones (guitar);Robert G. Wilson (1956–2010), Bennie Turner (bass guitar); Charles Myers, Big John E. Thomassie (1949–1996) (drums);Sam Clayton (congas)
Posters by the following artists were part of the iconic artwork that helped define Armadillo World Headquarters in the 1970s – "The Armadillo Art Squad:"
Vermont-born Burton Wilson (né Burton Estey Wilson; 1919–2014) – no relation to Eddie – was thede facto house photographer for theVulcan Gas Company and Armadillo World Headquarters. Eddie Wilson once told him, "Just tell anybody who asks that you own the place. That way, you'll never need a backstage pass."[24][25][26][27][28]
The commemorative plaque at the site where the Armadillo once stoodCenter illustration:Jim Franklin, 1970[ii]
On August 19, 2006, the City of Austin dedicated a commemorative historical plaque that had been installed in the parking lot of One Texas Center, where the Armadillo once stood. TheTexas Monthly, in its 1999 "Best of the Texas Century" edition, named Armadillo World Headquarters as the "Venue of the Century."[29]
It is still on the lips and minds of a lot of people 26 years after it closed. This is noteworthy for me because of the zero-tolerance mentality, and now the city erected a memorial that glorifies the things of the past that are not accepted today.
In 2024 the local soccer club,Austin FC, struck a deal withEddie Wilson, the keeper of the Armadillo World Headquarters flame. They added an armadillo jocktag to the team's uniform, Austin FC President Andy Loughnane said it was important to pay homage to Austin's "creative and vibrant spirit". The relaunch of the Armadillo was celebrated at the Austin FC jersey launch party, withAsleep at the Wheel frontman,Ray Benson.[30]
^Braxton Bootleg Records is a project of the Tri-Centric Foundation, a Connecticut non-profit organization that supports the work and legacy of American composer and musician Anthony Braxton. (Tri-Centric website)
^An inscription on the historical marker credits Sam Yeats [sic] for the illustration included in thecollage, but earlier prints show the initials "JFKLN", the signature ofJim Franklin.
Menconi, David Lawrence (1985).Music, Media and the Metropolis: The Case for Austin's Armadillo World Headquarters (M.A. in journalism thesis).University of Texas at Austin.
Wilson, Burton Estey (1919–2014) (2001).The Austin Music Scene Through the Lense of Burton Wilson, 1965–1994 (1st ed.).Austin: Eakin Press (Edwin M. Eakin).ISBN978-1-571-68444-8.OCLC46383840.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Wilson, Burton Estey (1919–2014) (1971).Burton's Book of Blues (1st ed.).Austin: Speleo Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Wilson, Burton Estey (1919–2014); foreword byChet Flippo (1977).Burton's Book of the Blues: A Decade of American Music, 1967–1977 (rev. ed.).Austin: Edentata Press (the wordedentata, which means toothless, is a species group that includesarmadillos).OCLC473055563.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
awhq.com – Armadillo World Headquarters Official Site (website registrant is Threadgill's Restaurant – officially known as Threadgill's Restaurants, Inc. – which, since the mid-1970s, has been owned byEdwin Osbourne Wilson, co-founder of Armadillo World Headquarters)
