The Wig

Here are a few tracks by the other great Austin, Texas band of the mid-60's. The Wig were Rusty Wier (drums, vocals), Benny Rowe (lead guitar), John Richardson (guitar), Jess Yaryan (bass) and Billy Wilmont (keyboards).

Benny Rowe had been in an earlier version of the band known as the Wigs that had toured Europe.

"Crackin' Up" is as exciting as any song cut in the mid-60s. The opening guitar riff is unforgettable for one thing. Rusty Wier's drumming propels the song, his vocals are confident and Benny Rowe's guitar solo is intense.

Wier wrote the song, and I've heard it was originally released on the Empire label but haven't seen that myself. The BlacKnight single is rare enough.

The 45 of "Drive It Home" is phenomenal, but the live version makes the studio cut seem tame in comparison! The live recording was done at the Jade Room, one of their regular spots.

The flipside of the Goyle 45 is "To Have Never Loved at All", a good ballad I hadn't paid much attention to until someone requested to hear it so I made a transfer.

There are more live tracks along with both sides of an early unreleased 45, "Little By Little" and "Forever And A Day" that I haven't heard yet.

After the Wig broke up, Yaryan and Wier formed the Lavender Hill Express, blending country and pop sounds. A lot of information on that group can be found on the Sonobeat site.

I just heard Randy Wier passed away after battling cancer. An obituary from the Austin360 site is here, but check out Tommy Taylor's comment on an Austin Chronicle article for a personal take on Rusty's influence on the Austin music scene. Rusty Wier's official site, www.rustywier.com has more on his career, and many photos, including some I've reproduced here.