“Despite Texas’ storied history, its beauty, its music, its culture and so on, I think the best thing about Texas is probably the food, with its women being a close second,” Vandygriff says. “As for the worst thing, it’s the stereotypes Texans get as being arrogant, horse riding, gun toting bumpkins who think their state is the greatest thing on God’s earth. While the latter may be true, we are generally very cordial when we discuss it. It’s either that or our state’s political leadership.”
Vandygriff grew up listening to the country music of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and George Strait, before gradually getting into the metal and punk of Motörhead, Rancid, Ramones, Slayer, Social D and Bad Religion. “And I always had a soft spot in my heart for soul,” Vandygriff says. “I may have been the only kid in Fannin County who would ride around and listen to Al Green or Sam and Dave.”
In mid-2000, Vandygriff formed the first incarnation of The Von Ehrics, with the band’s name taken from the legendary Von Erics wresting family. “The Von Erichs were a wrestling family from Dallas,” Vandygriff explains. “All but one of the five brothers died tragically. ODs, suicides, motorcycle crashes, very tragic stuff. In Texas and around the US they were huge. They used to sell out Texas Stadium and the Cotton Bowl (these are two very large football stadiums) and they were on television all the time. They were as big as the Dallas Cowboys back then. It was a big thing in the ‘80s when I was a kid. But I never was much of a wrestling fan – naming our band after them was more about paying homage to where we are from.”
The Von Ehrics’ music reflects Vandygriff’s twin influences of country and punk. “People try to tie the two [genres] together in different ways,” Vandygriff says. “At times it can be the attitude, but that depends on who you are listening to. The similarity I find is musically. The songs are, for the most part, simple in how they are written. A lot of times the songs are only unique because of who is playing them. It is fairly common for a punk or country song to be three chords and whatever you want to sing about. Outside of that I don’t see much of a relationship between the two. Maybe The Von Ehrics are kind of like the missing link.”
In 2006 The Von Ehrics released The Whiskey Sessions, an album title that reflected the band’s modus operandi in the studio. “We kind of reflected on the recording process and what it was like – long days in the studio and late nights with friends,” Vandygriff says. “We recorded it in Charlotte, North Carolina. We have a strong fan base out there and a lot of pals. We would go work hard in the studio, open a bottle around lunchtime and before you knew it we were doing an impromptu show and the world famous Milestone after the session. It was a great experience, but we always came home feeling a little beat up.”
The title of the record wasn’t the only time in the band’s early days that The Von Ehrics had drawn upon inebriated excess as the source of artistic inspiration. “We were on the road a lot back then and with that comes a lot whiskey – and other things. I was kind of writing a reflection of what we were doing,” Vandygriff says. “I could tell you stories about rituals I had to start each night just to feel halfway normal. Now that’s not to say that you can’t get stoned and write a song. Inspiration can certainly be found in that. But for those records it was more of a reflection.”
The band’s latest album, Two Foot Stomp is a quantum leap from the previous Von Ehrics records, a progression that Vandygriff puts down the time the band put into the recording process. The album also includes the single Lord I Pray, which is accompanied by a video clip featuring a man in a mauve suit wandering around with a keyboard. “His name is Bob Crawford. There is a documentary about called His Name is Bob. He is always out and about in the Dallas scene. He has had a real hard life but he stays so positive. He goes out to shows and stands in front the stage and just holds that damn keyboard above his head while the band plays. Or he carries around some random vinyl record. Everybody knows him. He is a real sweet guy. He is all over YouTube, too. A very interesting person.”
BY PATRICK EMERY
