The Texas Top Hands Western Swing Band Bus
by John Rogers on Aug.24, 2009, under Austin Texas, HDR, Travel
Parked in front of an Austin icon “The Broken Spoke” dance hall sits this old tour bus for “The Texas Top Hands Western Swing Band“. I have no idea how old this bus is. (Perhaps one of my readers that is an expert in bus history can help me out there.) But since the band started in 1946 & lasted over 50 years you can almost feel the the miles of memories that must have happened in and around the travels of this old bus.
For those that are interested in the technical side of my photography, I lit the bus by “light painting” it with a small LED flashlight during the 30 second exposure. (The white LED has a very blue color temperature compared to the ambient light giving the nice blue highlights.) I then did a single image HDR conversion of the raw file and then applied a Topaz filter to the resulting image.
6 Comments for this entry
2 Trackbacks / Pingbacks for this entry
-
The Broken Spoke Dance Hall & Saloon; Austin Texas | Visualist Images Photography, Austin Texas
February 21st, 2010 on 7:29 pm[...] by John Rogers on Feb.21, 2010, under Austin Texas, HDR, Travel One of Austin’s Icons is the Broken Spoke Dance Hall. Willie first played here back when he wore a crew cut & sport coat. Bob Wills played here, as have many many more country legends before & since. What I love about the Spoke is, it really hasn’t changed in the 45 or so years folks have been two steppin’ across it’s wooden floors. Regardless of if you are a fan or not of country music, you should stop by the Broken Spoke when you are in town & drink a long neck & feel history dance by. If you are interested, you can see another photo taken at the Broken Spoke (here). [...]
-
Broken Spoke, Austin Texas | Austin Music and Photos Blog
December 10th, 2010 on 9:19 pm[...] One of Austin’s Icons is the Broken Spoke Dance Hall. Willie first played here back when he wore a crew cut & sport coat. Bob Wills played here, as have many many more country legends before & since. What I love about the Spoke is, it really hasn’t changed in the 45 or so years folks have been two steppin’ across it’s wooden floors. Regardless of if you are a fan or not of country music, you should stop by the Broken Spoke when you are in town & drink a long neck & feel history dance by. If you are interested, you can see another photo taken at the Broken Spoke (here). [...]
October 22nd, 2009 on 3:21 am
Nice shot. I like the effects you added on the photo. It made the bus look alive.
December 3rd, 2009 on 11:21 am
Wow! I wondered what happened to the old bus. My dad played with and managed the Top Hands for years, and then during my junior high/high school years in San Antonio, we drove past “Easy” Adams’ house every day day to and from school, where this bus was parked in the driveway through the late ’60s and early ’70s. Next time I’m in Austin, I’ll have to drop by the ‘Spoke and snap some photos of my own – in the meantime, I’ll show my mom this beautiful pic. I’m sure it will bring back lots of memories…
October 10th, 2010 on 2:18 pm
William Wayne “Rusty” Locke of the Texas Top Hands is my cousin!
He is 91 years old! Though in poor health and does not have his full mental capabilities today and living in a nursing home.
Rusty is the most famous musician in the family, though he certainly isn’t the only musician in the family. I am in direct contact with his sons and daughter.
What historians failed to mention is the fact that Rusty Locke is of Romany Gypsy ancesty, a direct descendant of the Romany Lock’s of England to the USA.
November 1st, 2010 on 3:44 am
William Wayne “Rusty” Locke b. November 01, 1919 Lamar County, Paris, Texas, d. October 30, 2010 in San Antonio Texas. He will be missed by many!
RIP cousin Rusty!
Donald Locke Jr.
November 4th, 2010 on 9:19 am
RIP Rusty, you’ll be missed my friend.
January 10th, 2011 on 11:09 pm
It crazy to see this bus. This was one of my father’s buses (Rusty Locke). He was the band leader for the Texas Tophands for many years. This bus was sold to O. B. “Easy” Adams and to my knowledge he was the last owner before it was donated to the Broken Spoke. Great photo!