August 1, 1966: The Rest of the Story

Lamar Junior High School, North Central Austin

Paul Harvey made a career of telling two tales at once with a little technique he called 'the rest of the story'.  He'd reveal the known and then the unknown, or vice versa, and teach a little history lesson in so doing.  With apologies to Mr. Harvey's memory, here's a Reunion Rest of the Story...

The history of Reunion Band is intertwined with the history of Austin. From playing for a 1972 George McGovern Rally at the old airport to gigs at  Armadillo World Headquarters and other venues no longer extant, to being a familiar sight today at The Oasis or the Austin 3M Half Marathon, Reunion has long been a part of the city's history.  The band officially formed in 1971, but the group's seed can be traced to the first day of August 1966, when the innocent world Austinites knew changed forever.  Here's what happened:

Going from elementary school to the imposing structure of Lamar Junior High was intimidating to tweens to say the least.  Among the young musicians gathered on the Lamar parking lot for scale practice were two trumpeters from Highland Park Elementary, left, a saxophonist from Brentwood, and a baritone player from Rosedale Elementary.  It was early afternoon, the first day of junior high school Summer Band.  The band was under the tutelage of Vic Williams, a prominent local jazz saxophonist whose day gig was teaching young prospects to play in tune.

Although they didn't know it at the time, those young musicians would play the first downbeat with Reunion five years later.  Sam would remain on trumpet, baritonist Kelly would debut on trombone, trumpeter Paul, would become the band's formidable bassist, and saxist Jim would be the first guitarist.  They would actually start Reunion in 1970 out of the McCallum High School band, shown in photo.  To find them, roll over the photo.

But in 1966 it was tentative, controlled notes under the scorching midday Texas sun and Mr. Williams' baton.  It was the first time the founders of Reunion would make music together.  The day would have been a stressful situation to young artists anyway, but there was an additional uncertainty in the air.  An uncertainty that would make that particular day in Austin famous -- infamous, really -- for a very different reason.

Click here for the rest of the story...