Customer Reviews

Dirt Road to Psychedelia Austin, Tx During the 1960's

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This is a comprehensive documentary of the little-known "Austin scene," a hotbed of great psychedelic music often overlooked and overshadowed by the larger and better known scenes in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. Features great clips and good interviews by performers and fans of that time. The dvd is divided into sections and shows the progression from folk to psych. A good buy!

I've seen lots of 1960s-era music documentaries. Probably too many, in fact. So often, they seem to just rehash the same tired cliches and haul out the same concert clips that we've all seen dozens of times. It's a rare music-doc that can both entertain me and impart new information and fresh points of view concerning this turbulent and revolutionary decade in music. This is definitely such a documentary.

Director Scott Conn has done an expert job of bringing to life the Austin, Texas '60s music scene, using a combination of modern interviews with important players, movers, and shakers from that scene, along with vintage film clips, still photos, and memorabilia. The superb soundtrack features both rare and classic recordings from the era. The editing is flawless and the structure and pacing helped to keep me transfixed throughout the entire movie.

I can only assume that this film did not have a huge Hollywood-sized budget, but you certainly would not know this from the very high quality that is presented on-screen. That's not to say that the movie is slick. It isn't. It's quirky and gritty where it needs to be, and the director's unique, self-assured style guarantees that this is far from a generic cable-TV-styled music doc.

I purchased this DVD, hoping for a moderately entertaining, competently made film about a sadly neglected corner of the 1960s U.S. music scene. I was pleasantly astonished by the uniformly top-notch quality of this fascinating, illuminating, and artful film. This is definitely a must-own for anybody who cares about the history of folk and psychedelic music.
In fact, I would rank this right up there with the four or five best & most entertaining music documentaries that I have seen. Spectacular job, Mr. Conn. I'm looking forward to your next film.

I heard about this movie a year ago and that it was making the rounds of film festivals. I was hoping it was going to show up as a DVD one day and here it is! I grew up down the road in San Antonio and was too young to come to Austin when all this was happening. The word was out about all these places like the Ghetto, the Vulcan Gas Company, the Jade Room and the Love-Ins in the park but the closest I got was to see Shiva's Head Band play some of our high school dances. By the time I got to Austin in the early 70's, most of these places were a thing of the past. It was great to see lots of photos of the Ghetto and the Vulcan and to see the home movies of Shiva's and the Conqueroo playing. The research done for this movie was fantastic and the interviews show the various sides of the cultural conflicts that occurred between the hippies and the Establishment. I recommend this highly, and I got my copy shipped to me within 3 days.

Myself being from Texas this movie really has a special place in my heart. This film pays tribute to some of the neglected musicians that paved the way for the GOOD music today. Scott Conn shows the history and importance of the Austin music scene and i have to thank him for that. For everyone not from Texas i would just like to let you know that Austin, TX is the San Francisco of TX, and its music scene has produced some of the greatest musicians to have stepped into a recording studio. I highly suggest that if you enjoy music, that you should buy this DVD!

Prompt delivery of a great little dvd. As a native Texan and fan of 13th Floor Elevators, I really have enjoyed this production. We went to Austin from Houston every month when I was a kid back in the sixties and to know more of the music scene that was going on back then is cool. Seeing how the musicians evolved and the influence they had is great to know. Thanks.