Thirty Years Ago, Spoon’s First Album Changed My Life
Spoon is from Texas, but its music never felt Texan to me. Front man Britt Daniel was born in Galveston, grew up in Temple, and launched Spoon in 1993 in Austin, where it has remained—spiritually, i...
Remember the Forgotten Missions of Texas
For decades, each Sunday at daybreak Samuel Trujillo carried his paralyzed father, José, from their home to the doors of the Socorro Mission, about twenty minutes southeast of downtown El Paso. The e...
How Mary Kay Built a Billion-Dollar Empire
If you lived in Dallas in the eighties, as I did, Mary Kay Ash, founder of the eponymous Mary Kay cosmetics company, seemed to be everywhere all at once, promoting her business and herself. Ash telegr...
Kacey Musgraves Rides Again
Well, that’s unusual,” said the music supervisor. It was a late morning on a Tuesday in early February, and we were standing outside BLT Studios, a rentable soundstage in the middle of Hollywood. ...
This Mexican Seafood Restaurant Has a Hidden Comedy Club
On a recent Saturday night, Fernando Chacon performed a short stand-up set at Crabs & Laughs, a comedy club in Grand Prairie. Chacon, who’s known professionally as Panda for his relaxed demeanor, si...
The West Texas Days of the Exiled Prince Who Wants to Lead Iran
When Reza Pahlavi arrived at the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, in June 1978, two weeks before starting a year-long jet-pilot training program at Reese Air Force Base, in Lubboc...