Thick Lights, Loud Smoke and Dim, Dim Music ― The Honky-tonk Badlands of Texas

From a childhood spent among such key roots-music figures as Bob Wills and Big Joe Turner, and an extended dual career as a musician and journalist, Michael H. Price has forged this frenzied chronicle of life among the denizens of the vanishing borderlands of Texas' indigenous music scene over the past half-century. Says RECORD COLLECTOR magazine: "Evocative and compelling." Adds BLUES & RHYTHM magazine:"A Garrison Keillor of rock and roll... much to enjoy." And from NO DEPRESSION magazine: "A bizarre artifact! ... A definitive history of Fort Worth's fabled Bluebird Nite Club, ... and everything you really need to know about Fort Worth's would-be music industry supremo, Major Bill Smith." [The] tribute to nearly forgotten black movie actor Mantan Moreland [is a] revelation... His chapter on Austin barrelhouse piano master Robert Shaw is affectionate and fact-filled... [For] anyone with a strong interest in Texas music." And from JUKE BLUES magazine: "A common thread: There were, and still are, many artists working away at their craft, ignoring popular trends and defying the commercial mainstream. Long may they thrive."