Poster Art by Byron Scott

Project Update

The live 1988 show has been mastered and art layout is underway.  We are determining whether or not to release this show on vinyl or just make the live show available on the digital mediums.

In 1988, I made my first trek to California from Austin to play

two gigs in one day.  Acoustic solo at Bee Bop Records in

Sherman Oaks, and later, a rock trio gig at the Anti Club on

Melrose in Hollywood.  Jonie Hell brought his boom box to record

both shows - only a couple of Bee Bop songs were captured but all of the

Anti Club show. I will cut the live gig down to a live LP to go on the Mike Alvarez song release site.

I interviewed with several recording studios while in California

during this mini-tour, including Capitol Records. I walked in there and talked my way in to an interview.  I interviewed at Paramount Recording Studios and got a job. A beat up Firebird and a room under construction above the 5 recording studio rooms the great studio has.  I produced

bands that walked in without a producer.  That sucked. At the time it was Madonna clones and Motely Crew clones.  I didn't appreciate what I had there , but I didn't want to be a commercial producer.  Jonie Hell got me a job at Sony Broadcast Division's The Sony Video Institute and I was there for 8 years.

I picked up an $80 guitar from a pawn shop next to Thunder Cloud

Subs on Lamar, jumped back into the taxi and on a plane and I headed to L.A. That guitar turned out to being a Hondo Tokai - a guitar brand fellow South Austin musician Stevie Ray used I recently found out.  The guitar is valued today at $1400.00 (It's not at my house, its at the Hollywood Police Station break room.)

I got the name Cricket Eaters from mainly, Buddy Holly and

The Crickets.  Onetime when I was at Roky Erickson's mom's

house where Roky was living, I went to the rest room, washed

my hands, and there was a half eaten cricket sitting in the soap

stall.  I just assumed they may have a cat and left it at that. 

So I passed this old cassette through the digital process once.

I did it backwards.  Digitized Side B first, then Side A.  There

is a bit of the Bee Bop show on the cassette, some Ken Jones

song recorded somewhere, a version of "On the Beach" just after I had

finished writing it.  Polish is not in my task list. 

I was blessed with King Kinglsey on bass and Jonie Hell, my

mate from Max and the Makeups, on drums.  I had just produced

an ep demo for the group they were in at the time, Haunted Garage. 

"Little Green Men", #1 on KXLU.  We were all thrilled.

                                      Cassette Cover: Joni Hell

                   CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Anti Club - Side 2

The Night I Watched You Sleep (M. Alvarez)

Mirror Image (M. Moore)

Cathy's Clown (D. Everly, P. Everly)

Slow Down (L. Williams)

Bee Bop Records and other locations:

On the Beach

Ken Jones interlude from somewhere

Unbeing House

Anti Club - Side 1

Love (M. Alvarez)

Unbeing House (M. Alvarez)

All Day All Night (M. Alvarez)

Orphan Aged (M. Alvarez

Hungry For Your Love (R.K. Erickson)

I'm Gonna Love You Too (J.B. Maulden, N. Sullivan, N. Petty)

Marcia Lo Aton' (M. Alvarez)

I hope you get some joy out of this blast from the way past.

Mike Alvarez