Arriving in 1978, hitched to a Sex Pistols tour bus, punk rock became as mythic in Texas as the state's devotion to football, cattle, and prayer. Renegades like the Huns, the Big Boys, and the Dicks led a defiant era of blood, sweat, and cross-dressing cowboys. Austin son Pat Blashill grabbed a camera and began shooting their stories of desperation and creative deliverance. More than two hundred of Blashill's photos here portray the Big Boys, the Dicks, Butthole Surfers. Poison 13, the Hickoids, the Offenders, Scratch Acid, Daniel Johnston, Doctors' Mob, Glass Eye, and touring bands including Sonic Youth, Devo, Samhain, Soul Asylum, the Replacements, and the Dead Kennedys. These images are joined by essays from director Richard Linklater (Slacker/School of Rock); singer David Yow (Scratch Acid/Jesus Lizard); drummer Teresa Taylor (Butthole Surfers); and local luminaries Adriane "Ash" Shown and Donna Rich. True mavericks banded together to make a stand, and Texas Is the Reason. "Gorgeous Photos of Texas Punk s Glory Days...Blashill brings Texas punk s convivial spirit into sharp focus."-- Texas Monthly "Teeming with subversive bands, cheap beer, and slam dancing...Blashill also captures the music scene s intimacy and camaraderie."-- Pitchfork "Captures the energy and anarchy of Austin's burgeoning scene between 1979 and 1987... the wild fury of native bands like the Butthole Surfers, Poison 13, Scratch Acid, the Dicks and many more."-- The New York Times "Excellent"-- No Echo "A weird gold mine... of Austin music's DIY age"-- Austin Chronicle Pat Blashill's beautiful book captures the poetics and energetic eccentricities of the post punk Austin, Texas music scene of the '80s, things one will never get on the internet...kicks ass."--Kim Gordon "That was it, that was our life at that point in time."--King Coffey, Butthole Surfers "From a historical point of view it is a real gem, but also highly recommended for any lover of photography, because Pat's work is amazing."-- Staf Magazine (Spain) "Stunning...the book captures a tripped-out, brilliantly berserk, thrillingly dangerous time and place." --Merry Jane There's an art to photography and there's also an art to being in the correct place at the right time. Pat Blashill demonstrates both of those things over and over again in Texas Is the Reason. Great bands come out of great scenes, so Blashill shoots not just the shows but the community. Even the intimate moments scream punk rock, and even the punk rock moments scream intimacy. 'Transcendent music is sometimes made by actual humans,' Blashill writes in his equally vivid essay. 'After you understand that, you don't need rock stars anymore.' Nailed it. --Michael Azerrad A profound experience for me. --Richard Linklater "Pat Blashills beautiful book of photos captures the poetics and energetic eccentricities of the post-punk Austin, Texas, music scene of the 1980s, things one will never get on the internet. Long live books and this one kicks ass."Kim Gordon Arriving in 1978, hitched to the back of the Sex Pistols tour bus, punk soon became as mythic in Texas as the state's devotion to football, cattle, and prayer. Confrontational renegades like the Huns, the Big Boys, and the Dicks led a defiant new era of blood, sweat, and cross-dressing cowboys. Austin son Pat Blashill grabbed a camera and began shooting local punk bands, uncovering a story of desperation and creative deliverance, set in trailer parks, low-rent shared housing, and wild, Texas bucket-of-beer bars. Along the trail Blashill befriended and photographed the Big Boys, the Dicks, Butthole Surfers. Poison 13, the Hickoids, the Offenders, Scratch Acid, Daniel Johnston, Doctors' Mob, Glass Eye, and others. As Austin became a mecca for live music, he captured equally iconic images of touring bands including Sonic Youth, Devo, Samhain, Soul Asylum, the Replacements, and the Dead Kennedys. More than two hundred of Blashill's deep black and white photos are joined here by essays from director Richard Linklater (Slacker/School of Rock); singer David Yow (Scratch Acid/Jesus Lizard); drummer Teresa Taylor (Butthole Surfers); and local luminaries Adriane "Ash" Shown and Donna Rich. True mavericks banded together to make a stand, and]¬‚¬]Texas Is the Reason. Pat Blashill was born in Austin in 1961. He grew up listening to KNOW-AM radio as he fell asleep at night. The first record he bought with his own money was ZZ Top's Tres Hombres. He learned how to operate a 35mm camera in high school. After he saw photographs by Robert Frank, it was on. Pat studied photojournalism at the University of Texas with Dennis Darling, J. B. Colson, and Ellen Wallenstein. Inspired by punk bands at Raul's and local photographer Bill Daniel, he began shooting shows in 1980, and was pretty good by 1983. Pat took most of the photographs in this book with two cameras-a Canon TX and a Canon F-1-using a Vivitar 283 flash. He shot Kodak Tri-X black and w