Taco Land A squat, ramshackle venue located across from the Pearl Brewery, Taco Land evolved from a neighborhood bar and taco joint into one of the state’s longest-running underground music clubs. Although opened in 1965, music didn’t become a fixture until gruff but hilarious owner Ramiro “Ram” Ayala allowed punk rockers to begin staging shows in the early ’80s. After Ayala’s tragic death in a 2005 robbery, Taco Land closed. The building is now a Velvet Taco location but features a mosaic on its exterior memorializing the colorful bar owner. Credit: Courtesy Photo / Erik Sanden

The upcoming 20th Annual Ram Jam will celebrate the life of Ramiro “Ram” Ayala, late proprietor of the legendary Taco Land, a wild bar and venue that became a nexus of the San Antonio music underground until his 2005 murder.

The two-day festival, which runs this Saturday and Sunday, will bring together a roster of Taco Land acts, including reunions by no-wave blues outfit Boxcar Satan, pop-punk trio Lucy Loves Schroder, alt-rockers World Bizarre and noise-rockers Chapstik. Other bands on the lineup include Hickoids, Flamin’ Hellcats, Michael Martin & The Infidels, Buttercup, Sexto Sol and more.

Music will run 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. both days at the Corn Pound music complex in Windcrest at 6336 Montgomery Drive. The event is free, but donations and sponsorships are accepted.

Longtime local promoter Roland “Nightrocker” Fuentes and Hickoids frontman and Saustex Records chief Jeff Smith organized the tribute, which is taking place a considerable distance from the original venue. Located on the same block as the Pearl Brewery in what’s now a Velvet Taco location, Taco Land drew a decidedly different crowd than the one currently flocking to the since-gentrified area.

A far cry from the Pearl’s modern reputation for high-end frippery, Taco Land catered to blue-collar workers, bikers, punk rockers and a variety of outsiders and outcasts. It was a place where nary a square dared to tread — and for good reason.

Walk in on any given night, and one might see a drunk repeatedly bang his forehead on the old oak tree outside the door or witness a toothless regular flashing her tits at the band. Ram referred to sexual encounters inside the bar as “doing the Taco Land Shuffle.”

Though Taco Land existed as a taqueria and dive bar since the ’60s, it didn’t start hosting underground rock shows until the early ’80s when local punks approached Ayala about hosting a Millions of Dead Cops show no other local venue owner would touch.

The punks found a kindred spirit in the foul-mouthed Ayala, a vulgarian with a heart of gold who called his favorite patrons “pussies.”

“Ram ruled the roost with a velvet glove cast in iron, suffered no fools, spoke in a cluster of hilarious catch phrases and loved his gaggle of misfit regulars more than anything in the world,” Ram Jam’s promoters said in a news release about the event.

“Kiss the baby” Ayala would command, before shoving a bottle of mystery liquor in a regular’s face. Those who ordered water at the bar would get the gruff reply, “Never heard of it.” And when people called the payphone to find out who’s playing tonight, he’d respond, “Everybody’s playin’ tonight, darlin’.”

Everyone who’s been to Taco Land has a story to tell about it, most of them wild. During an interview with the Current last year, GWAR frontman Michael Bishop — aka Blothar the Berserker — related tales of debauchery that ensued when his larger-than-life shock-rock band played the tiny tavern.

Other legendary touring bands that passed through the venue include L7, the Minutemen, Scratch Acid, Jesus Lizard, Yo La Tengo, El Vez, Butthole Surfers and more. Philly-based punk band The Dead Milkmen even immortalized it in song. “Tacoland, it’s a panacea,” the tune goes. “Tacoland, they’re always glad to see ya.”

Local San Antonio acts also cut their teeth at the anything-goes establishment, and some of those became legends in their own right, including Los #3 Dinners, Sons of Hercules and plenty of the outfits performing at this year’s Ram Jam.

Through its wild reputation and killer shows, Taco Land became one of the longest running — and arguably one of the most consequential — punk venues in the Lone Star State. That is, until it all came violently crashing down.

On June 24, 2005, Ayala and employees “Gypsy Doug” Morgan and Denise “Sunshine” Koger were gunned down during an armed robbery. Koger survived the shooting and identified the suspects during a trial, putting both behind bars.

Exactly two decades since that fateful day, Ayala’s big, brash personality still reverberates in the Alamo City like the feedback from a cheap amplifier.

“Twenty years ago, we lost a true force in our music community,” Fuentes said. “Ram Ayala gave so much to San Antonio’s scene — space to play, gas money to broke bands and a good time you couldn’t buy. I worked with him at Taco Land, saw the magic he made happen, and now, with Jeff Smith, we’re bringing that spirit to the Corn Pound with Ram Jam — raw, real, and loud, just like he’d want it.”

Free (donations accepted), 1-10 p.m. Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29, The Corn Pound, 6336 Montgomery Drive., ticketleap.events/tickets/nightrocker-presents/ram-jam-20.

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This article appears in Jun 12-25, 2025.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.