Ramones mural permanently replaces front window at San Antonio's The Mix

Prolific muralist Nik Soupé — aka "Soup" — has added a new creation depicting influential punk group the Ramones to the front of San Antonio music venue The Mix.

The mural went up overnight in late July at the long-running St. Mary's Strip nightspot, where a window had been smashed before being boarded over.

"An Edgar got his head bashed through the window," explained Andrew Gonzales, The Mix's general manager.

Two men got into an altercation outside the club around 3 a.m. one night while staff was closing up, according to Gonzales. The sound of shattering glass drew their attention to the after-hours brawl outside.

At that point, the window had been broken so many times The Mix's owners decided they were done replacing it. Believe it or not, the first time the window came crashing down was during a slam poetry event — also, coincidentally, Gonzales's first shift at the bar.

The alleged Edgar brawl was the last straw. When Soup arrived at his regular haunt and asked about the boarded-up window, management said they'd actually been meaning to approach him about a permanent solution.

Soup saw the wooden panels as the perfect framework for a mural depicting the Ramones, as pictured on the band's self-titled debut album. For the album cover, the leather-jacketed quartet was photographed leaning against a NYC brick wall by Punk magazine's Roberta Bayley.

The 1976 album features such iconic tracks as "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Beat on the Brat." Though it didn't achieve commercial success at the time, the release remains one of punk's foundational works, and it's routinely ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time.

"The Ramones are one of those bands who have staying power," Soup said. "Even right now I'm getting chills thinking about it."

That's not the only artwork Soup is responsible for at The Mix. Inside the venue, he created a mural of Blondie's Debbie Harry, and he also plans to paint a mural of Joy Division's Ian Curtis inside within the next few weeks.

The murals are part of Soup's "Rocker" series, some of which he produced as street art and others on canvas. David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead are also part of the collection. The Lemmy piece was originally produced on canvas and purchased by a private collector. Now, Soup plans to recreate it as a mural at The Mix.

Soup is responsible for other musical murals up and down the Strip, including one featuring The Cure's Robert Smith at The Amp Room. He also has plans for other projects around the nightlife hotspot.

As part of the vision, Soup intends to paint over his mural of the Beastie Boys at Paper Tiger which, he acknowledges, "is going to break some hearts." In its place, he plans to pay tribute to local musicians including Chris Smart from Mechanical Walking Robot Boy, Nicky Diamonds of Lonely Horse, ubiquitous drummer Ken Robinson and bandleader-SA music historian Eduardo Hernandez of Eddie & The Valiants.

"A lot of people don't get the recognition they deserve," Soup said.