San Antonio rock arts-and-retail space The Corn Pound opens this weekend with live music, exhibits

click to enlarge Flagship Records is one of the businesses operating at the new Corn-Pound facility. - Courtesy Photo / The Corn Pound
Courtesy Photo / The Corn Pound
Flagship Records is one of the businesses operating at the new Corn-Pound facility.
Cowpunk musician and Saustex Records honcho Jeff Smith is trying on yet another ten-gallon hat: that of real-estate impresario.

Smith, frontman for the Hickoids, will hold a weekend-long grand opening for The Corn Pound, a Windcrest space he bills as a "new arts facility and retail space serving San Antonio's underground rock 'n' roll community." Those familiar with the Hickoids know that corn features prominently in the band's aesthetic, including the names of releases such as We're In It for the Corn.

The "arts facility" part of The Corn Pound applies because it houses Jett Bass Studio, a multi-track recording facility that includes hourly rehearsal spaces. Tex Pop In Exile, a nonprofit preserving San Antonio music history, and gallery space Fourth Wall Broken also occupy the building, as do offices for the High Voltage Music Program, Wacky Souvenir Lathe Cuts and Smith's Saustex Records.

click to enlarge The Corn Pound is located in Windcrest. - Courtesy Photo / The Corn Pound
Courtesy Photo / The Corn Pound
The Corn Pound is located in Windcrest.
  As for the "retail" part, the compound is home to Flagship Records, a shop focused on '70s, '80s and '90s punk and underground vinyl and merchandise, along with vintage clothing boutique Vivintage Threads.

Coinciding with the opening, Tex Pop In Exile will feature the exhibit "Blame It on the Beatles," which highlights the Alamo City's '60s and '70s garage rock scene. Fourth Wall Broken will open a show of works by Ed Hamell, best known for his folk-punk musical alter ego Hamell on Trial.

click to enlarge San Antonio musician Harvey McLaughlin is among the performers christening The Corn Pound this weekend. - Oscar Moreno
Oscar Moreno
San Antonio musician Harvey McLaughlin is among the performers christening The Corn Pound this weekend.
And, as to be expected, Smith has booked musical entertainment for the Friday, March 4-Sunday, March 6 opening ceremonies. The free performances include:
  • San Antonio piano madman Harvey McLaughlin on Friday at 7 p.m.
  • Hamell on Trial, rowdy Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jack Shit and pop-flavored country folk performer Bill Wise on Saturday at 4 p.m.
  • Long-running Alamo City Tex-Mex garage rock outfit The Krayolas on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Corn-Pound is located at 6336 Montgomery Drive.

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Sanford Nowlin

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current.

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