A San Antonio legend is the focus of a film being shown at The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. That film has a curious title: Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove.
"The movie is a documentary on the life on San Antonio native and musician Doug Sahm," says Jim Mendiola, who directs the San Antonio Cinefestival.
Prolific Austin music writer Joe Nick Patoski created the film.
"His take on Doug Sahm is going to re-contextualize Doug Sahm for an audience that doesn't understand his music or doesn't know a lot about him, but more importantly, his contribution to Texas music," Patoski says.
Doug Sahm was a fiddle-playing child prodigy who moved on to guitar and piano, and finally to much bigger things.
"Yeah, Doug performed from a very early age. He performed with Hank Williams when he was a kid. He performed with all those Chicano R&B guys on the West Side in the early '60s."
One of Sahm's contributions to Texas Music was to take neighborhood music and the players making it, and put them before mainstream audiences. Performers like Flaco Jimenez, who were then used by huge acts like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.
"Doug Sahm introduced Flaco to a mainstream audience that didn't know about Flaco, and now does."
Patoski created the film and will also be at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Thursday night to talk to the audience afterwards.
"Apart from the movie itself, which you will really enjoy, you're going to meet the filmmaker who made it and Joe Nick Patoski is an amazing speaker. He knows a lot about San Antonio. And it'll be a double entertaining evening."
Sahm ended his career in a big way, fronting the Texas Tornadoes along with Freddy Fender, Augie Meyers and Flaco Jimenez.
Find more on this screening here.
