Nashville West in Tucson?

[Jason Odd]

While researching the Wray brothers (Link Wray, Ray Vernon aka Vernon Wray, Doug Wray and Link's band the Wray Men aka the Raymen) I saw an advert for a venue named the Nashville West in Tucson, and that Link Wray "And Family" were playing there in August of 1971.

Link and Vernon actually moved to Tucson in 1972, leaving brother Doug and their old bandmates behind, that's reasonably well documented.
Just curious if any Forumites have played or run across the Tucson Nashville West, I know that name is familiar, as there was a Fresno Nashville West, another one in El Monte, California.. probably plenty of others around the USA.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers


Jason

[chris ivey]

can't help on the wray bros., but wasn't link a pioneer in distortion/fuzz through damaged speakers?

i played the el monte nashville west and the sacramento nashville west (defunct) and recently the ceres nashville west.

[Jason Odd]

Hi Chris, that's the same Link, with his brothers Doug and Vernon, they actually had a western swing - hillbilly combo Lucky Wray & The Palomino Ranch Hands or Gang.. somesuch, Vernon was Lucky and sang lead. Later on Vernon became solo artist Vernon Ray, and also produced Link's records when he went to rock and roll as Link Wray & His Wray Men (also known as the Raymen over the years).

Mostly Maryland based in the 50s and 1960s, Link and Vernon moved to Arizona in 1972, so the Nashville West gig predates their move and may have been the catalyst for the move.. who knows?

Link swung into a more country-rock, singer-songwriter direction in the early 70s, but revived his destructo-instrumental side again in the decade, he even recorded and toured with neo-rockabilly Robert Gordon.. and the 1980s and 1990s solo records by Link tend to me more harder-rock orientated. Interesting family the Wray clan.

I've done a bit of research on he El Monte Nashville West, Sammy Masters once told me it was previously named the Cimmaron before it became the Nashville West around 1966.. Jimmy Bryant and Sammy used to play there in the mid-60s.
Who did you play with Chris?

Cheers

J.

[Jerry Hayes R.I.P.]

Jason, Jimmy B. used to host the afterhours gig at the Nashville West in El Monte.... I can still see him up there playing guitar with a cigarette stuck between the middle and ring fingers of his right hand while he played..... JH in Va.

[Michael Johnstone]

Mostly Maryland based in the 50s and 1960s, Link and Vernon moved to Arizona in 1972

I was living in Silver Spring,Maryland in 1970-71 and playing guitar on the 14th street strip in D.C.as well as the Georgetown scene with a rock fusion band called "Rooth". During that time I recorded at Ray Vernon's studio which was a converted chicken coop at a farm in rural Maryland replete with chickens running around and that was a hoot.I also did a couple east coast mini tours opening for Link Wray in the mid 60s. He and his brother were great people and that whole Maryland/D.C./Virginia mid-atlantic coast music scene was pretty happening in those days.There were lotsa great guitar players around including Gatton and Buchannon who I ran around with a bit as well.I even subbed for Roy in his own band "The Snakestretchers" a couple times.