This Week in Texas Music History is brought to you by Brane Audio!
By Jason Mellard from the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University.
The month of May marks the 20-year anniversary of End of an Ear Records, one of Austin’s longest-standing and most musically experimental record stores. Co-owners Dan Plunkett and Blake Carlisle opened the store’s first location on South First Street in 2005 and later relocated to its current home on Clawson at Ben White. Named after a song by composer and Soft Machine percussionist Robert Wyatt, End of an Ear prides itself on stocking the more adventurous contemporary and vintage sounds available on record, from rare punk singles to the work of Houston avant-garde composer Pauline Oliveros and experimental music from all corners.
The shop has always been a hotspot for in-store performances and events and has featured locals like Windsor for the Derby and Knife in the Water, indie vets Yo La Tengo, and with a knack for catching major stars early in their careers like Japanese Breakfast and Phoebe Bridgers. Recent in-store events have included local legends the Butthole Surfers signing copies of a new book and San Benito’s Charley Crockett promoting another new release in his signature honky-tonk style. Vintage stereo equipment, movie posters, and concert flyers accompany the stacks of vinyl. And, the store’s End of an Ear label has released records by Texas outsiders from Dallas punk provocateurs Stick Men with Ray Guns to outlaw poet Blaze Foley. End of an Ear joins the growing roster of sites like the Austin Record Convention, Waterloo Records, and so many more making Austin an essential destination for record collectors in the age of the vinyl revival.
