Vanity Fair El Paso: The Best Little Music City in Texas
El Paso has become a favored destination for musicians of all stripes. Andi Teran captures the sound of the border.
Published March 2009
Article Link: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/culture/2009/03/26/the-best-little-music-city-in-texas.html
At the close of another South by Southwest festival, Austin continues to stake its claim as Texas's music capital; however, a quiet challenge is being mounted all the way across the Lone Star State in El Paso, the rough-and-tumble border city just across the Rio Grande from the manufacturing and drug-trafficking hub of Ciudad Juárez. Whether it's because of the abundant sunshine, tequila-soaked nightlife, or desperado folklore, musicians have embraced the "Sun City" and its live-and-let-live mentality. "There's a weird charm to this place that is very outlaw," says Al Jourgensen, the father of American industrial metal and former lead singer of Ministry. "No one asks questions because they all have a history and a past--and so do you."