Free Republic

In 2007, 1,802 Germans played “Smoke On the Water” in unison to enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest recorded guitar ensemble. That record was topped Sunday afternoon at Luckenbach, when 1,859 pickers played “Luckenbach, Texas” and “This Land Is Your Land.” 1,859 guitar players in one spot- and it wasn’t an Eric Johnson concert! The “Pickin’ For the Record” event was organized by the Voices of a Grateful Nation, a support group for American soldiers and veterans, whose Welcome Home Project was the beneficiary. Pickers paid $10 each, but they received a t-shirt commemorating their participation....

Two very different Texas institutions are set to spar over an image almost as seminal as the state flag. Last month, Red River punk/garage nexus Beerland received a notice from attorneys for cosmic cowboy shrine Luckenbach, informing them Luckenbach considered Beerland's logo an infringement on their trademark. Owner Randall Stockton begs to differ, saying the star-in-oval design – perhaps you've also seen it representing Lone Star Beer, the Lone Star Cafe, and Jerry Jeff Walker – should belong to nobody; or, rather, that it belongs to all Texans. "There's just so many people who affiliate themselves with Texas that use...

It's 2, maybe 3 a.m. and I'm in the passenger seat of Sam Lewis' old brown van as we hurtle toward Terlingua. We wander across the center stripe and back and back again - Sam's not near as worried about it as I am. Sensing my discomfort, Sam says, ''Oh, I just kind of aim this thing down the road.'' And he does, not steering as much as giving the steering wheel a slap every now and then when we appear to be on the verge of disaster. I'm reassured by the thought that Sam might have a few armadillos...