April 10-16 was Burger Week in Chattanooga. This year 28 eateries put forth their best burger for judging. Thursday, Karen and I were sampling the Ball Park Burger, an 8oz Angus Patty with Onions, Jalapeños, Crackerjack-Crusted Brioche Bun, Seasoned Tortilla Strips, Nacho Cheese, Hotdog Chili, and Fried Angry Pickles topped with an Andouille Corndog when we met Mike Fackler using a laptop next to us at the bar. Turned out that Mike worked for Jimmie Vaughan who was playing at Chattanooga’s Walker Theatre the next day. Karen and I are huge Jimmie Vaughan fans and we talked with Mike about great guitar players, concerts we’d seen and the book his father wrote The Green Apple Tree. Mike gave us tickets for Friday’s show and after-show backstage passes. Wow.
Jimmie is touring with the Tilt-A-Whirl Band, which has a righteous horn section. The last time I saw Jimmie live was the late 70s on Lower Greenville in Dallas, Texas. Stevie Ray surprised his big brother on stage that night and they blew the roof off the place. Karen and I also saw Jimmie with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, ZZ Top and The Stones at the Cotton Bowl.
The Walker Theatre is an 851-seat venue upstairs at Chattanooga’s Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium. Jimmie still puts on a great show. If you didn’t grow up in Texas, you might not be familiar with Texas Blues. Check out the documentary: Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan: Brothers in Blues.
Backstage after the show, Karen and I were the only guests. We got to meet Jimmie’s wife Robin while we waited for Jimmie to return from signing merchandise. Robin told us about managing concert tours for Buddy Guy and B.B. King. Buddy and Robin shared a drink before each show and one night she was on the phone with her boss when the show started. Buddy sent word that it was bad luck to go on without the drink with Robin. When they found her, she told her boss, “I have to go have a drink with Buddy or he won’t start the show.” Her boss replied, “Glad to hear you’re working so hard.”
After signing my favorite Fabulous Thunderbirds CD, “Girls Go Wild” Jimmie told me about his father who gave him his first guitar and used to take him and Stevie Ray to play juke joints in Oak Cliff when they were teenagers. There were no sound systems back then and the teenage boys plugged their guitars into the juke box and played through its speakers. Four-time Grammy winner Jimmie Vaughn has come a long way from humble beginnings.
Jimmie and Robin Vaughan are two of the nicest people I’ve ever met. They told great stories and made our after-show visit wonderful. Thanks, Mike for making meeting the Vaughans possible.