Houston Musical Roots: Oral Histories and Transcripts
From L-R: Roberto Rodriguez III, Felipe Galvan, Nick Gaitan, and Isaac Rodriguez
Mary Manning conducted comprehensive interviews with Felipe Galvan, Nick Gaitan, Roberto Rodriguez III, and Isaac Rodriguez over four years (2015-2019). The recorded discussions focused on their early lives and musical exposure, their careers, how their involvement in and relationship to the music has evolved, how they have been able to make a living through music, and how they support each other—professionally and as friends. These musicians serve as key oral historical sources to better understand the recent evolution of roots music in Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast region.
Collections in this community
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Articles and publications
This collection gathers outputs generated as a result of this project -
Felipe Galvan
Felipe Galvan is a first-generation Texas Mexican, born in Pharr, a border town across from Reynosa, Mexico, the city where his parents and older siblings were born. Galvan’s parents met as performers in traveling music ... -
Isaac Rodriguez
Isaac Rodriguez is a multi-generation, proud Tejano and music historian whose interviews reveal a deep understanding of la onda, Chicano soul, and Tejano, particularly in the Houston area. In 2014, he and Nick Gaitan began ... -
Nick Gaitan
Nick Gaitan was born in Houston, Texas, on December 11, 1979, and grew up in the East End's Pecan Park neighborhood. Mexican American and American music, including soul and rock, filled Gaitan's childhood. In 2006, Gaitan ... -
Roberto Rodriguez III
Born in Houston, Texas, on April 30, 1984, Roberto Rodriguez III grew up in Houston's Second Ward, where he and his family still reside. Rodriguez's mother was born in Mexico, and his father was born in Houston. Growing ...
Recent Submissions
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Houston Roots and the Texas Gulf Coast Sound Embodied in the Music of Los Skarnales and Nick Gaitan & the Umbrella Man
(Journal of Texas Music History, 2021)Houston is an industrial city, the home of the Ship Channel, and the region’s petrochemical industry hub since the early 20th century. Houston has historically attracted those looking for work who brought with them music ... -
Roberto Rodriguez III Interview Two Transcript
(2017-08-22) -
Roberto Rodriguez III Interview Two
(2017-08-22) -
Roberto Rodriguez III Interview One Transcript
(2015-06-21) -
Roberto Rodriguez III Interview One
(2015-06-21) -
Nick Gaitain Interview Two
(2017-09-21) -
Nick Gaitan Interveiw One
(2015-08-09) -
Isaac Rodriguez Interview Two
(2017-09-23) -
Isaac Rodriguez Interview One
(2017-04-02) -
Felipe Galvan Interview Transcript
(2018-05-02) -
Felipe Galvan Interview
(2018-05-02) -
Nick Gaitain Interview Two Transcript
(2017-09-21) -
Nick Gaitain Interview One Transcript
(2015-08-09) -
Isaac Rodriguez Interview Two Transcript
(2017-09-23) -
Isaac Rodriguez Interview One Transcript
(2017-04-02)