The Truth About Claude Morgan by Kurt Otto

S.A. News, Aug. 2-16, 1990, "The Fringes Of S.A."

Claude Morgan - Rock musician & Texadelic artist

If you never caught a "Blast" gig during the 1980's, then you missed one of the true artistic psycho/spiritual happenings of the decade. Although the Blast is no more, San Antonio's Claude Morgan is still alive and kicking.

A cross between P. T. Barnum, Frank Zappa, and Robin Williams, Claude has provided this city with a form of entertainment that is impossible to describe, and even harder to live without. Playing primarily original tunes (having written over 3,000 songs to date), Claude and his bands, the Blast, the New Hix, and most recently the Hippie Cows (moo-sic you've never heard before), are known for cranking out music combining unstoppable rhythms (by Steve "GoGo" Hartwell), throbbing bass lines (courtesy of Robert "Robar" Adams), sci-fi inspired synthesizer (provided by Kurt Otto), and insanely humorous lyrics, with inspiring, original guitar parts (by Claude Morgan).

Claude's "stream-of-consciousness" approach allows for spontaneity that is almost extinct in today's world of programmed music. I'll never forget the night at Beauregard's when, during the break, Claude exchanged clothes with a leisure-suit clad member of the audience. When the band took the stage, the fan, now "Claude", got up on stage and began playing with the band while the leisure-suited Claude played the role of the drunk and obnoxious fan, heckling the band and dancing with his "wife". This bizarre scene culminated with the pair changing back to their original attire onstage, behind a towel in the middle of a song! This was only one night... there are hundreds of other stories like this. If you get a chance to see Claude Morgan (look for info about S. A. News' upcoming 1st anniversary party), do it. You shouldn't miss San Antonio's best kept musical secret.

text by Lynn Stokes - photo by Dean Jones

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