December 17, 2025

The Days of Buddy Magazine | Kirby Warnock

1 hour

Mike Rhyner and Grubes welcome Kirby Warnock—Texas music historian, documentary filmmaker, former Buddy Magazine guy, current West Texas ranch resident, and (because why not) candidate for Pecos County Judge, aka “the law west of the Pecos.”

From there, it turns into a love letter to the era when Dallas actually had a real music scene (yes, kids, before the algorithm), with deep dives into Kirby’s documentaries—especially Jimmy & Stevie Ray Vaughan: Brothers and Blues—plus stories about the Vaughn brothers being so talented it felt like watching someone play a guitar you don’t even recognize anymore.

There’s also a mini museum tour of legendary photos (Clapton, Buffett, Frampton, Joan Jett, Stevie at Lee Park), a reminder that Stoney Burns was… a lot, and a mid-show read that gently suggests you’re probably walking around in pain because time is undefeated.

History, music nerd joy, Dallas nostalgia, and Rhyner being Rhyner—this one’s a heater.

CHAPTERS

00:00:04 – Lightning Strike Opening: Nature Joins the Podcast

00:00:43 – Welcome to Your Dark Companion (Episode 179) + Cold Day in Dallas

00:01:37 – Meet Kirby Warnock: Music Scene Veteran, Hard to Describe (In a Good Way)

00:03:20 – Kirby’s Current Life: Ranch Living + Running for Pecos County Judge

00:03:55 – Kirby’s Documentaries: From Giant to Texas Music History

00:04:43 – The Vaughn Brothers Doc: Why It’s Kirby’s Favorite

00:05:40 – “Driven” vs “Gifted”: What Made Jimmy & Stevie Different

00:06:54 – When Did Kirby First See Them? + Rhyner’s Old Band Story

00:08:41 – No Day Jobs, No Plan B: Music or Bust

00:09:38 – Before Social Media: Handbills, Word of Mouth, and Actually Leaving the House

00:10:42 – The First Jimmy Vaughan Moment: Thunderbirds at the Chili Parlor

00:11:39 – Better Than Clapton? (And Why That’s Not Crazy)

00:12:51 – The Vaughn Brothers as Showmen + Where the Showmanship Came From

00:13:41 – Trinity River Bottoms, Guthrie’s, and Seeing the Blues Where It Lived

00:15:18 – The Doc’s Big Flex: Clapton, Jackson Browne, Nile Rodgers, Billy Gibbons On Camera

00:19:00 – When Dallas Rocked: Why Dallas Deserves the Credit

00:21:04 – Freddie King: The Guitar Family Tree Argument (And It Works)

00:23:14 – Border Bandits: The Dark Texas Rangers Story That Actually Checked Out

00:25:41 – Mid-Show Read: CBD House of Healing (Because Your Knees Exist)

00:28:32 – Polyphonic Spree Holiday Extravaganza Plug + Bring Toys & Canned Goods

00:31:11 – West Texas Life: No Traffic, 80 MPH Speed Limits, and One Walmart

00:33:08 – “Go See It”: The Real Texas People Forget Exists

00:35:14 – Why Kirby Moved West: Childhood Ranch Life + TV Western Dreams (But Real)

00:37:13 – Stoney Burns: Buddy Magazine, Chaos Energy, and Dallas in the 60s

00:39:26 – The Marijuana Felony Era: 10 Years and a Day for Basically Nothing

00:44:11 – Kirby’s Photo Vault: Clapton, Buffett, Frampton + Dallas Was the Hangout Spot

00:48:03 – Peaches Records, Zoo Remotes, and the Lost Art of Killing Time in Record Stores

00:49:11 – Stevie at Lee Park: Free Shows and Watching Greatness Before It Hit

00:52:08 – Return to Giant: Sold to Warner Bros… and Trapped on a DVD Forever

00:56:34 – Promoting the Vaughn Brothers Film + The Nightmare of Music Clearances

00:58:28 – “You’re a Grinder”: Wrap-Up, Thanks, and the Viral Begging (With Love)

00:59:45 – Pants Off, Show Over: The Official Sendoff

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By Mike Rhyner

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