"East of the Texas Hill Country in Austin, there's a place that just won't let you go home hungry. It's called Threadgill's, and here you might find yourself behind a great big chicken fried steak, a mountain of red beans and rice, or even a microphone. So if you go, bring your appetite for a good time and your Visa card, because Threadgill's might let you take the stage but they won't take American Express." That 1994 Visa commercial finally let the rest of the country in on Austin's best kept secret. The "Live music capital of the world" comes by its title honestly, with its own network of music stars who make a comfortable living by staying close to home, and with its ability to attract established and developing national acts to work, record and perform there.

Yet, in a town where dozens of live bands play downtown in cool, smoke-filled clubs every night of the week, waiting for a record deal, there is a quiet musical tradition that plays out every Wednesday night, without pretension, performance posturing, nor even any particular "I'm-here-to-be-discovered" ambition. It happens 'bout suppertime in the homey, chicken-fried steak atmosphere of Threadgill's Restaurant. Each week, the Threadgill's Troubadours, led by Champ Hood and Marvin Dykhuis, play host to a series of folksingers, bluegrass pickers, country purists and other music hopefuls who just want to share a few songs with an audience that'll actually pay attention. Every traditional style is well represented here on any given week; blues, folk, country, whatever. You're not likely to notice any obvious transition, the artists, both the regulars and guests, play music that's timeless, pure and universal.

Threadgill's carries with it a rich musical heritage dating back to 1933. That's when young Kenneth Threadgill acquired Travis County Beer License #01 for his Gulf gas station (on the Dallas Highway just north of Austin). That license took him out of the gas business and into the bar business. For many years, a Wednesday night hootenanny took place at Threadgill's little joint, where anyone with a guitar and a notion to sing could join in the festivities. "I really did like what went on here, and what went on here was truly bizarre by any ordinary retail standards," remembers Eddie Wilson, today's owner of Threadgill's, who hung out at the joint when he was a kid. "What went on in that little service station, front room, in the '60s, was as unusual and bizarre a piece of retail as I ever saw anywhere. It was a teeny weeny jammed-up little piece of weirdness here, where you saw people passing handfuls of dollar bills and change through a crowd up to the bar, and then passing the beers back over their heads, and people would pass the money. You just didn't see that very many places."

In 1962, a young Port Arthur woman with an amazingly powerful voice named Janis Joplin came to Austin to attend the University. She quickly became a regular at the Wednesday night sessions where her bluesy singing style fit right in. She'd also found a friend in Kenneth Threadgill, the music loving proprietor who encouraged the sessions in that unlikely place, and was himself quite a yodeler. In fact, after closing his gas station in 1974, the sixty five year-old Threadgill traveled the country performing his traditional tunes in clubs. Becoming something of a sensation, not just for his musical talent, but for his role as the true founding father of Austin's healthy heart music scene.

The place sat empty for the rest of the '70s on what was by then North Lamar Blvd., with one phrase of spray-painted graffiti on the front: Janis Sang Here. "That's part of what helped me make the decision to come out in this terrible location to try to build a restaurant," recalls Eddie Wilson. "I had the menu that I wanted, American food Southern style. I was looking for a place to do it. Then suddenly, Kenneth went "Hell, why not my place" It's a landmark. It's a terrible neighborhood for a retail venture, but..."

Wilson already knew a little about placing a retail venture serving food, beer and music in an offbeat location as he'd spent most of the '70s as manager and owner of the legendary Armadillo World Headquarters. A South Austin concert hall located in a converted National Guard armory behind a skating rink, the Armadillo hosted thousands of musical acts during the '70s before shutting its doors on the last day of 1980, with Mr. Threadgill as one of the performers on that last New Year's Eve. Wilson had left the 'Dillo in 1976, and in a weird coincidence, he reopened Threadgill's on the first day of 1981. The Wednesday night tradition was started anew, but upon Mr. Threadgill's death in 1988, was silenced again for a year.

In 1989, it was back with Austin singer/songwriters Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Champ Hood hosting. As the rest of the world finally caught on to Gilmore's remarkable plaintive and trembling voice, he moved on to further spread the word on traditional country (a tall order in the era of the cookie-cutter cowboy). Continuing on for most of the ?90s, Hood, Dykuis and Company, have filled the little room where cars once parked under the awning to gas up. About one hundred folks can get loaded on Threadgill's vegetable plates (free veggie refills) or chicken-fried steaks, while this music, real music, pours out of world class musicians? for free.

Maybe not a profitable disruption of an otherwise successful restaurant, but the opportunity to continue such a noble tradition is symbolically important. The talent on that stage is something that Wilson doesn't take for granted, "They don't get any better than Champ and Margin, that's easy. They sound real good. If it was a chore, then it wouldn't be accurately representative of what the whole thing is supposed to be, and its not a chore. Everything for the restaurant itself is a little problematic. Its not a way to run a restaurant. There's nothing about that that came out of anybody's good sense, [but] because it makes the typical operation a little problematic doesn't mean that its any kind of trouble compared to what its worth." Besides, the restaurant business is doing just fine, thanks largely to that Visa commercial and the healthy and hearty menu. So well, in fact, that Wilson just opened his second restaurant, Threadgill's World Headquarters, just a stone's throw from the site of the original Armadillo. The new South Austin location will also feature live music weekly, except on Monday nights.

The supper sessions follow something of a standard format: about 6:30 p.m. the Troubadours take to the tiny stage (which is only about six inches higher than the floor) and open their set with Jimmie Rodgers' "Waitin" For A Train." The next hour will mostly be traditional standards, but covers of the Beatles" "I Should Have Known Better," and Jim Reeves' "Four Walls" are just as appropriate to the set as country favorites like "Diggy Liggy Lo" or Bob Wills' "Four Or Five Times." The second hour is devoted to various bands and solo guests who usually play several songs each. A lot of these folks have day jobs, but also love the music and, with the help of booker/audioman/Master of Ceremonies Roger Allen, have scheduled a few minutes to sing here. Where Janis sang.

The four Troubadours may not be famous, but, among Austin's music circles they're all recognized as being among the best players around. Champ Hood currently plays in Toni Price's band and recently toured with Lyle Lovett (who'd been influenced by Hood from his days with Austin's legendary Uncle Walt's Band, along with the late Walter Hyatt and country star David Ball). Dykhuis plays in Tish Hinojosa's band, bassist Dave Heath has worked with Robert Earl Keen, and drummer Ron Erwin has played with Junior Brown. These are no musical slackers, but come Wednesday night, they're just traditionalists who like to play what they like to play.

Some of Austin's better known artists, such as Marcia Ball and Jimmy LaFave, might get called up out of the audience to sing, just like that guy in the Visa ad. Again, there's not much rhyme or reason or bias with regards to style. A rockabilly group called Tony and The Tigers may be followed by Dylan-esque singer/songwriter Butch Hancock. Road musicians traveling through, such as bluegrass legend Peter Rowan and the Rowan Brothers or well known songwriters like Chuck Pyle and Ray Wylie Hubbard, may get paid for their real gig in town, but it's singing for their veggie plate at Threadgill's that keeps their music honest with the true spirit of folk tradition.

Between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., the Troubadours again take the stage for a more relaxed, guest-heavy, set that is made-up as it goes along. Usually Sarah Elizabeth Campbell or other Austin performers will join their friends on stage for a few songs. The now fully-fed audience sips its teas and beers, engrossed in what has become something of a religious experience for those still around. Local vocalist Mandy Mercier will inevitably show up before quitting time and blow the crowd away. Her passionate, soulful singing would make Janis, and all others who lived the blues proud.

By 9:30 p.m., it has all ended and the room returns to being tables and chairs in a restaurant servin' home-cookin'. While most bands in Austin's many clubs haven't even taken the stage yet, the magic here is over, to be repeated in one week with a new and different set, when the celebration picks up where it left off.