Hats Gargantuan And A Big Hats Off to The Razz

 June 7, 2025

   Quite a few people (read that easterners) are not aware that the cowboy hat went through a Gargantuan Phase in the 1920s. Looking back it seems pretty obvious to me it was a direct reflection—or infection—of the Mexican Revolution where the ballooning sugarloaf style inspired by Indio vaqueros, hit its, ahem, peak around 1918-20. So, along the border, especially in Texas, the American cowboy hat started to expand and emulate the Mexican sugarloaf, until you get this look.

Texas Cowboy Hat Gargantuan Style

(1920s rodeo star)

   Speaking of Gargantuan Cowboys we know and love. . .

Big Hats Small Towns

We're setting up for next Tuesday's show at Sharlot Hall with the 66 Kids and here is a segment on small towns we did last year that I love:

"You know you’re in a small town when you dial a wrong telephone number and wind up talking to someone for 30 minutes anyway, or when you move across town and don’t have to leave a forwarding address. A small town is where everybody knows who the father of the pups is, and everybody whose checks are good and whose husbands aren’t."

—Marshall Trimble, riffing on his hometown of Ashfork

The Razz

So last year when the Razz Band was packing to go up the hill to Prescott for a big band gig. Jack Alves and Rob Mathiasch met me in our driveway to load up. Kathy came out just in time to hear me and Jack talking about how long we have done this and he said, "I don't know the year but our first gig was at the Westward Ho and Wonderful Russ got in a fist fight with David Knotter." To which I said, "Well, that would make it December 17, 1977." To which Jack said, "Wow! How did you remember the exact date?" And I said, "Because that was my first date with Kathy Radina." And Jack looked at Kathy and said something like how does it feel to be with a guy in a band after all these years and Kathy said, "I've moved on." Yes, that is a tad cold, but hilarious at the same time. She's moved on from going to hear old geezers play the same songs they played 45 years ago. Can you blame her? Anyway, fast forward to this week and I found an old photo I took of Kathy around that same time in Tucson and I thought it would make a cool birthday card, so I sent it to Dan The Man with the saying—"I've moved on," and, of course, he had to tweak that and here's where we ended up. . .

Kathy Sue as Sue, in Tucson, 1978

"There are 14 muscles activated when you pour a cup of coffee. Fitness is my passion!"

—Kathy Sue Radina, born on this day in 1950