Ram

Ram, originally uploaded by H. Michael karshis.

We miss you already! Thanks to the kids at Grackle Monday for the photo. Kaw Kaw

Do It For Ram.

WHAT'S YOUR STORY?

Got your own classic or funny Tacoland story like the ones below?

Proove it!

What about an old flyer, photo, video or one of a kind Tacoland keepsake?

Share it!

Simply leave a comment in the comment section or email me.

Share it with Stories from The House Of Ram and we'll not only make sure you get it back, we'll give you credit on the web site, in the book and on the Official Stories from The House Of Ram DVD. And, to say thanks for sharing (because without you, this whole project would totally suck!) we're gonna make sure you get a free copy of the book and some other surprises that are in the works.

Proceeds will benefit The Tree or a yet to be determined benefactor, one that would make Ram proud.

So go for it.

Don't be a Pussy.

Do It for Ram.

Send your story via the comments section of this site.

Or send me an email regarding any of the above mentioned photos, flyers, videos or any other Tacoland ephemera and we'll figure out a way to get it up on this little tribute to Ram site.

Attention: (TacoLand) hmk@sharkthang.com

If you want your stuff back and credit given where' it's due, place your stuff in an envelope, box or anything self contained that's got your name, email and contact information on it.

Remember, the more clearly you write, the faster this stuff will get archived and returned. Plus, writing clearly will greatly increase the chances of you ever seeing your shit again!

Keep in mind that we'll be categorically archiving everything digitally by year along with subcategories for Stories, Flyers, Photos, Jokes, The Gospel According To Ram, History, MP3 Downloads of Tacoland performances, and yes, updates on what's up with The Tree and the Sacred Ground on which it stands.

Thanks in advance for everyones contributions to this project. Your help, comments, suggestions and advice are totally welcome - email me and I'll be in touch as soon as possible. I can't do this alone - I just wanted to plant the seed and pay my respects to a good man and a great human being, Ramiro "Ram" Ayala. San Antonio lost a little part of it's soul on the morning of June 24, 2005. Harshing everyone's Spurs buzz to boot.

White Heat Rocks Taco Land

The Needles and The Crack Rock.

True Stories From Taco Land

By Yawn Blog

Place: Tacoland
When: mid-90's
Who's Playing: The Needles
Ram Factor: It Ain't That Kind Of Club


Some band was playing - I always hated the sound in there and had no interest in rock and roll by my late twenties, so I always sat outside drinking $1.50 beer on the patio. Now that was something that I was interested in. Tito, on the other hand, really enjoyed checking out the bands. The relaxed atmosphere really facilitated a lot of one-on-one conversations with the bands in between sets.

The night some band The Needles were playing I was really wanting a crack rock and they were really wanting to sell me a Needles CD. I think they started at $10 and I said no, that’s all the money I had, so they lowered it to $7. Hmmm… CD or crack rock.“Hey Tito, can I borrow $7?” I asked.“Sure.” Okay, so I pass Tito’s $7 to the guy and slip over to the corner of the patio where there’s a vato on a 10-speed bike.“Oye amigo - tienes piedrita?” I asked.“Cuanta?” he replied.“Como cinco, diez- si tienes?” “Claro,” he replied, pulling a $5 nugget out of his snap-up western style shirt and charging me $10.“Gracias amigo.”

I put the rock in the end of my cigarette and lit it slow, trying to maximize the effects of the $5 rock for which I had just paid $10. Then I overhear that punk from The Needles selling his lousy CD for $5 to some other guy after he tried to charge me $10 and worked it down to $7. I didn’t bother to say anything to him.

That’s Tacoland for you.

Ram Jam 2

Tomorrow night, Saturday April 14th, Ram Jam 2 at Sam's Burger Joint

The Second annual gathering of the Taco Land tribe is designed to celebrate the life of the Godfather, the late, great Ram Ayala.

There'll be music from punk to folk to combinations thereof, including Big Drag, Sons of Hercules, Los Mescaleros with Suzy Bravo, Los #3 Dinners, Snowbyrd, The Tombstones, Texacala Jones & Her T.J. Hookers, Hyperbubble, Davy Jones & The Ideals and Chrissy Flatt & Eric Hisaw.

Everyone on the bill honed their chops, social skills and liquor-holding talents at the House of Ram.

Proceeds from the Ram Jam benefit San Antonio College radio station KSYM.

Ram's Killer Gets Death Penalty

A jury this evening decided Joseph Gamboa should receive the death penalty for the 2005 slayings at Taco Land, a bar that was a mainstay on the city's underground music scene.

The 379th District Court jury returned its verdict after more than five hours of deliberations, finding that Gamboa was a continuing threat to society and that there were no mitigating circumstances to spare his life. Jurors also found that he intentionally caused the deaths.

The same jury last week convicted Gamboa, 24, of capital murder in the June 24, 2005, shootings and robbery that killed bar owner Ramiro "Ram" Ayala, 72, and doorman Douglas "Gypsy Doug" Morgan, 53. Bartender Denise "Sunshine" Koger, 41, was shot but survived.

The popular bar and music spot closed after the slayings.

Prosecutors said Gamboa was the gunman in the shootings.

A co-defendant, Jose Najera, 31, is awaiting trial.

Elizabeth Allen for the Express-News

Life or Death?

By Elizabeth Allen at the Express-News

A jury today is deliberating whether Joseph Gamboa should live or die for the 2005 slayings during a robbery at Taco Land, a bar that was a mainstay on the city's underground music scene.
Jurors received the case at about 12:45 p.m. after attorneys for the state and defense presented their final arguments in 379th District Court.

The same jury last week convicted Gamboa, 24, in the June 24, 2005 shootings that killed bar owner Ramiro "Ram" Ayala, 72, and doorman Douglas "Gypsy Doug" Morgan, 53. Bartender Denise "Sunshine" Koger, 41, was shot but survived.

The popular bar and music spot closed after the slayings.

Prosecutors contend Gamboa was the gunman in the shooting.

Jurors only have two sentencing options for Gamboa -- life in prison or the death penalty.

A co-defendant, Jose Najera, 31, is awaiting trial.

The Trial Begins

Man Accused Of Double Slaying In Bar Goes On Trial
Pictured above is Trigger Pussy Joseph Gamboa.

The only employee who survived a fatal shooting and robbery at a nightclub near downtown testified Friday in a capital murder trial.

Denise Koger identified Joseph Gamboa in court as the man who fatally wounded Ram Ayala, the owner of Taco Land, and Dennis Morgan, a bartender.

Koger testified that after Gamboa shot Ayala and Morgan, he turned the gun on her.

Koger told jurors that despite giving the defendant money, he still shot her.

Koger survived the shooting, but Ayala died at the scene and Morgan died 19 days later in the hospital.

Gamboa was later arrested in jail, where he was being held on charges of pulling a similar robbery two days after the bar killings.

Jurors being picked in Taco Land case

Jury selection began Friday in the capital murder trial of Joseph Gamboa, 24, accused in the 2005 slayings of Taco Land owner Ramiro "Ram" Ayala and doorman Douglas Morgan, as well as the shooting of bartender Denise Koger.

Gamboa and Jose Najera, 30, were both charged about two weeks after the robbery at the bar that June 24. Gamboa was already in jail, arrested in connection with a South Side shooting spree that took place days after the Taco Land slayings.

Najera was arrested after police acted on an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers. Witnesses identified both men from photo lineups.

Morgan, 53, also known as "Gypsy," died more than two weeks after the gunshot wound to his abdomen.

The defendants are each charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of attempted capital murder.

The killings ended the long reign of Taco Land as a mainstay of the local underground music scene. Ayala, 72, had a reputation for gruffness and yet warmth that drew him a substantial base of friends and fans.

Jury selection in 379th District Judge Bert Richardson's court could take up to a month because jurors are interviewed one by one in the capital case.

Najera's trial has not been scheduled.

Thanks To The Express-News

Jury selection begins in Taco Land slayings trial

Jury selection began today in the capital murder trial of Joseph Gamboa, accused in the June 2005 Taco Land slayings of Taco Land owner Ramiro "Ram" Ayala and doorman Douglas Morgan.

Family members closed the popular Grayson Street bar after its iconic 72-year-old owner died. Bartender Denise Koger was also wounded in the robbery.

Jose Najera was also arrested and charged in the shooting.

Jury selection could take up to a month, as jurors in capital murder trials are interviewed one at a time.


Thanks to Elizabeth Allen Express-News Staff Writer

Me & Ram

Rest in peace my friend.

Michael

The Patron Saint Of Taco Land

Photo By: Brian Parrish

The Cliff

Photo By Brian Parrish

I went to the edge. There I stood and looked down.

A Poem For 'Gypsy' Doug Morgan

Doug

Doug was big... wide...
Arms like legs.
Before he came to San Antonio
he worked in a bathtub factory.
He would lift the tubs
from the rack
and load them in the kiln.
When the porcelain was fired
he'd lift them again.
Arms like legs...

He was not that tall
but he was big.
And he had a big heart.
His voice was soft...
His manner was disarming.

Did I tell you he was strong?
He had his weaknesses
but he was strong enough
to overcome them.

He lived for a while
in a shack with a basement
dug by a quarry worker
near Alamo Stadium.

In the 1980s,
he sold mushrooms
to too many people.

In the 1990s,
he almost chopped off his finger
working as a butcher
on St. Mary's Street.
He was that strong.

Did I tell you
he was strong-willed?
He laid down the bottle
when it interfered
with what he wanted to do.

Strong... Gentle... Non-Drinker...
Perfect fit for a doorman
in SA's premiere punk rock club.

Near perfect, I should say...

Ram went down with Taco Land.

Doug, bless his big heart,
held on to life for weeks.

The bullets that would
kill a lesser man right away
gave Doug a slow death.

Ram was a cantankerous character...
ornery owner of Taco Land.
We all loved him.

But Doug was a brother...
I'll miss him forever.

Don Mathis
for 'Gypsy' Doug Morgan

The Entrance

Photo By Brian Parrish

Three Lone Stars

True Stories From Taco Land

By Russell

Place: Tacoland
When: One Night in 2003
Who's Playing: Pillow Of Wrongness
Ram Factor: One-Chinaman Limit

My band was touring through Texas in 2003, and we played a show at Taco Land. As far as I could tell this was the cool place in town to play, despite the lack of a website or answering machine. I did successfully reach someone at the bar on the phone, and booked a monday night at 11:00 P.M., which I was told was when people started coming in there. I called back about 3 weeks later to reconfirm the show, and this crochety-sounding guy with a heavy mexican accent answers the phone. I explain to him that we're a band from L.A. and we booked a show there. He looks at the calendar and says we're not on it. I say we booked it through this woman at the bar, whose name I forget, and he says "she don't work here no more." At this point I'm thinking of saying "thank you" and hanging up, but he says no to worry we could play there. but they don't have a P.A. system. So I look for San Antonio bands online and write to find out if anyone has a P.A. and wants to play with us that night, and sure enough we hook it up.

When we get to SA the first thing we do is spin by the place to check it out. It looked comlpetely abandoned, like it had been closed for 5 years. We were a bit nervous at this point, but decided to go to our hotel, settle in and come back later. Our bassist, Albert, was Korean, and let's just say him and Texas didn't seem to get along that well.

This was our last show of the tour, and he said that he'd just sit in the car until show time, which was 2 hours from then. We told him he was being ridiculous, that there was nothing to worry about, no one was looking at him funny, etc. The rest of us go in, and from first glance were in love. and then we met Ram. probably took 2 or 3 glances to fall in love with him, but here's how it happened. We went up to the bar and ordered 3 Budweisers. He say "Ok, that's a dollar each." Being from LA we were already in heaven. As we're handing over the money, he pulls out 3 Lone Stars from behind the bar, and says "But if you want these, they're free for band members. "We all stare at each other, look back and say "Three Lone Stars!!" This starts the beginning of a very drunken evening.

We go out to the car and get our bassist and tell him to come in cuz everything's fine. He steps foot in the door, and we tell Ram that he's in the band too, so he can get free beer. The first words out of Ram's mouth were "We have a One-Chinaman limit here." Well, I guess he should have stayed in the car after all. It was a priceless moment. In fact there was another woman of Asian descent in the bar, and despite Ram's quip, and several other Asian-related points of humor he exounded upon that night that I won't share.

Ram was making out with aforementioned Asian lady an hour later. We didn't take stage until 12:30 at night on a Monday, and for whatever reason there was water all over the floor by the stage, and it looked like it could easily hit the power strips and amps, so our guitarist grabs a mop and starts soaking it up. It's to date the only gig that we've had to mop the stage before playing due to danger of electrocution. but, again, priceless.

Ram called us pussies a dozen times, gave us stickers saying "Is it too loud for you PUSSY??" and at the end of the night, he took us back by the bar, pulled out a six-pack of Lone Star and says "here, take this for the road. "It would be impossible to forget the one night we spent at Taco Land, and I always figured I'd get back there soon... I guess not. But at least we were there.

I Promise!

photo by Dr. SuaveTone

First Annual Blood Drive August 14, 2005

There will be a memorial service held in memory of Taco Land owner,
Ramiro "Ram" Ayala, on Sunday, August 14th, 2005 starting at 8:30 pm. It
will take place at the historic Josephine Theatre, which is located at 339
W. Josephine Street (at the corner of W. Josephine & N. St. Mary's).

There will be live music by The Infidels, The Rhythm Kings, Los Mescaleros and others, as well as remembrances by many of Ram's friends, family & members of the San Antonio & Austin music community. The event is free & open to the public. All of Ram's friends & fans are invited to attend.

The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center will also be on-hand throughout the evening for a very special Blood Drive. This Memorial Blood Drive will begin at 6:00 pm in front of the Josephine Theatre, and will continue inside the lobby when the doors open at 8:30 pm. The hope is that this drive will generate as many as 100 units of blood for the center, which is currently operating on only a one-day supply. This event will also act as a "blood replacement drive", benefiting our friends Denise "Sunshine" Koger and the late Douglas "Gypsy Doug" Morgan. If there are any outstanding medical expenses for either (or both), the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center will direct a donation for every unit collected that night toward those hospital bills.

In addition to helping to boost the South Texas blood supply at this
critical time, donors will receive a commemorative Memorial
T-Shirt while the supply lasts. This shirt will not be sold or reproduced,
so donors are encouraged to arrive early.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Josephine Theatre on this Sunday, August 14th for this memorial service & celebration of a truly wonderful man's life.

Please help us to spread the word of this event, by forwarding this
to as many friends & fellow members of the music community as
possible.

Thank you
Jerry Clayworth

Graveside Service for Doug Today 2:00

Today at 2 p.m. Aug 3 there will be a graveside service for Doug 'Gypsy" Morgan.
This is open to all family and friends of Doug, at San Jose Burial
Park (out on Mission Rd on the south side).

Cemetery Lot #89
GRU #6, B2b,
S2 Cemetery Lot no. 4407940

God Speed Doug. Say hey to Ram from all of us.

To The Friends of Doug Morgan

Just a quick note to friends of Doug Morgan. From the family a big
hug and thank you so much for making what could have been a very hard
time, into an up lifting occasion. Barbara and George Hecox (Dougs
parents) both expressed what a joy it was to get to meet you all and
how it lifted their hearts to realize that their son Doug was so well
loved.

Doug will remain in San Antonio where his extended family is, He
will be at the San Jose Burial Patk. A grave side service will be
held sometime in the first part of August when Barbara and George get
back down here. It will be open to you each.

I want to express my thanks to you all for being there for Doug
and hope you will continue in community to support Denise (Sunshine)
and the families of Doug and Ram. A memorial service is scheduled for
Ram in August on Sunday the 14th with the place to be announced soon.

PLEASE send this message to anyone you thank should receive it as my
e-mail list is a little short of all the addresses.

Your friend
Claude Butch Morgan

Claude"Butch" Morgan
603 Windy Knoll
Devine,Texas 78016
cell: 210.884.1572
http://www.butchmorgan.com