The Joe Anthony Project seeks to acquire, preserve, and present the historical memories, artifacts, and memorabilia of San Antonio’s hard rock and heavy metal community from the 1960s to 2015.
From the beginning, finding a dedicated home for this material has been an a priority of the project. The University of Texas at San Antonio – Institute of Texan Cultures has generously agreed to hold, maintain, and preserve the digital and physical collections this project hopes to procure. Here they will be held indefinitely, open for research to all interested parties, and preserved according to archival standards.
While many of the physical manifestations of this music community have deteriorated or disappeared over the years, a strong sense of pride and passion remains. An active Facebook page facilitates an online community, while compilations of music playlists on YouTube ensure the music will never die. Building upon these existing resources, the project hopes to organize and deepen the understanding of San Antonio’s unique role in the hard rock and heavy metal world.
The Joe Anthony Project seeks to accumulate oral histories from participants broadly speaking – musicians, members of the media, and fans. These will be recorded and transcribed, with their final contents posted online for widespread and easy access. Collections of artifacts and memorabilia, from shows, radio stations, promotional events, will be also scanned and uploaded as available images. Relevant documents must be replicated and a definitive timeline or chronology established. Attention to concert venues and the history of musical places is another priority of the project.
Cumulatively over time, the project will become a repository that not only preserves the experience of the individual but that of the community as a whole, placing it in a broader geographical, historical, and cultural context.
A further long term goal of the project will be to raise awareness of San Antonio’s contributions to hard rock and heavy metal to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The Hall of Fame has small sections dedicated to hard rock and heavy metal, as well as the history of rock ‘n’ roll radio. San Antonio is absent from any of those discussions and such a rectification should be an eventual priority of the project.
If you have any questions or wish to participate in this project please do not hesitate to reach out and connect.