Zigler Productions – Dallas, Texas
The Story of Concert Promoters David Haig and Mark Gilmore
1983 – Present
1983 – Present
The genesis of Zigler Productions stems from the SOUTH GARLAND HIGH SCHOOL Tech Theatre Department in Garland, Texas 1980-82 and our extraordinary teacher Mrs. Vickie Tapp, teacher and part time lead vocalist with her Texas Tornado guitarist and songwriter husband Mr. Matt Tapp. Matt played along side fellow Texas Tornados Dallas Legends JIMMY WALLACE and BUGS HENDERSON in a local band called the STRATOBLASTERS.
Mrs. Tapp had all the Texas Ticket line "employees" and die hard concert goers in her first period Tech Theatre class which by extension became the spawning ground for various bands and in our case production pursuits. The tech theatre class introduced many of us to the world of stage set design, construction, stage lighting and sound systems followed with long nights of hands on rehearsals with the thrill of capacity attended school assemblies and evening performances of such theatre productions as:
Fiddler on the Roof, The Crucible, Bus Stop and Blithe Spirit but we would also serve as stage crew for other school presentations to include performances of local and national acts: Jimmy Wallace and his band Lynx, whom during the late 1970’s opened for STYX and KANSAS on the national scene. We would also assist with former 1960-70’s variety television stars the SMOTHERS BROTHERS, our very own South Garland Southern Belle drill team Christmas
show, the YOUNG AMERICANS, and regional country/outlaw performer RUSTY WIER whom we would spend some time with several years later. While much of Texas music was more of a blues or country based style later to receive worldwide acclaim through Dallas guitar deity STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN was a style which we appreciated and would later grow to love. Our true love was the pre-MTV heavy metal style of the Second British Invasion of the late 1970’s of such Marshall Amps stack, leather clad, take no prisoner approach of such greats as: UFO, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, and MOTORHEAD along with Germany’s own Panzer Division the SCORPIONS and America’s RIOT from New York.
Lynx Playing at
South Garland High School
South Garland High School
These headlining mega monsters of rock were firmly rooted in the masterful grandfathers of it all: DEEP PURPLE, THIN LIZZY and the one and only BLACK SABBATH. Our focus on the heavy metal/hard rock style can be fully attributed to the Black Sabbath'S MASTER OF REALITY LP and one drummer and coinsurer of natures gift to mankind the incredible Barry Aldridge, the long lost son of BILL WARD.
We often found ourselves on any given night at such venues as: Dallas County Convention Center, Tarrant County Convention Center, Reunion Arena, SMU’s Moody Coliseum, Will Rogers Coliseum, or the famed Cotton Bowl attending many of the TEXXAS WORLD MUSIC FESTIVALS (AKA: THE TEXXAS JAM) of the 70’s and 80’s. We also were part of most any given free concert like KZEW 98 FM sponsored Flag Pole Hill show staring Mobile, Alabama’s Southern Rock boogie band WET WILLIE and the U.K.’s BUDGIE with 50,000 other party goers. Budgie is a band we would find out some years later was influential in an up and coming band we would cross paths down the road METALLICA.
We often found ourselves on any given night at such venues as: Dallas County Convention Center, Tarrant County Convention Center, Reunion Arena, SMU’s Moody Coliseum, Will Rogers Coliseum, or the famed Cotton Bowl attending many of the TEXXAS WORLD MUSIC FESTIVALS (AKA: THE TEXXAS JAM) of the 70’s and 80’s. We also were part of most any given free concert like KZEW 98 FM sponsored Flag Pole Hill show staring Mobile, Alabama’s Southern Rock boogie band WET WILLIE and the U.K.’s BUDGIE with 50,000 other party goers. Budgie is a band we would find out some years later was influential in an up and coming band we would cross paths down the road METALLICA.
The Dallas area had some interesting bands putting out some very good music in a time when garage bands were expected to play lighter copy music if they were to find employment in the local club circuit at the time. The KFWD FM-102, 1977 release “Refined Texas Crude” followed a few years later after the station became KTXQ, Q102 “More Texas Crude” was early radio station backed LP’s featuring local music which opened the door to what would later produce many successful off springs of local talent aimed at leaving their mark on Texas music. There were two bands in particular that hinted at a new direction and I give credit for the inspiration of what the vision of Zigler Productions was established. The first was Garland’s own “BITTER SWEET” featuring RON TAYLOR on vocals later to front a very successful club band Stiff before fronting MCA Recording Artists LILLIAN AXE . Bitter Sweet played copy and original hard rocking heavy metal to packed venues later to be used by Zigler Productions to much the same results. They had the right attitude and approach and our thoughts watching them was that we could enhance the performances of these type bands with our tech theatre skills. We began toying with the idea of doing something more production based and to offer this services to bands as and added dimension i.e. stage show.
Dallas' KFWD FM-102
"REFINED TEXAS CRUDE"
COVER
"REFINED TEXAS CRUDE"
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Dallas' Q102's
"More Texas Crude"
Cover
"More Texas Crude"
Cover
