Janice Brooks
From:
Pleasant Gap Pa
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Posted 13 Apr 2007 8:32 am |
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Soul of Armadillo kitchen
Cook, mentor and musicians' friend Jan Beeman dies
By Brad Buchholz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, April 13, 2007
http://www.austin360.com/calendar/content/music/stories/2007/04/13bee...
Jan Beeman was the "earth mama" of the Armadillo World Headquarters
concert hall in the mid-1970s. She was the soul of the Armadillo
kitchen, a mentor to young artists, and "the face of hospitality" to
touring musicians such as Frank Zappa and Van Morrison, who loved the
'Dillo for its home-cooked meals.
"If there was an important meal to cook, Jan cooked it," recalled
Bruce Willenzik, an Armadillo alumnus who now runs the annual
Armadillo Christmas Bazaar. "Whenever Zappa called, he asked for Jan.
She knew all the musicians, their personalities, and tried to give
them what they needed. Lose a button off your shirt? Hold on: Jan will
sew it on for you. You say you need to do some laundry? Jan will fold
it up for you."
http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/02/21/91/image_5291212.jpg
Jan Beeman
1934-2007
Beeman, who died Wednesday in California due to complications from
colon cancer, was almost 40 when she joined the Armadillo staff in the
early 1970s after moving to Austin from San Angelo. She quickly
assumed the role as a mother figure. Her vegetable casserole, with
broccoli and cauliflower, was a signature dish. Jerry Garcia of the
Grateful Dead raved about the shrimp enchiladas created in her kitchen.
"Jan was the calm, centered, mature older adult with common sense and
a lot of heart. I can still see her standing in that kitchen, a big
old spoon in her hand," Willenzik remembered. "She had some gray in
her hair. And in those days, at the Armadillo, gray hair or wrinkles
were as rare as a silk tie or a silk suit."
After leaving the Armadillo in 1977 (it closed three years later),
Beeman founded a production company and managed the Doak Sneed band
and Balcones Fault. Budding Austin musicians, including a young Stevie
Ray Vaughan, sought her advice.
Even after she moved away from Austin in the 1980s, she continued in
her role as a nurturer, working as a nurse in California.
In the words of Armadillo founder Eddie Wilson: "She made a whole lot
of people feel well-cared for." |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 13 Apr 2007 12:00 pm
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Jan was the coolest,Everytime we played the Armadillo Jan would bring back trays of the most amazing nachos,I wonderful person who will be truly missed.. 
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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