Stalking Mike Judge With Perfect Theme Song In Live-Music Capital

AUSTIN, TX — After midnight, Spencer Garland continued his friendly stalking of the animated comedy king of Texas from the stage at C-Boy's Heart and Soul club on South Congress.

"This one is for Mike Judge," Garland said, gesturing toward the back of the club as if the Emmy-winning comedy director was in the house.

The "Beavis and Butthead" and "Office Space" creator who sometimes lives in Austin is rumored to be considering a reboot of his animated series, "King of the Hill," which is set in a fictional town inspired by Richardson, Texas. That's the Dallas suburb where Garland grew up.

Garland and his best pal, Jim Campo, who recently reunited as Berkshire Hounds, ripped into what they think might be a perfect theme song for a "King of the Hill" re-do.

"Don't Doubt The Team," the song is called.

"I just got this idea in my head that this is what the theme song would sound like if 'King of the Hill' does a reboot, which I've heard he's working on. So, I'm like, this should be the song. I'm from Richardson, Texas. That's what Arlen, the city in King of the Hill, is inspired by. I dunno, that's my pitch," Garland said. "I've mostly just been tweeting at him, unsuccessfully."

I met up with Garland on my summer storytelling tour of America during a sweet spot in the coronavirus crisis before the easily spreading delta variant rekindled government restrictions in certain parts of the country, Austin included.

For a week or so, I was a sweaty tourist shoulder to shoulder with Austin scene-sters, recalibrating my ears to the joyful noise of amplifiers turned all the way up at my first live concert since March 2020.

On back-to-back nights, Garland shared the stage as a side-man for Matthew Vasquez of Delta Spirit, Texas crooner David Ramirez, country singer Paul Cauthen, Adrian Quesada of the Black Pumas, and Kelsey Wilson of Sir Woman, the 2020 Austin Music Awards's "best new band."

On a recent Friday, Garland finished the night performing under his solo-project stage name, PR Newman. The next day, he drove to Dallas to play Jeff Fest, a benefit for music producer Jeff Saenz, who survived a high-voltage electric shock.

MORE ON PATCH: Story Of Jeff Saenz's High-Voltage Shock Sparks National Support

"Now that things are opening back up, I'm saying yes to every show," Garland told me at his home studio. "People are so excited live music is back, I could probably just fart into a microphone the whole show and people would still go crazy for it right now."

Maybe even Judge, a guy who first got famous for his fart-joke-loving characters.

'A Really Hard Town'

Garland, 32, is regarded around Austin stages as a guy who slays on guitar, keyboards, harmonica and any instrument you put in his hands; sings pretty and writes songs that get stuck in your head.

His solo project, PR Newman, has played packed clubs since his first album, Turn Out, was released in 2018. At Hotel Vegas Friday, a fan gave Garland a hand-painted version of PR Newman's debut album cover.

Over the last two years, Garland wrote and recorded keyboard parts on the Black Pumas' Grammy-nominated album. He got tapped to help Renee Zellweger write songs on the recommendation of Bob Dylan's guitar player, Charlie Sexton.

When he wasn't touring with Vasquez, playing at least four shows a week in town or promoting his sophomore PR Newman record, Garland still worked as a restaurant server to make ends meet.

What a lot of folks across the country who flock to see shows at South by Southwest, and watch "Austin City Limits" on PBS, might not realize is what an unprofitable grind performing can be for even the most talented independent musicians — even before the coronavirus crisis.

Garland, Campo and their local contemporaries will tell you they sometimes play seven shows a week that pays each player 40 bucks a pop — barely enough to pay rent.

"Austin is a really hard town. There are crowds for an insane amount of musicians, but there's no music industry here. So, it's like, whose attention are you even fighting for. There's never going to be any record label scouts at your show, ever," Garland said.

"There's a circle of people that just do it for the love of making good music and being around each other, but it doesn't make very much money, or hardly any money. Every guitar player is a coder now. That's why I still work in the service industry. I'm too stubborn to learn new things that I feel are soul-sucking."

During the worst of the coronavirus crisis, some of Garland's musician pals continued to play gigs they didn't dare promote on social media for fear of a backlash.

Campo, lead singer of Magic Rockers of Texas, admits to playing speak-easy shows around town.

"I was on unemployment for four months and that's the most money I've ever had in my entire life, but it's also not enough. I got a day job when everyone was grasping at anything just to hold on to their own reality. … So when I got asked to play a bar … I was sort of like, where's the line here? I can risk my own [health] to work in public, but then I have to say, no, to [playing music] that I really enjoy, and pretty much dedicated my entire life to?" Campo said.

"If I could have sold songs to Mike Judge over COVID, I would have f------ done it and not played any shows. But it is what it is."

When coronavirus silenced most stages in Austin, Garland relied on government assistance and his part-time gig providing contactless delivery of vegetarian cuisine at Bouldin Creek Cafe.

"I'm not some kind of sob story. Everybody's dreams got crushed by the pandemic. I'm just not an exemption to that," Garland said. "People like me, that are basically what I think is the lifeblood of everything that is happening in the music scene in Austin, all went through the same things. Honestly, before the pandemic, I had my record done ... but I still felt pretty jaded."

He spent a lot of time at home with his wife, Sophie Molinari and their dog, Sage. He kept busy by making improvements to his studio, writing and recording songs for the next PR Newman record, and fretting over an uncertain future during a summer of civil unrest and volunteering for get-out-the-vote efforts during the contentious presidential election.

"I just felt so isolated over the last year. We even panic-bought a broken down Airstream, of all things, and we're like, let's just travel the country and quit music," Garland said.

"You know, I've dealt with all sorts of alcohol and drug abuse in my life, and depression, and the thing I find when I'm at my lowest — sitting in the dark drinking a six-pack by my self, or something — is that I'm isolated and feel alone. And that's what the last year was like. Coming back to playing music feels really empowering to have this community of people showing up for people."

You're Move, Mike Judge

All seemed right with the world as tipsy Texans danced while the Berkshire Hounds played "Don't Doubt The Team" in honor of Mike Judge, who wasn't at the show — and hasn't returned any of Garland's tweets, yet.

"Everything feels like it's roaring back and there's this new kind of momentum for live music," Garland said. It didn't last, of course. Since I left Texas, a spike in delta variant coronavirus cases has led to city-mandated masking requirements, and capacity limits at bars and music venues.

Still, Garland said he feels hopeful — for himself and his musician friends in Austin.

"One of the biggest realizations that I have after the last year is that I need to do only the things I can control. I've put on hold what I've wanted to do and believed in because I thought another gig was gonna raise my profile, and lift me up," he said. "Over the pandemic, I learned — artistically, at least — that no matter what's paying the most, I've got to do what makes me happy."

This week, Garland told me that he's doing just that.

After 16 years as a restaurant server, he put in his two-week notice at Bouldin Creek Cafe and set aside all of August to put the finishing touches of his third PR Newman album at his South Austin home studio.

"I'm just going to get my ducks in a row for this record 'cause I think it will be good, and I believe in it," Garland said.

He even temporarily stopped stalking the "King of the Hill" creator.

"But, sure, you can tell him that I'm easy to find."

Your move, Mike Judge.

Mark Konkol, recipient of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting, wrote and produced the Peabody Award-winning series "Time: The Kalief Browder Story." He was a producer, writer and narrator for the "Chicagoland" docuseries on CNN and a consulting producer on the Showtime documentary "16 Shots."

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