Dave Thomas
Austin 360
Austin, TX, United States
Contact Dave
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Dave:
Part poet, part outlaw, all Texan: Billy Joe Shaver at 80
At Willie Nelson’s 2016 Fourth of July Picnic, Brantley Gilbert wrapped his fingers through the brass knuckles affixed to his microphone and told us about his guns. Gilbert sang a bit, but also posed and preened amid the smoke machine’s haze and made sure everyone knew he was the toughest guy around.But he wasn’t.A few hours earlier, on a smaller stage, a gray-haired old man in denim got about… → Read More
With Farm Aid, Billy Bob's on horizon, Willie Nelson to re-start tour
Texas music fans held their breath — perhaps some a little longer than others — earlier this month when Willie Nelson canceled a portion of → Read More
Willie Nelson cancels tour due to 'breathing problem'
Willie Nelson, the 86-year-old Austin icon, announced on social media on Wednesday night that he is canceling his tour due to a breathing problem. On → Read More
Test your Willie's Picnic smarts and win tickets to July 4 show
Can you call yourself an Austinite (or even a Texan) if you've never celebrated Independence Day with the Red Headed Stranger? And if you have, can you → Read More
Test your Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic smarts with our quiz
UPDATE: This contest is now over, but you can still take the quiz below. Find the answers here. Thanks for entering! Can you call yourself an Austinite → Read More
At 45, the Dixie Chicken is the same old beer joint — and that’s just how Aggies want it
When two Texas A&M graduates meet, the first thing they’ll likely exchange is a pair of two-digit numbers: '68 … '93 ... '05. → Read More
Spoetzl Brewery to kick off 'Shiner Saturdays' on Father's Day weekend
What does dad want for Father’s Day? Barbecue? A road trip? Texas history? A little country music on a nice green lawn under blue skies?Yes.And beer.Don’t forget the beer.If all that seems a little hard to pull off, don’t worry. The folks in Shiner got you covered.Following the success of Saturday tours — which began a year ago with more than 1,500 visitors on the first Saturday — the Spoetzl… → Read More
Hunting ghosts and history aboard the Battleship Texas
The Battleship Texas is one of Texas’ most hallowed settings. It embodies valor and victory, heroics and history. Would you pay $179 for a semi-private overnight tour of the ship, complete with a chance to nap on authentic sailor bunks?Who wouldn’t, right? What’s the catch?Would you share your tour with ghosts? Well, that’s a possibility.Would you share your tour with ghost hunters toting EMF… → Read More
50 years: A fancy milestone for Blue Bell's plain success
In 1969, Houston gave us the moon and ZZ Top. Later that year, Uvalde would give us a little guy who’d grow up to be Matthew McConaughey, movie star.But Brenham gave us something cooler, literally, than ZZ Top — and something better than just alright, alright, alright.Even if it was just plain vanilla.Well, not plain vanilla, but Homemade Vanilla ice cream.Yes, Blue Bell’s flagship flavor is… → Read More
50 years: A fancy milestone for Blue Bell's plain success
In 1969, Houston gave us the moon and ZZ Top. Later that year, Uvalde would give us a little guy who’d grow up to be Matthew McConaughey, movie → Read More
This small-town festival offers up a bale of Texas history
Pick any one of the nearly 1,000 Texas towns and odds are you’ll pick a small town with a festival folks are right proud of. Fests for peanuts, peaches, pecans, tamales, tomatoes, dewberries, blueberries, melons, mosquitos and more.Burton — west of Brenham, nestled between Round Top and the ghost town of Gay Hill — is no different. This Saturday’s 30th Annual Cotton Gin Festival certainly has… → Read More
Gaze upon the rugged vistas of the biggest ranch for sale in Texas
Pull up a map of Texas and find Presidio. It’s there on the border just west of Big Bend. Now find Redford and Shafter (might take awhile). Got ‘em? Draw a rough triangle connecting the three.How’d you like to own most of that space?It is space, to be sure. Wide, open and mostly empty space — save for rocks and pointy things. From the air, green brush dots the semi-crumpled landscape, looking as… → Read More
In Luck with Willie Nelson, a new album and an old cowboy dream
We are sitting in a tiny country chapel. There’s faded pine paneling on the walls, smooth-worn old pews and a giant disco ball hanging from an → Read More
Review: Lone Star's half-alcohol 24|7 'beer' is all wet
When Lone Star Brewing announced last month that it would release an ultra-light beer with less than half the alcohol of its namesake beer, the Internet’s reaction was swift: “Why?”Why, indeed. Why would Lone Star name their beer Lone Star 24|7 when it only encourages jokes about drinking nonstop? Why isn’t Lone Star Light light enough? Why would Lone Star think a half-beer is going to sell?You… → Read More
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TEXAS: Here's 183 things we love about you
UPDATE: It’s a year later and Texas is a year older. Our original list of 180 things we love about the Lone Star State was pretty spot-on, and → Read More
Texas Independence Week: 15 vanished Texas traditions
Texas, forever! Right? Well, maybe, but not every part of the Lone Star mystique is gonna last.Sometimes a beloved business can’t change with the times. Sometimes traditions find themselves at odds with a changing culture.But that doesn’t mean we can’t look back and raise a toast to the Texas that was.Here are 15 vanished Texas traditions ...1. Riding in the back of a pickup truckIf you’re… → Read More
Texas Independence Week: 15 vanished Texas traditions
Texas, forever! Right? Well, maybe, but not every part of the Lone Star mystique is gonna last.Sometimes a beloved business can’t change with the → Read More
Lone Star unveils ultra-light beer — with half the alcohol
Do you remember Lone Star Dry? How about Lone Star Ice?If not, don’t sweat it. Those variations of Lone Star beer were on the market for a very brief time in the mid-1990s as brewers tried to find their footing amid the rise of craft beers.The real question is, will you remember Lone Star 24|7 a couple decades from now?Lone Star 24|7 is the new ultra-light beer that Lone Star Brewing Co.… → Read More
Texas Independence Week: Ten Texas days of infamy
Editor’s note: It is Texas Independence Week. Each day this week, we’ll offer a new list of Texas topics.They say everything’s bigger in Texas. If you combine that with fellow cliché “the bigger they are, the harder they fall,” you get a recipe for tragedy on an epic scale.The state has seen more than its share of disasters and hard times, but here are 10 that truly stand out.1. HURRICANE:… → Read More
Texas Independence Week: Ten Texas days of infamy
Editor’s note: It is Texas Independence Week. Each day this week, we’ll offer a new list of Texas topics.They say everything’s bigger in Texas. If you combine that with fellow cliché “the bigger they are, the harder they fall,” you get a recipe for tragedy on an epic scale.The state has seen more than its share of disasters and hard times, but here are 10 that truly stand out.1. HURRICANE:… → Read More