The When and Where: Everything You Needed to Know About Big Bucks's Eight Track Museum

By Robert Wilonsky Fri., Dec. 10 2010 at 10:25 AM

Categories: Development, Local Hero, Music

In case you missed it, over on DC9 earlier this week I posted my interview with Chris Frantz, the Talking Head whose Tom Tom Club will release a live album on Big Bucks Burnett's eight-track-only Cloud 8 imprint early next year. Frantz and wife Tina Weymouth will attend the release, to be held at Bucks's Eight Track Museum and gift shop in Deep Ellum, which opens Christmas Day. Ah, yes -- but where in Deep Ellum?

This morning we discover the exact location: 2630 E. Commerce Street, otherwise known as the Deep Ellum Foundation building. Says DEF prez Barry Annino in a note sent this morning: "We are excited about having Bucks Burnett as part of the Deep Ellum neighborhood. As an added bonus he is in our Deep Ellum Community building. We can now get all the benefits of Bucks's passion and experience on a first-hand basis."

This morning's announcement also notes: The museum's Grand Opening is from 1 to 7 p.m. Christmas Day and that ...

... in conjunction with the Museum's opening, Burnett will curate a special exhibition entitled Conceived in Cars: Birth of the Eight Track 1965, which will continue through February 2011. The opening party is $10 at the door. The first show will celebrate the 45th birthday of the eight-track format, which began as a car only format in Detroit in 1965. A large assembly of vintage car stereo decks will be presented with other mid-'60s memorabilia.

For the first year, Burnett will curate six exhibitions and present four educational events at the Museum, which, for now, will be open to the public by appointment and for special events.

The 700-square feet museum will house over 3,000 eight tracks, including a giant replica of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music eight track, 500 sealed eight tracks by The Rutles (with the original shipping cartons), a three-pack eight track box set of recordings by The Beatles, and thirty sealed eight tracks by Elvis Presley (in their original RCA shipping carton). Also found in the permanent collection of the museum will be the complete eight track tape discographies of Led Zeppelin and Grand Funk, as well as partial collections of many more artists. In addition, rare and signed eight tracks will be on display, including a Led Zeppelin eight track signed by the three surviving members of the band, as well as tapes signed by legendary underground cartoonist Robert Crumb.

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