Paul Val, Rattlesnakes, Edges, & Boundaries

chapelgateangel28
Jun 25
3 min read

I noticed Paul Val when he was very young, and just getting started as a musician in Austin. I knew immediately he was going to become important to Austin music, icon level. What is it I recognized, identified with? It was his talent, but there are tons of talented musicians here. It was more than that. Beauty, yes, very much so. Go look at his young pictures, no one more beautiful or sultry, look at the eyes. I'll post one in the Comments or better yet, by itself, after this post. But it was more than talent and beauty even.

When I was young my mom and dad would take me and my brother and sister, I was the oldest, to a lake in Tennessee that we all enjoyed. It had an overflow that was steep and cement and we loved to climb it. I remember walking with my dad along the edge of the lake. I'd ALWAYS walk just as CLOSE to the very tip edge of the three foot high bank as I could possibly get. There was just an excitement to that that I loved. My dad often warned me about getting so close to the edge. I even have a song I wrote many years ago talking about this, "A Little Too Close (to the Edge)." Once, I actually DID fall in. When I fell I was not just surprised but learned from my mistake. Why? As I splashed under two moccasins rushed past me to get out of my way. They were right there, a couple of feet below me, both of them, as I had balanced precariously on the edge, with my dad there beside me. Of course he immediately pulled me out, that's what dads do, but just picture the scene. I was a bit more careful after that, I realized I had been oblivious to the fact that poisonous snakes were right there, in silence, under my toes, in the murky lake water, close to the shore, where they just naturally dwelt.

If you will fast forward, or just watch, to the point of about 2:07 on this video of Paul that I took the other day NOTICE where he goes to stand. He does it over and over all night long. He gets SO CLOSE to the EDGE of the stage that his boots are half off the stage. There's just an EXCITEMENT about life on the tip most edge. He feels it. I felt it. Now look closely at his Cowboy hat. Look at the band. I didn't even notice that at the gig. I only saw it later, after working with the many photos and videos I took of him. It is a rattlesnake with its mouth open and fangs exposed, ready to strike. If you are exceptionally intuitive notice where I am sitting, filming, the fact that I'm even there, the distance I had to go, the traffic I had to navigate, the danger of the night, of the location, the unknown venue I braved alone, the boundaries being crossed, the fact that that's where I chose to go, and who I chose to film. Then, notice where he gravitates when he leaves the stage. There's just an energy to the edge. And it's more than beauty and skill and boundaries. xo

Written June 25, 2025 at 9:25 pm

This is not my photo. I needed it to illustrate what I was saying. No financial gain, fair use standards employed for educational, cultural, value, see my policy. (Isn't he so beautiful; notice his eyes...)

Notice the rattlesnake on his Cowboy hat...