Tex is most
well known as the lead singer in Tex and the Horseheads, an American punk rock band, which emerged in the Los Angeles punk subculture of the early-1980s. Their original run was from 1980 to 1986, and during this time they enjoyed a sizeable cult following. The band has since reunited, as of 2007, and tours the Los Angeles area sporadically.
Tex & the Horseheads are often cited as among the first bands to play "cowpunk," a fusion of classic-styled country-and-Western music and street-tough LA punk bands. The band set themselves apart by appropriating aesthetical and fashion elements from deathrock bands like Burning Image, 45 Grave, and Christian Death. Tex & the Horseheads' members include: Texacala Jones, Mike Martt, Gregory "Smog" Boaz and David "Rock" Thum. Jeffrey Lee Pierce, of The Gun Club, was an original member of the group and was highly influential in both supporting the formation of the group and promoting the band.
They released three myth-making albums while together, all on Enigma
Records – a self-titled EP in 1984, their only full-length album,
“Life’s So Cool” in 1985, and their coda, the live-in-Holland epic “Tot
Ziens”, in 1986. Their songs dealt with themes of heartbreak, love, drug and alcohol dependency, grief, loss, and financial difficulty, all a testament to their destitute roll-and-tumble lifestyle.
Until disappearing from the Los Angeles music scene in the 1990s, Texacala performed with all-girl cowpunk group, the Screaming Sirens. In 1987 she formed Texorcist along w/ Dave Catchings on Guitar, Billy Koepke on Bass & Louie Dufau on Drums, In the late 1980s, Texacala participated in an all women's performance troupe of LA scene-makers, The Ringling Sisters, whose members all fronted Los Angeles based bands. Members of the group included Pleasant Gehman (Screamin' Sirens), Iris Berry (Lame Flames), Debbie Dexter (Devil Squares), Debbie Patino (Raszebrae) and Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde). Tex's role in The Ringling Sisters involved performing as a story teller and back-up singer.
Texacala recorded a solo record in 1998, and subsequently toured extensively with a backing band the TJ Hookers, as well as fronting Texorcist and working with Los Platos. In 1994 she formed Burnin' Bridges along with former Texorcist Bassist Billy Koepke. They recorded 10 songs for a planned record with Richie Ramone producing but the record was never released. The recordings are posted on-line; a cover of "Would they love him down in Shreveport Today?" continues to woo fans today. In 2007, Tex And The Horseheads reunited and played shows around the LA area. Texacala has since moved to Austin, Texas and has remained active in music there playing & recording w/ Hey!
