Vulcan Gas - White Girl

Known as VG-4, this poster was designed by Gilbert Shelton and is commonly called "White Girl." Shelton is best known for his underground comic, The Furry Freak Brothers. Shelton was the art director for the Vulcan Gas along with Jim Franklin of Armadillo World Headquarters fame. Shelton went on to become one of most well-known underground Comix artists

These posters were printed such that the center colors vary slightly. This example has more green in the center, while others are more yellow. Headliners were the Thingies on Friday and Shiva's Head Band on Saturday.  Great split-fountain work all around her. Also, a way too cool kitty cat sleeping in the bottom corner.

During the 1960s a small group of students began promoting Psychedelic and Blues concerts in the Austin area. They were originally known as the Electric Grandmother. Later they became the Vulcan Gas Company and eventually opened a venue under the same name.

The Vulcan Gas Company (usually called simply The Vulcan) was the first successful psychedelic music venue in Austin, Texas. The Vulcan opened its doors in the fall of 1967, and closed in the summer of 1970.. The club had homemade benches and old church pews for the audience. The main floor, in front of the stage, was used for dancing. Smoking marijuana inside the club was discouraged and rare. Alcohol was also discouraged, but common. The Vulcan was never able to get a liquor license, since Houston White, one of the owners, had been convicted (conviction later overturned) for selling some acid to an undercover cop.

Shiva’s Headband (or Head Band) was a psychedelic band formed in Austin in 1967 and they served as the house band for the Vulcan.

The Thingies – perhaps by design – was a band shrouded in mystery. Was the unit from Florida or Kansas? Did it move on from Austin to San Francisco, or did it break up before leaving Austin. Wherever the band came from, it made quite an impression on the Austin music scene during barely a six month period, playing gig after gig at Austin’s legendary The Vulcan Gas Company, The Matchbox, and other local nightclubs and music venues alongside Johnny Winter, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Conqueroo, and most every other leading Central Texas progressive and psychedelic rock band. In actuality, the group was from Topeka, Kansas, spent summer 1967 playing in Miami, Florida, and broke up in Austin, in early 1968, never making it to California.