The Venturas, ????

THE VENTURAS - Tired of Living(This Way) (IN 101)

Who were the Venturas?

With a Westex publishing credit and Tommy Allsup production they could have been from Odessa or the surrounding area. But going by the label New Talent promotions was based out of Dallas and Dallas area band Kit & the Outlaws first release, the incredible "Fun, Fame & Fortune", was IN 102. Then there's Hub City boy Gary P. Nunn, he of the legendary Sparkles (their killer "Hipsville 29 B.C." was stomped HERE), who carries the writing credit for "Tired of Living".

According to a Doug Hanners interview with Lucky Floyd (Not Fade Away #4) the Sparkles recorded"The Hip", "Oh Girls, Girls", "Daddy's Gonna Put the Hurt On You," "Jack In the Beanstalk", and "Something That You Said" at Tommy Allsup's Odessa recording studios. This would have had to have been in late 1965 or early 1966 based on Hickory release dates. I wonder if perhaps "Tired Of Living" came with the Sparkles to Tommy's studio but did not get recorded or see release. In this case perhaps Tommy, for whatever reason, held onto the Gary P. Nunn track for later use.

Or perhaps s the Venturas were a short lived Gary P. Nunn project as there is a slight resemblance vocally. And Gary's Lost Gonzo Band was incorporating horns just a few years later. The horn players here have a strong feel for the Tejano sound, turning in a very TexMex-y song. I don't figure on the singer being a chicano- his vocal is a bit too guero- but it's quite possible that the horn players were Odessa Southsiders as they've got the feel. The Venturas also laid down an unreleased track titled "Hornets Nest" that had a Sparkles feel.

"Cry I Cried", the flipside of IN 101, came from the songwriting team of Dean Beard and Jack Smith. Jack did not know the Venturas and did not recall having heard their version of he and Dean's song. I was thinking that perhaps the Venturas might have been a studio group with Dean Beard ala Hayseed Stephens.

Whatever is going here, Tommy Allsup must have really believed in "Tired of Living" as he had the New Roadrunners re-record the song as the A-side for their 1968 AOK release. Despite what the notes to the AOK volume of Cicadelic's Texas garage series say there is no connection between Roadrunners and the Venturas. None of the Roadrunners know anything about the Venturas.