The Strange Tale Of A Prog Rock Hippie Cult With Ties To Texas

Texas is probably the last place you would expect to hear about a hippie cult that records prog rock, but that's exactly what took place in Austin along the banks of the Colorado River. For a time, a kind of farm there catered to mavericks and outcasts. Those who were looking for a more communal and intentional lifestyle were welcomed. They even made a prog rock album you can still find on YouTube.

Zendik Farm, Prog Rock, Hippies, And Austin, Texas

Of course, this would take place near Austin. It was long regarded as the one place in Texas where it was okay to be as weird as you want to be. According to many of the accounts that are out there regarding Zendik Farm, it was all about environmentalism and social change. Noble goals. The darker side is the cult-like control tactics alleged to have been used by leadership over members.

Supposedly they controlled everything, including who you could engage in lovemaking with. You had to have the okay of the group before making whoopee, so as not to upset the delicate balance of...whatever it is they had going on.

The farm moved around the country for a long time. Austin, Texas was just a stop along the way. Supposedly, they would set up shop and once urban sprawl caught up to them, they'd sell the land and move on to somewhere else.

Hippie Cult Prog Rock From The Zendik Farm

The Zendik Farm is notorious for the amount of materials it produced. There were zines, public access TV shows, radio shows, and there was rock. Check out the video below.

Okay, so it doesn't fully fit the definition of prog-rock. It fits the genre of psychedelic rock much better, and I won't argue against anyone wanting to make that point. I would still try and argue that it could be considered early prog. Either way, it's a very interesting album to listen to, especially if you've had your consciousness ripped wide open. I'm sure that helps with understanding it on some level. I never have, so I'm left just looking nervously at the screen and thinking to myself...

I prefer Jim Morrison.

The farm is no more, and its legacy is tarnished by many allegations of cult-like behavior and control tactics. That, and this groovy piece of psych-prog-spoken word-rock.