Humans of San Marcos: Rex Pape

By Sarah Bey
Blog Content Contributor

Rex Pape is a 22-year-old San Marcan who works at Superfly’s Lone Star Music Emporium. Pape graduated from Texas State last year and shared some of his memories as a child in San Marcos along with his passion for music.

Bey: How long have you worked here?

Pape: I’ve worked here since September, I guess; not super long. It’s fun, I like it. I’ve come here for a long time.

B: What kind of music are you into since you work here?

P: I like rock music I guess that’s my big thing, you know. Not just regular rock music though. I like stuff that’s interesting and different kind of. This is really cool–the stuff that is playing right now. It’s by this guy from Northern Africa and I really like rock from other parts of the world. It shows how music changes with different people’s perspectives and stuff and that’s really cool. But, yeah just real rock-n-roll and stuff like that. I like other stuff too but that’s like my main thing.

I used to come here when it was just a record store before it was the one it is now. So, I guess I wasn’t a student (at Texas State) and then I was and now I’m not again so, I’ve come full circle I guess.

B: What did you get your degree in?

P: Resource and environmental studies which is like environmental science like Earth and how it works and how to like keep it working. Then I had two minors in biology and agriculture. I don’t know that kind of stuff just really interested me and just like life and all of that.

B: Are you doing anything with that now?

P: No, I did a lot of stuff with it while I was in school and then, I kind of wanted to take a break. Just shift my focus for a little while and focus on music because I’ve always been really into music. I’m in a couple of bands right now so I make my own music too. I want to do that really hard before I settle into the environmental stuff because I am really passionate about that too but, I want to you know.

B: So what are your bands called?

P: I play bass in a band called “White Dog” and it’s a bass, two guitars, drums and a singer. That band is really cool. I’m in another band where I play guitar and sing and that one’s cool because I do my own music and stuff. That band is called “The Astral Blue.” I didn’t pick the name but, it’s ok. That one is just getting going but, I’m really excited about it.

B: Have y’all played at festivals or anything?

P: No. “White Dog” was supposed to play MR Fest but, we aren’t able to anymore unfortunately. My other band just got started so we’re not really doing anything big festival-wise like that. “White Dog” plays mostly in Austin, to be honest. But, we really like San Marcos too.

B: I’m sure growing up in San Marcos is a lot different than us other college kids who come in from a different town for a few years. Could you tell me a little bit about that?

P: Yeah, it’s really interesting because I’ve been on both sides. I grew up here and didn’t really like Texas State and I didn’t really want to go here. I wanted to go somewhere else and then, Texas State just kind of happened to kind of be like the best decision. I have really seen the town change. It’s changed a lot in the past few years. Ever since Texas State changed its name from Southwest Texas to Texas State, I feel like that’s when it really started to take on something. It kind of used to be more like a regional school and was just kind of a part of San Marcos. Then once it got bigger and changed its name, it really aspired to be a national level school. It’s started to become like Texas State is where San Marcos is instead of the other way around. So it’s been really interesting and it’s hard to be on both sides because I enjoy the school and I’m glad it’s here. Most of my friends I know because they came here for school so, I wouldn’t know them if that wasn’t around. But, at the same time, I kind of see San Marcos losing what it had going independent from the school. It’s something I think about a lot.

B: What are some of your favorite things to do in San Marcos since you grew up here?

P: Oh man. The river obviously is like a huge deal and it’s really influential with who I am. When I think about San Marcos, that’s the first thing I think about. Then, just a lot of the area around San Marcos more of like the rural areas are really cool. I remember just going and exploring out there in the parks and trails. Those are really cool and important. And then just hanging around the square and even as a little kid it was really cool. Where that Vodka Street place is it used to be this arcade with laser tag and that’s where my tenth birthday party was. It was really big deal and it was fun and cool.

B: How long have you been growing out your hair?

P: I started wanting to have longer hair in the sixth grade when I started getting into music a lot more. The first kind of music I got into was a lot of older music because it’s what my mom listened to, you know like the Beatles. Everyone had the Beatles’ haircut and I got that. I said, “This is cool but, let’s go further.” So, in high school, I started growing out longer. Right when I started growing my hair out everyone started cutting their hair. I guess growing up and I was like, “No–I’m not about that.” Then once, I cut it short because everyone was making fun of me for having long hair and then I was like, “No, that’s stupid. I should do what I want.” So, I’ve been growing it out and haven’t cut it seriously since my junior year of high school and I’m 22 now so. But, I mean I’ve cut it little bits just because you have to. I can’t really imagine how it would be if I didn’t have long hair. It’s kind of just a really big part of who I am.