DAVE WRANGLER, BETTER KNOWN AS DISKO COWBOY, IS A RENOWNED DJ, MUSIC PRODUCER AND THE FOUNDER OF VINYL RANCH, HIS HONKY TONK-MEETS-STUDIO 54-THEMED PARTIES. IN THE PROCESS, HE’S ESTABLISHED A SINGULAR NICHE FOR HIMSELF: THE DISCO-LOVING URBAN COWBOY. THE AUSTIN-BASED DJ MAY HAVE LAUNCHED THE VINYL RANCH CONCEPT IN 2007, BUT HIS FORWARD-THINKING VISION OF THE BRAND EXTENDS BEYOND THE CONFINES OF MUSIC AND NIGHTLIFE. “AS I’M GETTING OLDER, I DON’T NECESSARILY SEE MYSELF ON A STAGE DJING FOREVER,” WRANGLER SAYS. “I DON’T WANT TO BE THE KEITH RICHARDS OF DANCE MUSIC. WHEN I THINK ABOUT VINYL RANCH, A LOT OF THE THINGS I’M DOING RIGHT NOW ARE LIKE TASTING THE FRUIT OF WHAT I PLANTED A DECADE AGO. I’VE...

“AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, ALL MAINSTREAM MUSIC BECOMES COUNTRY MUSIC, HUH?”IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT A CONVERSATION WITH DAVE WRANGLER TURNS INTO A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CULTURAL BRANDING OF BILLBOARD-AIMED COUNTRY BETWEEN 1970 AND 2005. DAVE (ALSO KNOWN AS DJ DISKO COWBOY) IS THE FOUNDER OF VINYL RANCH, THE CLASSIC COUNTRY MUSIC LIFESTYLE BRAND. SITTING AT THE SWAGGERING EDGE OF WHERE URBAN COOL MEETS THE WILD WEST, VINYL RANCH IS PLAYING A VITAL ROLE IN HOW COUNTRY MUSIC IN AMERICA IS REDEFINING ITSELF BY THROWING BACK TO “COUNTRY AND WESTERN” CULTURE.FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS, WRANGLER’S BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF A RESURGENCE OF BIG-HAIRED VIXENS, OUTLAWS-TURNED-UNWITTING SUPERSTARS AND HUNKY DUDES IN TEN-GALLON HATS, LEADING QUINTESSENTIAL COUNTRY COOL BACK...

IF YOU’RE STANDING DEAD CENTER IN ZILKER PARK DURING FRIDAY NIGHT’S ACL FEST, THERE’S A CHANCE YOU’LL GET AN INTERESTING SOUND-BLEEDING MASHUP BETWEEN HEADLINERS GEORGE STRAIT AND MILEY CYRUS, WHICH, AS INCONGRUOUS AS IT MAY SEEM, MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO DAVE WRANGLER. AS DISKO COWBOY, WRANGLER HAS BEEN MASHING UP A UNIQUE BLEND OF TEXAS AND POP CULTURE FOR OVER A DECADE, AND BUILT HIS VINYL RANCH BRAND INTO A CULTURAL FORCE IN THE LONE STAR STATE.GROWING UP IN THE BLANCO COUNTY HILL COUNTRY, WRANGLER MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF PRODUCING RAP ALBUMS AND DJ’ING HIGH-PROFILE PARTIES AND EVENTS IN HOUSTON IN THE MID-2000S. VINYL RANCH BEGAN AS A FUN SIDE GIG SPINNING COUNTRY LPS ONCE A MONTH DOWNTOWN.“FAST-FORWARD TO...