Album: The Band of Heathens (self-titled) / Band: The Band of Heathens/ 11 tracks / BOH Records / Country Rock
Despite the name, The Band of Heathens is one group of men, from whom mothers do not need to worry about protecting their daughters. The Austin, Texas quintet have fashioned together one of the freshest sounding CDs to find its way onto the music scene in a long time. The band members, Ed Jurdi, Gordy Quist (can you say great guitar licks?), Colin Brooks, Seth Whitney and John Chipman, were all playing in different bands that played out of Austin’s club, Momo’s when they first met. They began sitting in on each other’s sets, and the club management started referring to them as The Heathens, which eventually morphed into The Band of Heathens. Eventually they recorded a CD, Live From Momo’s, available through their website. Following that recording, there was a DVD recorded live at legendary Austin music venue Antone’s. Now they have come up with a great album on which each of these Texans plays multiple instruments, as well as contributing to the vocal tracks.
One listen to the first few bars of Quist and Jurdi’s song “Jackson Station,” and you will find yourself tapping your foot and moving your body to the lazy groove. Brooks’ uses a finger slide and his guitar chording is killer, while Ed Jurdi’s harmonica playing ranks up there with some of the best you will hear.
The laidback lilt and groove of The Band of Heathens’ music is reminiscent of another incredible quintet of musician/singer/songwriters, from another era, The Band, which consisted of Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel. While The Band of Heathens’ song structure definitely lends itself to country music, the melodies sound very much, like what we used to refer to as rockabilly, which aligns them closely with The Band and “Rompin’” Ronnie Hawkins.
Canadian music fans are going to delight in the third track, “Mapletears,” a collaborative effort between Quist and Adam Carroll. The song begins with, “I met a girl from Manitoba/where the wind is wild on the Hudson Bay/She could have been from Oklahoma/If she didn’t live so far away/Prairie girl I read your letters/As I stood beside the tracks of the CPR..” The chorus also sends up reminders of legendary Canadian country singer/songwriter Ian Tyson. For those of you who may not be familiar with Tyson, that is a great, great compliment, because when he was younger Ian Tyson, had one of the most tender and smooth voices of anyone in music, regardless of the genre. Patty Griffin guests on the vocal tracks for “Mapletears,” and is also featured on the songs, “Second Line,” and “40 Days.” On the later tune, Griffin sings a beautiful duet with Jurdi.
As we come to the fourth track (“Heart On My Sleeve”), this would be a good time to mention the awe-inspiring guitar riffs that Colin Brooks, Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi lay down, throughout this album. The song opens with some strong rock like riffs and ends in much the same fashion, with some electric note bending.
In one of their Youtube videos, Jurdi, says that when you are standing in front of your mirror as a young, aspiring artist and playing the air guitar, you imagine the cheers of a big crowd, but then reality comes as you look for a foothold in the music industry and find yourself in tougher gigs than what you first imagined. He makes a very poignant statement that serves as good advice for all bands that are just starting out, “Overall public acceptance isn’t what you need, to validate what you do.” Well now, The Band of Heathens has not only validation, but is quickly gaining public acceptance as well.
The tune “Second Line,” has that same type of contagious melody as “Jackson Station,” only with the added bonus of Patty Griffin harmonizing with the boys. This song is magic. Gurf Morlix plays the pump organ and Stephen Bruton plays mandolin, as he did on “Jackson Station.” The songs, “Second Line,” and “Jackson Station,” should be monster hits for The Band of Heathens.
I really like what Colin Brooks did with his song, “Cornbread,” which fuses country and blues, as he sings with producer Rae Wylie Hubbard, who also plays the slide guitar. I am not sure if listening to the band sings the chorus, “I need your cornbread / I need your cornbread every day,” will make you go out in search of cornbread, but I do know this, you sure will be looking for their music.
Remember that you read it here first, The Band of Heathens are headed for stardom!
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Reviewed March 2008
