The Heathens

The Heathens were known for their dickstompin' live shows and their insane but dedicated fans.
The debut album, Big White House (on sale at www.post-records.com) , was recorded by Rob McGregor (producer of albums for Hot Water Music, Rumble Seat, Alkaline Trio) in Gainesville, FL.
You can also find The Heathens on the Funbalaya Compilation (out of print), Stone Soup (on sale at www.post-records.com) , Post*Records and Friends Present Ole! (on sale at www.post-records.com) , and The Orlando Sentinel 2006 and 2007 Local Music compilations.
The Heathens released two music videos from Big White House for the songs Stickin' Around and Dirty Jeans . The Stickin' Around video was the winner of the Audience Choice Award at Florida Music Festival 2006 and the video has also been featured at Los Angeles Film Festival 2006 and SXSW 2007.
Their only full-length, "Big White House",is on sale at Post*Records Shop!
Back by popular demand...here are some articles written about The Heathens:
Independent Clauses
Jim Abbott from the Orlando Sentinel talks about the last Heathens show
"On July 4th 1776, the Philadelphians first heard the official news of our nation’s independence. 230 years later, The Heathens released their full length, Big White House, on Post*Records. In the Orlando music sphere, it’s a similarly momentous occasion. The 15 track alt-country romp takes off with the band’s hometown serenade, “Stickin Around”. “Starting to put my roots down, ‘cause the soil is rich here,” the sauntering ballad goes on to say. The benignly confused vision the band paints of Orlando is so convincing and endearing that it successfully blurs your memories of Disney, downtown and the sprawling mess of Colonial and replaces them with miles of farmland. From there the sonic theme of the album is set, but the pace does take a turn for the rowdier in enough places to keep your interest. The Heathens most certainly wear their influences proudly on their sleeves, masterfully breezing through early-Wilco tinged twang with Colin Meloy-esque vocals/engaging and imaginative narratives while calling to mind a host of other folk/country leaning indie acts. Their strength, however, lies in ultimately managing to maintain their own identity, keeping The Heathens’ retelling of the age-old alt-country story fresh. While they easily succeed in proving their indie cred, the band also pays homage to traditional Nashville country’s inexplicable penchant for witty titles and punch-line choruses. “Two Chimneys” approaches the subject of divorce (can’t get much more country than that) from the perspective of a little boy worried about how his parents living in separate houses might effect Santa’s Christmas Eve run. The break-up anthem “Sweetheart (I Don’t Hate You)” boasts a chorus so brilliantly blunt I’m sure there’s a thousand country singers grinding their teeth for not thinking of it themselves: “Sweetheart I don’t hate you, I just hate seein’ you around.” As far as the production/engineering by Rob McGregor, mastering by Roger Siebel and mixing by Sean Moore goes, the team successfully juggles a veritable orchestra of instruments (banjo, violin, pedal steel, piano, trumpet, even sleigh bells) into a final product that doesn’t feel the least bit overwhelmed. Really, the album doesn’t suffer from a lull until the penultimate track, “Let’s Shake On It,” and by then it’s easy to forgive. Besides, it comes right after a tough act to follow, the grand “Busy Nights At The Meatmarket.” All in all, the album proves to be quite a rewarding listen, easily worthy of the anticipation leading up to its release. It’s a confident step towards a promising future for this Orlando band." - Jack Cusumano, KillerPop
"There's a picture of Gram Parsons on my desk and he's smiling at me. He'd be smiling, too, about the show that the Heathens put on Monday (7-3-06) at the Social to celebrate the band's CD release. It was impressive to hear so many in the rowdy, sweaty, air-conditioner-deprived crowd invoking Parsons' name as the band took the stage. The Parsons comparison is really too narrow for the five-piece Orlando group -- lead singer Matt Butcher, banjoist/guitarist Chris Cucci, bassist Chris Rae, multi-instrumentalist Sean Moore and drummer Jeff Ilgenfritz (aka Mumpsy). On stage, the band's country leanings have a harder edge and that was true on Monday. The powerful dynamics of songs such as "Sucker or a Lover'' pushed the material beyond the studio versions on Big White House (officially released today, 7-4-06). At the same time, country doesn't come much more old-school than the sing-along "Sweetheart (I Don't Hate You).'' I arrived in time to see the Wynn Brothers Band, which set the mood with a terrific set despite some technical problems after the opening cover of "The Weight.'' The big family ensemble's blend of harmonies and guitars is mighty intoxicating. Likewise, the Heathens also had the crowd easily under its spell, finishing the night with a couple dozen of the band's closest friends on stage for "Busy Nights at the Meatmarket.'' Not a bad way to finish a celebration." - Jim Abbott, Orlando Sentinel
"The sound of the Heathens — a wistful, vaguely elegiac blend of melodic twang and rough-edged, rural pop — is immediately striking. It’s the sort of sound that comes off as well-planned and thoughtfully belabored. It’s the sort of sound that comes from bands who have been making music together for years. It’s not the sort of sound that emerges from a slapdash crew of indie rockers on an open-mike night. However, in the case of this Orlando band, that’s exactly how their sound came about. “I think our first real band practices were open-mike nights at Austin [Coffee and Film in Winter Park],” remembers bassist Chris Rae of the group’s origins in March of 2005. “It was very loose-knit,” agrees vocalist and guitarist Matt Butcher. “People would sort of come and go. It wasn’t until June [of 2005] that we had our first real lineup. That was when we decided to be a real band.” “Before then,” laughs guitarist/banjo-player/keyboardist Chris Cucci, “there was usually more drinking than actual playing going on.” Drinking, it seems, played a big role in the group’s formative phase — the group was kicked out of their first show at WPRK because they brought a bottle of Jim Beam to the college radio station’s studios — and though it would be easy to romantically ascribe the rustic charm of the group’s sound to whiskey-sipping, front-porch songwriting sessions, the truth isn’t quite so sepia-toned. “Matt wrote pretty much all the songs on the first album,” says Rae. “From the beginning, we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to sound like. We haven’t changed the songs too much from when we started playing them to how they ended up on the album.” That album — a 15-track disc released on Cucci’s Post Records label entitled Big White House — is the oddest sort of debut: one that is instantly recognizable as the Heathens, but also one that doesn’t sound a bit like them. Audiences have come to adore the Southern Gothic shambles of their live performances, as these joyously dour affairs involve multiple members on multiple instruments and quite a bit of audience interaction. A few tracks on the disc — the clap-along “See You There,” the honky-tonk rumble of “Sex in Silent Films” — come close, but for the most part, Big White House is an altogether more sophisticated beast. Steeped in elegant minimalism, Big White House uses a wide variety of instruments — in addition to Butcher, Cucci and Rae, fellow members Sean Moore (violin, trumpet) and Jeff Ilgenfritz (drums, guitar, keyboards) add significantly to the sonic soup. Ironically, though, with all this instrumental action, the predominant emphasis is on Butcher’s lyrics, a decision the band says was completely intentional. “Even though our sound is full and lush,” says Rae, “we’re actually trying to be as delicate as possible. I remember when Matt and I were doing [the now-defunct] On Cassette, I’d be playing bass and my hand would be dancing up and down the fretboard, and now it’s a lot more simple. A lot of that simplicity is just so we can push the lyrics up to the front.” “A lot of the things Matt’s singing about,” continues Cucci, “there are some upbeat songs, but there’s a lot of darkness to the songs too. It’s not about happy stuff, but the music can be a little poppy sometimes.” “Most of the lyrics are pulled from real-life experiences,” says Butcher. “Though there are some times when I take some poetic license, for the most part, these are things that have really happened to us. I always like matching — like Dylan does — these scathing lyrics with an upbeat melody. It’s a hard pill to swallow sometimes, but putting a little sugar on it helps, you know?” - Jason Ferguson, Orlando Weekly
Orlando Weekly's coverage of the final Heathens show at the Stone Soup Fest
Here's a list of some shows we played:
06.23.2005 - Live on WPRK 91.5fm - Rollins College / Winter Park, FL
06.25.2005 - Backbooth / Orlando, FL
11.18.2005 - 2005 Anti-Pop music fest opening for Hank III - The Social / Orlando, FL
12.16.2005 - Will's Pub / Orlando, FL (charity/free event)
01.27.2006 - The Wynn Brothers - Backbooth / Orlando, FL
02.04.2006 - Will's Pub / Orlando, FL
02.19.2006 - Island Oasis / Orlando, FL
03.02.2006 - Stickin Around Music Video Premiere - Austin Coffee and Film / Orlando, FL
03.04.2006 - The Social / Orlando, FL
03.18.2006 - Emerald Bar / St. Petersburg, FL
03.26.2006 - Melbourne Jaycee's / Melbourne, FL
04.02.2006 - The Beta Bar / Tallahassee, FL
04.28.2006 - opened for John Ralston's CD Release Show - Backbooth / Orlando, FL
04.29.2006 - opened for Summerbirds in the Cellar - Will's Pub / Orlando, FL
05.06.2006 - GRASSROOT'S MUSIC FESTIVAL / Mount Dora, FL
05.13.2006 - WTKS 104.1 Shannon Burke's Real Ride 2006 / Daytona Beach, FL
05.13.2006 - Dandelion Communitea Grand Opening / Orlando, FL (charity/free event)
05.19.2006 - Florida Music Festival 2K6 - Backbooth / Orlando, FL
05.27.2006 - opened for Summerbirds in the Cellar - Lillian's Lakeside / Lakeland, FL
06.02.2006 - Will's Pub / Orlando, FL
06.16.2006 - Melbourne Jaycee's / Melbourne, FL
06.28.2006 - Live on WPRK 91.5fm - Rollins College / Winter Park, FL
07.01.2006 - Live on WTKS 104.1fm - Real Radio / Orlando, FL
07.03.2006 - THE HEATHEN'S - CD RELEASE SHOW - The Social / Orlando, FL
07.10.2006 - Live on WJRR 101.1fm - Real Rock / Orlando, FL
07.12.2006 - Art Bar / Columbia, SC
07.13.2006 - Soapbox Laundrolounge / Wilmington, NC
07.14.2006 - Country Saloon / Jacksonville, NC
07.15.2006 - Private Show for the White Family (see D. Ray White) / Boone County, WV
07.16.2006 - CD Cellar (in-store acoustic performance) / Arlington, VA
07.16.2006 - opened for The Whiskeyhounds - Wonderland Ballroom / Washington, DC
07.17.2006 - The Trash Bar / Brooklyn, NY
07.19.2006 - PD's Pub / Pittsburgh, PA
07.20.2006 - opened for The Whiskeyhounds - Bulfinch Yacht Club / Boston, MA
07.21.2006 - Fennario's Coffee and Tobacco / West Chester, PA
07.22.2006 - opened for The Whiskeyhounds CD - Happy Dog / Cleveland, OH
07.23.2006 - Live on Q101 - Crash Test Radio / Chicago, IL (100,000+ tuned in)
07.23.2006 - Wise Fool's Pub / Chicago, IL
07.24.2006 - Rudyard Kipling / Lousiville, KY
07.26.2006 - Lenny's Bar / Atlanta, GA
07.28.2006 - The Beta Bar / Tallahassee, FL
07.29.2006 - Common Grounds / Gainesville, FL 07.30.2006 - Skatepark of Tampa / Tampa, FL
07.31.2006 - Will's Pub / Orlando, FL
08.06.2006 - opened for Now It's Overhead - Backbooth / Orlando, FL
08.19.2006 - Out-of-town CD Release show - Melbourne Jaycee's / Melbourne, FL
08.27.2006 - Bombshell Gallery / St. Petersburg, FL
09.03.2006 - Live on WPRK 91.5fm - WPRK Marathon - Rollins College / Winter Park, FL
09.17.2006 - opened for The Hacienda Brothers - Copper Rocket / Winter Park, FL
09.29.2006 - New World Brewery / Tampa, FL
09.30.2006 - opened for Summerbirds in the Cellar - Lillian's Lakeside / Lakeland, FL
10.14.2006 - The Majestic / Clearwater, FL
10.21.2006 - Lillian's Lakeside / Lakeland, FL
11.11.2006 - opened for The Avett Brothers - The Social / Orlando, FL
11.14.2006 - The Atlantic / Gainesville, FL
11.18.2006 - Live on O-Rock 105.9fm / Orlando, FL
11.18.2006 - 2006 Anti-Pop music festival - The Social Pavilion / Orlando, FL
11.30.2006 - Live on WPRK 91.5fm - Rollins College / Winter Park, FL
12.01.2006 - opened for John Ralston - Respectable's / West Palm Beach, FL
12.02.2006 - Backbooth / Orlando, FL
12.14.2006 - opened for Centromatic - AKA Lounge / Orlando, FL
01.19.2007 - The Social / Orlando, FL
01.20.2007 - Lillian's Lakeside / Lakeland, FL
01.21.2007 - opened for Bobby Bare Jr. - New World Brewery / Tampa, FL
01.27.2007 - The Atlantic / Gainesville, FL
01.30.2007 - opened for Sol.Illaquists of Sound - Common Grounds / Gainesville, FL
02.16.2007 - opened for Sol.Illaquists of Sound - The Social / Orlando, FL
02.24.2007 - The Social / Orlando, FL
03.10.2007 - Lillian's Lakeside / Lakeland, FL
06.16.2007 - Stone Soup Festival - BackBooth / Orlando, FL
The Heathens played shows with Hank Williams III, Now It's Overhead, Bobby Bare Jr., The Avett Brothers, The Whiskeyhounds, John Ralston, Throwrag, Sol.Illaquists of Sound, SKIP, Yip-Yip, Summerbirds in the Cellar, Tres Bien...and many others.