The formation of The Band of Heathens is as natural and organic as the music they create. In early spring 2006, the three principle songwriters, Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist, were sharing the bill every Wednesday night at the venerable Austin club Momo's. Originally, it started as each songwriter performing his own set. But in a short time they started sharing the stage equally and collaborating on each other's songs, with bassist Seth Whitney as the anchor of the rhythm section. The Wednesday night series was billed as "The Good Time Supper Club." Largely improvised and unrehearsed, the shows quickly gained in popularity and word spread throughout Austin that if you wanted live music on Wednesday night, Momo's was the place to be.
A misprint in a local paper billed the act as "The Heathens." The moniker stuck and soon The Band of Heathens began to cultivate a loyal and growing legion of fans that immediately took to the expert musicianship, the finely-crafted songs and the band's distinct quality of having three front men, each one of whom sings, writes and plays lead guitar. In March 2007, drummer John Chipman joined the band and helped fortify their country-soul-rock-and-roll sound.
The Band of Heathens were recognized at the 2006/2007 Austin Music Awards as the Best New Band, and have since taken the show on the road across the country, working as hard as any band on the scene right now.While their first two releases were live albums, Live from Momo's, and Live from Antone's (a DVD/CD set), the Band of Heathens are now releasing their studio debut, appropriately and simply titled, The Band of Heathens. Produced by the legendary Ray Wylie Hubbard, the album features the Heathens as live as ever, only this time they're in a recording studio with special guests, Patty Griffin, Stephen Bruton, Gurf Morlix, and Ray Wylie himself. The Heathens are currently touring 200+ dates a year across the country as ambassadors of Austin-American soul.
For more information or to buy a CD, check out:
http://www.bandofheathens.com
Booking: [email protected] or call 512.922.5756
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Barack Obama used footage of the Band of Heathens playing at a rally in Austin last year in front of 20,000 people in an advertisement that ran during the Superbowl. About 14 seconds into the ad, you'll see Ed on stage wearing a Heathens t-shirt and part of Seth's head.