Any group that has been hailed as the best new band in Austin, Texas, has got to be worth investigating—particularly with a CV as good as the Band of Heathens. The winners of the Best New Band category at the 2007 Austin Music Awards have a unique story to tell and a gritty blend of country-rock, which hails back to the prime of Little Feat, the Band and Gram Parsons.

The Band of Heathens first came about in the early spring of 2006, when three local songwriters—Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist—started sharing the bill at the Austin club Momo’s. “It was a very spontaneous experiment, nothing planned, no map to follow,” says Ed Jurdi. “We were all playing shows together, sharing a bill at Momo’s, sitting in on each others gigs. There was a common respect and understanding and appreciation of what everyone was doing musically in this small group. I guess the natural outgrowth and extension of that was to put these pieces together to see what would happen.”

To read the full feature on The Band Of Heathens purchase the September issue (74) today!

This is an extract of a feature first printed in issue 74 of Maverick Magazine. You can order a copy of this issue, including a longer version of this article, using our secure on-line store:

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