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While this may
be The
Last Country
Album,
Heybale! might
just be the Last
Country Band
left playing
today: they're
not pounding the
pavement of
Music Row
looking for a
deal, they cite
their influences
as "those who
are dead and
near dead" and
their songs are
the kind of
drinkin',
cheatin' and
hard-luck
numbers that
have packed the
dance floor at
Austin's
Continental Club
on most every
Sunday night for
the past seven
years. A country
super-group of
sorts,
Heybale!'s
lineup is like a
honky-tonk who's
who:
To stage left is
the legendary
Earl Poole Ball
on piano. He has
played with
Johnny Cash,
Merle Haggard,
Buck Owens, Gram
Parsons and
played on The
Byrds' seminal
country-rock
album
"Sweetheart of
the Rodeo." As a
producer, Ball
has worked with
Cash, Freddie
Hart, and Stoney
Edwards.
To stage right
on lead guitar
is Redd Volkaert.
For more than
six years, he
was Merle
Haggard's
guitarist in the
'90s. Since
moving
to Austin in
2000, Volkaert
has won two Best
Guitarist awards
from the Austin
Chronicle, and
was nominated
for a Grammy
award for Best
Country
Instrumental
Performance with
Brad Paisley in
2004.
These two
honky-tonk
heavyweights are
joined by the
rhythm section
of Kevin Smith
on stand-up bass
and Tom Lewis on
drums. Smith, an
original member
of the renowned
rockabilly band
High Noon,
currently tours
with Dwight
Yoakam. Lewis
was an original
member of the
Wagoneers, and
toured and
recorded with
Junior Brown and
Hank Thompson.
He currently
plays with Raul
Malo.
At center stage
stands Gary
Claxton on lead
vocals and
rhythm guitar.
Originally from
Oklahoma,
Claxton has been
singing in clubs
around
California,
Nashville, and
Texas for the
past 20
years. He met
Lewis while
living
in Nashville with
a publishing
deal. Claxton's
smooth vocal
style has
impressed many
in Austin, and
is often cited
as the best
country singer -
songwriter in a
town full of
great ones —
great ones who
just also happen
to be in
Heybale!
Claxton, Ball,
and Volkaert all
take turns
singing and
writing various
songs on
The Last Country
Album –
the original
tracks so
classic in their
country sound
that it's hard
to tell them
apart from the
Willie Nelson
and Tom T. Hall
cover tunes. The
band also gets a
chance to really
stretch out on “Heybalin’,”
the instrumental
written by good
friend Erik
Hokkanen just
minutes before
the session
began, on which
he also
contributes some
sizzling fiddle
work. Other
special guests
on The
Last Country
Album
include Cindy
Cashdollar on
steel and dobro,
Elana James on
fiddle and
Casper Rawls on
acoustic
guitars.
Recorded in
Austin at
Premium Studios
and mixed by
Raul Malo and
Evan York at
Nashville’s
famous Chicken
Hill Studios,
this
self-produced
effort was a
labor of love
for everyone
involved. Many
of the songs,
such as
“California
Wine,” “House of
Secrets,” “Heybalin’,”
“Hang Your Head
in Shame” and
“Step Aside”
were recorded
live with all of
the musicians in
one room and no
overdubs. On the
rollicking
number
“Everything…
About Drinking,”
written and sung
by Earl Ball,
two of the
backup singers
are rock and
roll drumming
legend Hunt
Sales and
ex-Maverick Raul
Malo.
And if the
diverse number
of folks who
pack the
Continental Club
every Sunday
evening to dance
and gawk are any
indication,
Heybale! has hit
the nail on the
head as far as
how country
music is
supposed to be
played.
Claxton couldn't
agree more:
"There are
fleeting moments
at each show
when I close my
eyes and believe
we are playing
the best country
music on the
planet. All the
other times it's
just real, real
good."
Heybale! –
The Last Country
Album –
Shuffle 5
Records –
Release date:
6/17/08
Distributed
nationally by
Burnside
Distribution |
