TWO VERSIONS OF THE “BONDURANT WOMEN” VIDEO PREMIERES VIA WIDE OPEN COUNTRY
(STANDARD VERSION) AND THE BOOT (LONG FORM DOCUMENTARY VERSION)
TO SUPPORT ERIC CHURCH AND APPEAR AT THE AMERICANA MUSIC FESTIVAL & PILGRIMAGE FESTIVAL
THIS SEPTEMBER, FOLLOWED BY AN EXTENSIVE TOUR SUPPORTING PAUL CAUTHEN
The Texas Gentlemen will release their debut album TX Jelly on September 15th, 2017. The 11-song set was cut live in four days at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL and was produced by band leader and organist Beau Bedford. The album was paired down from 28 songs recorded in a 96-hour time span spent at FAME and moves between contemplative and raucous, encompassing the full breadth of the American music experience. Touching on blues, soul, folk, country, rock, and gospel, TX Jelly is real, raw, and righteous. The band have premiered two versions of their video for the album track “Bondurant Women” this week. Directed by Horatio Baltz, the video is a parody of the 1997 cult documentary Hands on a Hard Body, which depicts a group of contestants competing to win a pickup truck in Longview, TX (the film was later adapted into a Broadway musical featuring music co-written by Trey Anastasio of Phish). To be declared the winner, the last Texas Gent left standing with his hand on the truck wins the prize. Wide Open Country premiered the standard length version of the video yesterday (seen HERE), stating, “North Texas’ own soul-country outfit The Texas Gentlemen have been making waves as one of the most in-demand band of players in country, rock and pop.” They continued, “The groovy, 70s-inspired beat powers the humorous narrative that has the gents battling temptation and fear, from cold beers to Jesus Christ himself (or maybe just his lookalike cousin from Dallas).” Today, The Boot has premiered the extended, 15-minute documentary version of the video which offers more details to the backstories of each character the band members play. Speaking to The Boot, band captain Beau Bedford said, “As a band, we like to laugh a lot. The wit runs deep with this crew — so much so, I can barely keep up.” See the extended “Bondurant Women” videoHERE. Rolling Stone Country previously premiered their video for their first single “Pain” which can be seen HERE. Inspired by the violent, super-saturated Grindhouse exploitation films found at drive-in movie theaters in the 70s, the clip, also directed by Horatio Baltz, depicts each band member meeting their violent demise at the hands of a woman they each hit on at a bar. Rolling Stone Country states, “‘Pain,’ written and sung by pianist Daniel Creamer, is a perfect introduction to their rootsy mix of Southern rock and folk, an upbeat cross between The Band and early-Seventies-era George Harrison.” Paste Magazine previously premiered the video for the album opener “Habbie Doobie” which depicts the band jamming in their Modern Electric Sound Recorders studio in their hometown of Dallas, TX and can be seen HERE. The low-slung piece of vintage country-funk slams out of the speakers and announces The Texas Gentleman as a force to be reckoned with. Paste stated, “If its first track is any indication, Bedford and company’s TX Jelly is going to spread far beyond the boundaries of Texas itself. These Gentlemen are the real McCoy.” The Texas Gentlemen received considerable attention for their Chuck Berry Tribute with Charlie Sexton at the Newport Folk Festival last month. Rolling Stone declared the set, which featured special guests Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Shakey Graves, and Nathaniel Ratefliff, one of the “10 Best Things We Saw.” This September, The Texas Gentlemen will appear at Americanafest and Pilgrimage Music Festival, along with Justin Timberlake, Eddie Vedder, Ryan Adams and more. They have also been tapped as support for Eric Church’s Texas dates and an extensive tour with Paul Cauthen (see all dates below with many more to be added). TX Jelly will be available digitally, on compact disc and vinyl LP, and is available for pre-order now via PledgeMusic.
The Lone Star-bred collective is an ever-evolving cast of characters based around the core sextet of Beau Bedford, Nik Lee, Daniel Creamer, Matt McDonald, Ryan Ake, and Scott Lee. They take their cues from some of the most iconic acts of the past — the quicksilver brilliance of The Wrecking Crew, The Muscle Shoals Swampers (who backed everyone from Aretha to Wilson Pickett), Booker T. and The M.G.’s, and Bob Dylan’s one-time backers The Band are the most obvious examples. Bedford originally assembled The Texas Gentlemen as an all-purpose backing band for an eclectic array of singer-songwriters including Leon Bridges and Nikki Lane, among others. Last year, the Gentlemen were lured out of the studio to the Newport Folk Festival, where they were joined by iconic troubadour Kris Kristofferson, making his first Newport appearance in more than 45 years. Rolling Stone Magazine called it one of the festival’s “most exciting sets” and Kristofferson so enjoyed collaborating with the band that he enlisted them to reprise their roles in a series of critically acclaimed Texas concerts. Of Kristofferson and The Texas Gentlemen’s appearance at Bass Performance Hall, The Fort Worth Star Telegram stated “The piano, organ, guitar, drums and saxophone would slowly coalesce around Kristofferson’s gnarled but still potent voice, creating an electric sensation of the past fusing with the present. Time and again, the room would seem to bloom – a feeling of dawn breaking, just barely visible but discernible, behind some of the best songs ever written.” Quickly becoming the go-to group of players, The Texas Gentlemen have also backed an incredible array of artists including George Strait, Ed Sheeran, Leon Bridges, Shakey Graves, Shawn Mendes, Matthew Logan Vasquez of Delta Spirit, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ray Benson, Joe Ely (who described them as “the best backing band I have ever played with. Seriously.”) and many more.
Of TX Jelly, Bedford offered to Paste, “We set up our own version of Rock ‘n’ Roll Summer camp and invited our friends down to FAME studios. We figured at worst, we would have a great time as friends hanging out in one of the most historic studios in America. There was so much mojo once we turned all of the gear on – sounds just started popping out of the speakers, and the songwriters couldn’t help but feed off the energy. TX Jelly is the fruition of years of kinship and a deep hunger by our collective group for American roots music.”
From first track to last, you can feel The Texas Gentlemen reaching deep inside themselves and finding what’s genuine – what illuminates the truth of the country’s rich, complicated and singular artistic history. TX Jelly effortlessly connects way back to what’s next and oozes with skill backed up by hard-won authenticity.
The Texas Gentlemen TX Jelly Track Listing:
1. Habbie Doobie
2. Pain
3. Bondurant Women
4. Dream Along
5. Gone
6. My Way
7. Superstition
8. TX Jelly
9. Pretty Flowers
10. Shakin All Over
11. Trading Paint
The Texas Gentlemen On Tour:
September 7 – Del Valle, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater*
September 8 – Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion*
September 16 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
September 23 – Franklin, TN @ Pilgrimage Festival
September 30 – Dallas, TX @ The Kessler
October 4 – Houston, TX @ Avenida Houston
October 7 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Irving Music Factory
October 20 – Lubbock, TX @ The Blue Light^
October 21 – Amarillo, TX @ Hoot’s Pub^
October 24 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar^
October 25 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room^
October 26 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah^
October 27 – Hollywood, CA @ The Roxy Theatre^
October 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s^
October 29 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s Night Club^
November 1 – Eugene, OR @ HiFi Music Lounge^
November 3 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge^
November 4 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern^
November 8 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux^
November 9 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge^
November 10 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Lounge^
November 11 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar^
*appearing with Eric Church
^appearing with Paul Cauthen