The Band Of Heathens with special guest The Last Jimenez

The Band Of Heathens

For the past two decades, Austin’s The Band of Heathens have been ahead of the curve. Whether that’s through incisive lyrics or a sound they crafted that’s become mainstream, the group of troubadours has been steadfast in their truth. On the band’s upcoming album, titled Country Sides, The Band of Heathens takes a look back at their career with gratitude and great satisfaction.

Formed in 2005, the Heathens broke into the public consciousness in 2009 with their heartfelt blend of country and rock, including memorable performances at Austin City Limits on PBS and the Austin City Limits Festival. Since then, members have come and gone, but principal songwriters Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist give the band its collective focus and provide the DNA to the songs beloved by folks around the globe.

For a band that’s accomplished so much and on their own terms, the approach for this album was natural and felt right. The themes addressed on this album, such as the reflective, contemplative nature of the lyrical matter, led to questions like "What’s next?" As always, The Band of Heathens is debating what that future looks like. It certainly includes more music and touring. But, in what fashion? Not even they know. That said, their music continues to live on. Look no further than the success of 2011’s “Hurricane. Nearly 15 years later, the song went gold and has since been certified platinum, showcasing the band’s resonant sound. And, at this point in their career, they’re perfectly content with what they’re doing.

The Last Jimenez 

Texas-based guitarist and singer-songwriter David Jimenez makes his home in Austin, TX, but was raised in Harlingen, a border town deep in the Rio Grande Valley. While for years he has been known primarily as one of Austin’s premier guitar-slinging hired guns, with his upcoming debut solo album, Sleep On It, he is stepping to center stage for the first time.

David was raised as and remains the youngest boy out of both sides of his mom and dad’s expansive families, making him the last in the family line to bear his patriarchal name. That made for an easy choice when deciding on a name for his solo project, The Last Jimenez—both an homage to his family line and an emphasis on his move to stand on his own as a solo artist. 

Jimenez grew up a dyed-in-the-wool “Valley kid.” The influence of border town life was an immense influence on him from a young age both musically and otherwise. While he was raised steeped in the rich tradition of singer-songwriters in Texas, he also learned that if you’re going to play in South Texas, you have to make people dance. Along with a “no-fat” approach to songwriting he picked up living in Boston and playing gigs in New York City, those sensibilities have come to inform the music he is making now as The Last Jimenez—an upbeat blend of bluesy guitar-driven, hook-filled pop music overlaid with David’s clear, soulful voice. 

“Growing up there is isolated, yet you still have access to a typical American experience. The radio stations that hover over the border were playing everything from country, pop, rock and Tejano. I grew up in a neighborhood that looked suburban, but just behind us was a cane field and a park that had live “con junto” music being played every weekend into the late hours. You’re really living in between two worlds.”-

- David Jimenez 

David often refers to his genre of music as “resaca pop”—a callback to the strange bodies of water that are specific only to the valley where he was raised. When the Rio Grande overflows during rainy seasons, its borders push into the surrounding landscape. Once drought conditions come around again, the river recedes, cutting off these “resacas” and abandoning them to flourish on their own—with autonomous ecosystems that include alligators, exotic birds, and other teeming forms of life that flourish in the leftover brackish water. In his own way, David is much like the “resacas” himself, and the music of The Last Jimenez is a reflection of that. While he is isolated from the place he grew up, its influence remains, adding to the combination of elements that allow for something entirely original to form.