The Gourds: Biography

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• Scud Mountain Boys
• The Weepers
• Clem Snide
• Whiskeytown
• Luther Wright
• The Hole Dozen
• Trailer Bride

• Roger Miller

• The Original Brothers and Sisters of Love

• Giles Robinowitz
• Chappy Sinclair
• Rob Bernard
• Kev Russell's Junker
• Clocker Redbury
• Dusty Slosinger
• The Damnations TX

• Kevin Russell
• Jimmy Smith

Formed:

Jan 1, 1992 in Austin, TX

Genres:

Rock Music, Alternative Rock Music, Folk & Country Rock Music

Decades Active:

1990's|2000's

The Gourds are a good-time, honky tonkin' band with enough quirk and underground appeal to more than earn the "alternative" in "alternative country-rock band." Part of Austin's vibrant scene and popular performers at the city's national music showcase ~SXSW, The Gourds first gained the attention of the

-No Depression crowd with the drunken porch jam sound of their debut Dem's Good Beeble (1997). The band's quirks came out more on their follow-up, Stadium Blitzer (1998), with songs of questionable subject matter (not offensive, just truly befuddling) like the title track and "Plaid Coat" and the goofiness of "I Ate the Haggis." Later that year, The Gourds broke through to college radio with a couple of covers on the live EP Gogitchershinebox. While their cover of "Ziggy Stardust" may have raised some eyebrows, it was The Gourds' galloping twang remake of Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice" that really captured listeners' imaginations. Unfortunately, the demise of Watermelon Records took their recordings out of print right after the release of their third album, Ghosts of Hallelujah in 1999. Happily, Sugar Hill Records stepped in, and without missing a beat, The Gourds fourth album, Bolsa de Agua, came out the following year. Over the next year, Sugar Hill also reissued the rest of The Gourds' catalog.

The Texas group started out with multi-instrumentalist/vocalists Kevin Russell and Jimmy Smith, who also share songwriting duties, accordionist Claude Bernard, and drummer Charlie Llewellin. In late 1997/early 1998, Llewellin was replaced by a longtime friend of the band, Keith Langford, who was kicked out of the Damnations when his bandmates saw that he wanted to join The Gourds, but might feel too bad about quitting to actually leave them. Then, after playing banjo, fiddle, and more on Ghosts of Hallelujah, Max Johnston (of Uncle Tupelo Wilco) also became an official member of the band. ~ Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide