My name is Seth Whitney, and I am a Heathen. My job as a Heathen is to travel around the world with four other Heathens, playing music for people and spreading as much joy and happiness to others as we can collectively muster up.
This week marks a ten year landmark in my life, as it was ten years ago yesterday that I set out from my hometown of Olympia, Washington, to Austin Texas, where I hoped to pursue an education in playing live music. My goal was to live there for a few years, play as much as possible, and move back home stocked with some good experiences and a foundation in performing live. What I ended up getting was more than I expected, and the education continues today. The only difference is, now I call Austin home.
That’s not to say that I don’t hold the Northwest close to my heart still. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss the people and beautiful things that make the Northwest so special, and this week being an anniversary of sorts, has made me very nostalgic. That’s why “The Band of Heathens” debut in the Northwest is even more profound to me.
On Aug. 3rd, we will be playing for the first time in Seattle, and the next day in my hometown of Olympia Washington. I wasn’t aware of how important this would become for me, but in reaching out on various social networks to let people know about the shows, I have reconnected with a lot of old friends and even family that I somehow lost track of living so far away. To top it all off, my birthday is on Aug. 3rd, and though I won’t reveal my age, let’s just say it’s a big one. I can’t imagine a better place to celebrate than in Seattle and Olympia.
At first I thought this all to be a coincidence, this convergence of events if you will. Ten years to the week, my work taking me back to the NW, it all falling on my birthday, dogs and cats living together…what a great blog this would make?
The truth is, I don’t think it is a coincidence anymore. I think we all make this stuff happen for ourselves, and in the end, your heart always takes you where you need to go if you are listening. For me, I needed to be in the Northwest this week.
I think I’ll keep listening to my heart.

Seth

Please come and join us:

August 3rd, 2010
The Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA.
Opener starts at 9pm — Tickets still available

August 4th, 2010
The State Theater, Olympia, WA.
7pm showtime — SOLD OUT
9:30pm showtime — Tickets still available

We just learned from some of our fans that Live Nation is adding a $8 “Ticket Fee” to each advance ticket sold online for our Friday show at the House of Blues in Houston. We were previously unaware of this fee, and if you would like to avoid it and pay a lesser fee of $3-5, you can wait until Friday and buy tickets at the House of Blues. You risk the show selling out, but you avoid the higher ticket fee.

Regardless of what you choose to do, we deeply regret that you were charged this fee, and we’d like to give each ticket holder a voucher worth $8 to be applied to any purchase at our merchandise table at the show. So hold onto your ticket stubs to redeem your $8 voucher. We will do everything in our power to be aware of these things and avoid them in the future. We hope to see you at the show.

Buy advance tickets (and your $8 voucher) by clicking HERE.

Austin’s The Band of Heathens to Perform on 35th Anniversary Season of Austin City Limits

Nashville, Tenn. – The Band of Heathens continue their rise on the American music landscape by landing a coveted spot on Austin City Limits‘ historic 35th season and garnering a 2009 “New and Emerging Artist” nomination from the Americana Music Association (AMA). The Austin-based five piece are part of an illustrious class for the 2009-2010 season of Austin City Limits which includes established superstars Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam and Elvis Costello. The coveted PBS TV taping coupled with their recent nomination pays tribute to the band’s commitment to creating and performing quality music.

Since the unveiling of their independent release a year ago, The Band of Heathens have been building on their much deserved momentum and converting fans to their Americana grit and soulful sound with a robust tour schedule of more than 280 performances, television appearances, festival participation and a huge online presence. They recently earned major praise from Wall Street Journal pop music critic, Jim Fusilli, who while at South by Southwest in March wrote “The Band of Heathens, an Austin-based group, played the best set I came across during my five nights in town,” With a new full-length studio album in the works and a host of tour dates, there are only good things to come in 2009.

As their dedicated fans already know, The Band of Heathens’ live show is a must-see and the guys continue to keep up their aggressive touring schedule throughout the summer months with upcoming sets at the internationally recognized Summerfest and Mile High Music festivals. The band will perform their soulful live show in both clubs and outdoor stages from California to the Southwest, and all points in between, undoubtedly winning over fans in each new city.

Living and performing in Austin, The Band of Heathens has been fortunate to collaborate with some well-known Texas artists. Ray Wylie Hubbard produced their studio record which also features guests Stephen Bruton, Patty Griffin and Gurf Morlix. Ed Jurdi, Gordy Quist and Colin Brooks are each showcased in their vocal delivery, songwriting and guitar interplay. The unified front downstage is cemented by a heavy groove courtesy of Seth Whitney on bass and John Chipman on drums.

The much publicized creation of The Band of Heathens adds to their charismatic appeal. The band came to be while the five members were playing in different bands respectively in the “Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin, Texas. The fellas started jammin’ together at Momo’s and it was clear that they were victims of fate more than circumstance. That these guys came together is surely no accident. Music this soulful and tight can’t be anything short of preordained. “This ain’t genericamericana. This is greasy and right,” says KGSR Content Manager and recognized music tastemaker Jody Denberg.

There is never any doubt the band is having as much fun as their listeners and touring throughout the United States has added nuance to their songs. There is a comfort and ease in the material and lyrics; a perfect marriage of roots and jam which allows the casual tone of the songs to work anywhere from a back porch party to a packed club, to just makin’ you feel good about being stuck in traffic.

In 2009 and beyond, The Band of Heathens are connecting people through the music, online and through live performance…you have to listen to believe!

SXSW this year was jammed full of great music and dark sunglasses. Some of our favorite shows were Gary Louris and Mark Olson, The Motherhips, T Bird and the Breaks, Suzanna Choffell, and the Heartless Bastards. 

Check out this article in the Wall Street Journal about SXSW and see the Band of Heathens mentioned near the end.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123784538912618123.html

WHERE SXSW POINTS TALENT

(From the Wall Street Journal)

By Jim Fusilli

Austin

‘The music industry isn’t completely broken,” the hip-hop artist known as Busdriver told me, “but it’s on its way. I see some freedom in that.”… Read More by clicking below

(more…)

Packed house at Antones tonight. Playing with Hayes Carll and the crowd got here early to check out the set.

After finally getting over our German jet lag, we’ve been back to work for a week before taking a week off for the Holidays. This week we had shows with the Resentments, Bruce Hughes, and with the Randy Rogers Band. This week some of us are headed out of town and some of us are sticking around Austin drinking egg nog by the gallon. We’ve been writing some new songs, trying to get some studio time in, and having a good time looking forward to next year. After a couple more shows right around New Years we’ll be off to Colorado for a couple weeks, and then back to Germany and the Netherlands for three weeks. What can we say, we love ice and snow.

Our manager Ethan Bessey has done a great job of compiling live show recordings over the course of the past year and now we’re giving those recordings away through the “Extras” link on our website. Check them out. We’ll try to keep adding live shows as we get them, as well as any video we find on youtube that tickles our fancy. So go download all you want. Spread the word. And if you have any videos, live recordings, or photos we’d love to see them. Don’t be afraid to send them our way and our management will try to get them up on the site. Send an email to info@bandofheathens.com.

Here is some video footage from our recent shows in Germany:

Also, I thought this was pretty cool. A few days ago we started getting emails and phone calls from people at Billboard in New York. I guess the album is charting on some kind of Heatseeker chart and some indie music charts. Not sure what all that means, but it sounds great to me. Check it out:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Albums&f=Top+Heatseekers

It’s been a great year. It’s been a blast recording and releasing our first studio album as the Heathens, touring all over the country and Europe, and meeting so many true music fans everywhere we go. Kindred spirits all around. Thanks for spreading the word like a like a hurricane this year.

Warm regards and egg nog from The Band of Heathens!

Sitting here in a food induced semi-hallucinatory state, I’ve had a chance to just let my mind wander for a few minutes… Turkey legs, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy;

Sorry I digress.

You always hear people talking about “the source,” or their search for the truth, the most concentrated and potent form of something.  As musicians, we are constantly looking for it.  The pure moments, unadulterated by our everyday thoughts, the crowd, or the really bad food we ate just before taking the stage.

The reality is, there are sources all around us, it’s just usually a matter of tuning in and blocking out everything else.  Sometimes that is easier said than done.  However, once in a great while, you get hit smack in the face with it.  That was the experience I had last week performing with The African Children’s Choir.

There are gigs on the calendar that are circled, that you look forward to, just hoping and expecting something special or magical to occur on that night.  Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t.  Oftentimes you have expectations of what is to be and they are not fulfilled.  On a rare occasion, you have high expectations and they are not only met, they are surpassed and you’re able to capture a moment and freeze it, if only for a few seconds.

We were lucky enough to be self-appointed music directors for this shin-dig down at the Parish in Austin.  Some of our friends like Guy Forsyth, Carolyn Wonderland and Kacey Crowley, blew us away with their great songs and performance style.  In addition, we had the opportunity to back up Bob Schneider on a few songs.  That alone should have been enough of a musical feast to stuff us, but there was more.

The African Children’s Choir, consisting of about 25  eight to ten year olds from Uganda took the stage and absolutely blew everyone away.  We were fortunate enough to close the show with Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released, with those angelic voices singing right along with us.  Their musicality was absolutely impeccable and their spirit was so positive and contagious it was impossible to not break into a full smile.

They were the source.

As a young kid, I remember having these really intense moments that made me realize the power of music and the beauty of that gift.  It was something that made you feel connected to the world around you, no matter how old you were or where you were from or what you looked like.  In that instant you were part of the team, part of the clan, part of THE SONG.  It’s that same song that’s been going on for thousands of years all over the world.  It’s all of the colors of the rainbow and the whole spectrum of emotions rolled up into a giant ball.

Like many other things, as you get older sometimes it’s harder to notice it or take part in it.  It’s always there, it’s just a matter of opening the channel to receive it.  Everytime we put on our instruments, we’re doing everything we can to be a part of that moment and of that song.

I hope that some of you in attendance at the show felt this, I know I did.  Thank you to the African Children’s Choir for reminding us about IT.  Here’s to seeking the source and finding it whenever it is available.

Thanks for taking the trip with us.

Peace and Happy Thanksgiving,

Ed

This week the Band of Heathens self-titled studio debut has hit #1 on the Americana Radio Chart.  This is only the second time in the history of the chart that an independent release has hit #1.  That makes 11 weeks in the top 5 of the Americana Chart, and 14 weeks in the top 10. 

The album also is holding steady at #1 for the second month in a row on the EuroAmericana Radio Chart.  The radio support this debut has received is remarkable and we’re excited and grateful for the recent success. A special thanks to all of you who have come out to shows, called radio stations, called your friends, bought albums, and have made this thing fly.

This month, catch the Heathens at the Austin City Limits Festival, the Americana Music Association Conference in Nashville, and the Chattahippie Music Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

This week the Band of Heathens self-titled studio album debut hit #2 on the Americana Radio Chart in the U.S. and #1 on the European EuroAmericana Radio Chart.

JamBase just posted a review of the album. Check it out:

http://www.jambase.com/Articles/14724/The-Band-of-Heathens-The-Band-of-Heathens

“There’s just nothing to dislike about roots rockers The Band of Heathens – dead sturdy, salt o’ the earth songwriting delivered with strong, clear voices, lively picking and jubilant spirit. If early Jayhawks or Steve Earle knocks your dick in the dirt then you’re gonna love you some Heathens, the winners of the (more…)