I don’t like to call it classic country because that makes it sound like its gone, and it ain’t gone. We just need to give all of the people who still love this music, a voice in what country music REALLY is" -L. Hudgins. REVIEW FROM BOOT HEEL MAGAZINE NOV 2008:Austin’s doing it again. Hiding a gem in its little bars on back alleys and byways, savoring every gentle sob of a steel guitar crying out its soul, and hoping the rest of us don’t manage to find out what we’re missing. But it won’t work. Can’t work when music’s this good. Not for any lover of actual, by God, honest and down home stone cold country. Because that’s what Lucas Hudgins is, folks. The real thing, the way it used to be done, Hank Thompson and Merle Haggard style. No cobwebs, though. Dale Watson’s proven amply for a sustained period of time that it’s possible to be modern and relevant without getting away from the fundamentals. Hudgins has a voice to keep pace with Dale. And brother, does he have some songs. Catch him at the Spoke or the Mean-eyed Cat one night as you pass through central Texas, and you’ll be a fan of Lucas Hudgins and the First Cousins before the first set break.______________________________________________________________________________________________
The World Left Is Mine is the band’s second record. 2005’s Honky Tonk Illusion had its own moments of greatness (the title track is maybe the single best traditional country song since Jones warbled that one about the man who finally stopped loving that woman). And that release was fortuitous, as shortly after it dropped Hudgins and Chris Miller (Dave Alvin) met in Austin and became roommates and writing partners. Together the two soon persuaded pedal steel legend David Leroy Biller to throw in with the band, and an interesting mix of musical styles, knowledge, and talents began to coalesce. The result, this second record under the Lucas Hudgins banner, is astounding in subtle fashion. There’s no bombast here, certainly no flashpots going off, no big hooks to drag the college kids on the dancefloor. In short, nothing sexy at first glance to make the record stand out. But then music at its best has always been more about the sound than the looks, and what’s on display here is a track list no “artist” currently roaming Music City’s big time could honestly attempt to pull off. It takes sincerity and security and integrity to sing songs like these. If you don’t have those, you can’t make a song like “Three Chairs” work. Based on lyrics alone, a song like this is just cheesy. Some drunk in a bar commiserating his woman’s loss with his friends, those three wooden chairs. Buying rounds for the gang, even if the others aren’t really keeping up. Finding a way to face up to life’s hard truths, again. But put these lyrics in the safe harbor of Hudgins’ masterfully expressive vocals, and they ring as true as young love’s first peal. Same goes for “Step By Step,” a paean to the healing properties of an old hardwood floor and a woman who knows how to follow. Both songs make it easy to get the boots scooting slowly in the night. But it’s not all doom and gloom, with a side order of pedal steel sadness. “Country Song” kicks up the tempo and gets the night in gear, reminding us that coming out on the upper side of a broken relationship can be a damn good thing. And of course it’s not a country record, not really, if there isn’t a cheating song. “Your Heart Just Slipped My Mind” is a whopper.
Top to bottom, this is a country music record. Hudgins and company have captured the essence of the sounds our parents cut their teeth on, and they’ve figured a way to make that music relevant in this world we’ve all inherited. They’re proving that the basics do still matter, the fundamentals are timeless, and that musicianship outduels sex appeal all day long. The World Left Is Mine is the soundtrack of old cow pastures, ancient dancehalls, and modern hearts that never stopped loving ‘em both._____________________________
_________________
The Austin Chronicle recently recommended a Lucas Hudgins performance as "Texas roots meets snakeskin boots" , which describes this bands' separation from other Austin Country bands. Originally Formed in 2002 as Lucas Hudgins and The First Cousins, current band in 06, the band has never sounded better after a few years together. Soon after the release of Hudgins' Debut on local Label Bloodchili Records, Honky Tonk Illusion (2005), Chris Miller (guitar) sideman of Americana giant Dave Alvin and the guilty men, met Hudgins in Austin TX, and joined the band. The two moved in together and immediately began writing and arranging tunes, eventually recruiting one of Austin's Jazz and Country guitar greats David Leroy Biller to play Pedal steel guitar, one of todays most sought after steel players in Texas. The collaborative songwriting efforts of Hudgins and Miller turned out to be a perfect combination of talent, experience, and common sound, focusing mostly on Country Soul, Outlaw, and Trad. Dance Hall Country music. While working on their next project 2008's The World Left Is Mine (TX Jamboree) they began to turn heads in recognition from not only their live performances and musicianship, but these well crafted songs and their distinctly different sound. Dynamic Guitarist Chris Miller further influenced the band with his love and knowledge of other genres as well as country music. The Twin guitar parts and the arrangements of Biller and Miller, to go with the powerful vocals of Lucas Hudgins gives the band its authenticity, while still exerting a great deal of originality from the extreme mixture of their influences. Charlie Pride, Waylon Jennings, Ray Price, Johnny Cash, Willie, Merle Haggard, Faron Young, George Jones, Wynn Stuart, and Johnny Paycheck comes through. Along with the surprising appearance of soul, swing, blues, jazz, and funk. Their sound often changes from song to song giving the band a chance to show all of these, from Honky-tonk to Americana to Country soul making them able to show all of their branches of influence. As one of Texas' best unknown young vocalists, native Austinite Lucas Hudgins and his raw emotional trill, brings back Country's great era of songwriting AND Vocal quality, and is what you must hear to believe is coming out of this truly talented Texan._______________________________for booking or other CONACT INFO:
lucashudginsmusic@yahoo.com
(512) 326-1314 **(512)299-4723
CLICK HERE TO GET A FREE MYSPACE LAYOUT
