the Gourds??

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Here's a 30 minute video shot at the Gourds' New Year's Eve Masquerade Ball

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Unfortunately this epic version of "Gin n' Juice" ended up on the cutting room floor during the editing of the upcoming Gourds documentary Shake the Chandelier (previously titled All the Labor) but it's well worth the ride. They veer all over the place but end up settling (at least for a little while) on "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)". Patrick Sweany and Miles Zuniga guest star.

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For those that are feeling so inclined you can watch the trailer for the new Gourds documentary All the Labor here.

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Shinyribs (aka Kevin Russell of the Gourds) has just made 9 tracks from his second album, Gulf Coast Museum, available for immediate download at Bandcamp. Anyone that pre-orders the album will be sent a link to the complete record on the day of release on April 16th. A CD version will be available on that day as well with the vinyl dropping sometime in June. You can download and/or listen to those 9 tracks here.

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Movie poster for the All the Labor documentary

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Just a heads up for folks in the Triangle area that Motorco Music Hall in Durham is going to host a screening of the Gourds documentary All the Labor on Wednesday, September 4th at 7:30 pm. There's a suggested donation of $5. More info here and here.

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This footage, filmed in 2005 for Michael Johnathan's Woodsongs radio/TV show, was just posted to YouTube yesterday. The video quality isn't the best in the world and the audio is a bit wonky at times but it's still well worth watching. There's some uncut bonus footage at the end that includes a second take of "Blankets" and the Gourds pairing with Brian Willoughby and Cathryn Craig for an at times awkward, expletive-free version of "Gin n' Juice".

(7:00)
-intro-
Lower 48
-interview-
Hellhounds
(19:20)

Brian Willoughby and Cathryn Craig

(35:00)
-interview-
Blankets [take 1]
(42:00)

Brian Willoughby and Cathryn Craig

(54:20)
-intro-
Darlin' Cory [instrumental] (Max & Kevin)
(56:40)

(102:00)
-tv commercial-
Blankets [take 2]
(108:11)

Brian Willoughby and Cathryn Craig

(113:54)
-interview-
Gin and Juice
(123:30)

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After their show at Threadgill's in Austin on October 27th the Gourds are going on an indefinite hiatus. There's been no formal announcement of this hiatus and from what I understand, there likely won't be. For those that haven't been keeping up with them, bassist/vocalist Jimmy Smith, keyboard player Claude Bernard, guitarist Mark Creaney (the Gourds' soundman) and drummer Dave Pennington formed The Hard Pans earlier this year. Drummer Keith Langford is a member of Shinyribs along with Kevin Russell. Multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston is presently at work on his first solo album. The Gourds have continued to perform, albeit rather sporadically as Kevin has been concentrating on his work as Shinyribs (more on that in the article below). As a longtime Gourds fan I truly hope this is just a temporary hiatus as I've always enjoyed their live shows immensely. They'll most definitely be missed.

Shinyribs becomes the focus of Gourds’ singer/guitarist


Kevin Russell started Shinyribs as a side project to the Gourds

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A must read for any and all fans of the Gourds from Windup Wire.

The Gourds are not only THE great Austin band, but also one of the great American bands, of their or any other generation. The fact that they have not been included in this pantheon by the mainstream music press is a glaring omission. I would like to theorize why this omission is so, and to argue for why it should be corrected.

Read on here.

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Sunday night's show at Threadgill's in Austin will be streamed live at this link.

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The soundtrack to All the Labor drops on February 11th.


1. Plaid Coat
2. Gangsta Lean
3. Stab
4. Jesus Christ With Signs Following
5. Cracklins
6. Pint Tar Ramparts/Stadium Blitzer
7. Hellhounds
8. Rainin' In Port Arthur
9. Maria
10. Pickles
11. Peppermint City
12. Melchert
13. Dying of the Pines
14. My Name Is Jorge
15. Eyes of a Child
16. Your Benefit
17. Do4U
18. All The Labor

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Shinyribs (aka Kevin Russell) covers some Fandango! era ZZ Top.

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Premiere of the Hard Pans' video for "Where's the Pub?" from their debut record Budget Cuts. The Hard Pans include Jimmy Smith and Claude Bernard of the Gourds. The band is rounded out by Mark Creaney (sound engineer and occasional guitarist for the Gourds) and George Duron.