Six Things You Need To Know About…
The Texas Gentlemen
You name it – country, funk, R&B, soul, psychedelia, roots rock, jazz – and The Texas Gentlemen can do it, all with some panache. The Lone Star State band made their reputation as the go-to backing band for a host of names, including Kris Kristofferson, Joe Ely, Shakey Graves and Leon Bridges, like a modern echo of the Wrecking Crew or Muscle Shoals’ Swampers. They finally stepped out on their own with their 2017 debut album TX Jelly, and now the quintet have upped the ante considerably. New album Floor It!!! is a highspirited set of rampant grooves and golden melodies, forged from a classic era. Keyboard player/singer Daniel Creamer tells all.
There’s no school like the old school. For all their tendency to change styles, The Texas Gentlemen take greatest inspiration from the 60s and early 70s, recalling the classic sound of The Band, Little Feat, Leon Russell and others.
“I love so much modern music, but a lot of the time we’re discovering stuff from way back,” Creamer explains. “During the sixties, people were breaking out of standard genres for the first time. Stuff like The Band were doing, turning popular American music on its head.”
The band started by accident. Unprepared, the band were forced into existence at a tiny club in Dallas in 2014.
“It began very spontaneously,” recalls Creamer. “We’d been toying around with The Texas Gentlemen name a little bit, but hadn’t used it. My brother’s band had a residency at The Sundown, but had to cancel, so he asked us to fill in: ‘Hey, could you put some of the guys together and do that Gentlemen thing or whatever?’ All we had was a bunch of covers!”
All of them being former sidemen is essential to what they do. Each member eked a living around the North Texan club circuit in their formative years, prior to coming together. Creamer is grateful for the preparation.
“Growing up in Texas, the church was part of all our lives, but the real common denominator is that we all started pursuing music straight from high school. So in your early twenties you end up joining lots of bands and constantly gigging in bars, just to get by. Sharing the same experience has allowed us to really appreciate the nature of this band.”
Supporting Kris Kristofferson was a huge deal for them. In 2016, Kris Kristofferson returned to play the Newport Folk Festival for the first time in 45 years, and was backed by Creamer and co. The show was a major triumph, and introduced the band to American audiences.
“That was a big turning point for us,” says Creamer. “It was the first time people had really seen us. We also backed Kris in Dallas and Fort Worth, then in 2017 we played a bunch of festivals and got in front of people more. That whole year was a big shift. I’m just thankful that anybody gives a shit about our music.”
You won’t find prima donnas in this band. Being a flexible collective with no real frontman can be an advantage. The Gents thrive on the freedom it presents, as well as neatly avoiding the pitfalls of a raging ego.
“My favourite thing about this band is that nobody has the lead singer personality,” says Creamer. “There’s no one who wants all the attention or has the diva thing. We all work as one. Anybody can jump in and contribute, every perspective is welcomed. We’re buddies first and a band second.”
Musically there’s nowhere The Texas Gentlemen won’t go. Well, almost. Alongside their sheer exuberance, inclusivity is a key facet of the band’s charm. It seems that no musical style seems off limits.
“It’s hard for me to say something that we wouldn’t do,” Creamer ponders, “but we do tend to lean in certain directions; we’ll probably never get too into the synth world. We’re generally going to sound rootsy and we want to keep getting funkier. And it seems like people are ready to go with us on the journey. That’s the really exciting bit.”
Floor It!!! is out now via New West Records.