LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lost a musical legend in April when Levon Helm died. Many a band honored his legacy in subsequent days by performing his songs or telling of their love for the man. One band took it a step further by writing a song about him while in Helm’s native state for a show of their own, as luck would have it.
The Band of Heathens wrote on their site April 20: “Yesterday one of our musical heroes, a true American original, Levon Helm, passed on. By some strange twist of cosmic fate, we were in his birth-state of Arkansas when we heard the news. Therewas some sort of comfort in knowing we were treading on the ground that sculpted the man and set him on the path to utter and complete righteousness.
“We wrote ‘One More Song’ right before our show in Little Rock last night to play during a mini-Levon tribute encore. This is ademo of the song as we recorded it in the parking lot. Although we’ll never get to hear his voice in the present anymore, we are incredibly lucky to be able to be with our friend whenever our ears are open. Play us one more song, cuz.”
The Band of Heathens then provided access to the song on their website at www.bandofheathens.com/ free-stuff.
(Also on the site: a free download of a song by another noted Arkie, Charlie Rich’s “Mohair Sam.”)
Ed Jurdi, one of the founders of the Band of Heathens, figures the group has played in Little Rock five or six times, thanks to the city’s “good music fans,” as hewrote in an e-mail, responding to several questions. The band has also played Fayetteville, Fort Smith and El Dorado.
“Gordy [Quist] and me wrote the song about Levon, the day we found out about Levon’s passing. Part of it we wrote on the road and part at Sticky Fingerz in Little Rock. I got to see Levon back when he wasn’t singing at the time, but was still amazing behind the drums.”
Band of Heathens got its start in Austin, Texas, when three singer-songwriters shared the stage separately and together and decided to try life as a group. The three - Jurdi, Quist and Colin Brooks - contributed songs and vocals as the group beganits recording career with live albums in 2006 and 2007 before releasing a self-titled studio album in 2008, produced by Ray Wylie Hubbard and featuring guest spots by Patty Griffin, Gurf Morlix and Stephen Bruton. It was followed by One Foot in the Ether in 2009 and Top Hat Crown & the Clapmaster’s Son in 2011.
The group performed on Austin City Limits in 2009 and has festival credits at South by Southwest, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and the Austin City Limits Festival.
Brooks left the band at the end of 2011, after the band recorded The Double Down: Live in Denver, recorded in October at Cervantes’ Other Side, a Denver club. The two volumes each contain a live CD and DVD. Keyboardist Trevor Nealon and drummer Richard Millsap provide harmony vocals. Bassist Ryan Bowman completes the group’s lineup. Jurdi and Quist sing and play acoustic and electric guitars and a variety of keyboards.
“We’re on the road most of the time,” Jurdi says, “so doing live shows and recording them is nothing that unorthodox for us. We do a lot of improvisation, and we try to preserve that, so when we set up two shows in one city for the first time, back to back, we decided to make a fan release of the CDs and DVDs from both nights. And Colorado was the first place outside of Texas where we had success as far as attracting fans.”
Band of Heathens
9 p.m. Saturday, Stickyz
Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken
Shack, 107 River Market
Ave., Little Rock
Admission: $10
(501) 372-7707
stickyz.com
Weekend, Pages 35 on 07/26/2012