Band of Heathens

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KNOXVILLE — There are few rock groups that contain three lead singer-songwriters, but Band of Heathens co-lead singer-songwriter Colin Brooks says this might be the perfect time for it.

“Maybe it’s better because of the ADHD of modern society,” he says. “They always say three heads are better than one, right?”

The Austin-based group is fronted by Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist with bassist Seth Whitney and drummer John Chipman filling out the rhythm section. The group has been on a roll lately, with an album that became an Americana radio favorite and recently appearing on an “Austin City Limits” with Elvis Costello.

Brooks says the group is not just a singer-songwriter showcase.

“We’re definitely a rock ’n’ roll band,” he says. “It’s harder to get off the ground if you’re one guy and you have to pay your band, but we fly or sink together.”

The singer-songwriters who formed the group (which initially included Brian Keene) had all been playing around Austin prior to 2006.

“We started hearing each other and then we started sitting in with each other,” says Brooks. “Then somebody had the idea to just make it one big jam session.”

Brooks doesn’t remember anyone thinking that combining into one band was a great idea.

“But it was immediately obvious that there was something special about it. Crowds started coming to the shows and there was a little buzz about it. And it took the pressure off of each of us to always be the front man.”

The combination also allowed for vocal harmonies. Brooks remembers the group working up harmonies on the traditional song “No More Cane on the Brazos.”

“I walked out of that rehearsal and said, ‘I think we really have something here.’ It was one of the moments that kind of makes your spine tingle.”

The group took up residency at an Austin club called Momo’s. It was at that time that the group was dubbed with its name.

“No one really wants to take responsibility for it,” says Brooks.

The group didn’t actually have a name for those early shows. They simply listed the shows as “The Good Time Supper Club.” Brooks suspects it was the man booking shows at the club that sent a listing to a local paper identifying the group as “Band of Heathens.”

“He was kind of a jokester and he would refer to people as ‘heathens.’”

The band members, though, kind of liked the name and it stuck.

The group’s first two CDs were of live performances. Then the band enlisted Texas legend Ray Wylie Hubbard to produce its first studio album. The self-titled disc went to No. 1 on the Americana music chart. The group’s second studio album, “One Foot in the Ether,” was released this year.

Brooks says that the songwriters in the group still write songs for projects other than Band of Heathens and not all of each individual songwriters fans follow Band of Heathens.

“A few people who were fans of mine before are not fans of Band of Heathens, but we have made so many more fans for the group.”

While each songwriter brings in his own songs for the group, each creation becomes a collaboration.

“Sometimes a song will come through unscathed, but, normally, it will get some dents taken out or a new coat of paint.”