Palo Duro Records

One of the tightest bands in all of country music, and definitely one of the most talented, it’s a shame to see The Derailers making hardly any inroads on the charts despite over a decade of some of the finest Bakersfield country since Buck Owens and his Buckaroos ruled the roost. It only proves what real country fans have known for years: real country is not appreciated on country radio or in Nashville. Sure, they’ll trot out some old legend when he’s near death or when a sympathetic story is called for, but when they’re doing fine physically and there’s no need for a story let one of them release a record and it’s nothing but crickets from the powers that be.

If you were a follower of the band in the late ’90’s when they were having their albums released by Sire Records, there has been a major change within the group. Tony Villanueva, their former singer, is no longer with the band and is now a preacher in the Northwest US somewhere. At first, I mourned the loss of Villanueva, as he seemed to really understand what country music was about and was a great singer and songwriter to boot. With Villanueva gone, it was up to guitarist/songwriter/sometime singer Brian Hofeldt to decide whether the band should keep going. Thank God, he decided to keep the Derailers on the rails! Now on his third album as leader of the band, The Derailers are as strong as ever and if you listened to the Sire albums and this one, there would be few differences other than the sound of the singer’s voice. And while the sameness might be a turnoff to some, great country music is real simple stuff, though don’t confuse ’simple’ with ‘easy’. With the limited palette of country music (especially when you narrow it down even further to a traditional Bakersfield sound, say) it takes real talent to come up with something fresh, but these guys have managed to do it every album. It could be Hofeldt’s love of Mersey pop, as little Beatles touches pop up on every Derailers record since Hofeldt has taken over. It’s funny, because The Beatles covered Buck Owens’ songs on their first albums so it’s come full circle in a way. Like the album title suggests, this great hard-country CD by the best country band in the business today is guaranteed to satisfy your musical desires.  Read review here

Review by Scott Homewood

Check out the music here

To purchase your copy today, buy here

PDR-1204

The Derailers

“Guarnteed To Satisfy”

Produced by Brian Hofeldt

Street date: August 26, 2008

Buy Now!

Listen Now on Last.fm

We are excited to announce the musical lineup for the debut Chattahippie Music Festival, featuring the best talent in Americana, Rock, Blues, Jam, Country, Folk and Bluegrass from around the nation! With over thirty artists from ten states, this promises to be a great celebration of peace, love and music!

Northwest Georgia Bank presents the 2008 Chattahippie Music Festival featuring: Pure Prairie League, Chris Knight, The Derailers, Charlie Louvin, Walt Wilkins & The Mystiqueros, Two Tons of Steel, Elizabeth Cook, Dallas Wayne, The Gougers, Gary Nicholson, Jason Eady & The Wayward Apostles, Laura Cantrell, Buzz Cason & The Love Notes, Beggars’ Caravan, Lou Wamp, Roger Alan Wade, Dane Varese, Joe Moss, Trent Summar & The New Row Mob, Jimmy Davis, Michael Johnathon, Band of Heathens, Doug & Telisha Williams, Miles from Nowhere, Michael Hearne & South by Southwest, Tommy Alverson, Billy Block, Whitey Johnson, Penguin, Tressie Seegers, Darryl Lee Rush, and The New Binkley Brothers.

(more…)

The American Chronicle, The Derailers and Dwight Yoakam Remember Buck Owens

By Deborah Evans Price
January 30, 2008

(click for full article) If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then inspiration is the highest form of creativity. Both elements come to play in two recent albums that achieve their excellence through celebrating the late County Music Hall of Fame member Buck Owens.

That legacy impacted, among many other artists, The Beatles, whose cover of “Act Naturally” caught the young Brian Hofeldt’s attention. “I was about 7 years old,” the future Derailers singer and lead guitarist remembered. “I’d sit down at the piano and try to bang out ‘Act Naturally,’ and my folks said, ‘You know, that’s actually a Buck Owens song.’ And I went, ‘Buck Owens? The guy from “Hee Haw”?’ I didn’t know, but I thought if The Beatles liked him, I’m going to listen to as much as I can. Buck Owens really stuck with me. I just loved his delivery and his songs. That guitar sound was just so stunning and sparkling and clear. It really spoke to me.”

The Derailers met Owens in 1995. “Our friend Casper Rawls had a Buck Owens birthday bash every year in Austin at the Continental Club,” Hofeldt related. “In 1995, he finally talked Buck into coming down to visit. Buck stood back in the corner, and when we got up onstage to do our Buck songs in the show, he came up and stood right in front of us. He was visibly touched because we had paid such direct homage to his music and even [by] the way we dressed and presented ourselves.”

Four years later, Owens invited The Derailers to be the house band for his 70th birthday bash at the Crystal Palace. The back cover of Under the Influence of Buck shows him standing in front of the stage that night, watching The Derailers and smiling. Later he joined them in the studio to record “Play Me the Waltz of the Angels,” which appears on their 1999 album Full Western Dress.

Remembering that session, Hofeldt recalled Owens telling them, “‘It’s interesting you guys picked this song to involve me with. I’d actually played guitar on the original Wynn Stewart version.’ It was a real full-circle thing for him. Of course, it was just an amazing, wonderful experience for us to be involved in a recording with Buck Owens. I can’t say enough nice things about how supportive he was to us over the years.”

In recording Under the Influence of Buck, Hofeldt said, “we did adhere pretty close to the arrangements that Buck and his Buckaroos and Ken Nelson, Buck’s producer, laid out for those songs. For so many years, we’ve been playing those songs like that, and another thing is that the sound is so specific and so unique and such a part of what we’ve taken as a part of our sound that we really wanted to, in tribute to Buck, play that sound the way it was. We felt we were approaching what we were doing in a way that Buck would be proud of. We had him on our minds the whole time.”

Both Yoakam and Hofeldt have benefited from their friend’s advice. “One thing I really remember is he said, ‘Don’t be afraid to entertain the idea of doing an outside song from another songwriter,’” Hofeldt recalled. “He said, ‘I have my own publishing company and I’m doing well with it. I wrote most of my own songs. But I never would have gotten my first No. 1 if I hadn’t gotten “Act Naturally,”‘ which was written by Johnny Russell and Voni Morrison.

As for Yoakam, the most valuable lesson imparted by Owens was “to cherish the opportunity that I’ve had to make a living performing music. Watching him enjoy what he was doing to the very end of his life, that makes it a great lesson.”

Owens actually performed at the Crystal Palace on the night he died. Shortly after ending his show, he encountered some late arrivals who had just made it down from Oregon and without hesitation went back to sing some more for them. “He played a short set and ended with ‘Big in Vegas,’” Hofeldt said, noting the song that closes The Derailers tribute album. “That was the last song that Buck ever performed. To the end, he was the ultimate entertainer.”

Click here to listen to samples of The Derailers “Under The Influence Of Buck” on www.iLike.com

This is your chance to duct-tape the critics’ mouths shut and speak up about Austin music. Not sure whom to vote for? Turn on the radio, drop by the local record store, or club. Your favorite…Palo Duro Records…band is probably playing the music we love! Entries must be received by Thursday, January 31, 2008.

Some of our fan picks!

Vote Now!

The Country Music web site 9513.com released its Top 50 Country Songs of 2007, and we’re proud to have a couple of artists in the lineup. Congrats to these artists and the excellent recordings!

#49 Big In Vegas, The Derailers, “Under The Influence of Buck”

#23 Walt Wilkins and The Mystiqueros, “Trains I Missed”

For the entire list visit the9513.com

Review by Duke Egbert

There comes a time in every young man’s life when he gets over his desire to be cool and realizes that honky-tonk music is just a whole hell of a lot of fun. Mine occurred about six years ago, and I’ve never looked back.

So it was with much anticipation that I looked forward to the new album from Austin’s The Derailers, Under The Influence Of Buck. This CD is a tribute to the band’s greatest influence, the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens. The Derailers were the house band at Owens’ 70th birthday party, and I have to admit they have an uncanny ability to nail the sound and feel of Owens’ work perfectly; Owens’ work in stripping down country and honky-tonk to its essentials has been a major influence in American music.

Before Owens, country music was lost in a morass of sweet strings and easy listening influences, afterwards, it returned to its roots. (Just a side note: apparently someone has to come in and remind country music about every twenty years that it’s not supposed to sound like soft rock. As soon as I find out who’s responsible, I say we go smack ‘em around.)

However, this isn’t just a vanity project or a cover band festival. Instead, it’s a joyous and wide-ranging musical celebration of all things Owens. The CD has a tight, intimate sound reminiscent of playing in small, smoky roadhouses; the vocals and guitar take center stage, and Under The Influence is straightforward and a delight. The Derailers cover all of Buck’s better known songs — “Together Again,” “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail,” “Cryin’ Time” — but they also wander through some less-mapped territory with songs like “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass” from Owens’ late-sixties experimental work. Add in the raucous, foot-stomping fun of songs like “Foolin’ Around” and “Love’s Gonna Live Here” and you’ve got a musical good time.

One of the last tracks on Under The Influence Of Buck is “Johnny B. Goode,” a reminder of Owens’ belief that country and rockabilly were close relatives. This humble reviewer agrees, and wishes more musicians would remember just that. The Derailers certainly do, and that’s why Under The Influence of Buck is a damned fine CD and a damned good time.

Rating: A

Review by Duke Egbert, DailyVault.com

There comes a time in every young man’s life when he gets over his desire to be cool and realizes that honky-tonk music is just a whole hell of a lot of fun. Mine occurred about six years ago, and I’ve never looked back.

So it was with much anticipation that I looked forward to the new album from Austin’s The Derailers, Under The Influence Of Buck. This CD is a tribute to the band’s greatest influence, the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens. The Derailers were the house band at Owens’ 70th birthday party, and I have to admit they have an uncanny ability to nail the sound and feel of Owens’ work perfectly; Owens’ work in stripping down country and honky-tonk to its essentials has been a major influence in American music.

Before Owens, country music was lost in a morass of sweet strings and easy listening influences, afterwards, it returned to its roots. (Just a side note: apparently someone has to come in and remind country music about every twenty years that it’s not supposed to sound like soft rock. As soon as I find out who’s responsible, I say we go smack ‘em around.)

However, this isn’t just a vanity project or a cover band festival. Instead, it’s a joyous and wide-ranging musical celebration of all things Owens. The CD has a tight, intimate sound reminiscent of playing in small, smoky roadhouses; the vocals and guitar take center stage, and Under The Influence is straightforward and a delight. The Derailers cover all of Buck’s better known songs — “Together Again,” “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail,” “Cryin’ Time” — but they also wander through some less-mapped territory with songs like “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass” from Owens’ late-sixties experimental work. Add in the raucous, foot-stomping fun of songs like “Foolin’ Around” and “Love’s Gonna Live Here” and you’ve got a musical good time.

One of the last tracks on Under The Influence Of Buck is “Johnny B. Goode,” a reminder of Owens’ belief that country and rockabilly were close relatives. This humble reviewer agrees, and wishes more musicians would remember just that. The Derailers certainly do, and that’s why Under The Influence of Buck is a damned fine CD and a damned good time.

Rating: A

The Americana Music Association released its list of the Top 100 Albums of 2007, and we’re proud to have several artists in the lineup. Congrats to these fantastic artists and their stellar recordings!

• Trent Summar & The New Row Mob, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
• Walt Wilkins & The Mystiqueros, Diamonds in the Sun
• The Derailers, Under the Influence of Buck

Join The Derailers Friday evening at the newly reopened Cactus Records in Houston! The band will be providing an in-store performance at 5:30pm, and signing CDs of their highly-acclaimed Under the Influence of Buck. Admission is free, but space is limited so get their early and bring a friend!

Cactus Records
2110 Portsmouth
Houston, TX 77098
(713) 526-9272