Who the hell are?

The Hacienda Brothers

The Hacienda Brothers

Rhythm'n'blues brothers: It's 10 beers for a dollar night at Shitkickers, and the good ol' boys are getting ready for a right old hootenanny. The band are settin' up on stage with their accordions, lap steels and big country'n'western guitars. They start playin' and, waitaminute, what the Sam Hill is that? It sure sounds like country, but there's somethin' else there that we don't rightly recognise. A kinda groove thing, y'know, like them black folks play up there in Detroit and Philly. Jumpin' Jehosophat, they're mixin' country music with soul! Where's my six-shooter?

Put your records on: The Hacienda Brothers are no ordinary country'n' western combo. In fact, you'd wonder if you should call 'em country at all. Led by two genuine cult heroes, Dave Gonzalez and Chris Gaffney, the Brothers have taken the country blueprint and twisted it round, adding soul and rhythm'n'blues, and creating a sound that fans have dubbed "western soul". Gonzalez was leader of highly respected San Diego band The Paladins, while Gaffney fronted Cold Hard Facts and played occasionally with Dave Alvin's Guilty Men. The idea formed when Gonzalez met up with Tucson music promoter Jeb Schoonover. The two became fast friends and thrift store buddies, spending the day trawling for obscure records and sitting up all night listening to them. "We started off with the saddest kind of sad honky- tonkers, only to end up at about 2am listening to a string of down-and-out soul singers," recalls Schoonover. "Dave and I looked at each other and said, 'Man, if only a band could play what we've been listening to tonight. How cool would that be?'"

Penn pal: At Schoonover's 40th birthday party, Gonzalez and Gaffney got up to jam and found they were kindred country souls. They began writing and recording songs. The Hacienda Brothers' self-titled debut album was produced by none other than Dan Penn, legendary musical partner of Spooner Oldham. Penn had just three stipulations before he'd agree to the job: nothing to be done over the phone, by mail or through the internet. All hands-on, in person. For their new album, What's Wrong with Right, the HBs have once again recruited Penn, and now have the benefit of 300 gigs' worth of experience behind them. "We also took a big step with our songwriting," says Gonzalez. "We're really proud of our new record."

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Brothers beyond: The album features the soulful ballad Looking for Loneliness, the groove-driven Midnight Dream, and the sentimental If Daddy Don't Sing Danny Boy. There are also covers of Charlie Rich, along with a couple of Dan Penn-Spooner Oldham classics, Cry Like a Baby and It Tears Me Up. The Hacienda Brothers will play the Midlands Music Festival in Ballinlough Castle, Athboy, Co Meath on July 29th.

Kevin Courtney