Brumley & Gardner

Texas Music Award nominee Nick Brumley has teamed up with classically trained upright bassist Eric Gardner (formerly of Dirtfoot) to form Brumley & Gardner, an acoustic duo that take the aesthetic of traditional American roots music and give it a modern twist, pushing the boundaries of traditional acoustic music into new territories. They first met last year when Eric started playing bass with the Good Time Rounders, a mainstay in the Marshall, Texas, music scene. The musical chemistry between the two was evident immediately, and they first played as a duo at the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas in June of this 2010. After that first show, Brumley and Gardner knew that they had something special. Their music is all acoustic, with Brumley on guitar and banjo and Gardner on the upright bass and Wah pedal, and varies from slow and sorrowful to funky rockin' blues. They describe it as "Texas Whiskey Soul with a Dash of Louisiana Spicy."
Brumley and Gardner are releasing "Wild Life" in November 2010. The two wrote all of the songs on "Wild Life" and recorded it in Dallas with legendary engineer/ producer Chris Bell in about twelve hours. Bell has recorded platinum selling albums for the likes of The Eagles and Destiny's Child, as well as being one of neo-soul diva Erykah Badu's personal engineers. The experience was one of a kind for Brumley and Gardner, as they took the Amtrak train from Marshall to Dallas, getting more than a few strange looks as they lugged a guitar, banjo, and Eric's big bass around the train station. Chris Bell picked them up from the station and they went directly to his loft to start working. Less than twenty-four hours later, they were on their way back to the train station to head back home, having recorded nine songs working practically non-stop and sleeping on Bell's couch.
Their live show is an experience that speaks to pure human emotions, delving into true tales of sorrow and regret, then rocking into a fanciful, funky song about a riverboat gambling trip down the Mississippi River. Eric's big bass sound created by his upright going through a 400 watt 4x10 cabinet, sometimes made funky with his unique use of a Wah pedal mixes with Nick's sweet, tenor vocals to create a full and spacious sonic experience. Playing their originals peppered with a few traditionals from the likes of Hank Williams, Sr. and Ledbelly, Brumley and Gardner celebrate the natural beauty of and expression of acoustic instruments and make the most of their space and resonance.