Burden Brothers

The brainchild of Vaden Todd Lewis and longtime friend Taz Bentley, The Burden Brothers have evolved from an indie experiment born of major-label frustration to a full-blown rock band with a soaring hit single "Beautiful Night" and a debut album, BURIED IN YOUR BLACK HEART (Kirtland Records) in less than two years.

Not that the Burden Brothers’ amazing success can be chalked up to taking short-cuts because when it comes to paying dues in the music industry, both Lewis and Bentley could write a book. Following a fitful decade-long stint with 90's post-punk cult icons The Toadies, Lewis had two popular and criticallyacclaimed albums under his belt along with a lifetime of disappointment for the business side of making music. Returning to his native Dallas/Ft. Worth home at the end of 2000, Vaden found a thriving music scene and reconnected with ex- Reverend Horton Heat drummer Taz Bentley. Taz, a veteran drummer with crushing power and clockwork timing who also kept pace for such diverse groups as Tenderloin and Izzy Stradlin, was equally disappointed with the music business. Upon finding common ground and a hunger to make music, the two began writing. The creative chemistry between Lewis and Bentley was instant and within a very short time they had an EP of songs and were gigging regularly as The Burden Brothers throughout Texas and the Southwest, recording and releasing songs fast and furiously
and developing a die-hard fan base along the way.
"We had songs on several compilations, plus an ep and two Burden Brothers 'packages' written, recorded and put out in such a short time," Lewis says in wonderment. "That's never happened to me before, and it felt really good to be able to just go in the studio and put a song out that fast. I mean, I would still be waiting for approval at any major label."

Unified by Lewis' throaty, tough and melodic riffing and Bentley's dynamic and driving drums, BURIED IN YOUR BLACK HEART is exactly what the Burden Brothers wanted it to be - straightforward. Produced by Lewis, Bentley and
David Castell, the songs, co-written by Lewis and Bentley, are ragged and personal; well-crafted and memorable but not tricked-out or over-produced in the way that so many of the songs on the rock and alternative charts are these days. And the breakout success of the group's first single "Beautiful Night" proves once again that there is an audience for great songwriting and passionate, hard-rocking music.

Tipping their hat to contemporaries like Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age and such legends as Led Zeppelin, The Stooges and the Pixies, the CD is impossible to define within a single genre. From the pulse-pounding rave-ups
of the track "Come On Down" to the glam-ish stomp of "Your So God Damn Beautiful" to the country twang of "Your Fault" and plaintive "Conditional," BURIED IN YOUR BLACK HEART is the work of a band with amazingly broad musical talent and taste. "Right now, the idea is to not have a style," says Lewis. "We'll fall into a sound eventually, but we want it to be a natural progression." "We're having fun experimenting. Vaden and I have been through the circus,"
muses Bentley. " In both of our cases, we got to go farther than we ever thought possible in this business. So at this point we’re just like a couple of guys getting out in the garage to work on the car, just having fun with it."

Filling out the band’s live lineup are Casey Orr / bass, (GWAR, Ministry, Rigor Mortis and Hellions), Corey Rozzoni /guitar, and Casey Hess / guitar.