Lucas Hudgins
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Lucas Hudgins

Austin, Texas, United States | SELF

Austin, Texas, United States | SELF
Band Country Americana

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"bootheel online magazine Review Lucas Hudgins 2009 written by Dave Pilot"

Austin’s doing it again. Hiding a gem in its little bars on back alleys and byways, savoring every gentle sob of a steel guitar crying out its soul, and hoping the rest of us don’t manage to find out what we’re missing. But it won’t work. Can’t work when music’s this good. Not for any lover of actual, by God, honest and down home stone cold country. Because that’s what Lucas Hudgins is, folks. The real thing, the way it used to be done, Hank Thompson and Merle Haggard style. No cobwebs, though. Dale Watson’s proven amply for a sustained period of time that it’s possible to be modern and relevant without getting away from the fundamentals. Hudgins has a voice to keep pace with Dale. And brother, does he have some songs. Catch him at the Spoke or the Mean-eyed Cat one night as you pass through central Texas, and you’ll be a fan of Lucas Hudgins and the First Cousins before the first set break.

The World Left Is Mine is the band’s second record. 2005’s Honky Tonk Illusion had its own moments of greatness (the title track is maybe the single best traditional country song since Jones warbled that one about the man who finally stopped loving that woman). And that release was fortuitous, as shortly after it dropped Hudgins and Chris Miller (Dave Alvin) met in Austin and became roommates and writing partners. Together the two soon persuaded pedal steel legend David Leroy Biller to throw in with the band, and an interesting mix of musical styles, knowledge, and talents began to coalesce. The result, this second record under the Lucas Hudgins banner, is astounding in subtle fashion. There’s no bombast here, certainly no flashpots going off, no big hooks to drag the college kids on the dancefloor. In short, nothing sexy at first glance to make the record stand out. But then music at its best has always been more about the sound than the looks, and what’s on display here is a track list no “artist” currently roaming Music City’s big time could honestly attempt to pull off. It takes sincerity and security and integrity to sing songs like these. If you don’t have those, you can’t make a song like “Three Chairs” work. Based on lyrics alone, a song like this is just cheesy. Some drunk in a bar commiserating his woman’s loss with his friends, those three wooden chairs. Buying rounds for the gang, even if the others aren’t really keeping up. Finding a way to face up to life’s hard truths, again. But put these lyrics in the safe harbor of Hudgins’ masterfully expressive vocals, and they ring as true as young love’s first peal. Same goes for “Step By Step,” a paean to the healing properties of an old hardwood floor and a woman who knows how to follow. Both songs make it easy to get the boots scooting slowly in the night. But it’s not all doom and gloom, with a side order of pedal steel sadness. “Country Song” kicks up the tempo and gets the night in gear, reminding us that coming out on the upper side of a broken relationship can be a damn good thing. And of course it’s not a country record, not really, if there isn’t a cheating song. “Your Heart Just Slipped My Mind” is a whopper. Top to bottom, this is a country music record. Hudgins and company have captured the essence of the sounds our parents cut their teeth on, and they’ve figured a way to make that music relevant in this world we’ve all inherited. They’re proving that the basics do still matter, the fundamentals are timeless, and that musicianship outduels sex appeal all day long. The World Left Is Mine is the soundtrack of old cow pastures, ancient dancehalls, and modern hearts that never stopped loving ‘em both.
- bootheelmagazine.com


"Austin Chronicle music reviews NOVEMBER 28, 2008: Texas Platters BY DOUG FREEMAN Lucas Hudgins The World Left Is Mine (Texas Jamboree)"

Honky-tonk can't shuffle anymore effectively than it does behind Lucas Hudgins. The local songwriter's sophomore album is as authentic as they come, dripping regret with each beer and turn around the dance floor. Hudgins' voice is the main draw, deep and trembling and so smooth as to effortlessly invoke icons like Charlie Pride and Conway Twitty. "Inside It's Pouring" and "Three Chairs" quake with vulnerability, while David Leroy Biller's pedal steel cries beautifully in commiseration. "Country Song" drives a harder tempo, and "More Whine" cuts the requisite puns that drift from familiar into trite, but "Your Heart Just Slipped My Mind" wrings the poignant from the clever, and "The Man Who Makes Her Cry" pounds out like Waylon Jennings. Closer "Follow the Signs" brings crying time back around with the album's most crushing plea, but Hudgins is heartbreak's best friend.

*** - Austin Chronicle


Discography

1. (2005) Honky Tonk Illusion (bloodchili)

title Track "Honky Tonk Illusion" on streaming radio (jango.com)
local radioplay (koop, kut), as well as Australia, France, UK, Belgium, Norway Radio.

2. (2009) The World left is mine (Texas Jamboree)

Record Streaming on Jango.com, Pandora.com, last.fm
Title track "The World left is mine"local radio (kvet, "the roadhouse") Koop, Kut.
Australia, France, UK, Belgium, Norway Radio and more...

Photos

Bio

Lucas Hudgins and the First Cousins

“I don’t like to call it classic country because that makes it sound like its gone, but it ain’t gone. We just need to give all the people who still love this music a voice in what country music REALLY is".
-L. Hudgins

Lucas Hudgins was born and raised in Austin, Texas with two brothers in a family of deep East Texas bloodlines. Growing up in a house full of music, Lucas was introduced to country greats like Bob Wills, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and George Jones at a young age, and developed a deep affection for the sound. His mother’s soulful voice and guitar playing could often be heard in the early mornings as she worked through the trials of single motherhood, as well as the tough economical times that ensued. Through his experiences with his family’s East Texas lifestyle, Lucas grew up idolizing cowboys and the ability to tell stories of his life through music. In 1997, just after high school, Lucas’ cowboy dream came true when he was sent for his first real “country living” experience running his uncle Ramie Griffin Jr’s Texas Longhorn Ranch in Beaumont, Texas. Hudgins spent a year looking after the ranch, and this would be the only time he ever left South Austin to this day. Soon after returning, Hudgins began dabbling with guitar, writing, and singing bluegrass and country music, and his talents were recognized by friends and musicians around Central Texas.
Lucas Hudgins began his professional journey pursuing a degree in Creating Writing and working towards a career in Radio–TV-film. Lucas didn’t find his love for performing and songwriting until he was nearly 25, though the signs were all there. Successful local musicians involved in Austin “roots” music (Weary Boys, Warren Hood, and SAJB) began to urge the novice Hudgins sit in on their performances at local Austin hotspots. Hudgins wooed the crowds belting out well-known and powerful covers of crooners like George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Lefty Frizell. This introduction to the Austin music scene eventually led him to join Reaux’s Heroes- a scrappy little country-hillbilly-rock band playing in and around town. It was here that Lucas was introduced to original First Cousins guitar slinger, Ben Massey, as well as being reunited with longtime friend and local drummer, Matt Puryear. Reaux’s Heroes would dismantle in 2004 to become Lucas Hudgins and the First Cousins, which quickly reached a successful public high note, playing popular Austin venues such as The Continental Club, The Broken Spoke, and The Hole in the Wall. In 2005, the band was invited to perform at The Texas Black Tie and Boots Presidential Inaugural Ball in Washington D.C. with fellow Austin greats The Derailers, Asleep at the Wheel, The Gourds, Lyle Lovett, and many others. That same year, Hudgins also released his debut album, Honky Tonk Illusion (Blood Chili Records 2005,). Hudgins wrote the entire album after a hard breakup with a long-term girlfriend, and it was well received by critics and fans alike. The recognition gained through HTI’s success led to the addition of Oregon export Chris Miller (Dave Alvin, Hollisters, Wayne Hancock, Dale Watson) on guitar, and Dave Wesselowski (Ted Roddy, Barfield, Teri Joyce) on bass. Chris Miller and Lucas Hudgins quickly became a new, dynamic Austin songwriting team, and quickly set their sights on recruiting David Leroy Biller (Dale Watson, Wayne Hancock, Horton Brothers). Biller, who had years of recognition as one of the greatest guitar players around, was threatening to learn the pedal steel quitar, which soon became a reality. Through their live appearances in dance halls, dives, and honky-tonks in and around Austin, the new look troupe continues to turn heads and is said to be one of the most exciting additions to country music’s “True-Country” movement. The 2008 recording, The World Left is Mine (Texas Jamboree Records) produced by Dave Biller, showcased Miller and Hudgins’ common love for crafting fundamental country songs through timeless themes of nightlife, heartache, addiction, and regret. Once again, Hudgins’ album quickly impressed critics and lovers of roots country music around the world receiving airplay in Texas as well as in Europe, Australia, Norway and across the globe . Lucas Hudgins and TFC is stone-cold, tear in your beer honky-tonk, drenched in emotional and musical authenticity, and above all else a love for simplicity. This timeless approach to their music can be heard at all of their live shows with what might be the bands’ catch phrase: “sounds like country music”.
-“Hudgins voice is the main draw, deep and trembling so smooth as to effortlessly evoke icons like Charlie Pride and Conway Twitty”
-DOUG FREEMAN (Texas Platters, Austin Chronicle Nov. 28, 2008)

Currently, Dave Biller and Lucas Hudgins have begun to write and arrange the new crop of songs for their next recording. The Cousins plan to get into t