The Cornell Hurd Band have been turning out hardcore Texas honky-tonk swing music since 1977. Hailing from Austin, Texas, a city full of hippie country-star wannabes and legends alike, The Cornell Hurd Band (“the Pride of South Austin”) have consistently wowed semi-sober audiences with their distinctive saloon-inspired two-step shuffle.
In 2005, the band performed at Festival de Craponne, a renowned summit of country and Americana music in the hills of France. A jovial bandleader known for his amusing banter, Cornell Hurd is a three-time winner of “Stage Personality of the Year” from Third Coast Magazine. Although the band has seen a variety of talented members and guest musicians over the years, today the group features veteran CHB lead guitarist Paul Skelton, Scott Walls on steel guitar, Howard Kalish on fiddle, Randy “the Badger” Glines on bass, Blackie White on guitar, Del Puschert on tenor sax, T. Jarrod Bonta on piano, Danny Roy Young on rubboard and Lisa Pankratz on drums.
The band’s ten-year Thursday night residence at Jovita’s in Austin has made them a household name among Austinites. They also regularly perform at the Continental Club and Broken Spoke, two other landmark country music clubs in Austin.
The band has released 12 records under their own label Behemoth Records. In 1980, the band received a “Bammie” (Bay Area Music Award) for best independent LP for the album Doing That Unholy Roll. Their most recent album was fanmail: from the lost planet (2005), with Texas By Night planned for release in 2006. The band has put out over 140 different tracks, including both originals and covers, through Behemoth and other independent label anthologies.
Critics have praised CHB for their excellent musicianship, defiance of categorization and fun-filled live performances. “ATTENTION, Country Radio!” proclaims one reviewer from the Reiser Report of their album Song of South Austin. “This is superior to anything on your consultant-generated play lists." No Depression writer Stephen W. Terrell writes, “The extended ensemble…plays some of the tightest music you’ve ever heard.” Steve England from Western Swing Monthly ponders CHB’s genre-blasting tendencies: “Western Swing? Country? Rock ‘n Roll? A show band? Truth is, they are probably all of these things and more.”
With their independent spirit and loyalty to Austin audiences, Cornell and his posse truly lend weight to Austin’s title of “Live Music Capitol of the World.” Although their home is Austin, this unique country-with-a-twist-of-humor collective is excited to bring their music to Swiss fans at this year’s Country Night Gstaad in September 2006.