Heybale – ContinentaLive

Nearly every Sunday evening for the past year or so, many Austinites have wound the weekend down by dancing the night away at the Continental Club. The music is provided by a supergroup of sorts that refers to themselves as Heybale. Composed of Redd Volkaert (guitar), Earl Poole Ball (piano), Brian Smith (standup bass), Tom Lewis (drums) and Gary Claxton (vocals), individually they have performed or recorded with the likes of Johhny Cash, Merle Haggard, Connie Smith, Buck Owens, Dale Watson, Junior Brown, the Byrds and High Noon.

While they play some original material, mostly composed by Claxton, the reality is that they are a cover band that tackles standards from the songbooks of Charlie Rich, Roger Miller, Bobby Bare and other top-notch country songwriters. But with an endless amount of musical chops, they may be the best cover band you’ll ever hear.

Some of the vocal turns by Volkaert and Ball are a bit less than perfect and Claxton’s interpretation of a couple of tunes is off the mark. But ContinentaLive is a crystal-clear recording that captures the spirit of a Heybale gig so well, you can almost see the dancers two-stepping in a circle and feel that ice cold Lone Star longneck in your hand.