Biography
Emerging during the 1970s as a member of the punk group Nervebreakers, T. Tex Edwards has earned recognition as an overlooked trailblazer in cowpunk and honky tonk murder ballads. Even while the group delivered its humorous anthems as an opening act for the Sex Pistols in Dallas during 1978, Thom "Tex" Edwards already infused his whiskey-soaked vocals with a subtle country inflection. Rather than aligning with punk's political wing, the band drew from the Flamin' Groovies and the Cramps, allowing them to mock "You're the One That I Want" from Grease one moment and deliver a relatively straight reading of the Kinks' "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" the next. Their own songs combined energy with wit, yielding the minor San Francisco success "My Girlfriend Is a Rock." Despite a near-legendary standing in their hometown, Nervebreakers never issued a full-length album while active. A 1979 Dallas Palladium performance with Roky Erickson appeared in 1992, and Get Hip finally put out the 1980 recording We Want Everything in 2000.
After Nervebreakers, Edwards formed Tex & the Saddle Tramps, which left behind only scattered yet essential traces, among them the churlish rocker "Move It!" later featured on a Loafin' Hyenas release and recorded by LeRoi Brothers. Most accounts of his early-to-mid-'80s activities survive solely in the memories of those who witnessed his singular, irreverent country performances. The growling redneck style could veer toward the unhinged yet remained instantly identifiable, compulsively listenable, and finely balanced between parody and reverence, often achieving both at once.
In 1984 he assembled Out on Parole in Austin, followed by Loafin' Hyenas in Hollywood in 1986, though momentum arrived only in 1989. The debut solo effort, credited to T. Tex Edwards and Out on Parole and issued by the cult imprint Sympathy for the Record Industry, proved a work of twisted brilliance that stirred interest without becoming the commercial success it merited. Pardon Me, I've Got Someone to Kill assembled "psycho-country" interpretations delivered with comparative restraint and strong musicianship, with LeRoi Brothers/Fabulous Thunderbirds veteran Mike Buck supplying the rhythmic foundation. Beyond Johnny Cash, other writers had explored dark country narratives of betrayal and killing; the album gathered lesser-known curios from Johnny Paycheck (the title track), Porter Wagoner ("Rubber Room"), Lee Hazlewood ("Girl on Death Row"), and Leon Payne's "Psycho." Later artists revisited similar territory, occasionally selecting overlapping numbers, yet seldom matched the gravel-voiced authority on display here.
The Loafin' Hyenas' sole LP arrived in 1990 and received scant notice despite sturdy original songs and another potent lineup. Tracks such as "Can't Find the Door Knob" and "Scratchin' Fleas" showcased Edwards' singular voice to full effect, while the group's inebriated intensity was preserved on an edition limited to France and Japan. Additional sessions appeared under shifting project names on assorted independent labels. T. Tex and the Big "D" Ramblers, DisGraceland, and T. Tex and the Sickoids each reached the marketplace, and limited efforts such as the 18-song Texicated Tape from 1999 circulated mainly among dedicated listeners.
Following an extended quiet period, Up Against the Floor surfaced in 2007. The Swingin' Kornflake Killers supported a somewhat restrained Edwards across offbeat covers including David Bowie's "Black Country Rock" and Conway Twitty's "Lonely Blue Boy," alongside originals like the quick standard "Ain't No Bars in Heaven." Some time afterward Nervebreakers revealed plans to reconvene after their "slight" 27-year break. T. Tex continues as a trailblazing yet insufficiently celebrated documentarian of country rock & roll's more eccentric byways.
After Nervebreakers, Edwards formed Tex & the Saddle Tramps, which left behind only scattered yet essential traces, among them the churlish rocker "Move It!" later featured on a Loafin' Hyenas release and recorded by LeRoi Brothers. Most accounts of his early-to-mid-'80s activities survive solely in the memories of those who witnessed his singular, irreverent country performances. The growling redneck style could veer toward the unhinged yet remained instantly identifiable, compulsively listenable, and finely balanced between parody and reverence, often achieving both at once.
In 1984 he assembled Out on Parole in Austin, followed by Loafin' Hyenas in Hollywood in 1986, though momentum arrived only in 1989. The debut solo effort, credited to T. Tex Edwards and Out on Parole and issued by the cult imprint Sympathy for the Record Industry, proved a work of twisted brilliance that stirred interest without becoming the commercial success it merited. Pardon Me, I've Got Someone to Kill assembled "psycho-country" interpretations delivered with comparative restraint and strong musicianship, with LeRoi Brothers/Fabulous Thunderbirds veteran Mike Buck supplying the rhythmic foundation. Beyond Johnny Cash, other writers had explored dark country narratives of betrayal and killing; the album gathered lesser-known curios from Johnny Paycheck (the title track), Porter Wagoner ("Rubber Room"), Lee Hazlewood ("Girl on Death Row"), and Leon Payne's "Psycho." Later artists revisited similar territory, occasionally selecting overlapping numbers, yet seldom matched the gravel-voiced authority on display here.
The Loafin' Hyenas' sole LP arrived in 1990 and received scant notice despite sturdy original songs and another potent lineup. Tracks such as "Can't Find the Door Knob" and "Scratchin' Fleas" showcased Edwards' singular voice to full effect, while the group's inebriated intensity was preserved on an edition limited to France and Japan. Additional sessions appeared under shifting project names on assorted independent labels. T. Tex and the Big "D" Ramblers, DisGraceland, and T. Tex and the Sickoids each reached the marketplace, and limited efforts such as the 18-song Texicated Tape from 1999 circulated mainly among dedicated listeners.
Following an extended quiet period, Up Against the Floor surfaced in 2007. The Swingin' Kornflake Killers supported a somewhat restrained Edwards across offbeat covers including David Bowie's "Black Country Rock" and Conway Twitty's "Lonely Blue Boy," alongside originals like the quick standard "Ain't No Bars in Heaven." Some time afterward Nervebreakers revealed plans to reconvene after their "slight" 27-year break. T. Tex continues as a trailblazing yet insufficiently celebrated documentarian of country rock & roll's more eccentric byways.
Albums
