Artist description Sounds like a country band, right? Maybe one of those progressive-Country/Rock bands from the seventies… Imagine if the Eagles had stayed together and kept growing and creating new songs. That description comes close to describing DENIM. With their new release, Evolution, this legendary group has developed into something special. DENIM is a potent combination of 3 gifted singer-songwriters and two first-call session players.

Music Style Rock, Blues, Folk, Spanish, Country and Texas

Similar Artists Eagles, CSN, Poco, Steely Dan

Artist History the summer of 1970, a promising Houston band recruited the services of Memorial High School grad guitar phenom Bill Browder, and DENIM exploded onto the local music scene. Consisting of Bill Browder, Mike Anderson, David Moerbe & Paul Clagett, the band worked up a set of original material and quickly made a name for themselves with the release of their first single, "Colorado Love Song", on Texas Revolution Records. Record label Owner/Producer Walt Andrus hired advertising wiz Sam Irwin (now known as the fearless leader of Duck Soup) and the ensuing promo blitz cemented the young upstarts' place in the birth of the "Progressive Country" scare. Here are the boys in action at the Malo Concert in Corpus Christi, TX . Here they are on the front porch of their rent-house in the Heights, October, 1970. Oddly, this was to become the address of mass-murderer Elmer Wayne Henley (no relation to Don) in the near future. In the fall of 1972, Denim moved to Boulder, Colorado, to take advantage of a connection in Stephen Still’s organization. The band secured a weekly gig at the Pioneer Inn in Nederland, and though there were exciting encounters with Tim Schmitt, Richey Furay and Linda Ronstadt, (as well as future Denim album producer, John Boylan), their attempts to further themselves were fruitless. The band dissolved, and, one by one they trickled back to Texas where they re-formed in the summer of 1973. These were heady times because of the addition of Richard Mullen, multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire. Richard later went on to be the engineer/producer for many great Texas acts including Omar and the Howlers, Stevie Ray Vaughan (Richard’s walls are covered with gold records for this body of work), and currently, Texas guitar guru, Eric Johnson. Here’s Denim in a fall 1973 publicity photo. These were the real formative years. Most of their time was spent on the road in places such as: The Alliance Wagon Yard (Austin Texas), The Red Dog Saloon (Waco, TX, owned by Stan Farr who was not [wink wink] murdered by Cullen Davis), and Breckinridge, Colorado. Here they are frolicking in the snow. In 1975, with the departure of our good friend, Paul Clagett, Denim sported a new line-up with the addition of Greg Jackson. Later in the fall 1975, the formula was tinkered with again, the result being the 4-piece band you see here. This photo was taken at the old Soap Creek Saloon by the multi-talented (and occasional Garth Brooks scribe) Nashville resident, Cam King. The combo signed a management deal with Moon-Hill, an Austin agency that represented B.W. Stevenson, Stephen Fromholz and Rusty Wier. As you can see here, they cleaned up real good. The conquering heroes are shown here in a state of ecstasy, as a result of their signing with Epic Records. 1976 was spent in the exotic locales of Sausalito, California and Los Angeles recording their debut album,” DENIM”, which was released in January, 1977. The record was produced by John Boylan who enjoyed success with Boston and Linda Ronstadt. The fellows enjoyed a modicum of success, drawing capacity crowds all over Texas. Additionally, they toured Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado and New Mexico. In spite of heavy airplay in spots such as Tampa, Florida, Eugene, Oregon, Buffalo, New York, Hartford, Connecticut and St. Louis, Missouri, the record sales were disappointing to the cash flow-hungry CBS, so the band began to seek a new affiliation. In 1978 the band was persuaded by record industry weasels to change their name to something "less country sounding", so their second album was released in the winter of 1978 under the name 'Traveler". The "Lost In The Late Late Show" album came out on ABC Records, home of Steely Dan. The planets were apparently misaligned, as ABC Records folded up a mere 3 months later. This left Traveler (Denim) stranded in Texas with a new name that nobody knew. In these challenging times, bass player Jerry Crow moved south, and was replaced by the golden -throated Layton DePenning. Here is the last photo of the band before they surrendered in March 1980. The Eighties were spent making babies and money with The Austin All-Stars (shown here at Steamboat-Austin-St. Patrick’s' Day 1980) and Duck Soup (Spring 1986). In late 1989 the "hired" members of Duck Soup split off to create the premier party band, The Big Time, which continues to please audiences with their variety of music to this very day. For the record, Bill, Layton and David continued to create and evolve as songwriters though their music was not performed in public. In the summer of 1989, Bill Browder, David Moerbe and Layton DePenning began the "Living Room Sessions", which culminated in the recording of the unreleased 3rd Denim album. They hope to make this available in the future, as it contains some breathtaking musical moments. Just as momentum was building, David Moerbe decided that the phony, soul-draining music business was not for him, so more changes were in order. Mike Cross (vocals & bass) and Eddie Cantu (drums & percussion) became part of the Denim equation in the fall of 1990. As a result of the new personnel, the 3rd Denim album was mothballed, and work began on a brand new project. After three years in the making, the new album/CD "Indian Paintbrush" was released in early 1995. Mike Rieman also came on board at this time as bass player, allowing Mike Cross the freedom to move between guitar and keyboards. With this stable lineup, the band began work on its next recording adventure. Deciding to stretch out musically, the guys recorded 16 songs varying in style from Country-Rock to Eclectic-Folk and Spanish to Near-Metal. The result was "Evolution", a rollicking visit to a musical monkey island, released in the waning moments of the 20th century (November 1999). Denim is currently working on a new batch of "Texas Music", utilizing all the styles they love: Rock, Spanish, Blues, Folk and Country. They promise not to keep you waiting so long this time!

Group Members In the summer of 1989, Bill Browder, David Moerbe and Layton DePenning began the "Living Room Sessions", which culminated in the recording of the unreleased 3rd Denim album. They hope to make this available on mp3.com in the future, as it contains some breathtaking musical moments. Just as momentum was building, David Moerbe decided that the phony, soul-draining music business was not for him, so changes were in order. Mike Cross (vocals & bass) and Eddie Cantu (drums & percussion) became part of the Denim equation in the fall of 1990. As a result of the new personnel, the 3rd Denim album was mothballed, and work began on a brand new project. After three years in the making, the new album/CD "Indian Paintbrush" was released in early 1995. Mike Rieman also came on board at this time as bass player, allowing Mike Cross the freedom to move between guitar and keyboards.

Instruments Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Bass, Drums, Harmony and Lead Vocals

Albums 1977 - Denim (Epic), 1978 - Lost In The Late Late Show *as TRAVELER (ABC), 1995 - Indian Paintbrush (Grump), 1999 - Evolution (Grump)

Location Austin, Texas - USA

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