T. Tex Edwards

T. Tex Edwards is an unsung pioneer of cowpunk and honky tonk murder ballads who started out in the '70s with the punk band Nervebreakers. Thom "tex" Edwards' whiskey-soaked vocals already had a slight country twang to them back in 1978 even as the band performed their goofy anthems while supporting The Sex Pistols in Dallas. Drawing influence from The Flamin' Groovies and The Cramps rather than the more political end of the punk spectrum, Nervebreakers were equally at home lampooning "You're the One That I Want" from Grease as they were playing it straight (relatively) with The Kinks' "I'm Not Like Everybody Else." Their original material was rousing and funny, and "My Girlfriend Is a Rock" was even a minor hit in San Francisco. The band never released a full-length record in their lifetime, even though they had an almost legendary local reputation. A live performance of them backing Roky Erickson at the Dallas Palladium in 1979 was released in 1992, and a posthumous CD recorded in 1980, We Want Everything, was finally released by Get Hip in 2000.

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