LITTLE TEXAS
Missing Years
Performing at 4:00pm on Sunday!

The old adage “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” definitely applies to the members of Little Texas. The super group tore through the ‘90s like a blue streak, selling millions of albums and achieving major success, but reached that point of absolute exhaustion and no return back in 1999 and elected to disband. But members Porter Howell, Duane Propes, Del Gray and Dwayne O’Brien never forgot their musical brothers in arms or the fun they had as a unit, and two years ago the four decided they still had plenty of relevant music left to make. So, they rallied the troops and began doing what they love most in the world again – playing for the fans. Back with a fresh, new sound bolstered by the rootsy vocals of Howell stepping forward on lead, the band has returned with an appropriately titled new album, “Missing Years,” on their new label, Montage Music Group. 

During their years away, all four had pursued interesting musical and non-musical paths. Drummer Gray wrote for several publishing companies and had cuts by Trace Adkins, Collin Raye, Gretchen Wilson, and others, while Howell went on the road as a sideman for a while then formed his own group, Hilljack, with Paul Jefferson. Propes spent two years in Houston managing a rehearsal hall, then did stints at Curb Records and Gibson Guitars, as a marketing rep for the company. Avid pilot O’Brien received his Masters Degree in a specially-created communications area in science and engineering at Vanderbilt. The time away from the business helped give all four a fresh perspective on things and renewed their love for the camaraderie they shared as a group, something they had lost sight of during their grinding, 300-plus-shows-a-year schedule.

“I think the time off helped us appreciate what we’ve done together and accomplished,” explains Howell. Growing up in the business together starting at 20, I remember having to learn each other. You have that whole period you go through for years. We know each other so well now I think there’s a natural reverence to each other. There are four of us who have chosen to go forward and be Little Texas again and we know what it takes to do that, so there's a lot more space. There’s also a lot more grace we give each other and respect and reverence. We actually cherish it and laugh about how we know each other so well that I think there's a respect now that is instead of, ‘I don't know if I can do this, it's I'm glad I get to do this.’” 

The band wasn’t sure how they would be received when they first got back together or if their fan base would still be there, and they also faced the chore of finding a new lead singer to carry their sound. Confident they could return to the fray as strong as ever, they entertained the idea of bringing in a new member but quickly realized that part of their magic was in their self¬containment. So, when Howell offered to step forward as front man for the band, the other three eagerly gave it a shot. 

Luckily, one show was all they needed. The group rekindled the magic publicly during a show in Indiana, and after just one song, they knew they were officially back. “We were pretty confident we had it together, and we were revved up with a ton of adrenaline - it was like jumping out of an airplane,” recalls Howell. “We weren’t sure it was going to work and had never done it before, and you are in front of a bunch of people. But it took probably two songs to know it was working…5000 people answered really quickly! Well, I didn’t really know until I got offstage and actually started breathing again! But there were high fives and big hugs, and the autograph line was forever, which made us feel so good. People were coming in from the fringes and that just charged us with energy - even if folks didn’t know who we were, I could see people were entertained. We have a blast when we play and hopefully that’s infectious.” 

The next obvious step was recording a new album, so the band began laying down tracks after connecting with producer Anthony Martin, who eagerly decided to work with them. Martin offered a fresh perspective on the process as well as a creative freedom they had never experienced while recording their four previous projects. “There was a reined-in kind of thing that happened in the past, in order to not scare people or go to places you couldn’t go, and now we just have a maturity about us. Anthony brought a different sense to the process this time around,” said Howell.

“Our tendency in human nature was to say, ‘Hey let’s sound like Little Texas,’ but Anthony helped us move beyond that, and yes, we still are Little Texas but looking through experienced and different eyes,” added Propes. “Anthony came in and allowed us to do exactly what we had always wanted to do. Porter was allowed to stretch out and play things he never really got the chance to play before, O’Brien and I got to do things with our background vocals we had never really thought of, because we were always stuck to very strict thirds and fifths and moving with the melody line, and Anthony just had us doing things that were amazing, that we probably wouldn’t have thought of on our own.” 

Martin’s understanding of vocals and what the band was going for really enhanced the process. “Anthony is a singer who has master credits and he’s one of those producers who actually knows music,” explains Howell. “After making four albums together we started to fall into ruts and always did things the same but Anthony didn’t know those things, so when he came along all of the old habits were broken. Now there are more textures and it’s much more interesting sonically, I think.” 

“This record is masterfully under produced,” adds Gray. “There’s breathing room in it. In Nashville, especially in a producer situation, you tend to just pile it up and pile it up and pile it up – ‘til all you’re left with is a big pile! So I think this album really breathes and it’s just fun to listen to – it doesn’t beat you up.” 

Allen Butler, who was taking the helm at the newly-formed indie label Montage Music Group, agreed the minute he heard the demos and quickly signed the band. A tune Gray, O’Brien, and Howell had written together when they first got back together, “Missing Years,” became one of the first songs on the new record and its theme of seeking out your place in the world and returning to cherished beginnings seemed quite appropriate for these four guys who had found their way back to a career they truly love. 

The band’s trademark harmonies are once again in full force on this album, as well as powered¬up tunes like the rowdy, revved up “Party Life,” the soulful, funky “Gotta Get Me Down Home,” and the vibey, attitude-filled “You Ain’t Seen Me Lately.” They also add gorgeous textures and layers to ballads like the achingly beautiful but hauntingly regretful “Knees,” and the introspective and melancholy “So Long.” 

The familiar Little Texas energy and attitude of old compliment the new sound of Howell’s raw, bluesy vocals in a perfect way on this new collection. And Martin’s production helped the band tap into a completely different creative vein to make the album they had always wanted to make but never got the chance. MISSING YEARS finds the band on the most solid ground of their nearly two decades in the business, and hungrier than ever to make the best music of their career. So sit back, and take a listen to just what Little Texas has been doing during their “Missing Years.”