For all of those ignorant stonkers out there, there are 5 groups called The Crooks.
The hottest and newest group sharing the name:
There’s no shortage of country music in Crooks’ hometown of Austin, TX. But ask anyone who has crammed into a packed honky-tonk to catch one of their infamously rowdy late-night shows and they’ll tell you there’s something that sets them apart from the rest.
Crooks are breathing new life into decades-old musical traditions, stripping away the polish and shine of modern radio country and replacing it with earnest songs about life, work and pain. Sometimes it’s weary and lonesome, sometimes it’s downright bleak, and oftentimes it’s just reckless fun. Suddenly, country music is dangerous again.
Frontman Josh Mazour formed Crooks in 2007 as a two-piece band, playing stripped down sets at dive bars around Austin. Things have grown from there. He’s now joined by drummer Rob Bacak, stand-up bassist Andrew VanVoorhees, and multi-instrumentalist Sam Alberts, who alternates between guitar, banjo, mandolin, and trumpet. Live, Crooks are an even greater spectacle, as fiddle, trumpet, and accordion players jump on stage throughout their set.
Crooks released their debut LP ‘The Rain Will Come’ this year, featuring guest appearances from accordion legend Flaco Jimenez of the Texas Tornados, and produced by Danny Reisch, known for his work with other Austin luminaries like The Bright Light Social Hour, Okkervil River, Shearwater, and White Denim.
Mazour lists songwriting greats like Hank Williams Sr., Townes Van Zandt, Billy Joe Shaver, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Blaze Foley and even Kurt Cobain as influences on his style, which he describes as “just unapologetic country songwriting.”
“Country music is honest music,” he says.
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