Expect a Reckless party

You might say that brothers Cody and Willy Braun were destined to be musicians.

Nature or nurture, the formula added up.

When they were 13 years old, the youngsters appeared on the "Johnny Carson Show" as part of their dad's band, "Muzzie Braun & the Boys."

But that was then, and this is now.

The two Idaho-native brothers and their band - guitarist David Abeyta, bassist Chris Schelske and drummer Jay Nazz - together now fill the roster of a musical group named after Ned Kelly, an Australian outlaw who Willy Braun referred to during a phone conversation from Chicago as "their Robin Hood."

Except they're called Reckless Kelly, and they're a gang of restless ne'er-do-gooders who will be coming over the horizon at about 10:30 tonight at ­Graham Central Station.

When their most recent album, "Bulletproof," his the shelves last year, it debuted at No. 22 on the Billboard Country Music Charts.

And the now Austin-based outlaws may soon have a new feather to put in their caps.

The Americana Music Association has nominated Reckless Kelly for this year's "Duo or Group of the Year" award, which last year went to Alison Krauss and Robert Plant.

Reckless Kelly's competition for this year's award are Buddy and Julie Miller, the Flatlanders, and Kasey Chambers and Shand Nicholson.
Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association, said today will see the conclusion of a long voting process that includes an expert panel and two rounds of voting from the groups 1,100-plus membership.

He said the award's winners are scheduled to be announced at the AMA's Sept. 17 award ceremony at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.

Hilly said the genre of Americana - which now boasts its own Grammy Award category - has finally arrived in the American spotlight as an independent entity. 

"It's not country," he said. "It's not rock. It's its own parallel line."

And that's one rocket Reckless Kelly is riding.

The Braun brothers grew up playing with their dad in Idaho and then spent a stint in Oregon trying to make it with their former band, Prairie Mutts, Willy Braun said, before moving on to the Texas capital in the late 1990s.

"We had about six months or a year over there, and it didn't go too well, just because there wasn't a lot of places to play for a country rock band," he said. "It was all on the tail end of the grunge scene falling apart. All the music up there was really angry. We were being shoved aside, so we moved down to Austin where we could play a lot more."

And play a lot more they did. In the decade or so since their southern migration, the quintet has released six albums.

To this day, Austin's where the band calls home.
Kind of.
"I don't ever want to turn my back on Idaho, because it's always going to be my home - I bought some land up there recently," Willy Braun said. "I still love it up there. But I tell you what, I love Texas. I love Austin. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else right now. I guess you could say I'd like to apply for dual citizenship, if that's possible."

Reckless Kelly has begun work on its next album, which for a change will be written by musician and friend Pinto Bennett, Willy Braun said.

"He's got so many great songs and nobody's ever heard of him, so we just kind of wanted to expose him and his tunes and get the word out there on him because he's got so many good songs," Braun said.

Not only is it known for its music, but Reckless Kelly has developed a reputation for its work ethic.

An average year usually includes 200 shows for the group, Braun said.

The 200 shows, it really sounds like a lot, but when you think about it we get 150 days off," he said. "A lot of those are on the road, but I don't know many people who get 150 days off. And it's fun stuff, too, while we're out there. We have a good trade."

And besides, Braun said, living as musicians does come with its perks - namely the parties.

"We've been touring through the same towns for years and years, and we come back to the same bars, so you have a little group of people in every town you're in, and every time you go there they're there to see you, and they expect a party," Braun said. "You'd better be too, because they don't care that you just did the same thing in Minneapolis last night. They're ready to party in Chicago tonight.

"You pretty much have a party waiting for you every time."

discs
>> 2008: ‘Bulletproof.'
>> 2007: ‘Best of the Sugar Hill Years.'
>> 2006: ‘Reckless Kelly Was Here.'
>> 2005: ‘Wicked Twisted Road.'
>> 2003: ‘Under the Table and Above the Sun.'
>> 2000: ‘The Days.'
>> 2000: ‘Acoustic: Live at Stubb's.'
>> 1998: ‘Millican.'

IF YOU GO
>> What: Reckless Kelly.
>> When: 10 p.m. today.
>> Where: Graham Central Station, 4240 Preston Smith Road.
>> Tickets: $12 at the door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Ages 18 and older only.
>> Contact:552-0552.

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