A look at Turnpike Troubadours’ catalog on any streaming service will show Diamonds & Gasoline as their debut album. The 2010 release is packed with great songs. However, some fans know that it isn’t the band’s first album. In 2005, the newly formed band recorded Bossier City. But, it won’t be on streaming services any time soon.
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Turnpike Troubadours formed in 2005. About a month later, they recorded Bossier City in a makeshift studio. The album only featured two current members of the band—Even Felker (vocals/guitar) and R.C. Edwards (bass). At the time, the band just wanted to have something to sell at their shows. Over time, the band’s lineup changed and solidified. Then, in 2010, they released Diamonds & Gasoline. It seems that they haven’t looked back. At the moment, the band has no plans of releasing their nearly forgotten CD-only debut.
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Earlier this week, Felker appeared on the MeatEater Podcast to talk about his life and career. During the conversation, he talked briefly about Bossier City.
The conversation started when MeatEater host Steven Rinella said, “You guys did five albums. And you did one that wasn’t really an album.”
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“Yeah,” Felker replied. “We did one kind of in a garage in Durant, Oklahoma that didn’t sound… the sound quality was not great,” he added. Then, he explained why they recorded the CD. “We were playing bars, like really crappy bars in Oklahoma,” he said. They needed something to sell to new fans to make extra money.
Felker went on to say that he’s not sure if Bossier City is still floating around on the internet. However, he was clear on whether he wanted it to be widely available. “Not really,” he said.
Then, he explained his position. “All of the guys that we play with now weren’t on it. Like, Kyle [Nix] (fiddle) wasn’t in the band back then. It was a pretty young iteration of what we are now.” Felker added, ”We did a few songs off of it on the Turnpike Troubadours record, the one we did in California.”
The songs “Easton and Main” and “Bossier City” from that lost album are on the band’s 2015 self-titled release.
For those who are curious, Bossier City is available in full on YouTube. Listen to it below.
featured image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Stagecoach
