Jurdi, Anderson and Walker make Circle of the Song

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20150226/ENT/502261003
By JASON GILMER
For the Herald-Journal
Published: Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 3:15 a.m.
There are plenty of musicians Ed Jurdi enjoys listening to but will never get a chance to perform with or sit down and watch their shows.
“The thing with musicians is we are all like ships passing in the night. You don’t get to see your friends too much,” the Band of Heathens singer said. “You don’t get to share the war stories with the people whose music and art you like a lot. This (performing with two of his favorites) is cool on a lot of levels.”
Jurdi and two other singer-songwriters, Seth Walker and Edward David Anderson (of Backyard Tire Fire), have teamed up for a 10-date tour called The Circle of the Song, which will conclude with a performance at 8 p.m. Sunday at The Grey Eagle in Asheville, N.C.
They’ll sit in a semicircle on the stage with each member of the trio taking turns sharing songs from his respective catalog.
Jurdi, who is one of the founding members of the Austin, Texas-based Americana/rock band, said the group began with 30 songs but has added others during the run of shows. He had to spend some time delving into the others’ repertoires of songs before the tour began.
“That was cool, too, on a musical level to dig into the craft of their songs and see what’s going on in their heads as they put songs together,” said Jurdi, who now lives in Asheville. “That’s really fun to dig into.”
This special tour was thought up by Walker, the North Carolina-bred musician who found renown in the blues and rock scene in Austin; he posed the idea to Jurdi. When Jurdi moved to Austin, Walker was one of the first musicians whose music he liked.
The two played shows with Anderson and added him to the mix. Anderson released his debut solo release, “Lies & Wishes,” last year.
The show is unscripted and gives fans a look into what happens on stage.
“We can share the internal battle of guys being in a band and being on stage,” Jurdi said. “We’re able to share that dialogue with the audience and I think that’s appealing. It’s like they are a part of it.”
The trio plans to record the show, like it has the others, and offer it to concert-goers after the event.