Black Water Gospel. It sounds like a name you might come across when flipping through old Sun or Stax LPs. But while Austin’s Black Water Gospel pays due tribute to a rich musical tradition, it is very much a modern band with a 21st century sound.

The name may say “gospel,” but this is no gospel band. Instead, Black Water Gospel belongs to the church of nonconforming rockers. Fellow parishioners Pearl Jam, the Old 97s, Jeff Buckley, the Drive-By Truckers, and Lucinda Williams influence Black Water Gospel’s progressive alt rock and alt country fusion.

Black Water Gospel had its genesis when lead vocalist Juan Gutierrez and guitarist Jesse Duke began jamming together at Texas State University in San Marcos in early 2003. Currently, the band also includes drummer Travis McCann and bassist Dan White.  Matt Mollica frequently contributes on the Hammond B3 organ and piano.

In 2005, Grammy®-nominated producer and musician Michael Ramos (Patty Griffin, John Mellencamp, the BoDeans) joined Black Water Gospel to help capture the energy of the band’s charismatic live shows in a studio setting.  The self-titled album features 10 diverse tracks, from the vocal growls of “Walk On Stilts” to the down-tempo, violin-laced soul of “Sewing Smiles.”

In 2006, Americana-guitarist-extraordinaire Brad Rice (Ryan Adams, Tift Merritt, Son Volt, Keith Urban) brought Black Water Gospel under his musical wings, bringing his years of roots rock wisdom to the mix.  With Rice as producer, Black Water Gospel laid down their sophomore effort at the Bismeaux Studios, to be released in the fall of 2007 on Fat Caddy Records.  Among the tracks, “All in All” features Austinites Ian McLagan (Rolling Stones, The Faces, The Bump Band) on Hammond B3 organ and Amy Cook on harmony vocals.  The fast-moving “Tooth and Nail” packs five minutes of lyrics into two minutes of driving rock.  Separately, the spooky ballad of “Conspiracy Row” signals a shift in maturity from previous musical theology.

Black Water Gospel continues to convert a solid base of believers out of skeptics unaccustomed to original music.

“No frills,” says Gutierrez. “We’re just good people making genuine music.”

Amen to that.