Formed in the musical hotbed of Austin, Texas, the Arc Angels consist of some of the finest musical talents to ever play an instrument. With a devoted and adoring fan base, the Arc Angels are known as a tremendous band with an equally tremendous story. That story began in 1992 after the devastating loss of their friend and fellow musician Stevie Ray Vaughan. The miracle that came from that loss was the unique sound of four musicians aptly named – The Arc Angels: drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon (the veteran rhythm section of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble) coupled with musical wonders Charlie Sexton and Doyle Bramhall II sharing lead vocal and lead guitar duties.
The foundation of the Arc Angels was laid at the Austin Rehearsal Center (ARC) which so aptly gave them a name. There, Sexton had a writing room to work on his next solo album, Bramhall was working under a development deal with Geffen Records, and Layton had a drum room where he would often practice. The initial idea had been quite simple; create a band that can jam when people happened to be in town or not on tour with Stevie. But Vaughan’s death changed everything. When the foursome came together, press were quick to dub them a “Texas supergroup,” but the guys shunned that tag. The band was purely a musical outlet and inspiration to all of them.
Not intending to be a recording band, the guys played live and just for fun, opening for the likes of Robert Cray. But they soon found the excitement and challenges of being a band, worth the effort. Sexton and Bramhall tabled their solo projects and began creating music specifically for the Arc Angels.
The band’s 1992 debut album release, Arc Angels, on Geffen Records met with much critical acclaim and managed to break onto the Billboard Top 200 chart. The sound was unique -- raw and intense rock and roll steeped in the roots of Texas blues, but still radio-friendly and widely appealing. The group toured heavily after the album and on Tuesday, June 9, 1992, the Arc Angels made their network television debut on the NBC show " The Late Show with David Letterman" where they performed "Living In A Dream". On Wednesday, January 6, 1993, they again performed on Letterman's show, this time playing "Too Many Ways to Fall". It seemed that this Texas quartet was poised to explode onto the national scene.
But their name proved a harbinger of things to come; The Arc Angels fell as quickly as they rose. Creative differences, heavy touring, and Bramhall's admitted descent into a deep and nearly deadly heroin addiction caused the breakup of the band in 1994. The Arc Angels came to an abrupt halt in October of that year with a series of farewell concerts at Austin's Backyard outdoor venue.
They each followed their individual paths from there. Bramhall went on to solo projects as well as touring with Roger Waters and Eric Clapton's band. Sexton made two critically acclaimed solo albums, toured with Bob Dylan, and has produced numerous high profile artist projects. Meanwhile, Layton recorded three albums with the Texas soul quintet Storyville and has backed such artists as Buddy Guy and John Mayer.
Nearly fifteen years after headlining the Austin City Limits Festival, the Arc Angels have decided to reunite and record new music, as well as release a Live DVD/CD. This time, the band consists of original members Bramhall, Sexton and Layton only.
"Charlie and I started to write together again and decided that we should get the band back together. The chemistry that we all have together is one entity and it's something very real. It's fun," said Bramhall. “We’re trying to take advantage and savor the good things and one of the good things is the Arc Angels,” added Charlie Sexton.
The launch of their new music and live tour will be at Austin's annual South by Southwest Music Festival in March 2009. Following that, they will open for Eric Clapton on his European tour in May, and then embark on their own U.S. tour this summer. “The stars kind of aligned once again. The band's back together and we're doing some new things," said Layton.
the chemistry you have shows soooo brilliantly onstage and is quite rare!!!! and it DOES work so beautifully!!! looooove the new vid on the page but....loooove the DVD/CD even better *_~ going out a christmas gifts to some....*_~ cheers guys for finding the "magic" again and letting us all live in your dream *_~ best wishes!!!! a
I received your wonderful 3cds box yesterday and watched it last night ! What a great show... Again...Congratulations from a brand new french fan (and proud to be! Wish I'll get the chance to see you live one day...maybe in France... All the best Nath
The first time I heard you guys, was maybe 8 yrs ago on cassette. I was blown away!!!. I'm so glad you're still doin' it. The world needs your music. without it we will be stuck with the loads of trash out there now. Please keep it together. I hope you come around the mid-south soon.
Forgot to mention 2 things: another favorite song that I think is "Crave and Wonder" definitivelly one one the best of the shows, congratulations Charlie.... I can´t stand still when I hear, ....this song transmits much energy and that mixs on DVD showing 3 different venues, Stubbs, Antones and House of Blues was incredible.
The only thing that made me sad was not receiving the guitar pick in my package.
Just received my package from a good friend from Tx and I can´t express my happiness to put my hands on this incredible material. I've had it playing non-stop, on loud and now of course all my neighbor should know the sound of the Arc Angels:-)) The mix and quality are excellent! It worth the wait! Now I understand the reason for this. You guys did everything carefully in all the details and certainly had a lot of work and dedication. Best of all was seeing the final result, but especially the realization of a long awaited dream project of the band. I´m convinced that you all now have a sense of accomplishment.
I´ve enjoyed every minute of the show as if you were there at the Stubb´s.... I loved the interviews, it´s a form that fans have to learn more about their idols. The tributes are brilliant!! The new song "What I´m looking for" is so beautiful, can´t wait to see it live. "See what tomorrow", "She's all right, "Many ways to fall" and "I'm leaving" are definitely my favorites!!! Congratulations on this new material I'm very proud and hoping to see the schedule with new shows and maybe one day a visit to Brazil. Thanks Mark, Doyle, Chris and Charlie and Tommy...you did a great job!! God Bless you
I got my combo yesterday and it was OUTSTANDING!!! Since the vinyl albums I didn't see such pretty amazing stuff like yours!!! I mean: it isn't a big label with lots of money and you guys aren't in the mainstream... The box is unbelievable!!!
The Show @ Stubb's is pretty lovely with perfect performance in all the songs, those psychedelic effects are amazing and what beautiful images @ background!!! The documentary is precious and the Antone's tribute is well deserved... BTW: I loved the references to Stevie in the music, in the talk about him and his images... "Dimples" is adorable...
I'm listen to the new songs right now and it's really special!!! "What I'm Looking For" is something!!! "Crave And Wonder" and "Too Many People" are wonderful... Later I will do it to Live @ Stubb's CD... Time to work to me...
Thank you for the really special gift to us, guys... Loads of love and peace ::::~~~~
Just received my package from a good friend from Tx and I can´t express my happiness to put my hands on this incredible material. I've had it playing non-stop, on loud and now of course all my neighbor should know the sound of the Arc Angels:-)) The mix and quality are excellent! It worth the wait! Now I understand the reason for this. You guys did everything carefully in all the details and certainly had a lot of work and dedication. Best of all was seeing the final result, but especially the realization of a long awaited dream project of the band. I´m convinced that you all now have a sense of accomplishment. 
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