the Dust Devils

Built around the award-winning songwriting of Kevin Higgins, The Cosmic Dust Devils, a Texas-based band, was founded in 2001. Led on guitars and vocals by Higgins with his wife and musical partner Barbara Malteze on keyboards and vocals, the group proclaims to have a distinctive style, which they call "Farm-to-Market Rock-and-Roll." Stating their independence from hype and trends, The Cosmic Dust Devils can lay down a hot honky tonk number; a ripping 70's rocker; then a bluegrass groove; scream thru a blues tune; caress a ballad...you never know what to expect. And, The Cosmic Dust Devils do it all with energy, feel, abandon and talent. This is Americana at it's best...no one else is kickin' up dirt this hard, creating the real melting pot that folks call "Texas music." Add to that the visual advantage of a male and female fronting the band, and you have a winning combination all the way around. Attend any Cosmic Dust Devils’ performance, and you’ll see a loyal legion of cross-generational music fans, (known as “Stormchasers”), who will excitedly describe the band’s live show as “charismatic” and “explosive.” The Cosmic Dust Devils’ music has that hip “throwback” quality, appealing to both the younger crowd, as well as adult “empty-nesters” who have felt abandoned by the music industry for years. “You could say we’re just being true to our actual roots,” remarks Kevin Higgins, “those roots being Country & Western, Rhythm & Blues, and Rock & Roll.” Over the course of three albums, countless gigs, airplay on XM satellite radio, Americana and Texas Music chart stations, an annual festival known as the “Coastal Bender”, and a healthy press and music industry buzz over the last decade or so, the group has become one of the most notable grassroots success stories in the state. Greg Patterson, DJ, KHYI 95.3, (Dallas), says it best, "the Cosmic Dust Devils are the Cinderella band of Texas." Kevin Higgins was raised in El Paso, playing in cover bands until he decided to pursue a career in songwriting. He moved to L.A. in the early '90s where he met Barbara Malteze, who was fronting her own blues rock band at the time. The couple teamed up, moved to Austin and recorded Higgins' first solo effort, DARK SIDE OF THE BARN, which AllMusicGuide.com proclaimed was “one of the classic country/folk/rock albums of that year.” The CD won “Album of the Year” at the 2000 Hill Country Music Awards. Higgins would go on to become a 2000 Kerrville “New Folk” Finalist later that year, earning the band a spot on the Main Stage at the 2001 Kerrville Folk Festival. The Cosmic Dust Devils released a self-titled CD in 2002 which received rave reviews, such as “this is Americana music at its best" (InsurgentCountry.com), “the Cosmic Dust Devils is one of those bands that has something to offer everyone” (Best In Texas Magazine), and AllMusicGuide noted that "this band is loaded with talent, Cosmic Dust Devils is a sparkling and important release." And along the way, collecting six Texas Music Awards from 2006-2010, having his song “Company Time” placed in the politically provocative film A Day Without A Mexican and included on its EMI Records soundtrack album, Higgins has been hailed as “quite possibly the next great Texas songwriter" (RockzillaWorld.net), “a gifted songwriter” (Denver Post), "Robert Earl Keen with a mean streak" (SlackerCountry.com) and “one of the most talented songwriters around” (MyTexasMusic.com); noted Grammy-winning producer and musician Barry Beckett, member of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio rhythm section heard on scores of legendary hit recordings, observed how “Kevin sings from the soul and his songs speak the truth” while working on the GATHERING DUST sessions in Nashville. By a chance meeting, an instant friendship was formed with legendary photographer Carl Dunn, (www.thisisrockandroll.com), who graciously offered up his services and contributed portrait photos of Higgins and Malteze for the GATHERING DUST CD. Carl is known for his breathtaking photos of Led Zepplin, Janis Joplin, Robin Trower, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Ritchie Blackmore, Aerosmith and most every rock icon of that era. Born in Rochester, New York, Barbara Malteze attended Berklee College of Music for a couple of semesters to pursue a career in Music Ed. After quitting college to chase an offer to record in Los Angeles, Malteze ended up writing and recording the critically-acclaimed COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS album and fronting her own self-titled heavy-metal band. Back when Cashbox was the voice of the music industry, they wrote, " Barbara does know how to pump out ripping vocals." Malteze still enjoys an international cult following today, as evidenced by interviews in Metal Maidens Magazine (Netherlands), a worldwide vinyl LP release of COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS by Femetal Records, and a recent interview with Heavy Magazine (Germany). After meeting Kevin Higgins in Los Angeles circa 1994, the couple decided to move to Austin and see what opportunities they could generate. Malteze, (compared stylistically to the late, great Texan Janis Joplin), continues to make waves in Texas. In 2005, she was invited to perform the headlining tribute at the "18th Annual Janis Joplin Birthday Bash" at the Port Arthur Civic Center; and for two years in a row at the 2006 & 2007 Texas Music Awards, Malteze accepted the honor of "Female Vocalist of the Year." After years of performing in honky tonks, roadhouses and festivals around Texas, Higgins was encouraged by his bandmates to step out from behind the Cosmic Dust Devils and release a solo CD. What materialized in February 2010 was FIND YOUR SHINE on Little Train Records, funded solely by investors from Higgins' fan base and recorded in seven days at East Austin's premiere analog studio under the guidance of producer Stephen Doster (Nanci Griffith, James Honeyman-Scott). FIND YOUR SHINE has been receiving international critical acclaim; it charted on the Americana Chart and Higgins collected the honor of "Song of the Year" for the title track at the 2010 Texas Music Awards. “We believe you can obtain any goal you set for yourself if you work hard enough and long enough following your passion. That's the real definition of the 'American Dream'. And it’s still alive in this country,” says Malteze. The Cosmic Dust Devils are intent on further pursuing their vision of the American Dream with spirited determination as they continue to perform all over Texas. # # # AWARDS/NOTABLES: 2010 Texas Music Awards: Song of the Year ("Find Your Shine") Kevin Higgins' solo CD 2009 SongwriterUniverse "Best Song of the Month" April 09: ("Amazing Sense of Calm") by Kevin Higgins 2007 Hill Country Happenings Magazine's Reader's Choice award: Band of the Year 2007 Texas Music Award winners: Female Vocalist of the Year (Barbara Malteze) 2007 Texas Music Award nominees: Album of the Year (CHANGE IN THE WEATHER), The Dust Devils; Female Vocalist of the Year (Barbara Malteze); Song of the Year ("Amazing Sense of Calm") by Kevin Higgins; Entertainer of the Year (Barbara Malteze); Live Band of the Year 2006 Texas Music Award winners: Album of the Year (GATHERING DUST), The Dust Devils; Song of the Year ("Walk On") by Kevin Higgins; Female Vocalist of the Year (Barbara Malteze); Vocal Duo of the Year (Kevin Higgins & Barbara Malteze) 2006 B.W. Stevenson Songwriters Contest: Kevin Higgins, 2nd place 2001 Kerrville Folk Festival: Cosmic Dust Devils perform on Main Stage 2000 Kerrville Folk Festival: New Folk Finalist - Kevin Higgins Farm-to-Market Rock n' Roll: fronted by the best male/female duo & blues guitarist in TX. Supported by "Hill Country Hitmen" on bass & drums. Stand back.