You Gotta Have (Percy) Faith

Other childhood gems that the Mavericks recently have unearthed include a cover of the Marcels' 1961 hit "Blue Moon," the new rendition showing up on the soundtrack of the movie Apollo 13 ("It was very cool being asked to do this," Reynolds points out), and their version of Buddy Holly's "True Love Ways," produced by Nick Lowe, which will appear on an upcoming Holly tribute album. "That was excellent!" exclaims Kane. "One of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had in the studio."

After wrapping up the current leg of their tour in Canada, the Mavericks will return to Miami in November to perform at Sunrise Musical Theatre with Carpenter. As for the foreseeable future, they'll continue to redraw the boundaries of new country music while keeping one foot firmly planted in the past. "We like dichotomy -- happy little melodies with tragic lyrics," concludes Deakin. "It's fun pushing the envelope a little bit." Kane agrees: "Yeah, like getting to the point where we can hire bands like Anthrax to open for us. That's where I want to be.