There's a good chance that the Heartless Bastards have had a busier year than you. The Cincinnati-based blues-rock band spent almost all of 2009 hitting the road hard behind its third album, the huge-riffing The Mountain,' with giant indie rock names like the Decemberists, the Black Keys, Andrew Bird, Jenny Lewis and Wolfmother. When they weren't touring, they were --surprise! -- still playing music. In February, the Bastards played on the 'Late Show with David Letterman' and this summer they taped an episode of Austin City Limits' live TV show. What's more, the band played the All Tomorrow's Parties in Europe curated by fellow Ohioans the Breeders.

The only time the band had a moment to breathe was, well, each night when the headlining band played. The Bastards, who've been gaining more and more recognition this year, didn't headline a single full tour all year, which is, according to singer Erika Wennerstrom, all part of the plan.

"For the first two albums we didn't do a lot of touring as openers. We toured with Drive-By Truckers after the first one [2005's 'Stairs and Elevators'] and Lucinda Williams for the second [2006's 'All This Time']," Wennerstrom tells Spinner. "So for this album, we just wanted to get out there and have as many new people as possible see us."

In an age when rock 'n' roll recognition often spreads fast, the Heartless Bastards refuse to play the fame-grab game. Wennerstrom insisted that the band take it slow, building a fan base in the old-fashioned way -- by touring with as many bands as possible for as long as they can. The plan seems to be working, as the band has planned its first headlining tour behind 'The Mountain' for early next year, with A.A. Bondy signed on for several shows.

"We'll know more when we go back out on our town tour, but I'm pretty sure that we've made a lot of new fans this year," said Wennerstrom. "But it feels like it's all been working."