On the upcoming Hogback CD

I find myself getting dragged, kicking and screaming like a kid in Kmart, into the 21st century as far as my computer skills. Cell phones, e-mail, the whole technological revolution has found me and my band in the wilds of Wyoming. Much of the band have been content with old PA’s, cheap beer and our rock n’ roll thus far on our journey, but, as my father would say, it has come time for Hogback to "shit or get off the pot." There was a little meeting in a coffee house shortly after opening for Jason Boland and the Stragglers at the Cowboy Bar in Laramie, where the concept for this new record was born. Without the familiar lubricant of alcohol, we were clear-headed for this talk, which in rock n’ roll is not the easiest thing to do. God bless Aaron Maier for asking some really poignant questions about what I felt Hogback should aspire to "beyond the whiskey and women, Nate………"
After some long talks with some close friends, and myself, it dawned on me that making a record was the obvious next step, along with getting a real .com site other than myspace.
I’ve been writing songs since I was in high school in Georgia, playing in acoustic trios and rock bands while attending Reinhardt College and University of Wyoming in Laramie. So, needless to say, now in my early thirties, that I should get some of this shit out. Thanks to the entity known as Hogback I finally had a vehicle to do so. Seems logical enough, right? So, here I find myself in the midst of making a record with some of the finest cats I’ve ever had the pleasure of making music with. Thank you guys….
This collection of songs was purely written in Wyoming – and there ain’t no cowboy ballads, if you were wondering. Over the last ten years of my life in the west, there have been many adventures. You’ll find songs ranging from love and the loss of love, the nightmares of hospitals, struggles with addictions, killing songs, redemption, and thank God, hope. We can all use a little of that in these times. Bill Brizuela has got some great stuff on this record, as well. I told the guys that I needed to record these songs, not because I thought they were great songs and shit like that, but as a catharsis in my own songwriting. I felt that if we did not record them they might be lost. And even worse, I felt that my songwriting couldn’t improve unless we put them to bed. We had also resolved as a band that without this project, we would be ‘stuck’ being a local Wyoming bar band, although a pretty good one, still a bar band. That was great, but we weren’t satisfied with it. You get just one walk around this planet, you know…
We didn’t have FAME in Muscle Shoals or anything like that, but thank God for Dan and Gail Tinker and their Thunderground Sound Studio in Laramie, Wyoming, we had a facility. Without the headache of traveling to Fort Collins or Denver, we had a great place to stretch out and get it done. The mere fact that there is any place to record in Wyoming is amazing. It helps that Dan and Gail are from Tennessee. It’s easier for me to open up when I’m not the only southern accent in the room. Without their kindness and patience, this would have not been possible. Thanks, y’all. We’ve had more productive days than others and we are not done with this recording process yet, but it has been a scream, so far. We are currently cutting the vocals and are hoping to have it mixed and sent down for mastering by mid-March. We’ve strived to keep it as organic as hell and as Patterson Hood put it, "No Steely Dan…"
Thanks to Naomi and Gracey for kicking us in the ass and getting the Hogblog rolling.
Thanks for all y’all’s help.
Nate

On Murf's 20th Annual Poker Run – Centennial, WY

Hogback had a beautifully debaucherous time at Murf’s Poker Run this year. Special thanks to Murf and Linda at the Trading Post for having us again this year.
The run was a blast with new and old friends making their way down Barber Lake Trail on snowshoes and skis. I must have sampled seven different kinds of liquor on the way down the mountain, which made it a bit difficult to keep my shit together for the show…
Special thanks to The Patti Fiasco for the great opening show. It was inspiring to see those pink cowboy boots, girl!
I was a beautiful day in the Snowy Range and in Centennial Valley. Everybody was showing teeth, in a good way, and the booze was flowing and the grass was growing. The guys are still reeling at all the beautiful young ladies that were in town. It’s a rare day in town when the guys are outnumbered.
It was a great gig.
From the singer’s perspective…
Till next time----
Nathan from Hogback Country

The Music

Hogback Music

Hogback is in the studio, working on their first album.

We'd love to share more with you, and we will, but at this point in the earth's revolution, we are a little, well more than a little, consumed with this new recording and booking more shows and then, of course, there's women and liquor and stuff like that. But, sobriety will dawn, women will dump us, and we'll be back soon with juicy news and stompin' tunes.

In the meantime, lyrics and rough cuts can be found here.

The Band

These guys just live for the music.

They’ve rocked biker bars, cowboy bars, dive bars, open mics, dozens of garages, living rooms and stumps in the woods.

No coffee shops, though. They’re just too loud. Just the way we like it.

And, they sing about life and love, death and drinking whiskey and getting your heart broke and all that shit, just the way we like it.

Hey, is that country on my rock n’ roll? No, you got rock n’ roll on my country!

Hogback is:

That lead guitar that’s starting to invade your grey matter would be Aaron Maier. He just shreds the blues all over the top of everything, like an Italian cook with the parmesan. But, take a listen. Searing guitar runs in all the right places.

Nathan Robertson and his guitar found their way from Georgia to the middle of the Centennial Valley surrounded by the Hogback ridge of way-out Wyoming mountain country. He never looked back and he never lost the southern accent. His voice and words run the ol’ emotional gamut from resigned to inspiring, to heartbroken to totally hopeless and leaves you grinning about the irony of it all. Check him out if you love lyrics.

Bill Brizuela is from a planet far, far away. He never answers any question directly, but we think he wants to be a musician when he grows up. Problem is, he already is one. Oh, yeah, he plays bass. And writes and sings unexpected songs, at times.

Brian Hoopes holds the madness of this band’s varied personas together somehow with his magic drumsticks. Overheard while they were recording, "Man, just get him started and he gets in the groove and hangs with it like a metronome!"

We'd love to share more with you, and we will, but at this point in the earth's revolution, we are a little, well more than a little, consumed with this new recording and this Poker Run show up in Centennial and then, of course, there's women and liquor and stuff like that. But, sobriety will dawn, women will dump us, and we'll be back soon with juicy news and stompin' tunes.