Happy New Year from Hillbilly Hellcats

[Chuck Hughes]

Johnny Lawless from J.B. Beverly and the Wayward Drifters told me about this place. I had met Johnny through

bassists Matt Mayhem and Johnny Lawless when I had searched for band members a couple years ago. Matt answered my ad on Myspace and now I have done several tours with him. Johnny was an old friend of Johnny Love, whom I had read about in the Baltimore City Paper and emailed, telling I was glad to discover there was a Psychobilly Band in Baltimore. We ended up doing a few shows together.

I had had this idea in the 90's that I was going to find "band members" but eventually learned that I was going to find "gig members" and would be looking nationally to do so. This year I have played with 5 bassists and 4 drummers and managed to avoid any catastrophes. No one had to be sent home on the bus or lost their mind in the middle of a tour, so it was a good year. 

I'm grateful to have some time to study Apple Logic 9 in preparation for recording new tunes. It is very liberating to be able to make your record on a laptop. The alternative is to be using a bassist or such who records their part, then does not want to tour, then expects a portion of the record's sales that you are out on the road promoting. Bands start with 'one for all, all for one" intentions, but soon there is usually one person doing all the booking, writing, and recruiting of other members. New members are looking for a guarantee, and have no vested interest in promoting the CD that they are not on.

Audiences often assume that the consistent members must be hard to get along with, else all those other musicians would not be coming and going. The truth is, the coming and going is the rule and the stable band is the exception. As long as there are boyfriends/girlfriends, dogs, kids, other jobs, health issues, and other bands there will be membership changes. The great thing these days is that any new member is just a plane ticket away- you are not limited to your local neighborhood for replacements.

 

We have shows coming up all across the U.S. and Europe this year. My main goal is to spend most of my time writing and recording and a very small percentage booking and personnel recruiting. Wish me luck!

 

Chuck