The Mother Hips
The Mother Hips is a rock band based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tim Bluhm (vocals/guitar), Greg Loiacono (guitar/vocals), Isaac Parsons (bass) and Mike Wofchuck (drums) met in 1990 while attending California State University-Chico, living off campus in Bradley Hall. The band went on indefinite hiatus in February 2003. Toward the end of 2004 the Mother Hips reunited and started playing shows again. "We definitely all missed playing together, and a couple of close friends kept urging us to play shows," says singer/guitarist Tim Bluhm about The Mother Hips' decision to reconvene. "We approach the band differently now than we did before the hiatus. There's no pressure on us the way we do it: We all have other sources of income, and mostly aren't dependent on the Hips making money at shows. I think of us as 'musicians of leisure.'" Formed at Chico State in Northern California, The Mother Hips have seen it all, and there are already two documentaries about them-Stories We Could Tell and This Is The Sound-to prove it. They've gone from dorm band to buzz band to cult favorite; they've taken a truckload of drugs and then kicked their habits; they've played with everyone from Wilco to Johnny Cash; they've worked with countless labels (including two albums on Rick Rubin's American Recordings); and they've dealt with more industry bullshit than the average band could handle. And when singer/guitarist Greg Loiacono told his bandmates he wanted to take a break following the release of 2001's critically acclaimed Green Hills Of The Earth, it seemed as though the Hips were on their way to getting thrown into the coulda-woulda-shoulda pile. But with the release of the band's new seven-inch and EP on New York City upstart Camera Records, it's clear that The Mother Hips (Bluhm, Loiacono, drummer John Hofer and bassist Paul Hoaglin) aren't just back-they're back with a purpose. "Red Tandy," "Blue Tomorrow" and the EP-only "Colonized" are all perfect examples of the group's ability to channel such classic bands as The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, The Band and The Beach Boys while writing thoughtful and beautiful tunes that sound just as timeless as the Hips' inspirations. And, of course, the guys still have something to say. "'Colonized' is about the human soul clashing with the incredible greed that thrives our culture,'" says Bluhm. "Anything that's cool or appealing is instantly 'colonized' by advertisers until we become almost afraid to express an original idea for fear that it will be used to sell fucking coffee or surf trunks." The quartet's first release in four years features songs-two on the vinyl, four on the CD (including an alternate version of "Red Tandy")-written both collaboratively and separately, and is an excellent appetizer for a new full-length LP slated to be issued next year. If the Hips sound creatively energized amidst all the harmony-drenched, California-baked rock, it's because they are. "Greg is my favorite person to play music with and one of my favorite songwriters," notes Bluhm. "We started out together. You only have one of those guys per life. Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing unless he's singing with me." "Toward the end of 2001, it had become 'work' and it didn't feel right-we were all so bitter all of the time," says Loiacono. "Now when we come together to play, there's true happiness in seeing each other, and in creating new sounds and feelings for ourselves and for the fans that come to hear us." Though all four members remain busy with the other projects they launched during the hiatus-including Bluhm's solo career, Loiacono and Hoaglin's Sensations, and Bluhm and Loiacono's Ball-Point Birds-expect plenty of activity from the Hips in the near future. And count on witnessing them having a blast. . User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
About This Event
Hope. Warmth. Companionship.
Few things in this world can conjure up such sensations quite like the sight of a glowing lantern in a darkened window. The glowing lantern is a universal symbol for sanctuary, says Mother Hips co-founder Tim Bluhm. Thats what we wanted this album to be: a warm safe place to get in out of the dark cold night.
Written and recorded through the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, Glowing Lantern is indeed a work of great comfort, even as it grapples with the profound anxiety of these troubling and uncertain times. The songs here are weighty, abstract ruminations wrapped in unflagging optimism, bittersweet streams of consciousness delivered with a jaunty confidence in better days to come. Bluhm and fellow co-founder Greg Loiacono produced the album themselves, and the juxtaposition of darkness and light in their stark lyrics and buoyant arrangements reflect a tension familiar to anyone whos ever struggled to find their footing or make sense of the inexplicable.
At the heart of it all, though, is a distinct sense of camaraderie, a feeling of closeness and brotherhood that the band has ironically only come to rediscover as a result of the past year of isolation and lockdowns. Glowing Lantern is as collaborative a record as The Mother Hips have ever made, and its impossible not to feel the joy, gratitude, and friendship radiating out of it like a beacon in the night. Founded nearly 30 years ago while Bluhm and Loiacono were still just students at Chico State, The Mother Hips caught their first big break before theyd even graduated from college, when legendary producer and industry icon Rick Rubin signed the band to his American Recordings label.
In the decades to come, the group would go on to release ten critically acclaimed studio albums and cement themselves as architects of a new breed of California rock and soul, one equally informed by the breezy harmonies of the Beach Boys, the funky roots of The Band, and the psychedelic Americana of Buffalo Springfield. Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the Bay Areas most beloved live outfits, the groups headline and festival performances became the stuff of legend and helped earn them dates with everyone from Johnny Cash and Wilco to Lucinda Williams and The Black Crowes. Rolling Stone called the band divinely inspired, while Pitchfork praised their rootsy mix of 70s rock and power pop, and The New Yorker lauded their ability to sing it sweet and play it dirty.