The Mother Hips – Behind & Beyond

The Bay Area’s The Mother Hips have been combining their California soul energy with a slightly more aggressive rock sound for  two decades now. It all started back in 1993 with their well lauded debut on Rick Rubin’s American Recordings – Back to the Grotto. Caring that west coast ethos over the course of eight more studio albums with dedicated touring, The Mother Hips have earned a very loyal fan base along the way making them a career band that never once sold out and turned soft.

The core line-up of the band has remained stable since a 2004 with co-founders Tim Bluhm (vocals,guitar) and Greg Loiaconco (guitar, vocals) and drummer John Hofer keeping the Mother Hips ship on course. These days, the band has changed their approach to touring, playing 80 shows a year rather than hundreds, concentrating on well-defined tour markets rather than burning themselves out on the road.

The band still throws its annual Hipnic – a rock and folk concert series nestled in the redwoods of the Big Sur Valley, co-curated by The Mother Hips and Britt Govea of (((folkYEAH))). In addition to The Mother Hips performing both days, guests has included California artists such as: Al Jardine (The Beach Boys), Jackie Greene, Sean Hayes, Everest, Dawes, and Cass McCombs.

Behind Beyond is their first studio release since 2009’s Pacific Dust and their 2011 four-disc retrospective compilation, Days of Sun and Grass. With some tracks that feel like lost and forgotten Grateful Dead tracks to vast exercises in story-telling and down home porch feel-gooders, Behind Beyond stands up and betters most in the Mother Hips catalog while continuing to push their own boundaries, proving why The Mother Hips have withstood so many trends. We recently spoke with co-founders Bluh and Loiaconco about the band’s history and Behind Beyond.

motherhipsalbumCongratulations on the recent release of Behind Beyond – a thrilling listen that definitely retains The Mother Hips engaging style of rock while pulling through with more modern nuances. Were you going for anything different when writing and recording this album that would set it apart from the rest of the Mother Hips discography?

Greg: We wanted to stretch out. As you might notice, most of the songs are over five minutes. John Hofer really encouraged Tim and I to play as much guitar as possible and there are quite a few instrumental interludes- more so than previous albums. I think there are quite a few moments on Behind, Beyond that are akin to our live shows.

The Mother Hips recently played a couple June CD release shows in Chico, CA at the Sierra Nevada Brewery on and two hometown shows on June 28 and 29 at the Independent in SF, CA. How did the shows go and what was the reception to the newer tunes?

Greg: Both sets of shows were excellent. We had ample time to practice (which is something we don’t often get to do these days). And we had a great production team with us. Most importantly, the fans were on fire and gave us a ton of great energy to play off of. Songs like “Jefferson Army” and “Shape The Bell” came off wonderfully. We are excited to see how they transform over time.

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What songs on the album do you feel are strongest in terms of having staying power in your live shows for years to come and why?

Greg: As I said previously, “Jefferson Army” and “Shape The Bell” will be big live moments in the near future. “Best Friend in Town”, “Toughie” and “Rose of Rainbows” are already staples. “Freed From a Prison” is sounding great and the crowd seems to be resonating with it. They are all coming off very nicely, live.

Tim: That’s hard to predict and I’ve guessed wrong many times before. Some of these new tunes have only been played live a couple times. Sometimes an effectively recorded song needs to be reworked to make it effective on stage. Other times the recorded version just can’t be performed live due to a really involved arrangement or something. So far, “Freed From a Prison,” “Song for JB,” and “Rose of Rainbows” have gone over pretty well live. I’m hoping they all will!

The album title is called Behind Beyond – does the title signify anything in terms of looking back and looking forward? If not why did you choose this as the album title?

Tim: Behind Beyond is a very remote and difficult to reach place. To me it’s the spot that my brain goes to when I am unable to conceive of something profound and wondrous because it is so much those things. For me music and creativity have always had a powerful subconscious component. The moments when I get an idea are like the whale breaching into daylight from deep underwater. Maybe songwriting is like whale watching.

The album’s closing track – “A song for J.B.,” was written for the late former Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett. Of all the fallen heroes of rock, why Bennett and has Wilco’s music played a significant influence in the Mother Hips sound of late?

Tim: I had had a couple old buddies pass away at around the same time. The song was more general overall but when Jay Bennett died it was that story that I was able to tell a little. I didn’t know him too well but he was nice.
I don’t listen to very many contemporary records. Wilco is cool because they got really popular but always seemed to play by their own rules and never rested on their laurels. I’ve seen their sets at a few big festivals and they really do it right.

motherhipsposterYou’ve been doing this for a long time and have seen many changes in the industry – what have you seen in terms of trends and technology that makes you pleased with the progress we’ve made and what do you feel uncomfortable about?

Greg: Social networking has brought a whole new meaning to how bands and fans can stay connected. Bands can keep their fans updated, to the minute, about every detail- show dates, record releases, new content, trivia. Fans can express their appreciation, opinions and hopes to the bands. There is a lot that is great about this. We used to send out postcards and hang posters. There is something to be said, though, for that mysterious aspect that seems to be completely gone. I remember finding a record or hearing a song and spending time trying to find out information by asking people or reading information on the back of records- “where did they record this? “How did they get those sounds? “who played pedal steel on that track?”

And when you found out some information, it was special. “I had no idea that Sandy Denny sang on The Battle of Evermore” or whatever the discovery might be. Now that information is so readily available, it takes the excitement out of scoring the knowledge.

Tim: Tim: I’m pleased that the CD, which was just coming around when I started playing music, is getting phased out. I don’t like those. Vinyl and cassette are coming back which is pleasing. They always sounded better.

The Internet and digital downloading thing has been amazing to witness. For bands like the Hips, who never really had to rely on record sales, it’s been only good. Of course I think musicians should be able to collect money when people download their songs, but it looks like that’s just not going to be possible all the time. I’ve learned that it’s best not to count on one source of anything. Historically technology has changed and erased countless industries. Nothing’s going to change the way music makes us feel. If anything, the collapsing industry only helps bands like ours because it has created more niches. And everyone would agree that it feels good inside to hear corporations complain about being treated unfairly!

Coming from the HORDE tour scene and later evolving into a band that focused on shorter, radio-friendly songs to flirt with country flavored tunes; I always see the term psych rockers come up to describe The Mother Hips which I never feel is endearing or worthy of you guys. How would you best describe your sound and band today verse where you were 20 years ago?

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Tim: There’s no point in trying to describe the sound of the band. From the very beginning we have been mostly unhappy with any of those descriptions or classifications. Reacting to them has proven to be unproductive.

I will say that when we first started out we made choices and came up with ideas that only a beginner’s mind could. It was naiveté that blended with, or was confused with, innovation. In the ensuing years we have become much more proficient at playing and writing music, but it is difficult to maintain the “beginner’s” state of mind after so long. On this newest record we looked back at our early years and lifted a few ideas from our younger selves. There is no pressure on us to “deliver” anything except what is pleasing to us.

What is the viable economic model for a band like Mother Hips these days? Obviously its hard to keep on touring and its even harder to sell music – what keeps you going?

Greg: Our desire to play is what keeps us going. But the band pays very close attention to it’s economics. We have a great team that includes management, our booking agency and our crew. Our touring, merchandising, recording is sustained by our hard work and our fans that continue to come to our shows and buy our records.

Tim: We sell more music now than we did when we were on a major label, and we tour far less. We make our money playing live. We keep our overhead low, tour strategically and retain ownership of our masters. I’ve collected enough recording equipment so that the only people we pay are the engineers.

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Looking back over the career of the band, what live shows stand out as pinnacle moments for the Mother Hips?

Greg: I recently saw a picture of us with Johnny Cash. We had the honor of meeting him a few times. And we opened for him at The Fillmore one time. My mom came to the show. He introduced himself to her – “Hello. I’m Johnny Cash.” He kissed her on the cheek. She got weak in the knees. We played fine that night. But being in the presence of that man is something that I will never forget.

The Hipnic is a festival that The Hips put together with (((folkYEAH!))). It takes place in Big Sur. This year was number five. The shows are always incredible. There have been huge musical moments for us there. Al Jardine from The Beach Boys has become a regular guest. A few years back in the middle of some space rock, the band fell into complete silence. The audience was able to hang with us. This went on for a long time. You could hear the breeze through the trees and that was all. It was very cool.

Catch the Mother Hips at this weekend’s Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco and at these other dates.

SA 8/10         SAN FRANCISCO, CA – OUTSIDE LANDS FESTIVAL
SA 8/24         SAND CITY, CA – WEST END CELEBRATION
SU 8/25         ST HELENA, CA – LONG MEADOW RANCH WINERY
FR 9/13         DENVER, CO- GOTHIC THEATRE
SA 9/14         SALT LAKE CITY,UTAH- THE STATE ROOM
FR 9/21         PIONEERTOWN, CA – THEMOTHER HIPS DESERT DUST UP AT PAPPY & HARRIET’S W/LOS LOBOS
SA 9/21         PIONEERTOWN, CA – THE MOTHER HIPS DESERT DUST UP AT PAPPY & HARRIET’S
FR 9/27         SOLANA BEACH, CA – BELLY UP
FR 10/04       FOLSOM, CA – POWERHOUSE PUB
SA 10/05       SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – HARBOR FEST
TH 11/14       WASHINGTON DC- THE HAMILTON
FR 11/15       PHILADELPHIA, PA – THE BLOCKLEY
SA 11/16       NEW YORK, NY – BOWERY BALLROOM

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