Music Notes: Straight from the hips

As the semester winds down, the annual panic begins.

Cramming for finals, some of us trying to graduate, wondering how in the world you’ll afford Christmas presents, oh yeah, and that whole Millennium thing, too.

Let me tell you about a band that may be able to help you shelve your worries for a few hours at least. I give you the Mother Hips.

If the name doesn’t sound familiar it is not from lack of effort from this talented foursome.

Nearly a decade has gone by, and the band has continued to tour on a consistent basis throughout the U.S. to much fanfare.

The once little college band out of Chico State has captured the sights and sounds of California with its brand of music known to its followers as “California soul.”

What constitutes “California soul?”

Looking at the Hips, a band who combines a unique blend of rock, blues, rockabilly and country that results in a free-spirited conglomeration of soaring harmonies and gritty grooves would be an apropos definition of what captures the “California soul” sound.

Much of who’s responsible in creating this sound is front man and guitarist Tim Bluhm, whose voice is a throwback to a rock ‘n’ roll era where lyricism carried as much weight as the music itself.

Phrases like “When you pull the spike from the flesh, it is then that the wound will bleed” strike up a highly emotional level of imagery while phrases like “I would love to do a token for you, a beautiful bouquet/but flowers only come around when something goes down and in hours they decay” speak of love without sappiness.

Greg Loiacono on guitar and background vocals lends his talents and makes a complimentary addition to Bluhm.

The contrasting styles of vocals, Bluhm more subtle while Lociacono has more of a boisterous, vibrato sound reminds you of great harmonizing groups like the Allman Brothers, but with more grit and bite.

Bassist Isaac Parsons is a great, solid addition on bass, whom you can tell has a wealth of knowledge in grass roots music with his punchy playing.

The newest addition to the band is John Hofer on drums with his bright playing, charged with heavy beats and an array of cymbal use.

Unlike other rock bands which stick to a particular way of performing their set, much of what makes the Hips so successful, is their ability to perform virtually unscripted at times, playing songs in their set that cater to the mood of the crowd or playing songs based on how they felt at that particular moment.

Either way, they have the uncanny ability to make you want to dance or make you want to sit back, pop open a cold one and think about the good things in life.

That’s California soul. That’s the Mother Hips.

The new millennium marks the release of a new album for the Hips, it’s fifth album overall.

In the meantime, you can find their latest release, “Later Days,” at most music stores.

The Mother Hips will play Thursday at the Boardwalk in Orangevale. Call 988-9247 for more information.

The State Hornet staff would like to thank Joaquin for his contribution to the Hornet newspaper for the past three years.

Congratulations on your graduation (you’re finally done!) and we wish you the best of luck in the future.