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August 10th, 2001
Hip Sounds: Bay Area's Mother Hips Enjoy Year of Acclaim By Robyn Israel Don't expect to find the Mother Hips indulging in long, instrumental jams when they perform in Palo Alto this weekend. And don't call them a jam band -- they're anything but, members say. "There's always been this misconception about our band," says singer, songwriter and guitarist Tim Bluhm. "We never liked jam-band music. We never liked being called a jam band. We'd laugh at it, but then we got tired of it. It's like someone calling you Gary when your name is Greg." The Mother Hips' current album, "Green Hills of Earth," might erase the label that has plagued the Bay Area band since its inception. Heavily pop-oriented, their fifth CD boasts considerable '60s influences, like the Byrds, Gene Clarke, the Bee Gees, the Kinks, West Coast Pop Experimental Band and Fairport Convention. With sales hovering under 10,000, it has been the band's most commercially successful effort to date. Bluhm wrote the majority of the songs on the album; the remainder ("Take Us Out," "Del Mar Station" and "Seaward Son") are the handiwork of the band's other singer/guitarist, Greg Loiacono. Written largely over the past two years, the songs -- partially autobiographical, partially fantasy -- are the result of considerable reflection and waiting for the right line and the right melody, the soft-spoken Bluhm says. "I put no pressure on myself to produce," says the lanky Los Angeles native. "I take it easy. It seems to be the best way for me. I'm not interested in writing a lot of songs. I just want songs that I'm proud of. And sometimes it takes me a year to come up with songs I'm proud of." The song he's most proud of is "Sarah Bellum," a ballad that showcases Bluhm and Loiacono's lush vocal harmonies. "It's about searching for an impossible ideal that doesn't exist -- perfection -- but enjoying the search. (Like for) true love, true happiness." Asked whether those ideals are truly elusive, Bluhm offers his own personal spin on the subject. "I think you have to find happiness and perfection in the world that's around you. You just have to look at it the right way. It's a choice. That's the way I'm living my life right now. There isn't something you can get or acquire that will make you rich or successful or content. But that kind of mindset is really prevalent (in our society). And I don't think that's right." "Singing Seems To Ease Me," the album's fifth track, offers insights into being a band and running a business. "It just gets so stressful and it's easy to get caught up in details that aren't very important. It's nice to be reminded that music is the basis for the whole thing. And actually it's very simple and pleasant." That reminder became paramount six years ago, when the band was dropped from American Recordings after a three-year association. The record label released two Mother Hips albums ("Part Timer Goes Full" and "Shootout" in 1995 and 1996 respectively) and re-released "Back to the Grotto" (the band's 1992 debut), but didn't do much to market the band or the music. It didn't come as a shock when they got the news. "They dropped most of the bands on their roster. We were never a priority for them," says Bluhm of the label that also represented Johnny Cash and the Black Crowes. "And we didn't know enough about the business to assert our opinions. We kind of assumed they would take care of it." Disillusioned and disappointed, the band set out to find a smaller label to distribute and promote "Green Hills of Earth," which had already been recorded. They found what they were looking for in Future Farmer Recordings, a San Francisco-based label suggested to them by their friends in Jackpot, a Sacramento band. The company has represented the band since the album's February release. "They have a pretty good reputation in the indie world, which is a place where we've always wanted recognition and never been able to get it." Although tied once again to a record label, Bluhm stresses the band's complete independence. "The band has supported itself since the beginning. When we were with the record label, they gave us money to tour, but it wasn't necessary. We've never relied on money from outside sources to operate as a band and a business. We just do it on our own." The band has been doing just that since 1991, when Bluhm, Loiacono, bassist Isaac Parsons and former drummer Mike Wofchuck were students at Chico State [Wofchuk left the band in 1997 for reasons Bluhm wouldn't disclose; John Hofer replaced him that year.] An English major, Bluhm started college without knowing anyone and shunned partying, opting to spend his free time learning to play guitar in his dorm room. He channeled his love of poetry into songwriting. "I sang in a crummy band in high school. I had always been singing all my life," Bluhm recalls. "I was really into rock. I liked Led Zeppelin, but I couldn't really sing high, which was always frustrating to me. But when I started writing my own music, it didn't matter anymore." The band started playing locally and around the state, eventually attracting the attention of a Sony talent scout. With offers to play in other cities and states, the foursome decided to quit school after five semesters and pursue music full-time. "I was a young 20-year-old. I thought that was it. We're on our way. We all agreed to drop out at the same time." Bluhm's parents acquiesced, but reigned in the purse strings. No matter -- the band has been making enough money to get by ever since. Aside from their California following, the band has also found a fan base in Utah and Idaho, as well as Boulder, Colo., Portland, Ore. and Chicago, where a compilation record was released in 1995, featuring "Hey Emily" (a track from "Back to the Grotto"). Other career highlights include opening for Johnny Cash at the Fillmore in 1995 and a spot on the 1996 H.O.R.D.E. tour (a gig that only added to the jam-band misnomer, Bluhm says). The band was also the opening act for this year's KFOG Kaboom show, which featured the Old '97s and Blues Traveler. It was the band's biggest audience to date, with 100,000 people in attendance. Playing nearly two shows weekly allows Bluhm a lot of spare time to indulge his hobbies, which include surfing, skiing, mountain-climbing, bird-watching, drawing and journal-writing. An outdoor enthusiast, Bluhm has lived for most of the past four years out of his 1988 Toyota pick-up truck, which boasts 260,000 miles. "I like to travel and there's cool places to see and nice places to visit. It's a full-time deal." A part-time project has Bluhm and Loiacono teaming up as a duo to perform acoustically, a partnership that began 12 years go but only went public over the last few years. "It allows us to perform some of the songs that we write that aren't appropriate for the band," Bluhm explains, adding that their repertoire typically features more mellow songs. The "Tim and Greg" offshoot - which will be renamed later this year -- has met with success, Bluhm says, with an album set for release in October. As for the Hips themselves, things continue to look up. "There's not that many independent rock bands that can make a living playing music. Just the fact that we exist is newsworthy," Bluhm says. "None of us has worked a day job in 10 years. We know we're really lucky. A lot of people work really hard and still can't do it." |