The Mother Hips is a San Francisco based band whose members Tim Bluhm (vocals/guitar), Greg Loiacono (guitar/vocals), John Hofer (drums) met in 1990 while attending Chico State University. Graduating from parties to local bars and dance clubs the band released its first self produced album Back to the Grotto in February 1993.
The Mother Hips 1995 major label debut Part-Timer Goes Full garnered them new fans and headlining gigs at San Francisco’s Fillmore and festivals such as the HORDE tour.
Shifting their musical direction from longer multiple sectioned to shorter, radio-friendly songs with a country styled bent preceded the band’s relocation from Chico to their current San Francisco Bay Area base.
Following a brief hiatus the band reformed in 2004 to record five full length albums to increasing critical and popular acclaim. Their song “Time We Had” from their 2007 album Kiss the Crystal Flake was featured in the music video game Rock Band. Chorus, (2018) was their first new album in four years, and found the band’s ragged melodies and determined stride still intact. Similar in stance to Crazy Horse, the Mother Hips came out with guns blazing in an unrepentant sound that is fully in fashion.
While The Mother Hips have rarely made music of the forlorn variety, they are not happy-go-lucky either. The band has always mixed weightier concerns with an ability and determination to ride them out. This time the trimmed down trio—Bluhm (vocals and guitars), longtime stalwart Greg Loiacono (vocals and guitars) and John Hofer (drums), augmented by other enlistees—blaze their way forward through a persistent series of tellingly titled scorchers: “High Note Hitters,” “It’s Alright,” “I Went Down Hard,” and “Didn’t Pay the Bill” being particularly prominent. Remorse and resolve make strange bedfellows, but Chorus is just vocal enough to ensure the sentiments stay intact and true.
Sacramento’s K-ZAP 93.3 FM is playing “When We Disappear” a new single from their upcoming record (When We Disappear -out 1/27/2023) .. All part of 50 years of rock, blues and more, 24-7 on our station’s stream at K-ZAP.ORG/LISTEN!
Discography
Back to the Grotto (1993)
Part-Timer Goes Full (1995)
Shootout (1996)
Later Days (1998)
Green Hills of Earth (2001)
Kiss the Crystal Flake (2007)
Pacific Dust (2009)
Behind Beyond (2013)
Chronicle Man (2014)
Chorus (2018)
When We Disappear (2023)
Video: