Hobex: Blend and mix
Issue date: 8/30/07 Section: Diversions
From his days as a student in Chapel Hill, playing in the cult favorite Dillon Fence, to his current role as frontman for the rock 'n' soul band Hobex, Greg Humphreys has seen the Triangle music scene evolve as new faces and talent come and go.
This weekend, Humphreys and Hobex will take part in a three-night benefit for the Piedmont Wildlife Center at Cat's Cradle alongside a diverse roster of Triangle bands ranging in age and genres from bluegrass to hip hop.
Diversions Editor Bryan Reed caught up with Humphreys to talk about the benefit festival, and its relevance to the ever-changing music community.
Diversions: First, how did you get hooked up with the Piedmont Wildlife Center benefit?
Greg Humphreys: (Cat's Cradle owner) Frank Heath asked me if I was interested in doing it a few weeks ago, and it sounded like a great cause. And it seems to have grown into something bigger.
Dive: So Hobex was involved with the benefit before it really blew up into this three-day extravaganza.
GH: Yeah. I think it's just one of Frank's main causes that he supports. And we hadn't played the Cradle in a while so it seemed like a good night.
There's a nice cross section of bands and styles.
Dive: You'll be playing between Big Fat Gap and Transportation, right? How do you think Hobex fits in between Big Fat Gap's bluegrass and Transpo's completely unironic '70s power balladry?
GH: I think it'll fit great. We're used to playing where the thematic difference between the bands is great, so it won't be a huge stretch. I've actually gotten to know the Big Fat Gap guys pretty well.
I like Transportation too. They remind me a lot of Badfinger, and they do a good job of playing that style.
Dive: When a show has a bill like this, how does it affect your set?
GH: I guess one thing is when you're playing a bill with a bunch of bands as opposed to a night where it's just your own show, you're not playing two or two-and-a-half hours. We're just gonna be doing an hour and trying to pack a lot into that shorter set.
We've got a new CD out (Enlightened Soul), so we'll be playing a lot off of that.
Dive: I guess people coming out on Saturday should prepare themselves for the both sides of the band: the R&B and the Southern rock sounds you've got on Enlightened Soul.
GH: We've got some live staples that we'll throw in there too.
And I've been playing a lot of pedal steel in our live show so I'll be doing some pedal-steel numbers, too.
Dive: I've always wanted to learn how to play pedal steel. It looks like fun.
GH: It is fun. I actually play with more of a lap steel style, kind of taking from the Sacred Steel style.
I used pedal steel a little on Enlightened Soul, but more as a coloring instrument. Live I kind of go crazy with it.
We do some fun instrumentals. We're very much a song oriented band, but live we like to stretch it out some, too.
Dive: You using pedal steel is kind of interesting given people always use the term "soul" to describe Hobex.
GH: We've been together so long we always try to introduce new elements to keep it fresh. The funk and soul is the bedrock. ... We started as a three piece, expanded into a horn band for a while and now we're back as a smaller band.
The pedal steel is just kind of the newest element that we've put in and I guess the Southern rock, too. Without the horn section I get to play more guitar so that's where that comes out.
Dive: I think, too, there's something distinctly Southern in your music. Like, you can hear Motown or Northern Soul, but Hobex couldn't be from anywhere but N.C.
GH: Oh yeah. We're a total North Carolina band. We're all born and raised here, and I've lived here my whole life, even though I've traveled a lot with the music.
I grew up listening to N.C. music, too. I think that's why I like Big Fat Gap so much. I just remember my dad used to take us to bluegrass festivals growing up.
Dive: You graduated from UNC, right? I guess I probably don't need to ask when exactly.
GH: It's OK. It was in 1990.
Dive: Man, I wish I was here in 1990. I guess that would have been Dillon Fence's heyday, right?
GH: Yeah, we formed back in the late '80s, and we'd play frat parties, the Student Union and opening slots at the Cradle. It just kept growing until we were touring constantly.
Dive: Are there any bands at Wildlife Weekend you're particularly excited to see?
GH: I like the fact that it spans a bunch of genres of music, and young and old. That's one thing that's interesting to me about this area, just how different scenes build up and then five years later a new group of kids come in and it's something entirely different.
It's hard to get everybody together so it'll be a good weekend for that.
I'm excited to see a lot of bands I haven't seen before and some bands I've heard have great songwriters.
Dive: I guess this will be a good weekend for bridging any gaps.
GH: I think it's a good thing.
It's a shame, but it's kind of inevitable, just because of the transient nature of college youth culture.
It will be cool to see it all blend and mix.
This weekend, Humphreys and Hobex will take part in a three-night benefit for the Piedmont Wildlife Center at Cat's Cradle alongside a diverse roster of Triangle bands ranging in age and genres from bluegrass to hip hop.
Diversions Editor Bryan Reed caught up with Humphreys to talk about the benefit festival, and its relevance to the ever-changing music community.
Diversions: First, how did you get hooked up with the Piedmont Wildlife Center benefit?
Greg Humphreys: (Cat's Cradle owner) Frank Heath asked me if I was interested in doing it a few weeks ago, and it sounded like a great cause. And it seems to have grown into something bigger.
Dive: So Hobex was involved with the benefit before it really blew up into this three-day extravaganza.
GH: Yeah. I think it's just one of Frank's main causes that he supports. And we hadn't played the Cradle in a while so it seemed like a good night.
There's a nice cross section of bands and styles.
Dive: You'll be playing between Big Fat Gap and Transportation, right? How do you think Hobex fits in between Big Fat Gap's bluegrass and Transpo's completely unironic '70s power balladry?
GH: I think it'll fit great. We're used to playing where the thematic difference between the bands is great, so it won't be a huge stretch. I've actually gotten to know the Big Fat Gap guys pretty well.
I like Transportation too. They remind me a lot of Badfinger, and they do a good job of playing that style.
Dive: When a show has a bill like this, how does it affect your set?
GH: I guess one thing is when you're playing a bill with a bunch of bands as opposed to a night where it's just your own show, you're not playing two or two-and-a-half hours. We're just gonna be doing an hour and trying to pack a lot into that shorter set.
We've got a new CD out (Enlightened Soul), so we'll be playing a lot off of that.
Dive: I guess people coming out on Saturday should prepare themselves for the both sides of the band: the R&B and the Southern rock sounds you've got on Enlightened Soul.
GH: We've got some live staples that we'll throw in there too.
And I've been playing a lot of pedal steel in our live show so I'll be doing some pedal-steel numbers, too.
Dive: I've always wanted to learn how to play pedal steel. It looks like fun.
GH: It is fun. I actually play with more of a lap steel style, kind of taking from the Sacred Steel style.
I used pedal steel a little on Enlightened Soul, but more as a coloring instrument. Live I kind of go crazy with it.
We do some fun instrumentals. We're very much a song oriented band, but live we like to stretch it out some, too.
Dive: You using pedal steel is kind of interesting given people always use the term "soul" to describe Hobex.
GH: We've been together so long we always try to introduce new elements to keep it fresh. The funk and soul is the bedrock. ... We started as a three piece, expanded into a horn band for a while and now we're back as a smaller band.
The pedal steel is just kind of the newest element that we've put in and I guess the Southern rock, too. Without the horn section I get to play more guitar so that's where that comes out.
Dive: I think, too, there's something distinctly Southern in your music. Like, you can hear Motown or Northern Soul, but Hobex couldn't be from anywhere but N.C.
GH: Oh yeah. We're a total North Carolina band. We're all born and raised here, and I've lived here my whole life, even though I've traveled a lot with the music.
I grew up listening to N.C. music, too. I think that's why I like Big Fat Gap so much. I just remember my dad used to take us to bluegrass festivals growing up.
Dive: You graduated from UNC, right? I guess I probably don't need to ask when exactly.
GH: It's OK. It was in 1990.
Dive: Man, I wish I was here in 1990. I guess that would have been Dillon Fence's heyday, right?
GH: Yeah, we formed back in the late '80s, and we'd play frat parties, the Student Union and opening slots at the Cradle. It just kept growing until we were touring constantly.
Dive: Are there any bands at Wildlife Weekend you're particularly excited to see?
GH: I like the fact that it spans a bunch of genres of music, and young and old. That's one thing that's interesting to me about this area, just how different scenes build up and then five years later a new group of kids come in and it's something entirely different.
It's hard to get everybody together so it'll be a good weekend for that.
I'm excited to see a lot of bands I haven't seen before and some bands I've heard have great songwriters.
Dive: I guess this will be a good weekend for bridging any gaps.
GH: I think it's a good thing.
It's a shame, but it's kind of inevitable, just because of the transient nature of college youth culture.
It will be cool to see it all blend and mix.
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