The Hugs
Encyclopedia
The Hugs are an indie pop
band from Portland, Oregon
, formed in 2007 by lead singer-songwriter Danny Delegato. Current members include Danny Delegato (lead vocals, guitar), David Appaloosa (bass, guitar, vocals), Patrick Wilcox (lead guitar, keys, vocals) and Mitch Wilson (drums, percussion, vocals). The Hugs have self-released two full-length albums to date, both recorded at Klickitat Band Camp Studio with producer Shay Scott. Their latest release, Again & Again, was released on 6 October 2009. The opening track "Dreams" is spotlighted on the In The City Manchester
sampler disc for 2009. The band is most noted for signing to United Kingdom major label Columbia Records
and 1965 Records
while still attending high school at South East Portland's Cleveland High School.
in early 2007 and later got the group their first record deal in the United Kingdom.
Mike Smith
, Columbia Records
managing director of Artists and Repertoire (A&R), directed the group to James Endeacott, head of A&R at indie imprint 1965 Records
. James is noted for signing The Strokes
, The View
, and The Libertines
while he worked for Rough Trade Records
. He later signed The Hugs in February 2007. The Hugs have played with acts such as The Kooks
, The Dandy Warhols
, The Brian Jonestown Massacre
, The Walkmen
, and The Cribs
.
The Hugs moved to Green Lanes
London, England, to record their debut album in April 2008, spending a few months at a time developing material and improving their sound in various venues and rehearsal spaces. The band recorded preliminary demos for Columbia Records with Dirty Pretty Things
' guitarist Anthony Rossomando
and bassist Didz Hammond
in Anthony's Shoreditch
flat in the summer of 2008. The band chose to work with producer Liam Watson
of Toe Rag Studios
in Hackney, London, in October 2008. The group began recording sessions for their first major label album under 1965 Records
, but the sessions were later abandoned. 1965 Records folded in January 2009 and is no longer an active indie label subsidiary of Sony BMG Music Entertainment
. Columbia Records later declined to release the recordings and The Hugs were released from their label contract in March 2009.
The Hugs are now an unsigned band based in Portland, Oregon. Former members include Kelly McKenzie, Brendan Welch, and Nicholas LoCascio. The band is currently writing a new album to be their third studio album. The new third full-length studio album is scheduled for release in fall of 2011.
, singer-songwriter of The Libertines, stated in London-based music magazine NME in 2007, "I love The Hugs from Portland, Oregon. They're kind of like The Libertines
but are taking it all from their own direction. They're a band who really know how to put a tune together and i'm totally dead excited about them."
Movie director Gus Van Sant
stated in an online New York Post
magazine article, "there's a band called The Hugs that I like a lot, they play folk rock, they're a Portland band, I really like their songs."
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band from Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, formed in 2007 by lead singer-songwriter Danny Delegato. Current members include Danny Delegato (lead vocals, guitar), David Appaloosa (bass, guitar, vocals), Patrick Wilcox (lead guitar, keys, vocals) and Mitch Wilson (drums, percussion, vocals). The Hugs have self-released two full-length albums to date, both recorded at Klickitat Band Camp Studio with producer Shay Scott. Their latest release, Again & Again, was released on 6 October 2009. The opening track "Dreams" is spotlighted on the In The City Manchester
In The City (festival)
In The City is an annual music industry conference and festival founded by the late Tony Wilson, formerly of Factory Records and Granada Television, and his partner Yvette Livesey....
sampler disc for 2009. The band is most noted for signing to United Kingdom major label Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and 1965 Records
1965 Records
1965 Records is a London-based subsidiary record label of SonyBMG. Formed in 2006, the label was founded by James Endeacott , who first signed The Libertines...
while still attending high school at South East Portland's Cleveland High School.
History
NME Magazine photographer Roger Sargent discovered the band on MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
in early 2007 and later got the group their first record deal in the United Kingdom.
Mike Smith
Mike Smith (A&R man)
Mike Smith started as an A&R man at MCA Publishing as a scout in 1988, where he signed Blur, Levitation and scouted The Smashing Pumpkins. He then moved to EMI Publishing in 1992 where he went on to sign acts such as PJ Harvey, Elastica, Supergrass, Teenage Fan Club, Doves, Starsailor, The Beta...
, Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
managing director of Artists and Repertoire (A&R), directed the group to James Endeacott, head of A&R at indie imprint 1965 Records
1965 Records
1965 Records is a London-based subsidiary record label of SonyBMG. Formed in 2006, the label was founded by James Endeacott , who first signed The Libertines...
. James is noted for signing The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, The View
The View (band)
The View are a Scottish indie rock band. They incorporate various styles such as punk, pop, alternative rock, pop punk, powerpop, folk, and acoustic in their music....
, and The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
while he worked for Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
. He later signed The Hugs in February 2007. The Hugs have played with acts such as The Kooks
The Kooks
The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001. Formed by Luke Pritchard , Hugh Harris , Paul Garred , and Max Rafferty , the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty...
, The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...
, The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American eclectic musical group led by Anton Newcombe, whose music spans multiple genres including psychedelia, electronica, folk music, blues, experimental music, and many others....
, The Walkmen
The Walkmen
The Walkmen are an American indie rock band, with members based in New York City and Philadelphia. The band formed in 2000 with three members from Jonathan Fire*Eater—Paul Maroon , Walter Martin , and Matt Barrick —and two from The Recoys, Peter Bauer and Hamilton Leithauser . All but Bauer...
, and The Cribs
The Cribs
The Cribs are an English three-piece indie rock band from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths and Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr who was made a formal member of the group...
.
The Hugs moved to Green Lanes
Turnpike Lane
Turnpike Lane is the name of a street in Haringey, north London.The road is characterised by independent retailers with flats above their shops...
London, England, to record their debut album in April 2008, spending a few months at a time developing material and improving their sound in various venues and rehearsal spaces. The band recorded preliminary demos for Columbia Records with Dirty Pretty Things
Dirty Pretty Things (band)
Dirty Pretty Things were an English band fronted by Carl Barât, a member of The Libertines. The formation of the band was announced in September 2005, after a dispute between Barât and Pete Doherty led to the breakup of The Libertines in 2004. Barât had worked with Vertigo Records and had...
' guitarist Anthony Rossomando
Anthony Rossomando
Anthony Pasquale Rossomando is a guitarist, most recently with Carl Barat's rock band Dirty Pretty Things. He previously stood in for Pete Doherty in The Libertines, after Doherty was first suspended from the band and then sacked due to his drug habits...
and bassist Didz Hammond
Didz Hammond
David Jonathan Hammond , better known as Didz Hammond, is an English bassist. He was the bassist and backing vocalist in The Cooper Temple Clause , and in Carl Barât's Dirty Pretty Things...
in Anthony's Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
flat in the summer of 2008. The band chose to work with producer Liam Watson
Liam Watson
Liam Watson is a Grammy Award-winning British record producer and owner of Toe Rag Studios. Watson is perhaps best known for his work engineering and mixing the White Stripes' Elephant, receiving the 2004 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album...
of Toe Rag Studios
Toe Rag Studios
Toe Rag Studios is an analogue recording studio located in Hackney, London, UK.-History:The studio was founded in 1991 by Liam Watson and Josh Collins in the Shoreditch area of London. In 1997, the business relocated to Hackney due to rising overheads...
in Hackney, London, in October 2008. The group began recording sessions for their first major label album under 1965 Records
1965 Records
1965 Records is a London-based subsidiary record label of SonyBMG. Formed in 2006, the label was founded by James Endeacott , who first signed The Libertines...
, but the sessions were later abandoned. 1965 Records folded in January 2009 and is no longer an active indie label subsidiary of Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a recorded music company, which was a 50–50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG...
. Columbia Records later declined to release the recordings and The Hugs were released from their label contract in March 2009.
The Hugs are now an unsigned band based in Portland, Oregon. Former members include Kelly McKenzie, Brendan Welch, and Nicholas LoCascio. The band is currently writing a new album to be their third studio album. The new third full-length studio album is scheduled for release in fall of 2011.
Reception
Carl BaratCarl Barât
Carl Ashley Raphael Barât is an English musician, actor and author. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and recently debuted a solo album, but is best known for being the co-frontman with Peter Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines.-Early life:Carl Barât was...
, singer-songwriter of The Libertines, stated in London-based music magazine NME in 2007, "I love The Hugs from Portland, Oregon. They're kind of like The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
but are taking it all from their own direction. They're a band who really know how to put a tune together and i'm totally dead excited about them."
Movie director Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He is a two time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, both of which were also nominated for Best Picture, and won the...
stated in an online New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
magazine article, "there's a band called The Hugs that I like a lot, they play folk rock, they're a Portland band, I really like their songs."