SPILL FEATURE: READY TO FUCK SHIT UP – A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN SALMON AND WAYNE MICHEL OF HOGAN’S GOAT

READY TO FUCK SHIT UP

A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN SALMON AND WAYNE MICHEL OF HOGAN’S GOAT

Every now and then, a band stumbles across something raw and incredibly unique; something that has the potential to steer the course of rock ’n’ roll in a new direction. For Hogan’s Goat, they found their sound in the swamps of Nashville. It can be heard lurking throughout their debut full-length record Hogan’s Goat, a true gem that seamlessly incorporated elements of southern blues with ’70s-inspired hard rock and modern metal. Earlier this week, I had the chance to chat with vocalist John Salmon and drummer Wayne Michel about the band’s style, their recently-released music video for “Annie Off The Rails,” and what is to come from Hogan’s Goat.

While being a band for three years, Hogan’s Goat originally went under the name Jack Of The Ville and had previously released a five-song EP under that name. Since then, the band has gone through a handful of lineup changes, and seeing as their recent release was quite the departure from their original sound, the band chose to change their name to Hogan’s Goat. ‘It’s old folklore, I think it’s Scottish . . . The story is that this farmer has an old goat — its fucked up, decrepit and smelly — so we wanted something that was symbolic of our music and was against the grain.’ After listening to the ten songs on Hogan’s Goat, the name feels fitting as a means of describing how the band’s sound cannot easily be categorized, and has a sense of originality that stems from a vast amount of influences ranging from progressive metal acts like Between the Buried and Me, ’80s rock icons like Guns N’ Roses, and classic R&B in the tone of Stevie Wonder. Much like Nashville itself — a cultural oasis and potentially a musical capital of the world — the tastes of each member of the group feel like they could not be any more different, yet rather than clash, they collide into something eclectic and unheard-of.

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While Hogan’s Goat was released in July of 2017, in November, the band released their first-ever music video for the frantic “Annie Off The Rails.” The song itself serves as the perfect introduction to the band as it opens with a blues rock riff and features a metal breakdown, a funky organ solo, a catchy chorus, and a fiery guitar solo. The music video follows the band through a series of gritty and dark settings while being followed by a glamorous and illusive figure of a woman. Dressed to the nines in all white and with an unimpressed look across her face, Annie comes and goes unexpectedly. Salmon states that her presence ‘symbolises the relationship you can have with cocaine . . . she’s the trapped feeling you can have, but also the euphoric state. She’s not really human; she’s metaphorical of another presence of some sort, kind of like a phantom.’ Michel is quick to add, ‘It’s all open to interpretation; it can be a lot of different things. That’s what art is all about to me.’

Moving forward, Hogan’s Goat plans to continue promoting their self-titled debut with another music video in the works for the sludgy, Alice In Chains-inspired “Shit Kicker,” with Salmon promising it will be ‘a step up from “Annie.”’ As far as performances go, since the release of Hogan’s Goat the band has toured across America and is willing to play anywhere for anyone who will listen. ‘We’re ready to come to a city and fuck shit up,’ Salmon exclaimed. They’re hoping over the next year or so to focus more of their attention on the Northeast and would be more than happy to make their international debut in Toronto. Hogan’s Goat is also in the midst of preparing a follow-up EP that, according to Michel, ‘could very well turn into another full-length album.’ However, they are only in the preliminary stages at the moment, with Salmon expecting the record to be ready for a fall release. Regardless, after countless play-throughs of Hogan’s Goat, this is a band that very well could not only influence the course of modern rock in the coming years, but could quite quickly become your favourite unsigned, up-and-coming band.

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