Hot As A Pepper Party Band
Richard Young Jr. who was a member of Green Vegas until their recent farewell gig, has joined Hot As A Pepper, bringing his unique style of guitar and vocals into the mix.
Look for him at his first appearance on January 31st, 2014 at The Spot on the Alley in Seneca, SC.
Our member section has more information about Richard, please check that out here.
Back a few days ago, Hot As A Pepper played a fun outdoor event called “Fridays by the Fountain” in Fountain Inn, SC.
The attendance was down a little due to Darius Rucker performing a few blocks away at the Charter Amphitheater / Heritage Park in Simpsonville, SC, but that didn’t stop us from doing what we do best – create a fun and funky groove that had people literally dancing in the streets!
In the middle of the show, my daughter, Megan, came up on the stage and performed a song called “Price Tag” with just me on acoustic guitar and Chris Eller accompanying us on drums. It was a joy to share the stage with her. Now, if we can only get her to come sing some backup and a few dance numbers!
Here she is…. Megan Hoyt…
If you would, please be kind and “like” her video on YouTube.
– John M. Hoyt – Bass Guitar / Vocals / Technology / Roadie
It is with great excitement that we make this announcement…
After a long search, we have finally located the missing member of our band… No, he wasn’t lost, we just had not found what we were looking for until now; A keyboardist who can sing, play guitar and chew gum at the same time!
We would like to welcome Galen Fowler, who has been playing professionally since 1980. He was the front man for The Majestics in the 90’s and more recently he was with Flashback The Party Band from Charlotte NC. His specialty is the keyboard, however HAAP might be able to put up with him playing guitar from time to time. Galen works in industrial sales. He has a beautiful wife Barbara and three children, Raleigh, Andrew, and Jennifer. Galen is also a huge fan of the South Carolina Gamecocks. He will be a great addition to Hot As A Pepper.
Galen also opens the door for Hot As A Pepper to be Cool As A Cucumber for more laid back and intimate performances, such as dinner before the big event, and without question, he brings with him a large repertoire of music we could not have performed previously!
Please come out and see him in his debut performance this coming Saturday, November 3rd at Pop A Top in Piedmont where HAAP will be playing a benefit for the Charles Stokes family… We start at 6:00 PM….
John – Hot As A Pepper bassist
As a musician who owns many guitars and basses, I also own many different types of tuners. One of my favorites has been the Intellitouch PT10 Mini Tuner, which tunes using vibration instead of relying on the audio from the instrument.
This is handy for tuning an instrument in a noisy environment, and does not require taking the guitar or bass out of the circuit at all. Sure, a rack mount tuner is nice, but I can’t pack a rack mount in the guitar case and take only a guitar with me, therefore I buy a tuner for each of my favorite axes and throw that in the case or gig bag.
The other day, I had the first problem in years of using these types of tuners. It was the aforementioned Intellitouch PT10. The clip had broken loose from the body, and I considered my options… Glue it or toss it. Then on a whim, I checked the www.tuners.com website and found that Onboard Research will allow you to send in your old tuner and a few dollars, and they will fix or send back a new one. I opted to give that a try.
It was a painless process (really painless for me, since my wife was kind enough to package up the old tuner, write a check and send it in for me!), and today, I received a shiny new tuner that works like a charm!
Kudos to a OnBoard Research Corporation for having a fine product to begin with, but even more so for supporting the products they sell! I will certainly be buying more as I acquire new instruments!
John
After spending a few weeks posting ads on Craigslist, looking at music stores, checking out online profiles, speaking with over 70 musicians, and meeting with a dozen, last Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012, it became apparent who needed to be in HAAP!
That Tuesday brought together Curtis Butler, a drummer from Greenwood, Tim Howe, a guitarist from Spartanburg, Chip McDonald former vocalist of TDB, and myself, John M. Hoyt, former bassist from TDB.
We had spoken a lot on the phone and via email, but for Tim & Curtis, this was our first meeting and jam ever. We had decided that we would go through our individual song lists and pick a few tunes that we knew in common and hit those during a “jam”. Ultimately we picked, “Brick House”, “Can’t You See”, “Breakdown”, “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Sweet Home Alabama”, “Under the Boardwalk”, and “Lights”.
Within the first few measures of the first tune, I instantly knew that Curtis was the best fit out of all the drummers I had spoken to, listened to and jammed with. He’s got a natural groove that I just love as a bass player. Lots of power on the 2 and 4, and super control. I had listened to Curtis on videos posted on the ‘net, and he was exactly what I heard on those recordings. No bait and switch there!
Tim was also a master of his craft, great with rhythm and super with the leads. Totally rock solid, and absolutely not a mimic of the original artists (anyone who knows me, also knows that while I love cover tunes, I love cover tunes done with your own flavor, not exactly as the original artist played it)…. Tim did not let me down. Of course, he’s been doing this a while with other current band, “No Sweat Band”. As in 12 years I believe.
I don’t know what it was about the day, the players, or maybe the atmosphere, but Chip sounded fantastic, in spite having performed Friday night and Saturday at the Bovinova event with me. I had thought he would be stretched, but he may have sounded better than ever. Obviously, everyone knows his range and what Chip brings to the party. He’s a seasoned vocalist who is able to hit those higher registers without ripping his insides out.
You know what fantasy football is? Where people pick the best players from every team and put them together into their fantasy team? That’s what this was! I had listened to some great musicians, but these guys were the best of the best, and I can only imagine what is going to happen. It should be magic!
What’s next? We’re rapidly assembling the songlist of tunes we already known in common, peppering it with some that we don’t all know, but know will be a big hit with the audience, and we hope to be out playing in about 30 days.
Once this songlist is established, we will add newer material to it and custom tailor it to what our friends, family, venues and fans want to hear. Your input is welcome!
I tried to contact each of the 70+ musicians who reached out to Hot As A Pepper and to thank them for their interest, and their investment of time. Those who were not selected were awesome in their own right, in fact, a couple of them were more than incredible, but Tim, Curtis, Chip and I *mesh* in a way I can’t explain. It was exactly what I was hoping to find.
Need a fun, funky and HOT band for your Upstate or Greenville party, festival or even a bar mitzvah? Let us know! We want to play it! Guess we have to include Greenwood and the surrounding area too now with Curtis in!
Fantasy Band? Yewbetcha =)
Our ad on Craigslist has turned up a number of potential members!
We have had musicians from all around Greenville and the Upstate contacting us and checked out a few of them already but have a ways to go I believe.
I’m compiling a database of these musicians and here’s the summary so far:
That list is in the order of what we need most…. So, if you are reading this, and you are a vocalist, preferably one who plays an instrument, then you are on my “most wanted” list!
If there is anyone who has emailed and I have *NOT* contacted you in someway, then please try to reach me another way, through facebook for instance (John M. Hoyt or Hot As A Pepper), in case something is being lost in email.
I promise to get back with each of you as quickly as I possibly can!
If you are not willing to commit to AT LEAST one rehearsal a week, and one weekend gig per month over the next six months and hopefully TWO weekend gigs per month with as many as FOUR over the next year, then this is likely not for you.
Thanks everyone for the support!!!!
John M. Hoyt – Searching for the best of the fun and funky players in the Upstate!
Response to our post on Craigslist has turned up a number of great people!
First up, I’ll be meeting up with a drummer and guitarist/singer combo to “jam” and see what it sounds like. These two have played together before and know songs that I have done in the past, so that should prove interesting.
Four drummers in all have contacted me, one is out right away due to living in Seneca and not realizing rehearsals would be in Greenville, one is part of the combo above and two are on extreme ends of the spectrum, the first is a 19 year old who sounds very ambitious, and the other is 50-something well seasoned player. Funny story – the older gent is from Alabama originally, and when we hooked up on facebook, I saw he was friends with another friend of mine, David Cook and had played with him years ago. Dave has been up North and just recently moved to GA for some music opportunities. Dave is one heck of a keyboard player, and who knows, we could end up getting this drummer (he goes by “String”) and Dave together here in Greenville to see how that goes. Dave comes complete with even more LED DMX lights and sound gear than I have.
I’ve had only 2 guitarists come forward, one who is very money oriented, which will not work, he wants to “plug and play and get paid” and the other comes with the drummer.
A keyboard player who also plays guitar and bass sent an email but it was late tonight, so it will be tomorrow before I can get in touch with them. Would be great if he could sing too!
Singer options are slim at this point. The duo is one, and the only other available vocalist I know of is Chip McDonald (formerly from the defunct Dockside Band I was in), but I am unsure if he is really in for this style of music. Knowing Chip though, he might cover it until a permanent singer could be located. That’s a conversation yet to be had…
I’m meeting with Bennie Waddell tomorrow, but I hear he’s playing with a couple guys already so he’s probably not available and he’s more Queen & Journey. Come to think of it, so is Chip. Hrmmm
So there we have it. Slow progress, but progress none the less.
If you are reading this and are aware of any other players in the Upstate / Greenville area who would be a good candidate for this party band project, please point them in this direction!
John M. Hoyt – Bassist and sole member of Hot As A Pepper… The loneliest band in the land!