Band History

1995-1997:
Fast forward to 1995, when OB was in the process of becoming a huge DMB fan. Listening to DMB actually opened a lot of other doors for HdH's guitarist. He used to listen to almost all hip-hop (even though he grew up as a metal-head), and with DMB (and time) came a lot of other associated bands and genres of music. He began to get into a lot of acoustic-based groups, such as Dog's Eye View and Counting Crows. Bands such as Granian and Pearl Jam would also come to be some of OB's favorite guitar-based rock. With this widened interest, OB became interested in other aspects of the music. He used to be a percussionist only, and still is, but the thought of playing guitar became a possibility. All the while he was into these bands, the mailing lists he was on would discuss tabs and playing their songs...something OB hardly gave a second thought.

1998:
One day, OB got a catalog in the mail from some company that happened to sell a few cheap guitars. He put serious thought into getting one of their better models. Then, he began to look into other types and makes over the web. He figured he would be better off getting a good guitar from a well-known company. During this "research" time, thinking about all the tabs of his favorite bands, and thinking about how much fun it would be to play, OB's excitement really grew and grew. He decided he would take his tax return check and spend most of it towards a guitar. He decided on an Ovation model. A black one. But... further research indicated an Epiphone from the same company (Veneman's Music Emporium) would also land him a free guitar case - so, he decided to go ahead with the Epiphone (a Gibson company). Still black. It was their cheapest model, but it was a reputable company and he knew Veneman's had a good service record - plus, they shipped in 3 days upon order.

"Actually, I was going to save my credit card a little and send a money order - but my tax return check was later in coming than I thought. I really wanted to have the guitar by spring break so I could learn some stuff and take it home and play for my folks. So, I cleared some money on my card and ordered it over the web. I became so anxious that 3 days later I emailed a service rep to make sure they received my order and to find out when it had shipped. It actually came later that day." (March '98)

So the guitar was finally in OB's hands and he began to furiously get tabs from DMB and Pearl Jam and others, and work at learning to play the guitar. No lessons - nothing but trial and error and tabs. He learned a few bits and pieces of DMB songs like Seek Up and Typical Situation right away, to complement the "Grapevine" bassline - while continuing to work on more complex songs. Fairly soon, he began to experiment with some of his own melodies and jams. He didn't know any chords except the major ones and some he got off tabs, so it was basically single notes for awhile. The first two things he came up with were parts of what are now known as "Given" and "Running In Place". (Ironically, neither is a completed song...) A couple months went by until he discovered power chords. Utilizing this easy way to play several chords, the songwriting and experimenting took off.

"I found out what the hell power chords were, and I was like a kid in a candy store. I have a hard time switching hand positions with real chords, and my memorization of the major chords is lacking as well. Power chords were great for me, they were simple and I could make up my own funky shit to jam on. I then began to try my hand at writing an actual song." (June '98)

1999:
After a full year of being a band, you can really see the progress of the band... the quality of songwriting and playing has grown by leaps and bounds. Early in the year songs were being finished and completed in quick succession. The band now has a decent selection of completed original songs in their repertoire. Full cover songs have even begun to show up, something once thought near impossible. OB has even begun using new and real chords in certain songs when he can, and is also improving his barre chord abilities.

"I've sorta developed my own way of throwing in a real A chord or a D in there somewhere, when I can. I'm still working out kinks, and sometimes they just sound WRONG when I hit a wrong note, or even when they're correct they don't always mesh with the sound of the song. It'll get better, though. This band will only continue to improve. I believe in this project." (May '99)

2000:
1999 ended strong, with many new songs emerging over the last half of the year - and quality came with quantity. In 2000, the band relocated to Philadelphia and took some time away from songwriting to work on side projects and gain a foothold in their new surroundings. Things slowed down a bit creatively, but each member took it upon himself to improve his technical skill on his instrument. A bit of new material did emerge this year, and their pride in these songs is evident. However, the most excitement from the band proved to be when they decided to open their own home recording studio late in the year - and to finally produce their first record. The demo tape ('Size Doesn't Matter') was officially scrapped in favor of a full-length debut CD that was planned to be out sooner than you could figure out OB's middle name. Or not. The year finally ended with the band taking some new directions and venturing into new territory with OB's acquisition of an electric guitar.

"To be honest, after the relocation to Philly, things got a little hectic and we became sidetracked. Shortly thereafter, I found myself a lovely woman to call my own, and for the first time in years I wanted to spend more time doing other things besides playing my guitar (my full-time day job doesn't help, either). Fortunately, she's more than supportive and allows me the space and time I need to fulfill my creative tendencies. I only wish I was as inspired by her amazing love than by the pain of past relationships. I find it harder to write about the happiest of times than the opposite. However, I definitely improved my technical guitar skills. That much is evident. And I love the addition of electric guitar to this band. It's quite a new dimension." (January '01)

2001:
With the band diligently working on their debut album, 2001 looked to be a banner year in the final tally of HdH's sure-to-be-storied history. A pre-emptive pre-order release date for the album was set for February 29, 2004. It was possible this date would be pushed UP, but with any luck whatsoever would not be pushed back. We required a non-refundable pre-deposit in the form of 5 American dollars. However, the year started out less superb than planned. In March of '01, a tragic fire swept through the home studio of OB and destroyed all of the band's equipment and recording masters. Only Essie the acoustic guitar and his lyric book was saved. All live footage from past recordings or the Tree Farm Sessions masters, plus all new recordings from the studio sessions were lost. A few songs had been worked on in-studio, including an almost-complete instrumental version of Family Tree. It was a major setback... but the band pushed on. In June, OB received another electric guitar (Shasta the Stratocaster). Then, in July, a new studio (The Fifth Row) was constructed and the recording process began anew. The band decided before truly digging into the details of the songs that they record a simple guitar-vocal demo of all the completed songs (as reference points), so they did. Further equipment upgrades and delays put off the recording some more, but by fall things were in semi-(not full)-swing. Going into the studio, the band had 24 songs finished. Realistically, about 14 to 16 of those were possible candidates for album inclusion. Very late in the year, a new milestone was also reached. A complete, with-vocal live performance actually occurred (for an audience of one).

"What a strange trip 2001 turned out to be. It started off so promising, then got really depressing, and ended up looking very positively towards the future. I had the same relationship end, start up again, and end a second time - which can fortunately lend itself to creative inspiration. The calendar year didn't lend itself to prolific songwriting efforts, but it was diverse: including songs about college life, city love, a strained relationship, and a fond recollection. The band really started to sink into the city of Philadelphia, and I think we began to find our niche. We lost a lot in the fire, but it wasn't something that we couldn't overcome. A new studio came and went, but much was accomplished... I thik 2001 will end up being called The Year Of The Demo around here." (April '02)

2002:
The band began the new year by relocating, yet again. The new studio was duly dubbed Rock Spot. After a couple months of re-tooling, the new space was loaded with a phat 10-track stand-alone digital multi-track recorder. OB also got a brand-new acoustic/electric guitar (Olivia) along with a spiffy acoustic amp and after all this time, the debut HdH album began to sprout wings. All along, there were some nice creative moments as well... half a dozen new songs were either started and finished or significantly worked on during the first few months of 2002. We were also able to finally recover a copy of the famed Tree Farm Sessions, which means some of those older tunes that the band had forgotten, were able to be remembered - and demo'd. They were able to finally say every finished song was recorded in demo form by April, with several new tunes added in May and June. They made a concerted effort after finishing all the songs that were "in progress" to take a writing break and dig into recording the first record. In May, the band officially made a full-length song demo available on the website in MP3 format, a first. It was Lightning Strikes Twice. More finished MP3 songs would follow shortly. We even handed out some CDs of demos to friends. By late July, recording would officially begin for the debut record, Breaking The Ice. Studio time was a bit sporadic, but a few songs were fairly developed by year's end. A few interesting new songs sprouted up just before the end of the year, as well. They even worked on some covers! One thing they made a concerted effort to improve the latter part of the year was stage performance, with many rehearsals taking place in the fall. Plans began to take shape for future live performances. Overall, a fairly good and busy year for the band.

"Wow, a lot going on in 2002... new studio, new guitar, new amp, muchos demos, actual recording sessions, live rehearsals, great new songs, gained some new fans. We probably didn't get as deep into the record as we would have liked, but the progress we did make was decent. I liked doing the covers, too. We're looking forward to the future : a CD release, live gigs, massive anxiety. Gotta love it." (January '03)

2003:
This was the first full year in the history of the band that they haven't had to relocate in any way, shape or form. That kind of relaxed atmosphere for such an extended period of time can really aid the creative process. HdH spent the bulk of 2003 working on finishing their debut record, and it was close to 80% done by year's end. Six new songs were also finished this year, and that group can stack up against any other set of six in their catalog as the most varied and interesting - and just plain good. They have really matured into solid songwriters. They've also been giving back to the fans more and more, as new song demos have been popping up as free downloads on the website semi-regularly for a while now. With their focus on the studio, the performance side of things has taken a slight backseat. However, new opportunities have been researched and the very real possibility remains of some live gigs happening in the near future.

"We love writing songs, we love playing them... but we really, really, really want to finish this damn record. We can't wait to let people hear it, and then get right back in and make the next one. We really, really want to finish it. Soon. And we will." (January '04)

2004:
In the early part of the year, the guys were furiously trying to finish their debut record which was leaning towards taking 2 years to finish. It wasn't exactly going easily but the last few tracks were more smoothly recorded than the first few. The record was finally finished and released March 23, 2004 on O-Yo Records, the band's own label. Breaking The Ice has pressed over 40 copies currently. Although immediately proud of the finished product, it wasn't long before the band started digging right into the next record. Shortly after the first one was finished, OB got the sweetest guitar ever made, a Taylor 610ce named Tess. This acquisition not only sounds fantastic, its quality alone makes it 10 times easier to tune and play - and record. The guys took about a month and a half off and began to record their sophomore record in May. Not feeling particularly creative, the guys only finished two songs the entire year... but OB found his future wife and they were busy finishing one CD and starting another. They've got a lot of songs in the bank and want to get them out to the people and catch up with themselves. In the summer months it was decided the band would finally have to play a live gig. It took some legal wrangling and some weird scheduling maneuvers, but after a bit of a delay, that first ever live performance happened on December 9, 2004 in Phoenixville, PA at the Steel City Coffeehouse. It was an OB solo gig consisting of two songs, Temperature and Lightning Strikes Twice. It went mostly well if not perfectly. The year ended with the bulk of the second CD already in the can and sounding great and some new songs getting ready to be worked on. Lots of things to look forward to, including more gigs. Hopefully.

"We finished the damn record!! Thank the sweet, sweet lord. It took so long we hardly recognized it when it was done. And we jumped right into the next one with a great new guitar and sound - and confidence. The first live gig was nerve-wracking as hell but so fulfilling. We can't wait for more. And we think this second album is going to blow the first one away. What a banner year." (March '05)

2005:
A very similar beginning to the previous year : trying to finish up the new CD, and not doing much else. But, this time around the recording process went much, much more smoothly. The mixing, however, did not. A last minute decision to play a second live gig ended up with the band on stage at Grape Street. Not exactly memorable, but a step forward nonetheless. Two amazing new songs were finished right as the record was being finished, and there wasn't much of a break before the boys got right back to making another album. Just as well, because the fanfair behind #2, Simple And Bitter, wasn't exactly ticker-tape-parade-worthy. The most important people who are close to the band seemed to really like it, noticing the improvement from the first. However, the album's themes seemed to have put off the rest of the audience, or at least kept them from making any comments. No worries. It was a relief to finish it after the problems with the mixing process, and the band is still very proud of it - but they like to move on. They chugged along on the new record through the summer (which mostly means that they did a LOT of drum programming), recorded a crazy version of a cover, sold the guitar that played on half of Breaking The Ice, started writing some actual love songs, and played two gigs in the fall at The Fire in Philadelphia. The band seemed to be finding a comfort zone (and some personality) on stage. Towards the end of the year, they fleshed out the website with MP3 downloads galore (including some new live tracks) and created a MySpace profile. Some problems with the hard drive that holds our studio recordings produced some mild panic when complete drum tracks were mysteriously erased or corrupted. Frustration ensued but the band played on. One last gig happened back at Steel City at the end of December, including the parents of a certain lead singer in the audience. Awww.

"It was a pleasure to be able to play for my folks, though unfortunately that wasn't our best gig - and the crowd really sucked. We managed four whole performances this calendar year, and we plan to try and triple that for next year. The second record turned out pretty good but seemingly fell off of most people's radar. It only makes us hungrier and more adament about making this next album all the more stronger. It's going to rock, severely. That snafu with the hard drive was beyond depressing, but you can't do anything but move on and rebuild. We are even more proud of the new songs we've been writing, and I think the NEXT next record is going to turn some heads. We've made lots of progress in the department of stage presence, which I think is obvious from the live recordings. We're looking forward to a regular peformance schedule, another great album and a studio relocation. Bring it on." (January '06)

2006:
The band relocated early this year to a cozy suburban basement studio after a flurry of recording in the first couple of months. After a brief haitus, studio work began again in the new digs and immediately re-hit the wall with a slew of technical problems. Frustration and anxiety ran amok but the band pressed on with the new album, though progress slowed by summer and was barely a trickle by December. A couple of fresh, new tunes made their way into the repetoire in the fall, rounding out the total of five that were written during the course of the year. The possibility of turning HdH into a trio project was proffered and promptly discarded, after much effort and hopeful trepidation. The road called, and seven gigs happened this year - some not so bad, some terrible, some decent. The definite highlight was the "surprise" one-song set (opening for local stars Fooling April) at the wedding reception of our singer/guitarist/founder in September.

"We were super psyched to play out so many times this year, though consistency was not our strongest suit. We're still finding ourselves as a live band. The new studio is lovely and quite conducive to creativity, though the glitches took their toll on our enthusiasm, for sure. We didn't get as far along on the new record as we'd hoped, after such a strong start, but we knew we were going to hit our stride soon. Those guys in Fooling April really showed us what it means to be professional, and we took a lot away from that invaluable experience." (February '07)

2007:
It took the entire year, but Leave An Impression finally became a reality on December 18 of this year. By far the band's best record, it required the most time ever spent by the band in-studio, overcoming a plethora of equipment failures & glitches and going through some tracklist changes late in the game. They had drums on every song, new percussion on a couple, and backing vocals in all kinds of places (all mostly new concepts in their recording career until now). The recording process was spurred on very early in the year by a couple of new songs that emerged in late '06, which served to re-focus & re-energize the band and get them back to rocking out. In the meanwhile, the boys continued their mild touring pace, playing out seven more times this year, with milder success. The gigs improved as the year went on, though the CD release show was a slight catastrophe and left the band soured on performing live. With the extraneous amount of effort it took to finish up the record (indeed, only two new songs were written this year), much relief was felt by all when it was done and the band was looking forward to a mostly relaxing 2008.

"We put everything on the line with this new record, and could not have been more pleased with how it turned out. It was by far the closest we've come to getting the sound on tape the same as we hear it in our own heads. We had a couple of decent gigs and the album was coming to fruition, and then that CD release show took a lot of the wind out of our sails, which ended up being just the tip of the iceberg. Kind of a bummer way to end the year after the pride we felt in the new record - which still kicks ass, by the way." (January '08)

2008:
The first part of this year was spent on promoting the new album that was released very late in '07, and the band hit the pavement hard. Lots of online work was done and they even convinced a couple of local music magazines to review the record, including one of those in print (and both online). The reviews were mild but not dismissive, and the positives were affirming to the goals of the boys in the band. Unfortunately, very little was received in the way of feedback from their fans, and that was a bit befuddling and confusing. They took a break from the studio and the stage for the first 6 months of this year, before finally feeling up to getting back into recording mode in July and touring in August. The only two new songs that appeared this year were finished around that time, as well. The break was much needed and while recording was slow to get rolling, the 4-week residency at The Fire in August served to pick up their spirits quite a bit, and they had probably two of their best shows to date at the end of that run. The year ended with a couple of shows (one bad, one pretty good) back at their favorite stage with future plans for more, a few new songs in progress with serious promise, and a renewed sense of purpose to get back to the studio.

"After all the effort it took to finish the last record, we were really let down by the lack of response we got early on, and we just needed to step away from music for a while. The record reviews were huge for us, though - we feel like a real band now. The end of that August run showed us that we can be a solid stage band if we practice enough, too. We're writing some great new songs and would love to bang out a great record next year." (December '08)

The HdH nsFAQ v2.62 :

Where'd the name come from?
Sometime in very late '97 or early '98, OB was chatting in IRC late one night. Kirk Willingham (OB acquaintance and fellow DMB freak) was on as well, and he was talking about some band from the Southeast. Someone inquired about the band's popularity, and Kirk replied "oh, they're huge down here." OB had a revelation : "I thought, holy shit - what a great name for a band. Who are they? Oh, they're 'Huge Down Here'. Yeah, I know, but what's their name? I thought it was genius, and I told Kirk if I ever had a band, I was gonna steal the name - but I'd give him royalties. He was down with it."

Note: Thank you, Kirk - from all of us here at HdH. The checks are in the mail. Not really.

What's up with the (e:) sticker on OB's guitar?
Well, truth be told, OB is a big Everything (e:) fan and that is their symbol. Also, the guitar came with the Epiphone logo already on the pick guard, and it's an ugly, funky-looking "E" - so he thought as long as the guitar had to have an "E" on it, he'd make it a sharp-looking one. The sticker was black w/white letters so it fit perfectly, and the very day he got the guitar he put the sticker on it.

Why did OB get an electric guitar? Is he dropping Essie?
No, don't get the wrong idea... he's always wanted to be able to "rock out" a little, and you just can't do that with a hollow body acoustic with no pickup. In December of 2000, OB's then-girlfriend gave him Stella the electric Squier Affinity Stratocaster guitar. It was beautiful - and black - and it was the shit. Sadly, Stella was lost in the fire on March 29, 2001. Shasta, the emerald green Squier Standard Stratocaster, came into OB's life in June of 2001 thanks again to his then-girlfriend. Honestly, OB still prefers the comfortability and ease of playing the acoustic. But it's fun as hell to blow the roof off once in awhile. Tess is acoustic/electric - thus allowing all possible modes of amplification.

Why did OB name his guitars?
Because all good things have names. And he's a nutbar. He knew he wanted to name his first guitar, but was unsure on what to use. So, the band decided to have a contest to name OB's axe. Lucky fan Robin Will submitted Essie and the name stuck. Since it was an Epiphone, the name had to start with an E. Same thing with Stella the Strat and Shasta the Stratocasta and Olivia (the Ovation), which arrived in April 2002. The Taylor was in our hands in April of 2004 and she became Tess. All non-Essie guitars have been personally christened by OB.

What's OB's obsession with his guitar being black?
No obsession, really... and it has little to do with the fact that Dave Matthews used to play a black Chet Atkins SST, contrary to the tabloids. He happens to think the "natural" look of most acoustic guitars is rather ugly. He would have preferred a dark blue color, but due to limited choices he went with the solid black model. Basic. Sharp. And not ugly. It was a lucky coincidence that Stella happened to be black. Shasta broke the black mold and is probably the prettiest green you ever did see. Olivia took the cake as the purtiest guitar, like, ever. (And OB had that nice dark blue color he always wanted... until he sold her). Tess is gorgeous, even though it's natural wood. Taylors are beautiful by definition.

What happened to "Given" ?
"Given", the first thing that OB ever wrote, was a little itty-bitty two-riff thingy that began in mid '98. It had some lyrics (which are here), but ever since it first was started it hadn't grown an inch. It was pretty much stalled, so when the band was working on the finishing touches of the instrumental song "At The Half", they decided to throw a version of the "Given" guitar parts in the mix. It fit, that song was finished, and "Given" as we know it was no more. Or was it? Some time later, the band revisited the idea and recorded it for their debut album as its own separate little song, as originally intended and written. It's still a pretty sweet melody.

What is OB's approach to songwriting?
OB will tackle this one himself... "Well, good question. I think first and foremost I am a lyricist. I enjoy language and I try to come up with interesting ways to say things I want to say. I also try to write with a lot of emotion, and so that's why I write almost exclusively from extremely personal experiences. At the very least you know I mean what I say. I definitely make an effort not to fall into "pop music perils" of the same repetitive chorus over and over, or the formula of "verse-chorus-verse-chorus" and things like that. Well, at least... not every time. (Examples, "Feel Free" or "What If", both of which don't even really have a chorus at all). Sometimes, I get a little happy with lyrics (see "Small") and that might make it a tad messy, but that's ok. Other times I do go for the formula or the simplicity, like in "She Looked At Me" or maybe "Angel" - but it doesn't happen that often. Not that it's always a bad thing. As far as my guitar writing goes, I love rhythm so most of the pieces are at least very rhythmic, if not anything else. I like guitar parts that can speak for themselves, and so I have trouble sometimes separating the guitar from the voice. I'm working on that, though. Lastly, the vocal arrangement... since I admittedly cannot sing worth diddly, this is by far the most lacking of my abilities. I think I'm getting better at writing decent arrangements, but they hardly ever sound like what I want them to when the words come out of my mouth. Heh."

"Different songs are written differently. Sometimes the music will come first, other times the lyrics will. It really depends. Other times the song will sorta make itself up along the way. "What If" for example, had the majority of the music written well before it had any words. But then I got an idea in my head and came up with the arrangement and the words simultaneously (on an 8 hour drive in the middle of PA), and fit them into the chords. "Feel Free" is also similar. "Difference of Opinion", on the other hand, was finished almost in the complete opposite manner. Most often, I make up a random guitar riff, come up with a verse or a chorus to fit it, and then build around it to make a song (i.e. "Far Away" or "So Perfect"). Or I write a little lyric (either a short verse or chorus) and then write chords to fit it and then build around that (i.e. "Angel" or "Goosebumps"). Hardly ever will a song be completed lyrically or musically without anything accompanying it. I did that twice with "Difference of Opinion" and "She Looked At Me" and it was a rather pain in the ass trying to make a complete musical arrangement to fit an already completed lyric. It's much easier to write lyrics to completed music, but I usually don't have the patience to complete a musical song before I start writing lyrics for it. This isn't a science, by any means."

No one ever accused OB of being short-winded. Circa 1999.

What's the deal with HdH being called a "band" ? We all know it's just OB and his guitar... why does he have to constantly refer to the band as "us" or "we" - and not to mention, talking about himself in the third person? Does he think he's fooling us?! What a punk-ass!!
Shhh! ;-)

Some HdH FunFacts:

- The first string broken in HdH history was the D. OB still has it.

- OB is completely self-taught : no lessons, no books, just trial and error and lots of internet tablature. And practice, practice, practice. Keep on sheddin'.

- OB doesn't like to finger pick and thus uses a guitar [flat] pick exclusively (with exceptions! like on the album version of "You Were There"). However, his grip is odd in that he usually places the pick between his thumb and middle finger - often not even using the index finger at all, or sometimes as a "guide". He calls it the pencil grip, as it is in the position a pen or pencil would be between his fingers. It gives him his most comfortable feel and better control. It's so ingrained now that it feels awkward for him to hold it the "normal" way.

- The number of people that have actually heard HdH songs played live is approximately 550. Not counting the cats or the neighbors who had no choice. The number of those people who have heard an entire song with lyrics sung live is now around 500 - we think!

- The total number of actual gigs we've played is 26. They've all been open mic performances, so far; except for the one-song set opening for Fooling April at oB's wedding reception!

- The number of different HdH songs played in their entirety, live for an actual audience is 22 : Lightning Strikes Twice [2], Temperature [5], My Sister & Her God [6], Into, Stephanie Lynn [3], Tow The Bar, Going To [2], Boiling Points, Still With You [2], What About Now [3], Either Way, Never Better [5], Don't Kick Gorillas In The Nads, The No-Show [3], Wednesday [3], Whiskey & Women [14], And I'm Not [2], Inverted [2], The Turnaround [2], More (For You) [4], Goosebumps, Brakeman (instrumental). We've also played 4 covers: Waterline (Dog's Eye View), You Don't Mess Around With Jim (Jim Croce) [2], Summer of '69 (Bryan Adams) & Karate (Tenacious D); OB has also performed one solo rap song, Savor The Behavior.

- The longest the band has gone without playing since mid-'98 is 9 days.

- The number of states the band has played in is 7 (NY, PA, IN, MI, MA, IL, OH).

- The number of guest musicians that have played with the band is 6 (Rob G, LoLo, Natey, Joe, Tres, Ryan).