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Will Hoge

Most of the national press surrounding Will Hoge of late has featured the standard default comparisons. Springstein, Dylan and Van Morrison are name-checked repeatedly, spinning the former 12th & Porter staple with reductive rock journalism. Ask him for yourself, however, and you'll find a more revealing cast of early heroes, from the Rolling Stones to Bo Diddley to Motown.

"Otis Redding changed my life," Hoge tells The Rage, distilling perhaps a more pointed source for his charged, charismatic vocal delivery. Whatever the influence, his distinct hybrid of power pop confection (Let Me Be Lonely) and guitar crunch euphoria (Rock and Roll Star) feels refreshingly comfortable in its own skin.

Along with a sure-handed supporting cast, Hoge revealed a wealth of early potential in 1999 with All Night Long, a blistering live document recorded at Exit/In. With more than 4,000 copies sold, the band was able to self-finance several tours, nurturing a growing fan base and cutting their road teeth throughout the Southeast. The inevitable flirtations with major labels followed, each of them responding with increasing bewilderment and appreciation for the band's DIY ethos and kinetic stage abandon. "When we finally signed with Atlantic, they were a bit taken aback," Hoge says. "They saw how we didn't want to change the course we were already on - that we just needed tour support, not a big advance. They were like, wow, what a concept!"

The label eagerly agreed to license Carousel, the raw, melodic followup record that benefits greatly from its prescriptive time constraints. A strict two-take per song rule, as well as vocals that feel like they were culled from a live mixing console, lend an unbridled danger to the effort as a whole. This was entirely intentional. As Hoge explains, "I just didn't want some new fan to buy the disc at our rock show, take it home, hear something ornate and lush and say 'What's this?!?'"

As the Carousel tour winds its way back toward Nashville, Hoge seems glad to have a full-length set this week to stretch his band and his legs. "Most of the gigs lately have been support slots, which feel more like a sprint than a distance race." Still, no matter the physical toll, Hoge is quick to cite the recent tours with Midnight Oil and The Wallflowers as a priceless proving ground for his band, though he concedes that the band's dates opening for Rod Stewart were, um, "strange." Indeed, compared with Peter Garrett or Jakob Dylan, Hoge says Stewart was a little less engaging. "We did see him walk by a door once," he says. "So, you know, that was pretty exciting."

Jonathan Flax Will

Hoge performs at 9 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 1 at 328 Performance Hall
328 Fourth Ave. S.

Tickets for the 18-and-over show are $10, available at the 328 box office or through Ticketmaster, 255-9600 or www.ticketmaster.com. Call 259-3288 for more information.