“Lock up ya’ daughter, lock up ya’ wife, lock up ya’ back door and run for ya’ life.” These lyrics, announced by Bon Scott in ACDC’s classic “TNT,” hailed the warnings of the song’s menacing character. The same should be said of Toledo when The Hobs, from Akron, come to the Black Cherry this Saturday. The band features Ricky Miller on guitar and vocals, who provides a raking onslaught of white lightning howls; Tiernan King plays a sexy, groovy bass a-la-mode and does backing vocals. Ian Cummins plays drums with a John Bonham-influenced style.
The Hobs present a rip, roarin’, rock ‘n’ roll party with loud guitars and a rhythm that burrows its way under the skin, hibernating, resonating and ready to grace auditory senses. “I always say [our sound is] exciting and leaves you wanting more,” Miller said in an interview.
“It’s pretty high energy. We are definitely loud and that’s always good,” Cummins said.
King was more specific in pinpointing certain genres. “I would say that the sound of the band is a clash of classic rock, punk, thrash and classical music. I think that the band’s influences are what we go through every day,” he said. “Random sounds that are around; things people say, sights, stress, pleasure, pain, friends, women.”
Miller and Cummins stressed their musical influences from a personal stance.
“Personal influences I’ve had would be my late great-grandfather who taught me piano. My father, who is a great singer, always taught me to go out there and show ‘em what you can do. Those are my heroes,” Miller said.
“Led Zeppelin is my biggest influence, first and foremost. Wu Tang Clan too. They help me retain a sense of rhythm and solidarity. Plus, a lot of the local Kent and Akron bands I’ve seen,” Cummins said.
The Hobs have played around 30 shows within the last year.
All three members have been or are currently members of other bands, yet their allegiance to The Hobs is undeniable.
“In The Hobs we like to bust each other’s balls because we can take a joke and it keeps us on our toes. We’re humble and we deal with problems with patience and a civil tone. I would say so far I’ve had the time of my life in this band,” Miller said.
“This is the first band where not only everyone is committed, talented and knows how to play their instruments well, but Ricky and Tiernan are good songwriters,” Cummins replied.
A small collection of The Hobs’ songs are on their Myspace link, MySpace.com/AkronHobs. The band’s canon consists of around two dozen well-rounded pieces, ranging from the manic riffing and breakdown jamming on “Miss Sensation” and “Melancholy Robotrippin’” to more melodic attributes on “Lands End,” which contains an aura of Led Zeppelin’s “Black Mountain Side.” The band feels confident in their collection and is on the brink of having enough material to record a full-length album.
“We have some plans on recording an album in the near future. We haven’t worked out what will be on it or when and where we want to record,” King said.
During the last year, The Hobs have not experienced massive live crowds, yet they feel positive of having made their mark.
“Most crowds have really enjoyed us, I think. They’ve probably been less than twenty people, so we haven’t had much of an audience to make an impact on. I definitely think we will start drawing bigger crowds in the future. Luckily, I am in a band with two people who feel as strongly to making this happen as I do,” Cummins said.
“I think we have been accepted at every show, either by only one person or the whole crowd. As long as I can grab one person’s attention and hold it, that’s what matters to me,” King added.
One of the more prominent features is the energy exuded at the band’s live shows.
The Hobs are an up and coming rock ‘n’ roll band that demand to be seen and heard. Their volatile mixture of sound and energy can be seen Saturday at the Black Cherry. Opening for The Hobs will be Krill, a spazz acoustic rock band who also hearken from Akron.
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