The Hickups

What's more fun than good musicians enjoying each others' company and songs? Not a heck of a lot, say these folks, as long as the guitars tune up alright, the drums thump, and the beer's cold.The Hickups are a rocking offshoot of the popular country swing sextet The Honeydews, whose ranks originally included singer Kriss Santala, singer/bassist Bob Elliott, drummer Tom Smith, renowned picker Stacy Phillips, mandolinist Clark Huckaby, and guitarist Don Phee, whose spot was eventually filled by James Montez before the band's demise in 2003. The Hickups began as a C&W partnership between Santala and The Bandidos, the eclectic roots rock trio Elliott, Smith, and Montez have gigged and recorded as since 1992. Their admiration for Chris Merk, a Toronto singer / guitarist / songwriter, inspired the move to make The Hickups a quintet.Like most musicians these days, the individual members' calendars are crazy. Santala Crowder, a longtime member of the vocal group The Who Whos, plays bass with The Danglers and released her first solo disc Lost Souls Road in June 2007. The Sawbucks, Merk's Americana trio with ex-Motel Preachers Chuck Roscoe and Wayne Kenyon, will release their debut cd, Maybe Even Everything, in August. Elliott stays busy with engineering and production work, while Montez occasionally gigs in NY with Eugene Chrysler & the Hillbilly Shakespeares. Smith is on call for half a dozen bands in the northeast, ranging from New Orleans r&b and Stax soul groups to psychedelic pop with The Alex Butter Field.The Hickups will light up everyone's 8-track player with I-95 lovin' ("Hey Big Trucker"), wacky duets ("Darlin'," "All I Want"), gospel backbeats ("Heaven"), bar floor grit ("Devils Jukebox"), and a little maximum security ("Guest of the State"). The sole cover, Big Fat Combo's hilarious "Tag Sale," shines with flamante mariachi horns by former Danny Gatton/Gatlin Brothers music director Bill Holloman. Produced, engineered, and recorded in the finest garages and empty auction houses the old silver town of Wallingford has to offer.You can check out The Hickups at www.CDBABY.com. For info on The Bandidos, see Hans Settler's Insurgent Country Homepage profile at http://insurgentcountry.net and find their "mischief" cd at cdbaby. And make darned sure you check out The Sawbucks and Big Fat Combo myspace sites!