Hobart on the move again, er, soon
By Kevin J. Hosey
His time in Buffalo may be ending soon, but punk rocker turned honky tonker Rex Hobart isn’t exactly packing his bags yet.
He moved to Buffalo with his wife, Paula, about two years ago from Kansas City, Missouri, when Paula was accepted into the graduate art conservation program at Buffalo State College, which separated him from his band, the Misery Boys, forcing him to commute there as well as play here with his Buffalo band, the Wrecks, and perform solo, duo and trio acoustic shows with the likes of Jim Whitford (bassist for the Wrecks as well as guitarist/singer/songwriter for the Pine Dogs, Jim Whitford’s Real Beat Band and the Possums).
Hobart recently discussed things after viewing the movie “Dawn of the Dead” with his wife.
“I just got back from two weeks in the Mid West with the Misery Boys, from Chicago to Austin for South by Southwest. It is nice to get down there and see some green grass; you get to experience more than two springs,” Hobart said. “We get some pretty brutal winters in Kansas City, but when I talked to (Wrecks guitarist) Charlie Quill about my first snowfall here, he laughed and said it is cloudy for weeks on end and that I should wait and see if it is still snowing in April. Now I like clouds, but …
“We spent December recording our new CD, `Empty House,’ in Kansas City. It is done and will be out in September on Bloodshot Records. I think it compares well with `Your Favorite Fool,’ and the recording process was different. We did `Your Favorite Fool’ all with Pro Tools; this time, we were trying to do something cheaper, so we recorded with some friends on two-inch tape. It will have a little more breathing room,” he added. “If you listen to them back-to-back, `Your Favorite Fool’ sounds a little tighter. This time, we’re holding on to the melody a bit longer, but in a sense, it is more of the same, straight-ahead honky tonk.”
The separation seems to have had some unforeseen positive effects.
“Before I lived here, we had three records out; we had been pushing it pretty hard and playing a lot. It kind of worked out that everyone wanted a breather,” Hobart said. “It is a kind of pain but it helped us pull together to get these tunes done. Some of the newer songs are a bit more realized; I had more time to form them and rehearse them. It also helped us learn more about our jobs in the band.”
The move to honky tonk from punk was not just a whim: “I made a conscious shift and waited to work with a band with more of a stage show and experiment with people’s familiarity. I wanted to tell people stories; it has meaning, although you can be confused.”
While in Buffalo, Hobart’s band is mainly The Wrecks, although at some shows he has solicited band name suggestions from the audience as well as band members. Along with Whitford and Quill, the Wrecks are John Dieckman on steel guitar and Rob Lynch on drums; award-winning guitarist Doug Yeomans has performed with the band.
“I’m having a good time with them; I was pretty ashamed when we first rehearsed, because I didn’t speak the language musically,” Hobart said with a laugh. “I think they put up with me because I make all the phone calls; I lend some structure to the band. But I kind of prefer the names of the band when the regular people can’t get together.”
Hobart will certainly miss things when he and Paula move to Santa Fe: “Yes, our days are numbered now; it is exciting, but it will be bittersweet. You guys grow nothing but good people here.” When asked if there was anything he wanted to add, he quickly replied “Yes: Vote Bush out.”
Rex Hobart and the Wrecks have resumed their Wednesday night shows at the Sportsman’s Lounge, 326 Amherst St. near Grant Street, Buffalo.