Dead Boy Productions

 

When people think of Texas rockabilly they think of such artist as the Reverend Horton Heat or the legendary king of rockabilly Ray Campi but………………Hold on folks there’s one more artist that has cemented their legendary status

On the beachfront of Corpus Christi Texas the name of this band is none other than a little rockabilly band by the name of Matt Hole and The Hot Rod Gang who have been around for almost a decade releasing three alums Dream Magazine, Rockabilly Express and Live at the Executive Surf Club and a shit load of compilations

Showing of their Texan pride with their signature song we’re from Texas this band gives the true meaning of being a Texan. 

How did Matt Hole and The Hot Rod Gang begin? 

I used to go to an open mike every Wednesday at the Surf Club in Corpus Christi and jam with the house band, that’s where I met the bass player. We started playing together and began to look for a drummer, after going through two or three we found the right one and went back to the Surf Club to play Wednesday nights, just to get on stage together as a band. After a few weeks people started coming to the open mike just to see us play. That’s also where we got our name, one night the host said “let’s get Matt Hole, and his Hot Rod Gang up here” and it just stuck. A few more weeks at the surf club and other young players were getting pissed that the people were coming just to see us play, we had kind of overstayed our welcome, that’s when I started booking shows at other clubs and well, the rest is history.  

Your British accent is barely noticeable, you sound like a true Texan, am I wrong? Why did you move out of the U.K. in the first place? 

No English people have accents when they sing, except for maybe Oasis. I left the UK because unemployment was really high, I was living in a small town with nothing to do but drink and get into a fight every night, I was always getting into trouble with the law, so I sold everything I owned and flew over here. When I got off the plane I tore up my return ticket so I had no choice but to make it work. When I went back [to the UK] for Christmas, that’s when I really knew I had made the right choice. I could never live there [the UK] again, I love Texas too much, especially where I live right now, on the water, I love to fish. In fact, I’m about to hook my boat up right now. 

Of all the shows that you’ve played, which one stands out the most? 

One of the biggest shows that sticks out was with an old band we opened for known as the Violent Femmes, with five to six thousand people going nuts, we were especially good that night. 

Aside from the Violent Femmes, what other large acts have you had the honor of playing with? 

We’ve opened for Ray Campi, Ronnie Dawson, The Meteors, Lee Rocker, The Reverend Horton Heat, Robert Gordon, Southern Culture on the Skids, and many others. 

Have you received any special recognition or praise for your music?

 
Yes, and It feels good when people like Lee Rocker [former bassist for the Stray Cats] say that you’re doing a great job in keeping Rockabilly alive. 

You guys are currently unsigned, is that by choice? Have any record labels taken an interest in signing you? 

We’ve had many offers from record labels but have never been interested in becoming rock stars or living the lifestyle. We’ve been lucky enough to have our songs played in movies and some television shows so that’s good enough. 

What is songwriting process like? 

There are only one or two songs that I’ve written and then presented to the guys. Normally what we do is just start jamming in my music room, I’ll come up with a riff, and we write it then and there. I come back with the lyrics the following week. 

What effect, if any, has the Internet (especially MySpace) had on your career? 

MySpace has improved our fan base a lot. I love MySpace

 
Has the Hot Rod Gang gone through any major lineup changes or is the original lineup still intact?  

The band was originally with Keith on bass, Mike Jones on drums, and myself on guitar, for about five or six years. Then it was Rusty Ponder on drums for a year, and then back to Mike Jones on drums. Later it was Justin Butts on bass, and Mike and I for four years. Now the current line up consists of myself on guitar, James Griffis on drums and Justin* on bass. 

Do you still talk to former members of the Hot Rod Gang? 

I still talk to Keith, the first bassist; we have a beer together now and then. Mike, the former drummer, not too much because he moved to Washington, only occasionally during Christmas time when he comes home. 

What do you think about Rockabilly and Psychobilly? 
  
I really don’t know a whole lot about Psychobilly so I’m not going to dog it or put it down, some of the European stuff that I’ve heard is not my cup of tea.

Everyone likes a different style of music. I love the rockabilly scene, though. I have ever since I was 14, standing in front of the stage at a Stray Cats show in England in the very early 80s. The people have always been very good to us. I love the way they make the effort to dress up, especially the girls, you go to a show and see the way they are dressed, all scruffed-out and dressed nice, there’s a big difference in Rockabilly shows. 

In your opinion, has the Rockabilly scene grown since you’ve been a part of it?  

It seems to go in waves, one year it’s really strong and then it dies off a bit the next year. I think the scene was much stronger ten years ago; there were way more rockabilly bands then. 

What other Rockabilly bands do you like? 

I love The Rev. [Horton Heat] we’re doing a show with them in June. Three Bad Jacks are cool as shit too, done shows with them in L.A. and Texas.  

Does Rockabilly pay the bills or do you guys also have “day jobs”?  

Rockabilly could pay the bills but we all have day jobs. I’m the project manager for a large masonry company, Justin works for Coca-Cola, and James works on a military

base. 
 
You have a song called “We’re from Texas.” What is the distinction between Rockabilly and Texas Rockabilly? 

I think Texas Rockabilly is a little more complex than most Rockabilly. A lot of bands will take a 50’s song and just put their own lyrics to it. We try to write our own songs so that they don’t sound like any other, and even if they do there aren’t many.  

You guys made a video for the song “Tiny,” what was that like?  

The video for “Tiny” was shot at an abandoned gas station in one of the worst parts of town, crack head central. It took maybe about an hour or so; Keith had not gotten his upright bass yet so it was done with the electric [bass]. We mimed to the song from my little boom box, really high budget; the funny thing was that even though we were miming, Keith still managed to break a string on his bass 

Have you and your band made any other albums or appeared on any other albums aside from Rockabilly Express, Dream Magazine, and Live at the Executive Surf Club?  

We’ve been on a bunch of compilations. We also put out a cassette when we fist started, we made that with the thousand bucks we won at a battle of the bands contest. That was very cool because we had been together only for a few months, and we were up against bands who had been together for years, and won.  

Have you ever played anywhere outside of Texas? Are there any plans to play outside of Texas again?  

We’ve toured California a few times, there’s always the possibility that we’ll do it again but it’s difficult because we all work. 

Live at the Executive Surf Club is one of the best live albums out there, is there any chance that some of the songs on that album like Temple of Doom, White Trash, El Oho, Tip Top Daddy, Memphis Sound, Johnny’s Caddy, Rings of Saturn and Letty the Betty will be on the next album? 

That was a magical night at the Surf Club; we had a record crowd of 700 people, all heavily into it. Some of those songs will be on the next album.  

What is your opinion on illegally downloading music?  

Don’t know how to download music but if I did I’m sure I’d be doing it all day. It’s no different than me selling a CD for seven bucks to a distributor and having it end up on Amazon.com for seventy. 

Do you feel that you’ve reached the pinnacle of your career? Is this as big as it gets for Matt Hole and The Hot Rod Gang? 

Matt: As big as it gets is what you make of it. I remember when all I wanted to play guitar, then maybe sing a little, then perhaps play with other people, then get a band together, then write a song, then perform for other people, then getting a paid show, and wow maybe recording. It all just falls into place. I was happy just learning how to play guitar, and now getting paid for it, wow, that is pretty much the pinnacle for every young musician. As far as getting signed or being on the road constantly, that has never appealed to me. For one, I’ve always known that there is no mainstream market for this kind of music, it’s always been on the down low, kind of like underground music, like ska punk and swing. Two, the thought of waking up in the afternoon doing a few lines and stumbling onto the stage, night after night just seems so routine, almost like working in an assembly line at a factory, you could almost do it blindfolded. I look forward to doing a show, that’s why we don’t play as much as other bands; we don’t want the looking forward to dying part. 

I see you have some ink, tell us about that. 

I got my first tat when I was sixteen; I hid it from my dad for two years. Since then, you know how it is, they have just kind of spread. Now I have quite a few. 

I understand that you like classic cars, are you working on any right now?  

I had a ‘57 Chevy for a few years, but sold it and got into bikes. I have a couple now, including my 1969 Honda CB750; I’m also looking for a Triumph or a Norton as well. 

Is Matt Hole a family man? 

I’ve been married to my best friend for almost sixteen years now. So it’s me and the wife, two Chihuahuas and two cats. No little brats running around.

 

If you could do a show with anyone, who would it be with?

The Stray Cats. Or just Brian Setzer. That would be a dream come true for me. Maybe throw Angus Young [guitarist for AC/DC] in there too, for shits and grins.

 
What are your goals for the near future?

 
My goals for this year are to record a new CD and catch more fish.

 
Anything else you’d like to say? 

Thank you. I would like to say thank you to all of your readers for taking time out to read about a little band from Texas, and thank you for giving bands like us a reason to keep playing rockabilly. Keep it alive.