The Gobblers Knob

 Ned Van Go.  Put the women & kids to bed, they’re coming to the Big D.

It is well documented that I am a big fan of the Nashville based band Ned Van Go.  They reside in the soil of the same Bourbon-soaked land that bar band prototypes Bottle Rockets, Slobberbone, Lucero and Bare Jr. have grown their legend.  The guys will be making another trip here to Dallas this weekend and to celebrate and get everyone ready for their gigs, I want to share with you a chat that the leader of the group, Ned Hill, and I had after their last Dallas trip.

1. You guys are based in Nashville.  Most people associate Music City with a more polished, slickly-produced version of country.  What kind of “scene” is there for a band such as NVG in Nashville ? A great majority of the bands actively playing here are not the slick country acts you see on CMT. In fact, most of the younger acts don’t have anything to do with country. Most are alt. rock or alt. pop bands that have signed major deals and had moderate to decent success (Kings of Leon , The Pink Spiders, Matt Kearney, etc.). Ned Van Go is part of a smaller scene in town that are influenced by roots rock, country, rockabilly, bluegrass,  punk and pop. It’s an extension, I guess, of what Jason and the Scorchers and Steve Earle started here in the mid 80’s and early 90’s. Todd Snider, Tommy Womack, Old Crow Medicine Show, Porter Hall TN, Les Honky More Tonkies, and Trent Summar would be some in this group. It’s a smaller but active, growing group.
   
   
2. NVG has built a bit of a following overseas.  Have you toured there before?  If so, how are the audiences different from ones you find on the road in the States? Yeah, we’ve had a decent amount of airplay overseas with our latest CD “Marry A Waitress.”  But no, we’ve never toured there but hope to do so at some point.
   
   
3. Now that you have had a chance to play in Texas alsong with Nashville, are there any differences between the crowds and venues of Texas as compared to  Nashville ?  Well, to be honest, we haven’t been a heavy touring band. We’ve been weekend warriors over the last year and a half or so. So we know mostly about the southeastern part of the US .  But I can tell ya that we’ve been to Texas three times so far and there is definitely a different vibe there. Especially, it seems, with their taste in country, country rock, roots rock-it’s definitely cooler in Texas. This is helped I think  in part by the great radio stations going on down there, KHYI for instance. I guess that’s why we wanted to play there in the first place.
4. What are the things that us as fans may not realize when it comes to scheduling and touring out of state or  even in another country? I guess the main thing that people don’t understand is that you just can’t play any club you want. Unknown, unsigned bands can have a hard time at first getting into decent clubs. There are a lot of bands wanting to play them and the clubs aren’t necessarily wanting to bring in a band no one’s ever heard of. They’re businessmen, they want a full house if they can get it. Plus the price of gas can make a trip expensive and unorganized people having to get organized can be a challenge.
5. The lyrics to many of your songs are humorous, like “Laid,” and “Never Kissed a Girl.” Other songs provide a glimpse of life that many people would call “working-class” or even mundane (”Factory Blues”, “Marry a Waitress”).  What attracts you to such left of center topics and lyrics? Well, before I picked up my first guitar in my mid-twenties, my favorite band was a group my brother (Billy Hill along with Tommy Womack, Scott Willis, Joe King, and Chris “Viva Knievel” Becker) was part of in the mid-80’s called “Government Cheese.”. They were a pretty successful regional act up until the early 90’s and one of the best bar bands I ever saw. But they were also great writers. What I really dug about it was the fact they were writing about, basically, their own little world and doing it in a very clever, intelligent, funny and sometimes sad way. It was the first time I realized that “Holy Shit,” I could be myself and write about things in my world and maybe even be in a rock’n’roll band!  So, I’ve always tried to write and find songs that fit into my world, the everyday, the mundane. It’s just more interesting to me. That’s why we’re the characters we are, that’s where the truth is. And hopefully a good song comes out of that process every once in a while.
6. Major labels are having problems the likes of which they never envisioned thanks to the digital music “revolution.”  As a DIY band that busts its tail for every radio spin and live gig it can manage, how are you affected by this “revolution”? Well, it’s great thing.  It’s a tool that allows us to market ourselves, to some extent, to people all over the world.  Being able to sell your product from essentially your own store is very important for the “Do-It-Yourself” band. Hell, even illegal downloads aren’t that bothersome. It’s all about getting the word out. It’s the way we communicate with fans, radio, and other bands. Even for the least computer savvy folk like ourselves, it is a great tool.
   
   
7. What are the rules on the van when it comes to the music selection? The pilot and co-pilot have the most influence about what’s in the CD player. One’s influence decreases, the further back one is in the van. Anything lame could constitute a verbal lashing from the contingent.
8. How soon will you be back to The Lone Star State?? Maybe December, definitely March. (Knob Note:  They will be here in Dallas on the 14th and 15th.  The Double Wide on Friday night and a free in-store at Bill’s on Saturday)

*I have a couple of signed CD’s from the boys in Ned Van Go to give away to my dirty, precious readers.  Email me at krd1992@yahoo.com to enter yourself into the drawing.  I’ll pick a winner at random on Thursday night and announce the lucky eff’s on Friday.