By: Rick Landers
Rocker – producer – award winning songwriter, Stacy Hogan, has been in the music entertainment business since he was a kid, at 12 banging away on the eighty-eights and getting out and about on tour with an adult country band.
His parents and relatives have been in the music making business for generations. And today, Hogan, has continued his family legacy in Nashville, with this own production company, A Writer’s Studio, and fronts the cool relevant rock trio, Sin Shake Sin.
Early on, Guitar International magazine interviewed Stacy when the trio had to leave their tour while playing in Ohio, due to the emergence of COVID-19 and when the Ohio state governor’s executive order curtailing large gatherings. A disappointment for the band, but shared by many who were performing during that time.
Fortunately, Hogan has his day job as an engineer-producer at his studio and business is always a fun, but a heavy workload, helping novice and professional artists record their songs to help them make their music dreams come true.
As venue doors began to re-open, outdoor gigs welcomed families and six-feet distanced customers, we remembered Stacy Hogan, and wanted to reconnect with him, especially having heard his earlier release, “The Masquerade” and its convulsive emotional heft.
A year or so later, we got back with him to talk about this latest song, “Congratulations, You’re in a Cult” that leans hard into those who cling to demagogues and/or movements that manipulate them through lies and distortions, in order to open up wallets to feed their greedy games.
The lyrics and punch of Stacy’s new song,”Congratulations, You’re in a Cult”, takes a hard rock punch at those who’ve fallen for the claims of media stars and those with money, who seek even more fame and bucks. Stacy’s song runs in the same music lane as songs by Bob Dylan, Barry McGuire, Woody Guthrie, that attempt to protest and teach in song, an ancient style that’s at once idealistic, truth-telling, contemporary, and very hip.
Buy “Congratulations, You’re in a Cult” here!
******
Rick Landers: It’s been a while since we last spoke, but I hear that you’ve got a new single, that I assume is one of many to follow. Tell us about the initial track, how it came together and what was involved in the production.
Stacy Hogan: It’s great speaking with you again, Rick! Yeah, the new single came about as a result of a common frustration we tend to have these days while watching people we know and love get sucked in to a cult-like mindset.. overlooking hypocrisy or any inconvenient facts… just so they can be part of a “winning team”.
More and more we lose the ability to accept new thoughts and opinions to change our perspective. Instead, we’re only looking for information that will validate our own preconceived notions. It leads to a purposely skewed and convenient bubble of purposely accepted misinformation. I wrote the lyrics first, then started to jam in the studio with a few ideas…at first the song was more of half time beat while writing it. But, once it came time to record it, it just felt good to keep the punk like energy going throughout.
Rick: I was watching a video of you playing some cool honky-tonk piano, apparently as a full member of an adult band. What was that like and how do you look back at that experience?
Stacy Hogan: Yes! That video would probably be me at 12 years old playing the Albany, Georgia Country Club with my parents’ band “The Cross Country Band”. We lived in south Georgia and my mom was traveling to Nashville that weekend, so I got familiar on piano with the 4-hour set they’d play and had fun filling in shows when needed. Eventually, I ended up playing bass in their band as a teenager.
Stacy Hogan: It’s a streaming world. Spotify really only focuses on one song as a spotlight to feature on their “New Release” playlists, etc.. so releasing a single at a time gives you multiple events where you are pushed out in front of your audience in one album cycle, rather than just releasing the album and Spotify limits you to choose one shot to get it out in front of your audience. It’s a strange system.
On the other end, vinyl is very popular at the same time. so it’s an interesting gap to see CD’s go away so quickly, while streaming and vinyl currently pair well together.
Rick: What’s happening with your band?
Stacy Hogan: Just writing and recording a lot in 2023. Just released the 1st single and video for “Congratulations, You’re in a Cult” and really happy with the response it’s getting. I’m trying new things in terms of building a team to help me independently reach an even greater audience. I’m excited to just get the music out, honestly.
Rick: When COVID hit you and Sin Shake Sin were on tour, I think in Columbus, Ohio, when everything came to a halt. Are you back to where you were, getting traction with your music?
Stacy Hogan: Ahhh, Cleveland. That was a monumental event for sure. Being so focused on the tour and then having the world shut down around us. We were so very much looking forward to the next shows that week in New York and a festival in New Jersey. We even had a film crew coming to the New York show, so we could put out a live show for people to have.
Had we been able to start the tour a week earlier, we would have done a bit more than round.As for traction, it never slowed down. I’m beyond grateful for the fans who keep spinning it and spreading the word. Not touring and being a bit of a recluse on social media never changed the fact that it was organically growing by word of mouth every day. Spotify streams kept rising and people just kept adding the music to their own personal playlists.
Rick: I’d guess that given the sheer number of musicians in the Nashville area, that getting well-paying gigs is a challenge. True and how to do strategize getting enough jobs to keep your performances fresh?
Stacy Hogan: In Nashville, when not working on Sin Shake Sin, I run my own studio & production company. I started out as a studio musician when I first moved to Nashville, but I eventually wanted to take control of my situation. I didn’t want my fate or my bills in the hands of another’s plans which could change at any moment. So, starting my own business made it so I didn’t have to go from studio to studio trying to get jobs. I just created my own jobs and now have many studio musicians who find consistent work through my company. It is a lot of work, but at least it’s my own.
Rick: Do you already have enough songs for a full album and, if so, how do you find the time to practice and record an album, given your other job?
Stacy Hogan: I have bits and pieces of an entire album’s worth of songs, yes. It’s now the process of putting the right lyrics together with the right music that I’m creating, then using that to finish them up as they’re meant to be.
Time is the one thing I wish I had more of, so it’s all about pacing and rotation… oh.. and not quite sleeping as much as I should. First and foremos, I reserve quality time to be a fully attentive and present Dad to my amazing (almost 8 year old) daughter, Violet, who stars in the new video Congratulations, You’re in a Cult as the hero), and from there I manage time to live life to the fullest with my wife, create music, and sustain the music business, in the pockets of hours in between.
Rick: Any plans or dreams to go on tour in Europe or others places beyond the states?
Stacy Hogan: I’d absolutely love that. Some of the top cities that stream Sin Shake Sin are European cities (London, Budapest, Prague, etc), so it would be amazing to play there where people are already so familiar with it. It’s my goal to put my all into this album cycle and then see what can happen in 2024, in terms of playing out to support the eventual full album. But without a doubt, Europe would be a top destination.
Rick: Do you have any idea which song you’ll release next?
Stacy Hogan: I do. Now, we’re in the process of wrapping up the 2nd single’s video, which will come out during the summer sometime. I’m already anxious to get that one out, but it’s one step at a time.
Buy “Congratulations, You’re in a Cult” here!
LYRICS: “Congratulations, You’re in a Cult”
(c) Stacy Hogan 2023
