Kelly's Olympian

We play kelly's olympian tonight, it will be our last show in Portland, Oregon for some time. Come out and have a drink and listen. Hugs

Look at our new sonic Bids page:

www.SonicBids.com/TheHugs

Doug Fir Lounge Tomorrow Night

The Hugs play The Doug Fir Lounge tomorrow night W/ We're From Japan! 

Go to MySpace.com/WeAreFromJapan             . . .to hear them, they kick butt!

Doors at 8pm, Show at 9pm $8 advance, $8 day of show. Seeya then!

Hugs

London Documentary Video

New Cool Interview!

For More Videos Visit: Pirate Satellite TV | Portland, Oregon

Girl Goldfrapp

The Sandwich that Changed the World

The following bit of interesting historical info is from a website called cracked.com. I just thought it was such a fascinating, introspective and almost existential look at world events, so I had to share it. -Nic

"The stuff they say about time travel is right. You go back in time and change one little thing, and suddenly the future is full of Nazis and dinosaurs. If you go back through history, you find that time and time again the huge changes that shape our world today all hinged on some utterly random coincidence. Change it, and the entire course of history changes with it.

...

You probably know from history class that World War I started with the assassination of an Austrian Archduke named Franz Ferdinand, kicking off a domino effect of events that left millions dead. You may not know, however, that what knocked over that first domino was a sandwich.

There was this guy named Gavrilo Princip. He was a Bosnian student and guerrilla, part of a group called the Black Hand. Sounds like the evil organization of mages that secretly controls the world, right? Unfortunately, it was something a lot less awesome: a Slavic independence group.

And for some weird reason, they really hated Franz Ferdinand.

The World-shattering Coincidence

Let's make sure to clear this up: Gavrilo Princip very much wanted to assassinate Uncle Franz. It was how it happened that was so fucking random.

In mid-1914, Ferdinand, his wife and the obligatory group of less important political figures and other random hangers-on that always accompanies a soon-to-be-assassinated fool, were cruising through the streets of Sarajevo in a (stupidly) open-top car.

The Black Hand had crafted an intricate assassination plot, which basically consisted of, "just kill this dumbass somehow." Unfortunately, as is always true with intricate assassination plots, something went wrong.

When Franz's motorcade passed by the assassins, one of the group, a guy named Nedeljko Cabrinovic, lobbed a grenade at the motorcade. The problem was he was using a shitty 1914 grenade, so it took 10 seconds to detonate, and by then Uncle Franz was out of range. The unlucky fools in the car behind them bit it instead, and the assassins dispersed in the chaos.

Cabrinovic took a cyanide pill that failed to kill him and jumped into a three foot river to "drown" himself. Franz and his party, it seemed, were safe.

But Franz was not yet done putting his life in insane danger. Against the advice of pretty much everyone, he insisted on going to the hospital to visit the people who were injured by the grenade. The driver, unfortunately, had no idea where the fuck he was going. They ended up crisscrossing hilariously through the streets of Sarajevo, until they just randomly happened to pass a cafe where, you guessed it, Gavrilo Princip was enjoying a post-failed-assassination sandwich.

After the obligatory pause of dumbfounded luck, Princip grabbed his pistol and turned the tide of history.

And How Did it Change The World?

Well first, World War 1 broke out...

Then came the post-war economic failure...

Which had a lot to do with Hitler coming to power in Germany...

Who caused World War 2...

Which ended with the atom bomb...

Which led to a Cold War with the Soviet Union...

Which brought about Vietnam...

Which brought us...

That's right. Most of the horror and death of the 20th Century may not have happened had Gavrilo Princip not gotten the munchies for a sandwich.

A Video From London

"Go Wild" + "The City" Live at Dirty Water Club London!

New Photo!

Photo By: Summer Benavides 

Photo's By Melanie Brown (2007)

Check her out at: www.MelaniBrown.com

We play The Know tomorrow night 1776 and Rex Arms and many other bands. Starts at 7pm! BEBE!There!

Danny

A Prophet

Funny Old Press On The Hugs

"The Hugs reminded me of a lot of things right off the bat. Danny Delegato (Vocals/Guitars) looked very similar to a young Ben Kweller with his floppy ears hat. In the sound department, The Hugs fall into the category of The View, and The Kooks. The difference is that The Hugs hail from Portland, Oregon instead of the United Kingdom. It was no surprise later that I find out that the band is heading off to England for a handful of shows in order to break out in the U.K. before coming back across the pond. One of the shows they will be playing with The View incidentally. It was interesting to see Danny thrash all over the stage and manage to pull his microphone stand apart."

"In stark contrast, Portland’s The Hugs tore through their set with reckless abandon; when frontman Danny Delegato broke a guitar string on the fourth or fifth song, the only surprise was that it took so long. Sporting underage “X” marks on their hands and looking like they just had their braces removed, the band played with the sloppy confidence of a much more experienced, drinking-age (and drinking) band. They literally wore their British Invasion influences in the form of Rolling Stones and The Who apparel; ironically, the John Entwistle-style bass parts came from Stones hoodie-wearing Brendan Welch. Delegato and fellow guitarist Nicholas LoCascio form a yin-yang duo, with Delegato’s flailing, yelping and feedback-shot guitar throttling contrasted by Welch’s more controlled approach. With charisma, talent, boyish good looks and a freshly-inked recording contract, these kids are on the verge of a jump in exposure."

The Hugs will play Dante’s in about 20 minutes, but at the moment they’re huddled together out front, standing on tippy-toes with craned necks to see around the club’s large, pierced and tattooed bouncer. Oregon’s stringent liquor laws keep the high-school-age Portland quartet from entering the club to watch openers the Foxtrots take cracks at a largely seated, not-quite-ready-to-rock crowd. The Hugs don’t seem to mind.

The OLCC might treat the Hugs like second-class citizens, but the band’s collective foot is already in the music industry’s metaphoric door (in England, at least). The band has garnered the attention of some pretty important U.K. music-biz movers and shakers, including James Endeacott—the A&R guy and 1965 Records founder who is credited with discovering the Strokes and the Libertines. Reportedly, he’s close to signing the Hugs.

But this isn’t England, this is Dante’s. Once they’ve been given the green light, the band hustles into the venue like a group of thirsty claim-jumpers, untangling cords and hollering impenetrable teen-speak. Each stylistically disparate member looks vaguely like daytime television’s idea of a rock-’n’-roll persona: the well-groomed twee kid, the smoking psychedelic kid, the Converse-clad “alternative” kid. Frontman Danny Delegato is the Guns N’ Roses-era caricature, his oversized sleeveless shirt and cowboy hat dwarfing his boyish frame. When asked to check his mic, he lets out a howl that dovetails into a squeal.

Despite the band members’ extreme marketability, the Hugs’ live set is hectic and loose, with songs losing structure and Delegato’s vocals disintegrating into Mark E. Smith rambles or Paul Westerberg screams (though I’d forgive him for not catching either reference). Drummer Kelly McKenzie absolutely kills—probably the most entertaining member of a very entertaining band—even if his thrashing can’t keep the rest of the band from wandering into the occasional rock-’n’-roll disaster. He tries repeatedly to end the band’s seemingly endless final song (which came complete with dangerous mic-stand-wielding and a Hendrix-style collapse or two) with little success.

The Hugs’ onstage theatrics prove the band has chops to match its natural talent (it’s hard to believe these are teenagers), but the members still show their age when it comes to songwriting. I leave the club without remembering any specific song—and hoping the Hugs’ development doesn’t suffer as the band rushes forth to become the next big thing.

CJ (WW)

Before they actually sign to London's 1965 Records (home of UK hypesters the View), local band the Hugs are self-releasing their own album tonight. The self-titled effort by these teenage Anglophiles shows a band wise beyond their years, and one keen on producing bouncy pop songs heavy on the hooks and melody. Spoiler alert! Here is the future of the Hugs, as told by me, the Miss Cleo of indierock fortunetellers. Their powerful British connections make them superstars overseas and darlings of the British press. Soon they develop a row with another band—oh, let's say Razorlight—and someone calls someone else a "bloody wanker." They play Glastonbury and the Carling Weekend, and the whole thing spirals out of control after a trip to Ibiza with Pete Doherty and Liam Gallagher. Enjoy it while you can, boys. EAC

Fresh out of high school, The Hugs commanded the attention of two of the biggest and most respected names in the British music industry. Roger Sargent and James Endeacott flew out to Portland from London just to witness the garage/pop-rock band, returning home poised to sign and manage the group of teens.

Now living in London, The Hugs have signed a deal with 1965 Records and Columbia UK. Their debut album is being recorded with Liam Watson (who recorded White Stripes’ “Elephant”) and the band is working with Gus Van Sant for their first music video.

The Hugs is a fitting name for this ambitious group of starry-eyed, still-wet-behind-the-ears Portland teenagers. 

Only months removed from their high school graduation, the Hugs apparently caught the attention of prominent British rock photographer Roger Sargent in 2006, after band frontman, err frontkid Danny Delegato pursued him on Myspace. Delgato's persistence paid off and the band will spend this spring recording in London, under the supervision of their label, UK-based 1965 Records. 

The Hugs produce a young yet confident British invasion sound reminiscent of the Kinks, the Stones and contemporaries Arctic Monkeys and the Libertines. Virtually leap-frogging Portland's indie rock rat race, these kids are rumored to be talking with state-side major label Sony/Columbia. Not bad, huh? 

The Hugs are the band that you wish you were in during high school. Or college. Or right now for that matter. Visceral and earnest, their songs are further along than their playing, and that's a good thing. Everything from the Velvet Underground to the Kinks to early Pavement is here, all being written by chaps young enough to yet worry about declaring a major. Unless, of course, it's declaring which major label they want to sign to, in which case the lucky winner is London-based 1965 records. Not quite a household name yet, the label is the lovechild of James Endeacott, formerly of Rough Trade records, who had the foresight to sign another young and eager band called the Strokes a few years back. Can the Hugs embrace their future as garage rock's next big thing? I, for one, sure do hope so. AY

Follow The Hugs on TWITTER

www.Twitter.com/thehugsportland

I like Sweden & Klickitat Band Camp A Lot!

This band is from Stockholm Sweden and they are really somethin'...Listen to "This Heart Is A Stone" and if you have good taste your eye brows will rise. Sweeeeet? We are slowly but surely finishing our second LP at Klickitat Band Camp. Go to www.KBCrecords.com for info on how to be the coolest musician in the world and hear some great songs by great bands. Go Shay Scott! 

www.MySpace.com/AcidHouseKings

Danny Delegato

weird record company people who don't do their job right

Hockey

The Hugs relate to these guys, check them out. A new band from Portland, Oregon with lots of funk and soul. Great lyrics, and very hooky. Go Hockey!

Danny

Top to the tops

If you're like Letterman and I, you like great top ten lists. Well here's a great site that has amazingly fascinating top 10's, 20's, 25's, whichever. It's called listverse.com and speaking for myself, it's responsible for many sleepless nights. It's updated everyday and there's a list in every category one can think of. Now I know "Oh a site with a bunch of lists, sounds boring." can be an easy thought process, so here's a little list of some lists...

10 bizare cases of mass hysteria

10 most evil children

10 memorable talk show appearances 

10 amazing movie endings

10 cheeses you should try

10 most over rated books

30 failed technology predictions

15  1980's tunes for the mornings

10 mysterious people

Here's a picture of a couple mysterious people..

Their story, at Listverse.com

These lists were just a few of, maybe hundreds! I don't know I haven't counted. It's a great site though and you can learn so much, so check it out.

-Nic

Elling

Hello Movie Fans,
I recently watched and enjoyed the movie titled Elling. It takes place in Sweden of all places and is about two men who move into together who have a bit of trouble in life. They can't get out of the house! The movie is a very captivating film full of surprises and a great ending and a good musical sound track. Elling is a movie that is unpretentious, charming, quirky, original, and largely making its points indirectly. It's the kind of film that creeps up on you and leaves you smiling, the kind of film that keeps spinning around in your head days after it was seen, its insights bubbling up like fresh spring water. Check it out!

Danny Dee