CDfuse.com

Hometown: Austin, TX, USA

Influences: Porter and Dolly, Son Volt, The Meters

Website: http://www.hogbranch.com

Our Story:

Hog Branch Studio is re-opening in Austin, TX, in Spring 2007!

Hog Branch is the solo project of bass player and songwriter Rick Watson, a ten-year veteran of NYC's downtown music scene, who's now holding down the low end in Austin. As a bass player and producer, Rick’s nailed a range of booty-moving styles. Among his playing, recording, and producing credits in NYC, Atlanta, New Orleans, Santa Fe, Nashville, Austin, and St. Louis are:

+++ propelling NYC’s alt-country phenoms "Hot Water" (AKA "The Apple Brothers" on Sire Records) and "Leroy Justice"

+++ churning out grooves for the funk-metal-rap bands "Bruised" and "Nuclear Boy"

+++ wrecking stages with blue-collar rockers Darin Ellsworth (of "Vervain") and Todd Mangan (of "Mangan" and "Bad Hotel")

+++ generating low-end moxie for the acoustic-rock and ambient bands "Picnic," "Elizabeth Gone" (with Vincent James of "Machine Love" at machinelove.com), and "Life With the Lions (with Michael Fazio of "Gods of Electricity" and "orchestramaxfieldparrish" at faithstrange.com)

+++ and backing numerous other performers, including country artists "The Tenkiller Twins," songwriters Stephen Clair and Tinkerbel Tompsin, Brit-popster Jeremy Parise, rockabilly madman Mike Mok, swing-crooner Jen Jones ("The Camaroes"), and alt-punk-chanteuse Julianne Richards (of "Snatch" and solo on Geffen).

+++ Rick was also the bass player onstage in the off-Broadway production of the rock opera "The Asthma Conspiracy" and the record-setting NY Fringe Festival Selection "Slut!" in New York City.

+++ Rick plays bass in Austin's premier Elvis Costello tribut band The Costellophones. Check them out at www.Costellophones.com

+++ Catch Rick live throughout Texas playing bass for the bad boys of Texas country music, the Wicked Brew Band. Check them out at WickedBrew.net

+++ As a songwriter, Rick is currently working on tracks in Austin for two albums -- one of holiday tunes and another of country duets, both with his Yankee wife, vocalist AJ Belknap.

Hog Branch -- The Early Years:
Before leaving the family farm for the big city, Rick learned bass by following his momma’s mighty left hand as it pumped out boogie-tinged gospel on the upright Baldwin at Shiloh Baptist Church in Hog Branch, Louisiana. By high school, Rick was anchoring "Kasino," a Skynyrd-inspired rock band playing honky-tonks and festivals throughout the South.

Current Track Listings:
-1- On Track 1 above (a demo), Rick sang lead vocals and played all the instruments, with AJ providing the backing vocals.
-2- Rick played bass on Track 2, from Vervain's album "Seduction Library."
-3- On Track 3, from the debut release of NYC's jam band Picnic, Rick gets bass and production credits.

To contact Rick about playing bass on your project, call 512-291-3580 or 917-622-3570.

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