San Diego Reader

Khrys Maxwell: Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric) | Rich Travers: Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric) | Scott Taylor: Drums | Scott Reedy: Bass guitar

Genre: Country, Punk, Rock

Sound description: The group says they aspire to be "Satan's favorite country band."

RIYL: The Accident Experiment, Scar'd Sanity, Pound Foolish, Shadowdrop, Nashville Pussy

Upcoming Local Shows

• The Casbah — Friday, October 6, 8pm

Related Links

• Whole Hog website

• Blurt · July 6, 2006

Synoposis

Ex-Band Members: Gino Meregillano, Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric)

Influences: Turbonegro, Supersuckers, the Ramones, Motorhead, Ted Nugent, Glucifer, the Misfits, Social Distortion, Fu Manchu, Rocket from the Crypt, Urge Overkill, Hellacopters, Murder City Devils, Los Infernos, the Demonics, Reverend Horton Heat, AC/DC, David Allen Coe, Dead Boys, Nashville Pussy, Jane Likes Dick, the Accident Experiment

Background:

Forty to fifty bottles of tequila dominate Whole Hog's practice room.

"We were a Pabst Blue Ribbon and Jack Daniel's band before Khrys joined," says guitarist Rich Travers.

"It started with one bottle of Patrón," says Khrys Maxwell, another guitarist. "Being the compulsive-obsessive person that I am, I had to taste and collect all the different types. They can go from real sweet to real peppery. Others have elements of vanilla, grass, or fruit."

Whole Hog shares their expensive liquor with other bands that practice in their rehearsal complex. What about the problem of driving home after practice?

"Not once in ten years have we had a DUI," says Travers. "We're all pretty responsible."

"Because it costs so much, we sip it; we don't slam it," says drummer Scott Taylor. "I rarely have more than four shots of tequila throughout the whole practice. That's over three to four hours. I'm practically sober at the end."

All four Whole Hogs drink tequila except bassist Scott Reedy. "They try to bring me in, but to me it tastes like ass."

"Unlike some alcohol that makes you sluggish or tired, tequila makes you want to get in a fight," says Taylor. "For our kind of music, that's great...."

"We like to call our music 'Whole Hog rock' or 'full-boar country,' " says Travers. "We'd like to be Satan's favorite country band."

-- "Blurt," 7-6-06