Vancouver country rockers Pistol Whip The Devil raise a glass to good friends, familiar places, and leaving life’s frustrations behind on their new single, “Hillbilly White Wine,” available now on all digital streaming platforms.
Written by lead vocalist Shane Jolie and produced by Winston Hauschild at The Treehouse Studio on Bowen Island, “Hillbilly White Wine” is an upbeat, straight-ahead country rocker with loud guitars, infectious energy, and a message for anyone ready to escape the daily grind.
“‘Hillbilly White Wine’ is about that moment when you can finally escape the noise of day-to-day life,” says Jolie. “You let go of the frustration, head to your favourite spot with your favourite people and remember that, as long as you have friends and family around, and maybe a little moonshine, life ain’t as hard as it seems.”
Pistol Whip The Devil Release New Single “Hillbilly White Wine”
The single follows Pistol Whip The Devil’s 2025 release “The Devil In Me”, which was previously featured on Canadian Beats Media, and continues the band’s signature blend of lived-in storytelling and unapologetic Redneck Rock.
Built for packed barrooms and festival stages, Pistol Whip The Devil channel small-town stories, hard living, and a little bit of love into high-energy, crowd-driven performances. The Vancouver-based band has played across Western Canada, earning repeat bookings at bars and festivals along the way.
Pistol Whip The Devil Bring Redneck Rock to Canadian Stages
Recipients of Creative BC Emerging Artist grants in 2024 and 2025, Pistol Whip The Devil have shared stages with Dallas Smith, The Reklaws, Meghan Patrick, Finger Eleven, The Sheepdogs, Doc Walker, and JoJo Mason.
The band began as a group of friends brought together during the COVID-19 pandemic by a shared desire to return to their roots and make some good music.
Lead vocalist Shane Jolie and guitarist Geoff Way, formerly of metal band CRNKSHFT, began experimenting with a grunge-infused country sound before joining forces with bassist Ryan Trimble and drummer Dan Wood. Keyboardist James Robertson joined the lineup in 2025.
Five Questions With Pistol Whip The Devil
“Hillbilly White Wine” is all about escaping the daily grind and enjoying the good things in life. What inspired you to write this song? Was there a particular moment or experience that sparked the idea?
Shane Jolie: The guitar lick at the start of the song was the initial idea, it had great up and down movement and resonated well, we knew we had the start of a swamp rock type of track. Once we started to fill the song out it made me think immediately of visiting my family in small town BC. Escaping the hustle of the city and enjoying a slower, quieter pace of life and spending time with the people that matter the most.
You describe your sound as “Redneck Rock,” blending country with a heavier rock edge. How did that sound develop, and how much of your earlier musical influences, particularly your metal and grunge roots, still find their way into your music?
I’ve always loved all forms of music, metal in particular was all about energy, emotion and attitude, and it has been important for us to continue to write songs that fit that bill, albeit presented in a different form. We started with songs that we had written for other projects that weren’t a great fit for that audience but still had good substance. In the early stages we were mostly playing on acoustic guitars so it leaned towards a country vibe almost immediately. We kept our Drop B tuning for the tracks as well so I can continue to use the vocal range and phrasing, as well as the heavier crunch we had made a part of our sound for the last decade.
You recorded “Hillbilly White Wine” with producer Winston Hauschild at The Treehouse Studio on Bowen Island. What was that recording experience like, and what did Winston bring to the track?
Working with Winston on Bowen Island was great, we had initially thought of recording at the Armoury with producer friends of ours, but we thought it might feel too comfortable in that environment and we wouldn’t be giving PWTD a chance to have its own sound and experience. So our Guitarist Geoff Way reached out to Winston whom he knew from working together years prior. The type of music Winston had been producing combined with the environment of Bowen Island itself really was a good fit for the song package we had ready.
Winston also really challenged me to make my lyrics make more sense and more consistent over the song. Lyrics for me usually come last, I typically need to feel the emotion and the energy to get a sense of what to sing about.
Pistol Whip The Devil started as a group of friends making music during the pandemic, and you’ve since shared stages with some pretty big names in Canadian country and rock. Looking back, what have been some of the biggest highlights or most memorable moments for the band so far?
We have had a number of memorable moments, and had the great pleasure of sharing those stages with Fantastic Canadian bands and Bands in general. I remember when I was around 12-15 teaching myself how to sing, I would put on my favourite bands over a PA system and sing with them to learn and expand my range. One of the albums I used to put on all time for his range and what he could do with his voice was The Greys Of Blue Skies by Finger Eleven. So playing Mudfest with Finger Eleven and Scott Anderson would have to be my highlight so far, and looking forward to more to come.
“Hillbilly White Wine” sounds like a song made for a packed bar on a Friday night. How has the audience response been so far, and what’s next for Pistol Whip The Devil? Can fans expect more new music or live shows in the near future?
Yes! That’s what it was written for for sure! The crowd loves it out of the gate, by the time the second chorus comes around people are already singing along, and we have a special treat for our live audiences where we’ve incorporated an extended sign along moment. But we’re keeping it as an Easter egg for live shows only! So whoever is reading this article make sure to follow us for live show updates!
We are releasing a new song called “Georgia” this month. I’m very excited about that song as well. We will play 1-2 more local Vancouver shows (TBD), then we’ll take a small winter break to spend time with family and start playing shows again in March 2027.
