Canadian country-rock project OLD HOSS releases debut album Mid-Atlantic via Porcelain Records
Following the rough-and-rowdy first single “Smellin’ Like A Rose,” Old Hoss officially releases its debut album Mid-Atlantic on Bandcamp and all digital platforms via Porcelain Records.
Old Hoss is the alter ego of Edmonton-born, Toronto-based musician Kris Gies who over the past few years has transitioned from bass duties with hard rockers Flamingo Bay to creating his own brand of mutant country. His sound’s crackling energy was captured on Mid-Atlantic by producer Steve Bigas at his Porcelain Records studio in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Armed with his bedroom demos, Kris and his guitar headed south in his 2008 Ford F150, and he, Steve, and some of his friends and neighbours banged out Mid-Atlantic in true old-school fashion, song count-ins and all. Is it a little ragged? Sure, but above all ALIVE!
“A common theme in these songs—though not intentional—is hitting the road, seeking thrills and living your life,” Kris says. “So the journey to the States to record made even more sense to properly bring these songs to fruition.”
While Neil Young and Tom Petty are two of Kris’s primary touchstones, he also cites Canadian artists Corb Lund and Matt Mays as influences, along with Johnny Cash, and specifically his original guitarist Luther Perkins, whose single-note, untrained sound is all over Mid-Atlantic. It all adds up to a seemingly natural move into the Americana music world, and one he’s excited to keep building upon.
“Putting these songs together made me sing and play more guitar,” he says. “Eventually I realized if it’s going to get done I would have to embrace a full leadership role and run the band myself. I had to get out of my comfort zone, and with the help of Steve I was able to take the bull by the horns and bring these songs to life.”