Johnny Trashed - Johnny Cash Tribute

You only had to see the 'Dukes of Hazzard' flag  and rams head on the mic stand and that wonderful double bass ready to be spanked and plucked to know that Johnny Trashed were in the building. Johnny Trashed are an amazing punked up tribute to the one and only legend that is Johnny Cash.

There intro couldn't be  mistaken and very tongue in cheek,the lads swaggered on to the stage to the sounds of The Waltons. 

Now these guys are professional make no mistake, but they have the ability to do everything tongue in cheek to give the max to their entertainment level. The banter on stage with a couple of heckling and 'yeee ha's' from the audience add to the gig.

The audience tapping their feet on the first number only to be dancing and pogoing by the second number, was enough to really get the party started. Smiling faces confirmed that the night was a good night. The band will be booked for July next year so keep your eyes peeled.

LA Guns/Damn Dice/The Prophets Of Addiction - Pontypool, The Hog & Hosper - 8th October 2011

On Oct 8th 2011 we had the privilege of having LA Guns grace our stage. Although we are a small place, we book the occasional Rock Star to play our 'Living Room' giving our customers an up close and personal experience. Alot of the bands have played Arena's playing to thousands, so for them to come to The Hog is a real scoop.. Johnny Hayward from Uber Rock came to see LA Guns and wrote a wonderful review on his idols as well as giving The Hog the thumbs up.
Click the link to have a read.


LA Guns/Damn Dice/The Prophets Of Addiction - Pontypool, The Hog & Hosper - 8th October 2011

Getting upto date and How Bands can get a Gig here

Hi guys and Girls. 

Well I haven't been great at keeping this Blog up to date, shame on me lol. Its been all go at The Hog lately. We have had some fab acts since I last wrote, including Sham 69 and LA Guns.

We are going to be going through a few changes over the next month or so and are looking to re brand. Don't worry, you will still be seeing your favourite bands at The Hog so that wont change. I am just looking to re launch The Hog in a fun and funky way. Its exciting times for all the Team here so keep your eyes peeled on the website and on this Blog ( yes I will keep it up to date more often)

I have also been really busy booking bands into the middle of next year. I have had loads of emails and calls off bands for gigs which is great, but can I politely ask bands to provide a link to a website with a Biog and demos so we can see what you have to offer. Don't forget your selling a service and with any service you need to provide credentials. I know you may be thinking ' Who the hell does she think she is?' but believe me, I ran a very successful Blondie Tribute band for 17 years and the main thing was providing a potential customer with a great marketing package to promote the band. At first this consisted of an A2 glossy poster an A4 promo card, a biog and a DVD consisting of video, audio and images. All in all this costed £5 to me but reaped great rewards and we were gigging on average 3 times a week. I also put a digital package together where I would email customers/clients back and direct them to a website with all the same info on.

Your promotional material speaks volumes about how you, as a band come across. If your promo material looks professional, your band comes across professional.

Also, do yourself and the venues a favour when it comes to being booked by every pub in the same area. Leave yourselves enough time each side of the bookings so you don't saturate the area. IE play here this week, the pub down the road the following week. Its tough out there at the moment and neither you, the band, or the venue you are playing at will reap any rewards. What will simply happen is that your audience will get complacent with 'oh we will give them a miss as they are playing up the road in a couple of weeks.' This will result in falling audience attendance which will result in your gigs being cancelled as the venues simply wont be able to cover your fee. I hope this makes sense to the FAQ that I have put for bands on the Hog website. I have had to put terms and conditions when bands are booked to play here. I'm not being a bitch ( although I don't take offence to being called one) I'm simply being a business woman and protecting well.... my business and even yours.

Well here endeth the lesson, as they say. Its something I have been trying to explain for sometime and I hope it has come across in a well written manner rather then a nutty shouty woman.

Winning The Hog over

Well to kick start our punk theme off, we had a great performance by Cwmbran based band Winning The West. I think it was their second gig, the band had already popped their gig cherry at Pontypool Carnival a few weeks ago but I believe this was their first venue date and we had the privilege of seeing them here at The Hog.
Now the band are a three piece but remember punk bands always started out like this and a lot of noise and great music can be produced by one person so don't think for a second you  need a six piece band (ahem ok I did, but that was different and I was greedy) The band were fronted by singer and guitarist Liam who just needs a tweek here and there but lets face it, I wasn't perfect in the beginning and everyone needs to start somewehere.I was informed that Jordan on drums had only been playing a few months, but by the way he played I would have thought a year or two at least, that young guy is going to be a very sturdy drummer if he keeps the gigging up.Sam got his sound right after a few tweeks by myself and Jason. And when they started they didn't disappoint, their punk/new wave influences came through and they paid tribute to the Clash not once but twice as they were asked to do two encoures. So there you go , a well rounded band, keep the good work up lads and see you in a few months

CBGB'S is moving to Pontypool (wink wink) tribute to

Well CBGB's has always been close to my heart when it comes to music. Well I did do a tribute to Blondie for 17 years. I was actually surprised that some people hadn't heard of the place, so I have decided to do a PUNK month in August to introduce people to the Punk Scene. To kick it all off I put together a play list on my laptop and about two hours later of listening to the material, i remembered how much I had missed out as a teen. I did listen to a lot of rock and metal but had left out a large portion of Punk. Which is really stupid as when I was about  years of age, i remember seeing this guy with a bright pink mohican and wearing a leather jacket with chains. His girlfriend has white blonde spikey hair and had her nose pierced. I remember thinkinf' I want to be like that when I am older' Ok so I have dabbled with the bleach a fair number of the times over the years. AND I DID used to have my nose and belly button pierced (and ears of course but that's just to normal now) but over time they annoyed me and either fell out by design or accident. Still there is nothing to stop me reliving the wannabe Punk days by putting on a number of punk shows over the next few months at The Hog and turning it into South Wales' little CBGB's for a while, whilst other places carry the torch for Rock (Didnt I start that 3 years ago? I well nice to be flattered)
So you ask, what is she ramberling on about this time? Well on August 5th we have the fantastic Strawberry Blondes who are doing a warm up show before they hit the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. They are being supported by The Dolts who are heavily influenced by the Ramones (see my connection now). This gig is the start of many I am looking forward to. I have heard so much about Strawberry Blondes and the people they have played with is endless. Take a peek at our website for the lo down.
Then of course at the end of the month is our massive Punk festival headlined by the one and only Sham 69. This will be one of their last gigs whilst they sort all the legal crap out with Jimmy Purseys Management. ( Ahem cant comment on that one but I do know Jimmy well and know what he is like)
So girls and guys, punk in Pontypool is the way forward. New and Old, I hope I will see you soon

Stangeness

Ok so something strange is going on. I don't think its really a secret that spooky things have been going on in the pub recently. So we have drafted in Paranormal Experts, paranormal Knights. They will be conducting investigations on May 28th here at The Hog. What will they find? Well we wait to find out. I will be announcing ticket prices and links to purchase them soon.I'm really looking forward to it. Investigations will start at 10pm and run until 5am. A Buffet will be provided and drinks to purchase. SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKY

FOREVER VENDETTA

Come on folks, leave your comments here.I am missing out alot at the moment due to being stuck in plaster. So feedback off you is important

www.hogandhosper.co.uk/s_whatson_detail.asp?t=m&event=172

www.hogandhosper.co.uk/s_whatson_detail.asp?t=m&event=172

First gig of 2011! So I am looking forward to this tonight. Might even hobble down the stairs and have a peek myself and show off my Day Glo Neon Yellow plaster cast. It needs an airing

Whats Going on At The Hog: Still in plaster and 3DTV

Whats Going on At The Hog: Still in plaster and 3DTV: "Well week 3 and still in plaster. Op went well removing the pin although I was wide awake when they did it and I cried like a wimp. Just had..."

Still in plaster and 3DTV

Well week 3 and still in plaster. Op went well removing the pin although I was wide awake when they did it and I cried like a wimp. Just had a local injection and felt the wonderful sensation of it being unscrewed from my ankle. Something i didn't relish and wont want to go through again. Still having to take the good old trammies but hey ho worse things happen. Just got to wait for my next appointment an have another cast popped on. Neon yellow i think this time. Well according to the magazine I have been reading its the new 'in' colour this season. whoop I am up to date with the fashions lol. Carling and Guinness have been guarding my leg and keeping me company. Carling more so and Guinness is still a playful pup who likes to try and chew things.

Anyway, I have been speaking to Nigel and we think that we aren't doing enough with 3D TV. Sky have been adding more to it and show concerts so I have asked him to demo it tonight. Keane are doing a concert and also there are plenty of documentaries on Wild Life which must look amazing in 3D. So I might even shuffle bum down the stairs to watch it myself tonight. We are open from 5pm tonight so if you feel like popping in for a nose and see what the fuss is about, well you know where to come.Anyway back to watching Downton Abbey. Thank you for the invention of the internet and the written word to starve off boredom.

New Year New Start

So new name New Year new start. The Hog is relaunching itself and so am I. The Hog will devote its Fridays to new and original bands and Saturdays will be for good Cover bands and quality Tribute bands as well as fab theme nights such as 90's 80's Pirates of the Caribbean, 70's Boogie nights etc. We have loads planned for The Hog this year so keep an eye on www.HogandHosper.co.uk.

This week Jan 15th we have two fab local punk bands on. The Dolts are fairly new to the scene but they have been in other bands before. They practised at The Hog before playing 6 feet under and after coaching the singer, the band have come on in leaps and bounds. I liken them to Ramones crossed with Madness.
Headlining the evening are 8.4%. The band started back in the 90's but members went and did other projects and 8.4% was briefly 'mothballed'. However they are back with a BANG and I personally, cant wait to see them. So if you need to dance off that Christmas podge, get down to The Hog this week. Its free entry

Sam Bentley

Sam Bentley