Thirty years into their career The Mother Hips have decided for the first time to cut a cover version in the studio and put it onto their new album ‘Glowing Lantern.‘  The song in question is, obviously, ‘I Don’t Want to Drive You Away‘ and it’s a great rollicking slice of rock, with bursts of guitar supporting powerful harmonised vocals.  Big song  – sounds great, but where did they get it from?  Greg Loiacono explained it all: “We came across an Anne Murray cassette tape in a truck stop some years back. The album cover was so fascinating to us that we decided to buy it. The music and recording blew us away. Her version of this song in particular with its groove, harmonies and far-out production really spoke to us, so we worked up our own version.”

The Mother Hips have released their second single “I Don’t Want To Drive You Away” from their upcoming LP Glowing Lantern out December 3rd!

While on the road in the mid-90’s, the band picked up an Anne Murray compilation cassette at a truckstop and fell in love with Murray’s rendition of a song written by David Wiffen.  “I Don’t Want to Drive You Away” marks the first cover song to appear on any Mother Hips’ record!

Hipsmas time is here again! We are very excited to get back to the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco for our annual holiday shows.

Friday, December 17th
Saturday, December 18th
Sunday, December 19th

Get tickets while you can!

The new album, ‘Glowing Lantern’ is available December 3 from Blue Rose Music on vinyl and digital formats.

The first single from the 11-track collection, “Looking At Long Days” is out today!

We are so happy to announce a run of summer shows! The band will be playing around Northern California and Oregon. In addition, they will be appearing at the BeachLife Festival in SoCal! Please see all dates above and be sure to pick up advance tickets as shows have been selling out!

Greg Loiacono has just released a new single entitled “Last Day Of June” from a forthcoming instrumental album! It was mixed by Scott Hirsch at EchoMagic and mastered by Anthony Puglisi.

When I was sixteen I found a record in my father’s collection that had a trippy cover on it with two dragons and the kind of archaic imagery I was into at the time (and still am today). It had three names on it- John Fahey, Leo Kottke, and Peter Lang.

When I listened to the masterful guitar playing and read the comical bios of these unique individuals I instantly became enamored with the whole sound and vibe. This changed my perception of what guitar playing could be. A year later I was at a ren faire and a hippie sitting under a tree was playing “That’s The Way” by Led Zeppelin. I noticed that he wasn’t playing the usual fingerings I was familiar with. He showed me open G tuning. Once I learned about that I realized that many of the remarkable sounds and chords I was hearing on the aforementioned compilation album involved open tunings. It was a cool revelation to see my teenage, rock world and this American Primitive Guitar music that I had recently discovered, collide and inform me. (From Live For Live Music)

“Last Day of June” certainly wouldn’t have come about if it wasn’t for my Dad and that Takoma Records compilation. This single will be part of an album of instrumental music I will be releasing in 2022. – Greg Loiacono (From Live For Live Music)

Live for Live Music has premiered the video. Stream the new track and watch the video for “Last Day Of June”

Check out the American Songwriter “Bringin’ It Backwards” Podcast where Greg Loiacono discusses the history of the Mother Hips, the vinyl reissues, the new upcoming record, and more!

Visit the Mother Hips Store where we’ve restocked on green and blue trucker hats! In addition, new to the store and just in time for Spring is a Bella Canvas limited edition Heather Black  ‘California Soul’ T-shirt (Unisex). Get ’em while they last!

Greg Loiacono has another single to tickle our eardrums on May 14th!

“What Can I Say?” is the third of four singles I recorded last summer and have been releasing over the past few months. This song follows in line with the last one, “Bound to Fall” by nodding to a retro soul vibe with fine accompaniment from Mikael Jorgensen (Wilco), Pat Spurgeon (Rogue Wave), Charles James Gonzalez and Emilie Raines. The singer is pretty much down on his knees…singing for his life in a way. A lot of us have been in a situation where we have asked for forgiveness even when we knew we probably wouldn’t get it. -Greg Loiacono

The song was recorded at Coyote Hearing in Oakland, CA by Charles James Gonzalez and mixed at Echo Magic in Ojai, CA by Scott Hirsch (Hiss Golden Messenger).