Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Best CD (all styles):
“Every year, one local release seems to stand out from the pack for me…This year it was Hubcap's long-awaited second CD, "Between the Rails." Comprising everything from mournful ballads ("Birthday Song," "TV at a Loss," the sublime closer "Untitled") and rockers ("Motionsick," "Engine") to country ("KSW") and outright weirdness ("Stuart Sutcliffe"), "Between the Rails" rode the many strengths -- Steve Gollnick's songwriting and stellar playing from guitarist Peter Glanville, drummer Ryan Cady and bassist Walt Lorenzut -- that have made Hubcap one of the best bands to come out of Ithaca in the past decade.”
Best Male Vocalist, Steve Gollnick:
“His voice is perfectly matched to his songs, whether he's rocking out or contemplating lost love.”
Best Producer, Bille Coté:
“Billy Cote, for his work on Hubcap's "Between the Rails," which offers new sonic rewards upon every listen. The band members also credit Cote for helping them to think of the album as a whole, rather than just a collection of tracks--another reason why it's so strong.” - Jim Catalano, The Ithaca Journal, December 30, 2004
Best Local Release of 2004 - Hubcap: "Between the Rails"
Hands-down the best local release of 2004 - and better than just about anything else critics and other hipsters might swoon over this year. On its second album, Hubcap delivers singer-guitarist Steve Gollnick's fully conceived alt-rock songs with a mastery of dynamics and diverse style. From the sweet bluegrass arrangement of "KSW" to Peter Glanville's shimmering guitar on the sweet, sad "Birthday Song" the clever couplets in the bouncy "Barstools & Landmines" and the attitude-drenched dissonance of "Stuart Sutcliffe" this is greatness. I can almost hear these songs on college radio, on Americana CD samplers in British music magazines, in arenas. This is Hubcap's well-aimed shot at the big-time. - DANIEL ALOI, Elmira Star-Gazette, Dec. 23, 2004
Any concerns of a sophomore slump were quickly banished when I heard the new disc. The band brought in Billy Cote to produce the new CD and together they've made a very solid step forward both musically and in the recording ... Much of my time doing Tape Op is spent with people in the industry who don't play or record music, so it's always a nice treat to find a gem like this from someone in 'the industry'. - J.B., Tape Op Magazine, January/February 2005
“Spearheaded by singer-songwriter Steve Gollnick, Ithaca's favorite roots-rock outfit recently released their second album and boy, was it worth the wait….While most bands try to cash-in on the sound of their debut and release an attempt to recreate that particular ambiance, Hubcap have done it the reverse way. They followed-up the thick sonic palette of Halogen Sons with an album that sounds more spontaneous and mature at the same time, which seems to become a rare feat these days.”
Read the entire review at http://www.guypetersreviews.com/hubcap.php#rails - Guy Peters, Brussels, Belgium
"I don’t know about you, but when I see bands like Hubcap at work, it’s like getting a reconfirmation of the usefulness and necessity of music. They’re a band that has the talent, the chops and, most importantly, the fervour to make good music and have the potential to become somewhat of a household name…. When I was talking to these guys, I was under the impression they didn’t even believe they were playing on a stage several thousands of miles from home. Their excitement and wonder showed during the gigs, cracked me up and already makes me look forward to their next trip to Belgium, whenever that is. The sooner the better, though."
To read the entire review, visit:
http://www.guypetersreviews.com/livehubcap.php - Willem Tell Blues club, St-Lenaarts, BELGIUM 07/03/2004
“The first impression of Halogen Sons is a pleasant sensation. The album is beautifully produced. It sounds distinctly open. The voice of the leader of this quartet, Steve Gollnick, has a fascinating crack and his songs are good. But see, the pleasantness transfers quickly to fascination. Titles such as Two Bits + Shirtless On Main St., Bullfights on Acid, Henrietta Universe and Shitstorm entice you. How can it be that this cross between The Jayhawks and The Tragically Hip can sound entrancing and unusual all at the same time?” - Wim Boluijt, Heaven Magazine, June 2004 (translated from Dutch)
“Hey man, don’t write off this quartet from Ithaca as just another alt.-country act. What’s that song guitarist and vocalist Steve Gollnick wrote? “Fred-n-Ethyl”? Isn’t that kind of freaky funk for a band that gets compared to the Jayhawks? If their first record, Halogen Sons, is any indication, this band could take the genre with them into outer space.” - Feb. 25 – March 2, 2004
Halogen Sons’ is an alternative country album no doubt, but it has some pretty tight twists and turns that really make it stand out from the horde. Every one of the thirteen songs is high class and each takes on a unique, often unpredictable course like raindrops rolling off a window pane, no lackadaisical ploughing of furrows here, this is a great John Deere of a harvester ride. Musically it is a real diamond discovery, possessing enough interesting facets to keep you dazzled while providing an intense and simply splendid listen. Production is a keen affair here and the band play their socks off leaving a highly impressive dynamic emitting from your speakers. I highly recommend this album, a great set from a band with loads of potential. - Doug Floyd, September 26, 2003
Hailing from Ithaca, New York, Hubcap are an alt-country foursome who have garnered heaps of local accolades during their three year existence. Halogen Sons, their debut, shows a depth and sheen typical of seasoned bands with more recording time under their belts. The sparse twang of their rootsy rock ‘n’ roll is charged primarily by the soulful songwriting of guitarist and vocalist Steve Gollnick, whose dry, homespun vocals mesh tightly with his fluid guitar work. While standout tracks like “Episode 9” and “Stick Figures” reek of influence from roots-rock heroes like the Silos, Uncle Tupelo and The Jayhawks, the band demonstrates their range by dropping the alt-country conventionalities altogether on the psych-funk freakout of “Fred-n-Ethyl” and the acoustic blues squall of “Fiona” and “Shitstorm”. Delving into such a broad musical range in a short span of an album shows that Gollnick is not afraid to find his muse, wherever it may lie on the rock ‘n’ roll spectrum. - Jeff Shelton, July/August 2003
Discography
Halogen Sons (2002)
"No myth no less" Radio air play europe 2003
Between the Rails (2004)
"Barstools and landmines", "Birthday Song" -radio air play europe 2005
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Since 1999, Hubcap has been making their mark on audiences wherever they play with their own brand of ragged electric roots rock. Now, with a new album, the dynamic and varied Between the Rails, and a successful European tour under their belts, the boys of Hubcap are more ready than ever to stake their claim as an exciting new presence on the national music scene. The songs of singer/guitarist Steve Gollnick provide the foundation for Hubcap’s sound. Melding the well-worn twang of Uncle Tupelo to the jagged wordplay of the Replacements, Gollnick delivers songs shot through with tales of love lost and redemption sought in a voice that travels from tender to anguished, often in the span of a single verse. Peter Glanville’s lead guitar ripples with focused intensity, coloring the songs with hook-laden solos and squalls of angular dissonance, while the near telepathic rhythm section of bassist Walt Lorenzut and drummer Ryan Cady propel the sound with supple grooves and driving backbeats. Onstage, Hubcap is the kind of band that doesn’t need to resort to “look at me” rock poses and gimmicks to make their presence felt, content to let the songs take center stage as they tear through a set touching on everything from country blues to power pop to feedback-drenched freakouts. As comfortable playing small pubs as they are larger outdoor festivals, Hubcap won over audiences in Europe in the summer of 2004 and has shared the stage with artists as diverse as NRBQ, Richard Buckner, The Johnny Dowd Band, Mary Lorson and Saint Low, Toots and the Maytals, John Brown’s Body, Electric Eel Shock, The Warlocks and The Natural History.
Hubcap’s promising first album, 2002’s Halogen Sons, won the band well-earned praise from critics and listeners alike. 2004's Between the Rails, produced by Billy Coté of Madder Rose, delivers on that promise with a set that displays the band’s remarkable range and versatility while maintaining a cohesiveness that harkens back to the days when a rock album was a statement, not merely a collection of songs. From the dripping reverb and tremolo of the record’s opening lament, “Birthday Song”, to the stuck-in-your-head pop of “ Perfect” and “Barstools and Landmines”, to the stomp and circumstance of road-tested rockers like “Motionsick” and “Pretend”, Between the Rails is the sound of a band confident in its abilities and unafraid to find its muse, wherever it may lie on the rock and roll spectrum.
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