Hungry Villagers

The Hungry Villagers are bringing their music to San Antonio listeners who are starving for indie rock. Though the band, which includes three brothers, has only been working with Houston’s Tierra Studios for the past couple of months, it is set to release its first single, “Little Fingers,” on March 17. Abraham Houck, who does vocals and guitar for the Hungry Villagers, along with his brothers, Jacob Houck (vocals and guitar) and Dave Houck (bass, keys and vocals), and drummer Ferrick Hallaron IV are gearing up to play Limelight on Saturday, March 7. Soon after, the band heads to Austin to do a SXSW day show on Thursday, March 19, at Hi-Lo. Abraham talked to 210SA about growing up with missionary parents who traveled around the U.S. and moved the family to South Africa twice.

THE RUNDOWN

VIDEO: Watch one of the band's music videos

WHAT: Diagonals, Education, Pillow Queens and Hungry Villagers

WHEN: 10 p.m. Saturday, March 7

WHERE: Limelight, 2718 N. St. Mary’s St.

HOW MUCH: $5

INFO: myspace.com/limelightsa; myspace.com/hungryvillagers

Describe growing up in South Africa.

I’m the oldest brother. I’m 28. ..... The first time I moved to South Africa, I was 7, and Dave and Jake weren’t born yet. They were born in South Africa, and our parents were missionaries. We lived there for about four years at that time. Then, we moved back to the states in ’92, and we kind of lived all over the Midwest at that stage, my mom and dad being traveling musicians, so we’d hit the road. In the mid-’90s, they sold everything and bought a camper van and traveled all over ..... my parents playing music in churches. ..... Then 1997, we moved back to South Africa as a family, and I finished high school there. Right away, after high school, I just started playing in bands.

Did that time abroad influence your music?

It’s never been a conscious thing, like, “Oh, we’re from South Africa.” We’re definitely influenced by South African roots music. Paul Simon, the album that he did in South Africa, the Graceland album, is probably one of the most influential albums to me.

Why did Graceland stand out for you?

When I was a kid, my dad, as a pastor, was going through a phase of no secular music in the house. But he had a copy of the Graceland album, and I would get that out, and it just blew my mind away. And I was like 8 years old.

How do you see your musical influences exhibited in the music of the Hungry Villagers?

I cannot deny the influence of American roots music. Growing up, my dad was a huge fan of Bob Dylan. ..... What we’re kind of trying to do is mix everything in a huge melting pot and kind of see. The big experiment is to see what comes out without any conscious, “Oh, we want to sound like this.”

Is working with family more challenging than working with other band members?

I don’t know if more challenging is the right word, but you can’t bullshit each other when it’s your brothers. You know each other too well, so you can’t get away with things you could get away with in another band. ..... It’s easier because you know what to expect with them.

Do you find the three of you want the same thing out of your music?

We are more unified in what we want compared with a lot of other bands. In this band, with my brothers, I know that we’re making music not to make money, not to make it big, not to get on the covers of magazines or MTV. We’re making music because it has to come out of us or else we’d be doing damage to ourselves.

So you’re not hungry for stardom then. Do you consider yourselves conservators of music in some way?

We, all three, have this seldom-expressed view that’s deep inside of us that you’ve got to protect music, especially in this day and age, from whatever commerciality would come in and steal it. You do have to be wary of losing the purity of that. You just kind of have to take care of it better. Being in a band with my brothers, it seems like we all kind of intrinsically understand that.

What kinds of themes do your songs touch on?

The songs are a lot about the transience of this world. ..... It’s just good to realize that things go on after we’ve gone away from this place. I think both Jake and I, when it comes to writing lyrics, there’s no plan. There’s no map, the song has to lead us instead of the other way around. ..... As far as the Christianity thing, our beliefs are really deep down inside, and they form kind of the foundation of our beliefs on music. ..... I think the whole CCM, Nashville Christian music industry, it seems like it’s very one-sided, one-dimensional. It’s got its target market, and that’s its business. I don’t want to be part of a music that excludes people. Music that’s just for Christians doesn’t seem like Christian music to me. Rather than listen to Christian rock bands, I’d listen to old hymns, for example, if I’m going to get my spiritual food.

Jennifer Lloyd | 210SA - 210 SA

http://www.houstonpress.com/events/death-by-texas-hungry-villagers-1029004/

Hungry Villagers
By Craig Hlavaty

Houston’s newest contenders for national notoriety (i.e. that illusive Pitchfork shout-out) are Hungry Villagers. Abe and Jacob Houck, two brothers hailing from South Africa, and drummer Ferrick Hallaron formerly of Midnight Pilots ride on a groove that evokes Leonard Cohen fronting Muse. The post-punk thing shines through the brightest, with some songs turning from morose dirges directly into churning slices of dance rock with the Brothers Houck forming a blockade of voice above Hallaron’s near-robotic drumming. The guys are currently in a studio on the west side of town pounding out a debut EP ahead of their imminent South by Southwest trial by fire this coming March. When you start hearing this stuff plastered all over blog from here to London, don’t say we didn’t warn you. - Houston Press