ScroungeHound Wants to Spread Love (But Not Before Melting Your Face with Psych-Rock Thrills)

From West Virginia Public Broadcasting and A Change of Tune, this is 30 Days of #WVmusic, the interview series celebrating the folks who make the West Virginia music scene wild and wonderful.  

And today’s interview is with a loud and unapologetically proud pysch-rock outfit out of Huntington, West Virginia. This… is ScroungeHound.

<a data-cke-saved-href=”http://scroungehoundwv.bandcamp.com/album/born-of-father-sun” href=”http://scroungehoundwv.bandcamp.com/album/born-of-father-sun”>Born Of Father Sun by ScroungeHound</a>

How did the band get together?

ScroungeHound came to be in summer of 2014. Remaining members of The Allure paired up with Mike Parker and James Hairston to reveal ScroungeHound’s debut EP “Born of Father Sun” in November of 2016. We’ve become a mix of jazz, stoner metal and jam music with influences ranging from Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus to Black Sabbath, The Grateful Dead and Phish. The goal is to provide an enticing show that has you dancing, swaying, jumping off things and floating on top of people in a sea of psychedelic amazement. ScroungeHound wants to rip you up, zip you up, melt your face, slick your hair back and send you on your way with love and our best to your mum.

Credit Courtesy of the artist

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What previous bands have the members/acts been in?

The Allure, Dub V Funk, Qiet, Downtown King and Sasha Collette and the Magnolias. So yeah, we’ve been all over the place.

And the band’s name? How did that come about?

We’re named after a little fuzzy dawg named Kiefer. It’s as simple as that.

How has ScroungeHound’s sound changed over the years?         

We went through a lot of different directions at first, including folk, rock and jam music. We settled into our Scroungy sound with the release of our recent full-length Born of Father Sun. We don’t know where we’re goin’, but we’ve settled somewhere between Black Sabbath and Phish.

What’s been the highlight of your musical journey thus far?      

Opening for Big Something was pretty cool. And anything to do with the Huntington Music & Arts Festival is always awesome! We’re hoping to hit the road hard this fall, so who knows?

Credit Obsolete Images

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What’s it like making music in West Virginia?

Huntington has a lot of great bands, but we only have one serious venue: The V-Club. And we should mention we love The V-Club. We haven’t had much luck in drawing people in Charleston, but we’re excited to branch out into Beckley and Morgantown. West Virginia has a lot of talented, original bands that are young and motivated. People will be paying attention to all of us in West Virginia soon.

Do you feel held back by being in West Virginia? Or does it feel like a musically-supportive place?

We support each other in Huntington and have nothing but love for West Virginia and its bands.

Credit Obsolete Images

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What, in your opinion, needs to happen in the West Virginia music scene for it to move forward?           

Bands that make it need to remember where they came from. We have the drive, but we need more funding for arts and venues. And we need more cross-promotion between bands among our different cities.

What’s your advice for anyone who wants to get into music?    

Practice. Record your stuff, but don’t officially release your music starting out. Record demos, post them, get feedback and write more songs. Then in a year or two, when you’re used to really playing together, use some of your better songs to release an EP. Also save some of your best songs for your second EP. Don’t Appetite for Destruction yourself. Always be open to criticism, but do your own thing. Don’t miss practices; that’s your job, assuming you really want to do this for real. Don’t let anyone put you down, and know the difference between someone putting you down and someone giving constructive criticism.

ScroungeHound’s latest release is Born of Father Sun. Keep an eye (and ear) on the band’s social media for tour dates and new releases. Hear more #WVmusic on A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Connect with A Change of Tune on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And for more #WVmusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic and subscribe to our RSS / podcast feeds.

Support for 30 Days of #WVmusic is provided by Kin Ship Goods, proud supporter of DIY music and the arts. Locally shipped worldwide at kinshipgoods.com.