West Coast music fans haven’t had many opportunities to catch Daryl Hance ever since he parted ways with JJ Grey and Mofro.
Hance has been busy making music for years but now he’s sharing it live with folks all across the nation. The Jacksonville, Florida, native’s 27-show cross country tour includes a stop in downtown Reno. He will perform in a duo with drummer Cameron Weeks at the Studio on Fourth.
“I am really looking forward to getting out West,” Hance told Tahoe Onstage. “It’s been way too long. I didn’t think it was going to be four and a half years.”
Since his 2012 appearance at the Crystal Bay Casino, Hance has released two albums, the most recent being “Wild Blue Iris,” which came out on May 6 on Devil Down Records. The slide-guitar sound has a groovy fuzz to it. Soulful, swampy and psychedelic, it feels like hill country blues with a touch of R&B.
Hance and Grey began recording in 2001 and the early Mofro records featured Hance’s vintage guitar tones. Since Hance left in 2010, Grey has become a straight-ahead soul singer. Meanwhile, Hance has found his own voice.
“When JJ was still a teenager, he was writing songs,” Hance said. “I didn’t develop as a songwriter until I was in my late 20s.”
The split was amicable. While Grey has become a national force, Hance wasn’t content to be a side player.
“It was just two individuals evolving differently,” said Hance, who has made three full-length albums. “We are along the same branch but taking different paths. He’s more of a power soul singer with horns … where 90 percent of my stuff is focused my guitar with a good funky backbeat to it.”
“Wild Blue Iris” is outstanding and it’s received airplay at radio stations across the country. Now, Hance is putting the pedal to the metal to make a name for himself outside of the Southeast. After this tour, he will come out West again in December to perform in Arizona and Southern California. In the spring, he will tour the Northeast.
In the meanwhile, he will be back in the studio. New songs, such as “With The Tide,” (see video) come to him in waves.
“I had that happen just two weeks ago,” he said. “Four or five new songs came to me just out of nowhere. I guess it’s a good problem to have. They just keep coming. I want to put every song on every record, so it gets a little confusing. They always keep coming so I am going to be busy recording for a while.”
Hance vowed to return soon to the Reno-Lake Tahoe area, but Saturday provides a musical opportunity people should not miss.
- Daryl Hance Powermuse
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13
Where: Studio on 4th, 432 East Fourth Street, Reno
Cover: $7
