South African band, Hog Hoggidy Hog, aim to pork out on their 20th anniversary show, writes Helen Herimbi
Hog Hoggidy Hog’s 20th anniversary show is a bittersweet one. The Cape Town-based group that began as a punk band, but have since incorporated genres like ska and goema and more to form what they dub the hashtag-ready, #PorkRock, will put on a performance at The Assembly in Cape Town on Saturday.
While it’s sweet that the band are four albums in, a couple of EPs down and a few revolving band members later, it’s also bitter for Sean Snout (bass), Amos Keeto (guitar), Lee Lips (trumpet), Sean Devey (drums) and Ross McDonald (trombone). This is because in June, the band lost its lead vocalist and founding member, George Bacon. Following what was to be the start of a string of performances commemorating two decades in the game, Hog Hoggidy Hog played a show in Cape Town.
The next morning, Bacon was found dead in his hotel room. Obviously, the band’s decision to play together one last time is linked to wanting to pay tribute to their fallen rocker.
As McDonald explained: “This performance is on one hand a celebration of our birthday. Lots of people loved George from afar and although we had a funeral and a memorial service, some people felt they were not close enough to attend those so this event is for them and for us to close the final chapter.”
THEY HAD ONLY JUST BEGUN…
Hog Hoggidy Hog was started in Cape Town in 1995 by Bacon, Snout, Keeto and drummer, Peter Porker who, except for Snout, wanted to call the band The Dingleberrys. With a popular ditty called The Popstar Explosion off their Fishpaste and Vibe debut album, The Hogs (as they are affectionately called) quickly made a name for themselves.
They also became hailed as the band at the forefront of punk music in South Africa.
“Back in those days,” reminisces McDonald, “there was just live music and live music was punk and metal and all the really hard and dirty music. So you just played with live bands then. Not at a punk event or whatever. It was really open season to just do whatever you wanted. The raw energy that came out of that music was balls-to-the-wall. Now it’s just Facebook.”
THE TEENAGE YEARS
The Hogs’ second album was recorded just after a then-17-year-old McDonald had been recruited to join the band. Called Driving Over Miss Davie (2001), the album solidified The Hogs’ place in music history as it flew up the radio charts and spawned a tour across South Africa. It was inspired by the late David Myburgh who was their drummer for a spell and had an alter ego called Ms Davie Mybergie.
“I was the wide-eyed, bushy-tailed, almost in perpetual awe and shock teenager,” recalls McDonald, “and it was a unique experience to meet Davie with pigtails and a miniskirt on. Or to be doing things like going to S&M parties at the Purple Turtle when I was just 17.” But that free-spirited, sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll lifestyle was the reputation the band had.
Oh, and a penchant for getting naked on stage, like they did in 2001. “Why not?” laughs McDonald when I quiz him about this phase. “Punk rock is about pushing boundaries and doing the unexpected. We were always about seeing how far we could take things without taking it to the point where it’s wrong.”
LET’S MAKE SOME BACON
In 2004, The Hogs released their commercially acclaimed album, Oink. And in 2009, their final album together, Method to the Madness, came out. It was dedicated to Myburgh. While the band haven’t made any new albums since then, they had been performing.
As far as the future is concerned, McDonald says: “As individuals we’ll probably still make music, but George was the lifeblood and soul of the band. He’s the reason why we’ve been here for 20 years. Without George, there’d be no Hog Hoggidy Hog. So out of respect, it’s important to say goodbye to that.”
A few well-known musos will be helping the band bid Bacon farewell on Saturday. But, “the main thing is not a celebration of the band being 20 years old,” McDonald said, “but a celebration of the life and music of George Bacon and what he brought to the band. That’s what we want the main emphasis to be.”
Birthday bash line-up:
Three bands will also perform at birthday bash. For the Hogs’ set, they’ve asked several singers to join them. “We’ve made a lot of friends over the years and a lot of those musicians would like to pay tribute to George. We couldn’t get one singer to dep (deputise) for George. He isn’t replaceable. He was charismatic, enigmatic and larger than life so there are a lot of artists who’ll help us say ‘goodbye’ and light up the stage one last time.”
Those artists include Francois van Coke, George van der Spuy, Pete Grey and John Shaban as well as bands The Rudimentals, 7th Son and Half Price.
Don’t miss this show.