Hodads

Hodads press photo
Hodads left to right: Robbie Hensley, Steve "Crawdaddy" Crawford, Steve Hensley, Eric "Zipper" Wilson, Philip Buchanan.
Listen to Hodads:
Amazon Music     Apple Music     Pandora     Spotify     YouTube

 

Formation

The Hodads were founded in 1986 in Atlanta, Georgia, and were active through the mid 1990's. Original members — all western North Carolina transplants to Atlanta — were Philip Buchanan (vocals), Steve "Crawdaddy" Crawford (drums), Robbie Hensley (guitar), Steve Hensley (bass), and Eric "Zipper" Wilson (guitar, keyboards). (This is when Crawdaddy got his nickname since there was already a Steve in the band.) Without Crawdaddy, the other four had played together previously with a different drummer as Curious George in North Carolina before relocating to Georgia. A chance meeting at a Del Fuegos concert at the Moonshadow Saloon in Atlanta led to the formation of the Hodads. Crawdaddy: "I ran into Steve & Philip, who I knew from Cullowhee, at the Del Fuegos show and invited them to come to a party at my friend Glenn's house, where my punk cover band, the Pukes, were playing. After the party, the Hodads were born, and many good times followed."

Hodads open for Walk The West
Hodads open for Walk The West at Excelsior Mill.

Sound

The Hodads played a brand of southern rock influenced by AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, punk rock, and classic country music. They had all grown up on similar musical diets of country, bluegrass, classic rock, hard rock, and punk. One Atlanta music critic for Creative Loafing said the Hodads sounded like the Georgia Satellites with Rob Halford (Judas Priest). During their time, the Hodads were too twangy for the metalheads and too metal for the country folks. Later, they probably would have fit right in with what's considered Americana or Alt Country. Below are a few reviews from Creative Loafing.

Hodads Review 1

Hodads Review 5
Hodads Review 2

Hodads Review 4
 

Recordings

The Hodads focused on writing and recording original songs. As bass player Steve Hensley said, "it was easier to play your own songs". Many of the originals can be found on the releases discussed below and listed on the Music page. Many others were lost or never recorded at all.

 

In 2022, the Hodads released studio versions of original songs plus one cover recorded in the 1980's on an album titled Revenge Of The Hodads.  All songs on the album were recorded at Digitrax in Buford, Georgia, with Randall Roop and featured the original five band members (Philip Buchanan, Steve "Crawdaddy" Crawford, Robbie Hensley, Steve Hensley, and Eric "Zipper" Wilson).  The album includes "Maggie" and "Motel Six", which received airplay on WRAS Album 88 and WKLS 96 Rock, respectively, but were never actually released.  It also includes the country-ish fan favorite "Fool's Gold" and a rockin' cover of Terry Fell's "Truck Driving Man".  In addition to streaming and downloads, the album is also available as a limited edition physical CD at some favorite record stores in Atlanta (Decatur CD, Wax ’N’ Facts, Wuxtry) and Sylva (In Your Ear Music).

In 2023, the Hodads released Revenge Of The Hodads, Part 2, which contains songs recorded later with various drummers (Todd Johnston, Randy Daniels, JD Hart) and some additional guitarists (Dale Ritchey, Jim Wright).  It includes several fan favorites like "One More Night", "Shake Shake Shake", "Georgia Sun", and "Rain On My Parade".

Also in 2023, the Hodads released Live At The White Dot, which was recorded in 1988 with the original band members.  It’s raw and rocking, and it captures what the Hodads sounded like at that time.  It contains live versions of some popular originals, along with two songs never recorded in the studio — “The White Dot” and “Trailer Park”.  It also includes covers of Jerry Lee Lewis, ZZ Top, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Rolling Stones, and the Dead Boys.  Crawddady: "Yes, that’s our friend Garth yelling for “Trailer Park”!"

In 2024, the Hodads released Live At Avondale Towne Cinema, which was recorded in the early 90's with the J. D. Hard on drums. It includes a cover of Johnny Horton's "The Battle Of New Orleans", two songs never recorded in the studio ("Show Time", "Run With It"), and rockin' versions of many early and mid-era fan favorites. 

Hodads at Jimmy's apartment in Athens, Georgia
Hodads at Jimmy's apartment in Athens, Georgia.
Crawdaddy on drums with the Hodads.
Crawdaddy on drums with the Hodads.

Top Songs

Below are the most played Hodads songs on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music; updated 6/4/2024. Also below are the most played songs across multiple platforms, based on the data we have available. (We don't have access to data from all streaming services.)

Spotify

    Spotify

Recent

  1. The Battle of New Orleans (Live at Avondale)
  2. Set It Free (Live at Avondale)
  3. Jaded (Live at Avondale)
  4. Pictures of You (Live at Avondale)
  5. Tie: Fool's Gold (Live at Avondale), Lucas (Live at Avondale), Rain On My Parade, Rock 'n' Roll Girls (Live at Avondale), Rockin' My Life Away (Live), Shake Shake Shake, White Line Fever

All Time

  1. One More Night
  2. No Plans
  3. Willie
  4. White Line Fever
  5. Next Time
  6. Set It Free
  7. Fool's Gold
  8. Tie: Motel Six, Shake Shake Shake
 

Apple Music

    Apple Music

Recent

  1. Tie: Motel Six, Set It Free
  2. Sally
  3. Tie: Fool's Gold, Maggie, Maggie (Steel Guitar Version), Teenage Love Machine
  4. Tie: Georgia Sun, Lucas, Maggie, Polecat Blues, Willie
  5. Tie: Cane Creek Road, Steamroller

All Time

  1. Willie
  2. Tie: Maggie (Steel Guitar Version), Motel Six
  3. Set It Free
  4. 8-Track Mind
  5. No Plans
  6. Fire Drill
  7. Lucas
 

Amazon Music

    Amazon Music

Recent

  1. Tie: Cane Creek Road, Motel Six, Next Time
  2. Tie: Fire Drill, Fool's Gold, Maggie (Steel Guitar Version), Teenage Love Machine, Truck Drivin' Man, Willie
  3. Tie: 8-Track Mind, I Can't See You, Lucas, Maggie, Motel Six (Live at Avondale), No Plans, Set It Free, White Line Fever

All Time

  1. Jaded
  2. Lucas
  3. Rock 'N' Roll Girls
  4. Sally
  5. Tie: Cane Creek Road, Fool's Gold, Georgia Sun, Motel Six, Next Time, Teenage Love Machine
 

Multiple Platforms

I've aggregated data from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other streaming services to see the top 10 most played Hodads songs of all time across multiple platforms. (I don't have data from all of them.) The #1 song, "Willie", recently surpassed "Shattered Dreams".

All Time

  1. Willie
  2. Shattered Dreams
  3. Motel Six
  4. Rock 'N' Roll Girls
  5. Tie: One More Night, Shake Shake Shake
  6. No Plans
  7. Maggie (Steel Guitar Version)
  8. Jaded
  9. Fool's Gold

Members

The Hodads original lineup is featured on Revenge Of The Hodads and Live At The White Dot, while Revenge Of The Hodads, Part 2 features songs recorded by various other lineups. Below is list of all the band members over time, even though some stints were brief or temporary.

Steve, JD, Philip Robbie, Eric
Steve, JD, Philip Robbie, Eric.
JD, Robbie, Philip, Steve, Eric
JD, Robbie, Philip, Steve, Eric.
Philip, Steve, Randy, Robbie, Eric
Philip, Steve, Randy, Robbie, Eric.
Dale, Robbie, Steve, Philip, Eric, Todd
Dale, Robbie, Steve, Philip, Eric, Todd.
Eric, Steve, Jim, Philip, Robbie, Todd
Eric, Steve, Jim, Philip, Robbie, Todd.
 

96 Rock Peach Jam

In the late 1980's, the Hodads were a finalist in the 96 Rock Peach Jam battle of the bands held at the Cotton Club. As a result, the Hodads got to record 1 song for inclusion on a compilation CD. They re-recorded "Motel Six" with Brendan O'Brien (who would later produce AC/DC, Blackberry Smoke, Offspring, Bruce Springsteen, Stone Temple Pilots, Matthew Sweet, etc.), and the song was eventually included in the soundtrack to the movie Fast Food, featuring Jim Varney. Below are a few pictures from the show, and there's a video of the entire Hodads Peach Jam show on YouTube.

Philip at Peach Jam
Philip at Peach Jam.
Eric & Steve at Peach Jam
Eric & Steve at Peach Jam.
Crawdaddy at Peach Jam
Crawdaddy at Peach Jam.
Robbie at Peach Jam
Robbie at Peach Jam.
Philip at Peach Jam
Philip at Peach Jam.
Peach Jam compilation CD
Peach Jam compilation CD.
Robbie at Peach Jam
Robbie at Peach Jam.
 

Artwork & Flyers

Crawdaddy: "In the early days, we had a lot of fun making goofy flyers for our shows. At some point, I received a card from my sculptor cousin Jerry Monteith who was doing an art show. On the card was picture of the "Knottyhead" ( 1986), which I thought was really cool-looking. So, I photocopied it and put it on a flyer. We got so many comments about it that I appropriated it for many more flyers — all unbeknownst to my cousin! I didn't even know how to contact him back then. When I got ready to put out the Hodads albums, I contacted Jerry, and he graciously permitted us to use the Knottyhead likeness in our artwork. My daughter Margaret did a pop art version of the Knottyhead that we used on album covers." Below are the Knottyhead and a few flyers from that early period.

The original Knottyhead
The original Knottyhead.
Pop art Knottyhead used in album covers
Pop art Knottyhead used in album covers.
Flyer - Not An Hodad
Flyer - Presence
Flyer - Over City
Flyer - Amadeus
Flyer - Beverly Hillbillies
Flyer - War Of The Worlds
Flyer - Truckstop
Flyer - Dance
Flyer - Masses
 

Repertoire

Although the Hodads focused on originals, they also had an extensive repetoire of covers and could play for hours — which was needed for getting gigs as an up-and-coming band. Below are a few that they played regularly — which says a lot about their influences.

Contact

Contact the Hodads via Crawdad Crash (see Contact page) or via the Hodads Facebook page, which has more stories and pictures.

 
 
 
Listen to Hodads:
Amazon Music     Apple Music     Pandora     Spotify     YouTube

 
 
Listen to Crawdad Crash:
Amazon     Apple Music     Bandcamp     Pandora     Spotify     YouTube
 

2024 Crawdad Crash