Hillbilly Vegas have released the hard driving ‘Miss America’ from their new self-produced A La Mode album. Their sophomore longplayer, it is available in digital, CD and vinyl formats through Quarto Valley Records.
The song delves into the seeming inevitability of troubles and strife when the fire of wanting someone overcomes rational thought. The band’s vocalist Steve Harris explained: “It’s a love song for bad decisions and is what happens when desire wins the argument and reason storms out.”
Hillbilly Vegas have steadily been growing an international fan base with seven songs on Billboard’s Rock charts, including the first single from A La Mode, ‘I Hope You Know’, which reached #12, and ‘Let It Ride’, which remained on the chart for 13 weeks and reached #10. ‘Mr. Midnight’ was written by and features Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Paul Rodgers of Bad Company, Free, Queen and The Firm, the band having previous form with the singer.
Aside from Hillbilly Vegas being represented by Bad Company manager David Spero, bassist Todd Ronning played with Bad Company when they reformed, having previously played in Paul Rodgers’ band, as did guitarist and keyboard player Geraldo Dominelli, who is also a former member of Loverboy. The band is rounded out by vocalist Harris, drummer Gunnar Molton and Stacy Thornburg on guitar and vocals.
“I wrote ‘Mr. Midnight’ a few years ago when I was writing songs that, to my surprise, became an album, Midnight Rose,” recalled the Bad Company frontman himself. “I had no idea that the songs would become an album. But when Sun Records said that they would be interested in releasing a Paul Rodgers album, you would have to be mad not to accept. I actually forgot that I had the song and that is why it was not included on the Midnight Rose album. Bassist Todd Ronning from my solo band, who later joined Bad Company, played on the demo track for the song and was familiar with it.”
Rodgers continued: “The song started with the guitar riff. I had it floating around in my mind, and I built the song around that. When I was looking for lyrics I was inspired by a feline. Cynthia, my wife, has a number of rescued cats, and there was one black cat in particular named Jasper. His coat was so sleek and black that I nicknamed him Mr. Midnight. You can let your imagination take it from there. When I heard Hillbilly Vegas’ recording of ‘Mr. Midnight’, Steve (Harris) did such a great job, I felt they had it well covered. I did not want to disturb the flow created in their recording, but I had made a promise to the boys in the band, so I sang some lines, and it turned out very well.”
Harris himself added: “Being part of something like this with Paul, who’s had such an impact on how we all hear rock and roll, was an incredible experience that we still can’t quite believe happened. His voice, his phrasing and the way he approaches a song… That’s the blueprint. It raises the bar, but it also reminds you why you started doing this in the first place, because you realize you’re not just making a record, you’re stepping into a lineage that guys like Paul built.”
The video for ‘Mr. Midnight’ was filmed in Oklahoma and produced by the band. “We shot the video in our warehouse and it was directed by Jon Wright,” Harris explained. “He kept it organic and simple… Nothing forced, just capturing the band the way we really are. And having Paul appear in the video… That’s just as cool as it gets! It’s one thing to share a track with him, but to have him visually be part of it too? That takes it to another level.”
Discussing their first single, ‘I Hope You Know’, Harris said: “‘I Hope You Know’ comes from a very personal experience in my life, but it’s a moment a lot of people recognize. It can be a romantic relationship, a friendship, family, or even a professional relationship. In my case, it was a professional relationship and a lifelong friendship that slowly deteriorated due to substance abuse. It’s realizing the person you trusted isn’t in control anymore, and that you can’t fix it for them. Sometimes the only thing left to do is let go and hope it gives them the motivation to fix themselves.”
The video for ‘I Hope You Know’ was directed by GR1M (Chase Matthews, Crucifix), filmed in Oklahoma and produced by the band.
“With the ‘I Hope You Know’ video, we paid tribute to where we come from and the music that built us. ’70s era rock was the greatest era of rock and roll. We kept it fun, like rock ’n’ roll is supposed to be, and let the visuals reflect that golden age. We shot it at our warehouse during the worst snowstorm the U.S. had seen in 60 years, which forced us to keep it simple. Honestly, that made it even better.”
A La Mode features: ‘Miss America’, ‘Down The Honkytonk’, ‘Let It Ride’, ‘Every Jukebox In Town’, ‘Find Me Yesterday’, ‘Mr. Midnight (Featuring Paul Rodgers)’, ‘Feels Good’, ‘Something Crazy’, ‘Bound To Run’, ‘I Hope You Know’ and ‘Holding On’.
The band has been receiving recognition for songs with relatable lyrics and their raucous live shows, having notably signed with renowned USA booking agency TKO.
