Sustaining a project over a long period of time can be trying, but Danny Delegato, frontman and songwriter for The Hugs, has figured out how to write, record and release music for more than 10 years now. A Portland native, Delegato has a dedication to be an artist and a drive to document his life through recording songs. He has had the opportunity to not only share and play his songs on his home turf, but also in the United Kingdom where The Hugs spent a short period of time signed to Britain’s branch of Columbia Records.
The band built up such a presence in the UK that their current guitar player, London-born Jack Burgess, knew of The Hugs even before moving to the United States and discovering an audition advertisement for the band on Craigslist. “It’s funny actually,” Burgess begins. “When I was 17, I had a Hugs song on my iPod because they were on the same label as a band I went to school with, so I was a fan 10 years ago.”
Delegato is the only original member of The Hugs, and it's safe to say that he is used to a rotating cast of players around him. “I’ve had a lot of musicians come and go in this band, so it’s been a privilege to play with so many different types of people,” he says.
Feelings of Life (2016), The Hugs’ fourth full-length and most recent release, touches on an eclectic mix of '70s psychedelic rock, '90s and early 2000s alternative, as well as contemporary feels. And although none of the current players in the band were a part of the recording process, they are enthusiastic about the opportunity to play these songs live as they write new songs together as a band—one which Delegato calls more collaborative than ever before.
TRACK LISTING:
Novel Youth
I Want You Now
Fearless
