The Mother Hips perform in Carson City for first time

It will be the first time The Mother Hips perform in Carson City on Saturday. The rock and roll trio performs as part of the Brewery Art Center’s Levitt AMP Concert Series presented by The Change Companies.

Guitarist Tim Bluhm said he is looking forward to the show.

“It’s fun to play a new place. It should be a nice evening out there and it will be nice to spend a little time in the capital.”

The Mother Hips are no strangers to the music community. The band has performed for 28 years. Their home base is San Francisco and they tour throughout the United States.

“It’s satisfying to have stuck with something and have it still be fulfilling as an activity and to be really good friends with my bandmates,” he said. “It’s a good feeling. Our fanbase has kind of grown with us over the years. Some of our fans we have known for decades.”

The band formed in 1991 at Chico State in California. After they were old enough to play in bars, they gained some attention. People from record labels from Hollywood were coming to see The Mother Hips perform. Bluhm founded the band with fellow guitarist/singer/songwriter Greg Loiacono. Drummer John Hofer joined in 1997.

They signed a major record label in 1993 with Rick Rubin’s American Recordings (Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, the Black Crowes), while still enrolled at Chico State.

“That allowed us to start touring all over the country pretty regularly,” Bluhm said. “Onward we started traveling, and that’s what we still do.”

Bluhm describes The Mother Hips’ music as original upbeat rock and roll songs. The lyrics are coherent and meaningful, with many vocal harmonies and electric guitar interplay.

“It’s a high-energy show, but we just play, we don’t make a big deal out of it,” he said. “We like to get up and let the music do the talking.”

There is emotion in the songs, some of it can be intricate and some can be simple. While a casual listener might hear other influences, he thinks they have always had a unique style as far as musical choices and lyrical content.

“The people who like our band see that, and I think they appreciate that.”

The inspiration for songs comes from the many books Bluhm reads. He enjoys stories about mountain men and recently read “Give Your Heart to the Hawks” by Winfred Blevins.

“I love that part of history,” he said. “This might have been the best one I ever read.”

He particularly likes the language used in the books he reads.

“They have their own colloquial dialect,” he said. “And the author captures it very well.”

Many figures of speech used in the books are not familiar to Bluhm, and some of that translates into the music he creates.

Bands he works with also influence him. He is currently helping produce a record for The Coffis Brothers.

“I work with other bands and produce records and I help people create music, so that inspires me a lot,” he said.

The Mother Hips are hoping to record an album at the end of summer. It will be business as usual as they continue to write songs for that while they continue to tour.