Greg Hoy & The Boys Talk ‘Carry Me Back Home’
Greg Hoy & The Boys are back again, right after wrapping their Build Back Bitter tour, with another irresistible indie rock single, “Carry Me Back Home.” Previously, the band shared “Jet Black, Get Back” fresh out of the recording studio, which hyped fans up for their return to live show performances. Before that, they made an emotive, eternally-satisfying cover of “Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell,” putting a modern touch onto this ZZ Top classic. These two recent singles reflect different qualities and potential styles for The Boys, and each does so in a way that showcases their versatility as artists exceptionally. Of course, this should come as no surprise with a leader like Greg Hoy, who has had his hands in virtually every component and layer of the music industry throughout his years of experience. “Carry Me Back Home” continues their trending pattern of success with each track and exists as the second single to be released as part of The Special Party album.
Just as Greg Hoy & The Boys sing in this song, their lyrics “ring like bells inside your ear.” Ultimately, the song is an ode to true friendship targeted at those real friends who have your back through anything and everything. In Greg Hoy’s anecdotal delivery, they are with him following a night out indulging in one too many drinks at the bar. That special person sees it through to keep you from falling down to the ground and get you home safely. The instrumentals from The Boys are steadily propelling, especially with the incredible guitar solo in the middle, generally keeping the song’s energy high while conveying this meaningful, easily understandable theme to listeners.
In between the clips of them playing “Carry Me Back Home” in the studio, the video spotlights other memorable moments that kindled the internal friendships within Greg Hoy & The Boys. Whether they are sitting together having cigars, roaming the streets in all the destinations they travel, or playing shows to an in-person or televised audience, it is obvious the band has a bond far beyond their musical endeavors. What’s more, the idea of being carried back home fits perfectly with Greg Hoy & The Boys making a return to the industrial mecca of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the place they grew up. With more live performances cropping up in the area soon, this single plays perfect homage to where they got their start.
We got them to weigh in on a few things!
Have any of the members introduced their own individual musical inspirations that then impacted Greg Hoy & The Boys creations as a group?
Most everyone in the current line-up are multi-instrumentalists. Even on some gigs, Nate (Fink) will play guitar instead of bass, or Tom (Emmerling) will play bass instead of drums. And on some of my past recordings, I’ve played every instrument. The cool thing about making music with musicians that understand the different frequencies is that individual parts become more integrated – which means the band has a lot more fun performing live.
Can you explain the process of creating “Carry Me Back Home”? What was the inspiration that sparked the idea behind the song’s sentiment?
The origin of the chorus goes waaaay back! I recall I was sitting in bed at the NYC Ace Hotel eating some room service, extremely hungover, post-gig, watching Red Bull’s Felix Baumgartner jump out of a big balloon waaaaay up in the sky! That line sort of came to me – ‘We’re falling down… we’re falling down…’ – not unlike a child’s song. From there, it wrapped around that feeling you get landing after flying… all those endorphins: gratitude, camaraderie, and the kind of love that transcends romance, you know? ‘Hey, you got my back’-type of love. It’s kind of a mix of watching Felix, my admiration towards Anthony Bourdain’s legacy, the gal I was dating at the time, and a melodic thank you to my band.
What was the beginning of Greg Hoy & The Boys’ musical career like? Are there any vital lessons the group has learned from them to now?
Being in a band is like dating multiple people at once. My first shows under that name were in New York City in the 2000’s. Trying to keep consistent bands together was hard even back then. So the idea of GH&TheBs was that it could be whomever was around and available to play a gig. I got the idea from Chuck Berry. So I set up rhythm sections in NYC, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Denver… And this means less time rehearsing, which also meant finding really, really talented people to be in the band. And I like being friends with my people, you know what I mean? It’s not transactional for me. And sometimes relationships work out only in a certain context, and for a certain period of time. So the folks that tend to rotate into the line-up also happen to be people I text with on a regular basis, share in jokes with, memes, etc. Some of them I’ve played with for over 20 years. And sometimes I also get to play with brand new awesome people.
How would you all describe the group’s sound to someone who has never heard Greg Hoy & The Boys’ songs?
Plug-in-and-play rock n roll! ‘Melodic, catchy, and danceable’ (at least that’s the goal). And also ‘guitar, bass, and drums.’
Why was this music video (including the comedic elements) the best approach to showcasing “Carry Me Back Home”?
The current image and influencer culture is kind of ridiculous, right? So many artists out there whose name I know yet I haven’t ever heard a single song that’s stuck with me. When I hear a new song that I love, I fall for the SONG. *Then* the artist’s name is discovered later. The approach to videos has always been a bit tongue-in-cheek to help balance out the seriousness of so much of popular music these days. I mean, I grew up on the original MTV. Madonna? Duran Duran? Huey Lewis and The News? Green Day? Lots of comedy there, inside jokes, nods and winks to the camera. And also, we’re all still punks, and punk is a word that actually means what it is.Are there any upcoming releases, projects, or hopes for the future that the group would like to share with fans?
This crazy thing happened where my 10 year old computer finally decided to slowly fade into the sunset. I bought a new one. So now, there’s about 3 different albums of songs that need to be completely remixed from scratch due to software complications. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. One is a straight rock, tribute to Van Halen-type EP, one is a sad piano-acoustic record, and one is sort of a mixed rock and ballady live band album that Tom (Emmerling, drummer) and Paul (Labrise, guitarist) and me recorded at the cabin on Lake Superior last summer. We’re also doing a bunch of fall live shows at wineries here in California. There’s always something simmering on the horizon. It keeps me sane. Thank you for the great questions!
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About the Author
Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.
