The term ‘troubadour’ gets bandied around far too readily these days, but none encompass the spirit of the original meaning more than Micah P. Hinson. Proudly hailing from the gargantuan state of Texas, Mr Hinson’s Southern drawl and heartfelt lyrics work in harmony to produce some incredibly beautiful songs.
Anyone associated in any way with the story of Micah P. Hinson will surely know that there have been several times in his life where the idea of an apocalypse has occurred – a death and rebirth – whether that was a severe back injury, a violent road accident, the temporary death of his arms, a love for drugs, a hate of drugs, time spent behind bars, or time spent behind closed doors with bizarre characters of all shapes and sizes.
Inspired by acts such as Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr and The Cure, Hinson began recording early demos which attracted early label interest. He released his debut album ‘Micah P. Hinson and the Gospel of Progress’ in 2004, followed by ‘The Baby and the Satellite’ in 2005. In 2008 Hinson signed to Full Time Hobby and released ‘Micah P. Hinson and the Red Empire Orchestra’, During a tour in Catalonia in Summer 2011, Hinson was seriously injured in a crash when the band’s van overturned. He initially continued performing by singing only, without playing instruments. After extensive treatment and physiotherapy he regained use of both his arms and returned to playing.
For his latest album ‘When I Shoot At You With Arrows, I Will Shoot To Destroy You’ (2018), he began reaching out to the musicians that had played an important role in his musical upbringing – the people that had shown him a new way to think, a new way to play. Luckily, he was able to draw many of these people together in an undisclosed location in East Texas the beginning of April 2018. Within one day – one 24 hour period – these tireless musicians, with Micah at the helm, recorded all the songs, instruments and tracks that would make up ‘When I Shoot At You With Arrows, I Will Shoot To Destroy You’.