Oklahoma will get to see and hear the Father of the Hunch on Saturday, when legendary musician Hasil Adkins brings his one-man rockabilly band to the Sixty-Six Bowl, 3810 N.W. 39th St. in Oklahoma City. The primary influence behind the post-punk blues noise heard today, Adkins was born among the coal mines of Boone County, W. Va. He still lives there in a trailer on 12 acres of land in a little town called Madison. The license plates in West Virginia proclaim it to be a "Wild and Wonderful" state, but those words could have easily been used to describe "The Haze." Adkins is a dynamic musician, ladies' man, all-around charmer and rascal from way back who likes to relay the lascivious tales of the drinking, carousing and general mischief that have occurred in his life.The legend is that Adkins' career began simply when he heard a song on the radio. When the announcer said the artist was Hank Williams, Adkins thought Williams had been playing all the instruments himself and set out to form his own one-man band. After working on his skills, he briefly relocated to Los Angeles during an early period of his career only to move back home when fame was somewhat fleeting. Adkins busied himself during those years in West Virginia recording, performing and working as a TV and radio repairman. After various messy label agreements, a resurgence in Adkins' music was initiated when an upstart label called Norton began releasing 45s of his music in the '80s, saving him from obscurity. Many artists have covered his songs but the most well known is the Cramps cover of "She Said."Adkins tours a great deal, playing festivals and performing with diverse bands like Southern Culture on the Skids and the New Duncan Imperials."I played with the New Duncan Imperials the other night and put on a great show," Adkins said. "The people were comin' up to me and sayin' they had never heard or seen anything like it before and it was so crowded they were turnin' them away in the street." When Adkins performs, he usually plays the drums, guitar, harmonica and spoons -- sometimes all at once -- and manages to put on a great show doing it all."It gets hard doin' it all myself but I get wild and happy and sometimes I just like to tear the roof off," he said. "The people like that crazy stuff."Adkins has amassed about 7,000 songs, such as "Drinking My Life Away," "The Hunch" and "Ugly Woman" in his career, and writes songs about everything that has occurred in his life past and present. He said he likes to write about the things he goes through, what he sees in life, the past, women and the highway. "I just write in my head," Adkins said.Adkins spends most of his days walking with his two cats and three dogs and working on his cars and trucks. He also spends a lot of time recording at his home studio and listening to the music of his youth when not traveling."Tell the truth I don't listen to some of these new people," he said. "I like to listen to Hank Williams, and I've always listened to Ray Charles."His home in Madison is a like a mecca for those enamored of his primitive blues and those interested in seeing and speaking to the man himself. He regularly sees visitors from all over the world and the United States. "On my property I've got a house that was built in 1947 or 1948 that I call the Hasil Motel, like the Bates Motel with skeletons and stuff all over it," Adkins said. "Bunches of people like to come and take pictures of it and stay here."Recent guests were so grateful to be in his presence that they slept on his floor. "They just said 'We don't care, Hasil. We'll just lay down right here,'" Adkins said. Adkins has never married and has no children."At least none that I know about," he said. Among the most interesting of Adkins' stories is his tale of a cellmate making bootleg liquor while he did a stint in jail."I been in jail about three times," Adkins said. "Once for a shootout over a woman and a few times for a little bit of everything else, but the longest time was for five months." "One of the guys in the kitchen had a still and made vodka out of some potatoes," he said. "He made it strong and we had 2 gallons that lasted two weeks."Adkins' days of wild drinking are behind him and he now limits his consumption to beer."I once drank 4 liters and 5 fifths in 24 hours, but I don't drink vodka no more since the doctor told me to stop about two years ago," Adkins said. "I drink mainly beer."Well, sometimes I may have a shot or two. Have you ever had beer from Canada? It's 22 percent, and that's some good stuff."As the subject of a documentary called The Wild World of Hasil Adkins and with a recent release on Fat Possum records, What the Hell Was I Thinking, Adkins has finally come into his own. It's about time.The cost of the show is $10. It will start at 10 p.m. For more information, call 946-3966.hello there & you too
