Down from Hollow

Down from Hollow is a blues-centric heavy rock band headquartered in Los Angeles. The band is noted for its blues and R&B-flavored guitar hooks, for its driving rhythm section, and for its energetic live show, punctuated by frontman Cody Hopkins's unhinged and unpredictable stage behavior.

History

The band was formed in 2002 when vocalist Cody Hopkins and guitarist Shay Keefer Vanhorn met in the bathroom of an L.A. nightclub. Under the guidance of Hopkins's older brother (of L.A. favorites Paperback Hero and former AMC recording artists Asa Cruz), the duo penned dozens of songs and culled an all-star rhythm section (including "Asa Cruz" drummer, John Aponte) from the Los Angeles talent pool to finalize a lineup that would grace the grimiest stages in Southern California.

This energetic foursome, started the ever increasing list of accomplishments that includes packed performances, television licensing (early demo recordings were featured on CBS's Without a Trace and WB's Felicity), and an ever-growing fan base from across the United States.

Mid 2004 brought change, rhythm section of the band split and the original two pressed on.

In 2005, Down from Hollow entered The Sound Salon to record its debut 10-song album with Grammy-nominated engineer/producer Joe Ayoub (now drummer for band). The band fought through a series of obstacles during the recording process that took two years to finally come to fruition. Desperate to achieve the sound they were hoping to capture, they enlisted the help of Daniel Bautista (producer/songwriter) to help capture the raw sound and intensity DFH was known for. Scheduled for independent release in early 2007 entitled "Scar Conditioned" (found on itunes, CD-Baby, etc), the long train had finally arrived.

 January 2006 also marked the beginning of a biweekly residency at the Cat Club on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

In December 2006, the band embarked on a short tour of Anchorage, AK with the help of airplay and radio interviews. This included performances on KWHL, the local #1 Radio Station in Anchorage and a great NEW YEARS EVE performance to cap off their blustery adventure.

Update: SPRING 2009: Label interest arose from word of mouth of the Scar Conditioned record. Cody Hopkins, now the only original member of DFH, hired a crew to perform and carry on the DFH banner. It would seem that Finally the long waited album will be made available for Worldwide Distribution. But due to 911, the Hershey flood and a failed world series, the embattled DFH ship once again was put under and flagged by bad press and rumored rehab for most of it's remaining members. A few videos were made and then re-made, as members came and went. Allegedly, the only ones that exist now are bootleg versions stolen from the video editor that reluctantly found their way online.

Currently, Down from Hollow - finally free of label/management/recording frustrations - have been spotted playing gigs around the dark parts of Los Angeles' infamous Valley area. They have been known to play under different monikers, the latest being "Stuck in Numb" or various versions of. The rumors appeared to be true, that the original songwriting pair of Hopkins/SK Vanhorn were once again reunited. They joined forces with stunning rhythm specialists Sammy aka "Punky" on the skins and Joe Dambra on bass. This brought a lot of attention, once again, to their live shows as they whipped their hardcore followers into drunken, frenzied brawls between their bluesy, guttural rock songs.

With the addition of drummer/engineer virtuoso Josh Lynch, the songwriting duo have also penned and licensed tunes for several films, tv shows and independent features. Most notably, a remake of "This Land is Your Land" found rave reviews on an early episode of the HBO series "Hung" under the name L.A.R.P.

It's been reported that Tom Morello (RATM, Audioslave, Night Watchmen) requested to hear the L.A.R.P version since he has been performing the same tune at his live acoustic shows. But his people were not returning phone calls on whether or not the guitar slinger was a fan of their take on the Woodie Guthrey song.

Band members

Original line-up until 2004

• Cody Hopkins - Vocals (writer)
• Shay Keefer Vanhorn - Guitars (writer)
• John Aponte - Drums
• Wayne Lothian - Bass

2005-2008

• Bryan Boyle - Bass
• Joe Ayoub - Drums

2009 -

• Cody Hopkins - Vocals

and guests (5 piece band)

2010-2011

• Cody Hopkins- vocals
• Shay K Vanhorn - guitar
• Sammy "Punky" - drums
• Joe Dambra - bass

External links

• Down From Hollow on MySpace