Sound Scene Express

Know Your Host: A Q&A with Hugh Twyman

soundsceneexpress February 17, 2018 No Comments on Know Your Host: A Q&A with Hugh Twyman

Hugh Twyman is a Pittsburgh music blogger and photographer known as HughShows. He has been covering the local scene going on 14 years. He commemorated his 10 years on the scene with a year long celebration at Eide’s Entertainment in the Strip hosting monthly concerts at the record/comic store with 3 eclectic bands. Twyman turned his efforts to help organize Deutschtown Music Festival in 2015 and eventually parlayed that into a tv show called HughShows TV on PCTV21 (Pittsburgh Public Access Television) interviewing local talent and giving them an opportunity to perform. The Pittsburgh music scene is better with people like Twyman involved. We are honored to have him as our host of the “best of 2017 awards show.” Check out our interview with Twyman from 2014 concluding his 10 year anniversary run HERE

Sound Scene Express: How do you think HughShowsTV has progressed since the first season?

Hugh Twyman: A few things have changed, most notably the departure of Jay Vega on sound. Luckily for me, Dan Yost from Just-Records in Dormont, who was assisting Jay for the first several shows, stepped up and is now solely responsible for the audio on the show. I cannot thank him enough and realize without his expertise, there is no show.
Also, as I continue to produce the show, I find small things I would like to improve or change each episode. So small that no one else would ever notice except me.

SSE: What has been your driving force to keep blogging for so many years?

HT: Easy answer… I love discovering new music, especially when it is right here from Pittsburgh.

SSE: How has the music scene in Pittsburgh evolved since you first started documenting?

HT: There are so many more bands now than before. SO MANY! The fact that you can have multiple music festivals with hundreds of local bands playing is the easiest example to prove that point.

SSE: Is there a local concert that sticks out to you over the years?

HT: I put on a bunch of shows (Secret Santapalooza’s, Eide’s Series) that I feel had some of the strongest lineups I have ever seen but one that does stick out is an August 2009 party at the Mariage Blanc space where they played with Horse or Cycle, Lohio, Meeting of Important People, Boca Chica, The Harlan Twins and Donora. That show was a fun night.

SSE: Name one local band would you love to see reunite and why?

HT: I’ll give you two.
Local Honey was a big influence when I started concentrating on local shows. I used to see them as many times as I could. They were so good.
The other is Big Hurry because as much as I loved their music, they were really cool people and I had a blast anytime I hung out with them. Oh, and Good Night, States. Jeez, I could literally name a dozen great bands who should play again.

SSE: What do you like most about the Pittsburgh music scene?

HT: The majority of the musicians are super friendly and supportive of each other. Yeah, you have your cliques but overall, people are cool.

SSE: Is there any big HughShows news coming in 2018?

HT: Nothing major to announce. My personal life has taken a front seat for my attentions within the last year or so and my ability to hit shows has dramatically dropped. I still am involved with the Deutschtown Music Festival and the TV show so I have found a good balance with that.
I will say I am planning (with Misra Records) to tape an episode of HughShows with the Secret Santapalooza format in mind, so look out for that around the holidays.

SSE: Were you in any bands, do you play any instruments?

HT: I play rudimentary guitar and can sing gloriously out of tune. I have been known to occasionally assist a band with my questionable vocal talents as the situation arises and I have fronted a band I call Javerblöö three separate times featuring different lineups for fun to open a few shows I put on. There is video evidence of those performances somewhere within the deep dark web.


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