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HOBO NEPHEWS OF UNCLE FRANK


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HOBO NEPHEWS OF UNCLE FRANK


Photograph by Joshua Priestley

    

     Brothers Teague and Ian Alexy wrote their first songs together as young kids in the South Jersey bay town Somers Point. They devised a plan and quickly went to work, each penning their own original song and presenting them to one another. Years later, the Alexy brothers, better known as Minnesota-based troubadours Hobo Nephews Of Uncle Frank, use that same approach on their new record American Shuffle (2015). 

     American Shuffle was produced by friend and collaborator Ryan Young of indie-bluegrass band Trampled By Turtles.  American Shuffle is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Number One Contender (2013).  “Timeless songwriting chops,” raved Star Tribune.  “Easily, one of the best Minnesota-made albums of the year.”

     A brotherly bond, a common love of American roots music, and the desire to make a living as songwriting musicians brought Teague and Ian together to form Hobo Nephews in 2005. Like the traveling workers, or ‘Hobos’ of the depression era, the Alexy brothers use travel as means of making a better living for themselves. They have recorded 5 full length albums and performed over a thousand shows covering 42 of the lower 48 United States. 

     “Touring all around this country has made us better musicians and heightened our awareness and instincts in playing together,” says Teague Alexy.  “We’ve been able to see the country, meet the people.  We’ve played the rich man’s weddings and the poor man’s barbeques.  We learned the blues in the back woods of Minnesota and took it down south and all around to be sure we had it right.  And, we became American writers along the way.”

     The Hobo Nephew’s sound has been a part of the Upper Midwest’s American roots music resurgance for the past decade.  Their blend of folk, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll is uniquely their own, and celebrated by an ever growing grassroots fan base. Their song Old Number Four, from the new album American Shuffle, went viral with stories about the song on CBSSports.com, ESPN, The Jim Rome Show and other national sports outlets. Old Number Four gave the Hobo Nephews some much deserved national attention. 

     Both Ian and Teague also release their own individual material.  Ian Alexy’s most recent album Born On The Day Of The Dead was released in 2012.  Teague Alexy’s most recent album, A Gentleman Named Actionslave, was released in 2013.  Teague also recently had his first book published - The New Folklore: Lyrical Tales for Dreamers & Thinkers.

ON TOUR

 
 
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American Shuffle


American Shuffle


 

Produced by RYAN YOUNG of Trampled By Turtles

AMERICAN SHUFFLE Vinyl Back Cover

 

THIS AMERICAN SHUFFLE

a short film by joshua priestley

 

EVERYBODY'S GOT A BABY (BUT ME) Clip

Message from the Redwoods

OVER AND BACK AGAIN Clip

LOW FLYING BIRD Clip

 

PURCHASE AMERICAN SHUFFLE

 

American Shuffle first single Everybody's Got A Baby But Me

American Shuffle single Old Number Four

 
 
 
 
 
 
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NUMBER ONE CONTENDER


NUMBER ONE CONTENDER


 

     Number One Contender captures Teague and Ian Thomas Alexy as the roots music front porch duo they envisioned when they started Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank seven years earlier.  Recorded on tape machine in an old church under the guidance of Rich Mattson, the Hobo Nephews retreat deep into the north woods with a musical confidence earned through long tours.  The songs are about an America they have seen first hand.  Number One Contender captures the stomping, good time spirit and energy of a Hobo Nephew’s live show.  "Loose, lively song rave-ups, timeless songwriting chops and masterful guitar work,” says Star Tribune. “Easily one of the best Minnesota-made albums of the year."

"It was an old Iron Range church-turned-studio in Timberwolf country under a full moon," says Teague Alexy. "My voice felt pretty good, we'd been playing well live, we had plenty of brand new songs. As soon as we walked into that old church we surrendered to it."

The fifteen songs on Number One Contender were recorded live to tape in a mere five days. Teague and Ian's New Jersey origins give them a clear understanding of the big-hearted underdog. This combined with the patience of rural Northern Minnesota and the tempo of the open road has provided a unique perspective. Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank's emerging strength, however, is the perseverance and know-how to develop an original American sound as platform for two distinct American voices.

 

 

Making of NUMBER ONE CONTENDER part 1

 

Making of NUMBER ONE CONTENDER part 2

 
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TRAVELING SHOW


TRAVELING SHOW


     Traveling Show was recorded primarily in Brooklyn, NYC with a bigger sound in mind.  Traveling Show incorporates drummer Paul Grill, organist Marco Benevento, lapsteel player Jon Graboff (Ryan Adams and the Cardinals) and members of Trampled By Turtles into the Alexy brothers rambling songs. 

 

HOBO NEPHEWS OF UNCLE FRANK - Brooklyn NYC (Official 2011)

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Sing!


Sing!


     Sing! is Hobo Nephews second album released in 2007.  Drummer Paul Grill, fiddle player Ryan Young, pedal steel player Joe Savage and producer Erik Koskinen join in.  Vail Daily gave Sing! four stars proclaiming “I’ll be damned if they haven’t written some of the most beautiful and captivating songs I’ve heard in a long time.