Tag: Ginger Wildheart

Carol Hodge Vertiginous Drops

Carol Hodge – Vertiginous Drops – album review and interview

March 10, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

As I write these words, it is International Women’s Day, what better way to celebrate than to listen to one of this countries best singer songwriters, Carol Hodge, and her latest long player Vertiginous Drops (best album title I’ve heard in ages too), quite possibly her most accomplished and varied work to date, as she takes her music and songs in different directions and calls upon some well known guests on a few tracks.

I also had the opportunity to talk to my namesake ahead of the official release of the album across streaming sites this week (the physical copies – CDs and vinyl – have been available direct from Carol since the end of last year) where we chatted about taking the plunge into being a full time musician, the new album and song-writing.… Read the rest

Ginger Wildheart and Jon Poole Tour

Ginger Wildheart/”Random” Jon Poole/Carol Hodge – live in Bannermans, Edinburgh

April 20, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Being a lifelong weegie, I don’t often venture through to the East for a gig, normally sticking to Glasgow City centre or its immediate environs. However, with no Glasgow date on this tour, I risked a nosebleed and made my way, with my brother, another ginger Hodge (sans quiff) through to my first ever Bannermans gig.

As I thought may be the case, we immediately bumped into another West coaster who had made the trip through and soon, I was bumping into several friendly faces, making the trip worth it before a note was even played.

Carol Hodge

This was a night of firsts, and despite my championing her music for some time, reviewing her albums and interviewing her for the blog, this was the first time I had seen my fellow Hodge live (apart from on several online gigs during COVID – but they don’t count).… Read the rest

Carol Hodge Savage Purge

Carol Hodge – Savage Purge – Interview and Review

February 28, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Roots

Ahead of the release of her latest work of genius, Savage Purge on the 30th of March, I had the privilege to catch up with fellow Hodge, Carol. I don’t often meet other Hodges, so I had to ask about her roots and whether she had ever investigated her family tree…

Yeah, well, funnily enough my mum did, she was into genealogy for a while, so she did our family tree. I was born in Greenock, we lived in Port Glasgow when I was a kid. All my family comes from around there.

Then going back far enough, from Ireland, it was maybe like the 1700s when the first Hodge came over.

… Read the rest
Ginger

Ginger Wildheart Interview

May 1, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

Ginger – Ghost in the Tanglewood

Ginger Wildheart has recently released his latest solo album, Ghost in the Ghost in the TanglewoodTanglewood, recently reviewed on my blog. Personally, I found the album to be inspirational. I wanted to talk to Ginger about the background to this very personal album,  much of which focuses on his own battle with depression.

While people are more open about talking about Mental Health these days, there is still too much of a stigma around it. The more people like Ginger are willing to share their personal experiences, the further society can progress. It can only help in understanding and supporting those who do battle depression and other Mental Health issues.… Read the rest

Ghost in the Tanglewood

Ginger Wildheart – Ghost in the Tanglewood – album review

April 18, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

Ginger Wildheart

It took me a while to finally get round to picking up a copy of Ginger Wildheart’s latest album. Historically I have this image of Country & Western music being depressing and this generally draws me away from it. I don’t know why that has been the case, perhaps it is a perception I have built over the years through mis-representation and falsehoods. Maybe similar to strange beliefs some people have about mental health based on mis-conceptions and false perceptions.

With Ginger having had some public battles with his own mental health over the years, I wondered how this would play out.… Read the rest

“What have you got to be worried about?” and other unhelpful comments….

September 11, 2017 By neilho27@sky.com
Depression isn’t real!

Just recently this Twitter account has been brought to my attention.

I say Twitter account rather than using the associated name, you can see it for yourself, as I don’t want to humanise this entity in any way. The idiot appears to be devoid of any humanity whatsoever. This is just one of many tweets they have made on the subject.

Thankfully, I have never come across this nonentity before.… Read the rest

Ginger Wildheart

August 10, 2017 By neilho27@sky.com

Ginger Wildheart is another artist who has a history of mental illness. His latest episode has led to arrest, attempted suicide and his being sectioned.

Ginger has an amazing wealth of talent and a tremendous back catalogue. I hope he gets the support he needs to get through his latest setback and continue to add to this. I don’t want to wake up to the news of another Chris Cornell or Chester Bennington this year.

Its an old record I keep playing, but I’ll say it again, mental illness, anxiety, depression – they don’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do.… Read the rest