Hammer-March

Local Legends:
About three years ago a visiting friend, appearing irri
as I came in after work and informed me that a homele
ing in his car, had insisted that I be handed a note. I op
burst out laughing. “That’s not a homeless guy, that w
Hughen the bass player for Black Oak Arkansas and h
in his car, he composes and records in it!” The respons
friend was shock. “God, if I had known I would have g
tograph. He lives in Fort Smith?” Yes, since 1982 whe
w Orleans to play with Razorback, later renamed Gray Ghost. Georg
t very quietly surprises, enchants, shocks, and delights you. He agre
days before the BOA show in Fort Smith to talk about his life, loves
mpt to quote George exactly because I found myself so entranced in t
overed above the paper for most of the two hours
. He assumed I wanted to ask about Black Oak Artionally
known band he has played with for over
but I was more interested in the musician. Holy
his man have the “creds”.
college professor and a special education teacher,
from an early age he wanted to play bass. His parents
e learn to play piano and guitar before getting him a
ted playing guitar in Fort Worth honky-tonk bars at
hen it was apparent that the band needed a bass
cut the highest two strings off of his guitar and called it a bass. He w
that he could graduate from high school a year early and go on the r
metal music. Here is someone born knowing what they needed to do
From before his move to Fort Smith, George has an extensive
musical genres, groups, and cities that he has played stretchi
ida to Seattle and ranging from Heavy Metal to Elvis Presley T
bands. He casually mentions playing in Spain or opening for L
Skynyrd to a crowd of 16,000 and two days later playing Scr
kansas to a packed house of perhaps 50.
Here is a man that has basically been on tour for forty years;
that has to be hard on having a normal life. What does that
do to your marriage? George gave that sideways smile to
himself that you see on men when they are first falling in
love. “We just celebrated our 27 th wedding anniversary,” he
lled his cell phone from his pocket and played a song that might aplo
album he is recording now. It was one of the sweetest, most real,