bio.htm

Aaron Phillips on drums. Front row L-R: David Nickel on bass, Daniel Hutchens on vocal and guitar, Eric Carter on guitar and backing vocal,
Eric Martinez on guitar and backing vocal.
Photos by Ian McFarlane

"It's no mystery I am a longtime fan of the music of Daniel Hutchens and his band Bloodkin... I put his catalog right up there with the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Alejandro Escovedo and Steve Earle in terms of truly capturing the nuances of humanity, both the light and the dark, in song." -JUSTIN GAGE in AN AQUARIUM DRUNKARD online

"This is fantastic. I've been listening to your tunes since I got up. I really love them." -e-mail sent to Daniel, 8/13/06, from MARGARET BROWN, director and producer of BE HERE TO LOVE ME: A FILM ABOUT TOWNES VAN ZANDT.

"Some of the most prolific verse to grace southern rock in the last decade. LOVESONGS FOR LOSERS is ample evidence of [Hutchens'] world-weary view that begs for redemption, and the loose, rock-and-roll swagger which brings the words of this old soul to life. Each track plays out like a Flannery O'Connor confessional...Hutchens continues to perfect his craft, and one listen to LOVESONGS FOR LOSERS makes it clear that recognition is long overdue." -JAMIE LEE in GLIDE magazine

"Some of the most haunted Southern literature never committed to paper...Tales of Southern gothic noir continue to unfurl on LOVESONGS FOR LOSERS, [Hutchens'] second collection of solo material. Drawing from the same well as the likes of Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner, Hutchens grasps the duality of the South and its denizens--the good, the bad and the ugly." -JUSTIN GAGE in AN AQUARIUM DRUNKARD online.

"Daniel Hutchens is the Mark Twain of rock n roll." -PHIL WALDEN of CAPRICORN RECORDS

Lovesongs for Losers is one of the brightest lights grizzled, real-life rockers have had pointed at them in quite awhile. Both Hutchens and the Athens music ‘scape in general are all the better for that. -MICHAEL ANDREWS in FLAGPOLE magazine

"Singer/songwriter Daniel Hutchens' soul-inflected vocals and his knack for moving lyrics are as powerful as ever. [His lyrics explore] the idea that love survives separation, the feeling that friendship is stronger than the miles, physical and spiritual, that divide us." -MATT THOMPSON in FLAGPOLE magazine

"Just like when we do a Robert Johnson cover or a Talking Heads cover, we want to pay tribute to someone...This guy [Hutchens] happens to be young and alive and just as prolific and just as important as our other influences."
-John Bell of Widespread Panic, in BILLBOARD magazine

"So you want to listen to a singer and songwriter with soul that will climb right into you and quiver your bones?...Do you want skillful, intelligent guitar playing that will haunt you, yet soothe you? Then take a long hard listen to Bloodkin...Danny and Eric have been writing songs and playing together since the sandbox. They might not technically be blood related, but the years and the music have woven them tighter than any brothers I know. You can hear that in the music."
-Shelly Allen, in AN HONEST TUNE magazine

As a singer/songwriter, Hutchens could very well be one of the most underrated of the past decade. His creativity, use of imagery, songwriting depth, and sheer vocal prowess make him a true original."
-Pete Sienkiewicz, in HITTIN' THE NOTE magazine

"Those who know Bloodkin only through the interpretations of another band are missing out on some of the more deeply poetic and symbolic songs they have in their notebook. It's hard to typify a single Bloodkin song, but most tend to paint pictures of modern gothic, mixing virtue and vice to weave realistic tales tinged with a sense of ironic humor."
-Chip Schramm, in JAMBANDS.COM online magazine

"A mean, greasy, guitar oriented sound...Hutchens' lyrics are a maze of masks and temptations while Carter's guitar playing is the backbone of Bloodkin's sound. Eric Carter's playing ranges from sad hearted country twangs to shotgun shack electric slides...it's like a shot of good bourbon in the early morning light."
-James Calemine, in HITTIN' THE NOTE magazine

"This Athens four-piece may be one of the best barroom bands in the state...(their music contains) pockets of countrified pop and boozy, roots rock thrown in as well."
-Ballard Lesseman, in FLAGPOLE magazine

"Song-oriented, dark Southern rock. There's a Terry Kay novel called DARK THIRTY (referring to the 30 minutes before the twilight goes dark), and Bloodkin's distinctly Southern music reminds me of the mood of that novel, and likewise of its heritage-steeped content.
...along the lines of the early Stones. If Jagger and Richards had grown up in Georgia..."
-Mark Pilvinsky, in FLAGPOLE magazine

"On this night at the intimate Bluebird Theater, Danny Hutchens stepped to the microphone in cowboy boots and all black attire, and lyrically swung for the fences with every effort. Hutchens has the same realness and in-your-face persona of fellow song writing friend Jerry Joseph...At times his stripped away style is reminiscent of a Neil Young leading Crazy Horse thru 'Tonight's The Night'. "
Brad Hodge, in AN HONEST TUNE magazine

BIO:

Daniel Hutchens and Eric Carter met each other when they were eight years old. They solidified their early friendship based on a mutual love of baseball, comic books, and rock n roll music. They grew up in West Virginia; much time during their high school years was spent on Skull Run Road, where Eric's family lived, a few miles outside Ravenswood. The boys recall that road as being the site of their first garage band practices.

After high school, they started getting a little more serious about their blossoming songwriting partnership. Their road wound through Huntington, WV, and eventually on to Athens, GA, which they soon came to call home. They continued to concentrate on their songwriting, and by the early 90's they had a catalogue of over 300 compositions. By this time Hutchens and Carter had given their musical collaboration a "band name": Bloodkin.

People started to notice, and some even started covering some Bloodkin compositions, most notably Widespread Panic, who wound up recording three Bloodkin songs, and who continue to play those and other Bloodkin songs live. Panic's cover of "Can't Get High" peaked at #27 on the Billboard AOR charts. Other songs in Panic's regular rotation are "Makes Sense To Me", "Henry Parsons Died", "End Of The Show", "Who Do You Belong To", and occasionally "Quarter Tank Of Gasoline".

Daniel also wound up playing with ex-Velvet Underground member Moe Tucker in the early-to-mid 90's; he played on three of her albums and several of her tours.

In 1994 Bloodkin released their first official CD, GOOD LUCK CHARM. The project was produced by Johnny Sandlin (legendary producer of the Allman Brothers, Eddie Hinton, and so many others). Bloodkin recording projects over the years have also featured producers John Keane (R.E.M, Cowboy Junkies, etc.), and, more often than any other producer, David Barbe (Son Volt, Drive By Truckers, etc.). All the while, the Bloodkin boys have continued to play live all over the Southeast and beyond.

The CD releases to date are:

GOOD LUCK CHARM, 1994
CREEPERWEED, 1996
OUT OF STATE PLATES, 1999
ALL DOLLED UP, 2000 (live)
THE BLOODKIN COMMUNITY GOSPEL REHAB, 2001
RAVIN' BEAUTIES, 2002
LESSER, 2003 (Daniel Hutchens solo)
LAST NIGHT OUT, 2005
LOVESONGS FOR LOSERS, 2006 (Daniel Hutchens solo)

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