The Hooters

Bio
The Hooters (1980-2007)

Bursting onto the Philadelphia music scene in 1980, The Hooters quickly became a huge success all along the East Coast.  Founded by Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian following their time together in "Baby Grand", The Hooters' unique blend of ska, reggae and rock and roll was a fresh and powerful sound and in 1983 The Hooters released their first independent album “Amore”, which sold over 100,000 copies. “Amore” introduced the original versions of songs like “All You Zombies”, “Hanging On A Heartbeat”, “Fightin’ On The Same Side” and “Blood From A Stone”, all songs which would reappear in different versions on later albums. "Amore" was re-released on CD in 2001 and is available on the band's website.

It was also during this time that Rob and Eric wrote and played on Cyndi Lauper’s debut album "She’s So Unusual". Rob and Cyndi co-wrote the hit song "Time After Time".  The Hooters' strong and powerful presence, as performers and as songwriters, led to their first major record deal in 1984 with Columbia Records.  Their 1985 debut release "Nervous Night" quickly achieved Gold and Platinum status all over the world. Rolling Stone magazine named the Hooters the "Best New Band of the Year" in 1985. That year just kept getting better as The Hooters were chosen as the very first band to perform at the historic Live Aid concert in Philadelphia. With unforgettable songs such as "Day By Day", "And We Danced", "Where Do The Children Go" and "All You Zombies" the Hooters were quickly becoming a household name. 

In 1987 The Hooters released "One Way Home", again achieving gold and platinum status in several territories across the globe; with songs like "Johnny B", "Satellite" and "Karla With A K", and "One Way Home".  David Fricke, from Rolling Stone magazine said, "the Hooters have made airwave magic with unconventional ingredients".

In 1989 The Hooters released their third major label album "Zig Zag" which introduced the world to a slightly more mature Hooters sound, while still maintaining those infectious pop hooks for which the Hooters are so well known. With Peter, Paul and Mary on backing vocals, "500 Miles" became a worldwide hit that lead to another double-platinum success for the band.

In 1990 the band was asked to participate in Roger Waters’ multimedia extravaganza "The Wall". The Hooters joined music legends such as Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, The Band, Sinead O'Connor and Bryan Adams for an historic and unforgettable musical experience. Also during this time the band left Columbia, signed with MCA and welcomed a new band member.  Mindy Jostyn, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist extraordinaire, Mindy's energy and talents took the Hooters to yet another level of musical excellence.

In 1993 they released "Out Of Body". Recorded in Memphis, "Out Of Body" included a duet with Cyndi Lauper entitled "Boys Will Be Boys" and resulted in yet another world tour, and their first as a six piece band.

It was during the "Out Of Body" tour that the band recorded their "Live In Germany" album (1995).  Soon after this, Sony released the long awaited and much deserved recognition of their greatest hits, a collection entitled "Hooterization – A Retrospective". Following these albums and many years of touring, the Hooters decided to take a much needed break and concentrate on various solo projects. 

Rob and Eric continued to contribute their musical and songwriting talents to projects with other artists, including Taj Mahal, Mick Jagger, Willie Nelson, John Bon Jovi, Sophie B Hawkins, Amanda Marshall, The Band, Carole King, Willie Nile, Robbie Williams and many others.  Most notably, in 1995, their work with producer Rick Chertoff again rocketed another relatively unknown female artist into superstardom. Rob and Eric contributed much of the material and instrumentation for the debut album "Relish" for Joan Osborne.  Eric's masterfully penned "One Of Us", shot up the charts.  Once again, just as "Time After Time" was nominated for numerous Grammy Awards, including Song Of The Year in 1984, Eric achieved the same prestigious nomination for "One Of Us" in 1996. "One Of Us" was also nominated for "Record Of The Year" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". "Relish" was nominated for a total of six Grammys.
   
In 2000, The Hooters were honored to have Ricky Martin cover their song "Private Emotion" on his Grammy nominated multi-Platinum self-titled debut album.

Over the last few years, Rob has co-produced, written and performed on several albums with Dar Williams and Eric has worked with artists such as Jonatha Brooke, JC Chasez, Meatloaf and most recently The Scorpions along with multi-Grammy winning producer Desmond Child.  Eric co-wrote six songs on The Scorpions new release "Humanity-Hour 1", released earlier this year. 

In addition to Rob and Eric's work with other artists, their first love and biggest worldwide success, The Hooters, has been an increasingly important focus for their efforts since 2001 when the band reunited for a special concert performance that inspired the next chapter of their still unfinished story. 

The Hooters played extensively in Europe in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and during this time they also wrote new material for what would become their first new studio album in many years. Eric and Rob decided to keep the band at home in 2006, play a few stateside shows and make a long overdue new record. With ten new songs written primarily by Rob and Eric, along with a powerful and "Hooterized" cover of Don Henley's "Boys Of Summer", "Time Stand Still" is now, at long last, recorded, mixed and mastered.

Initially sold only at shows throughout the 2007 summer tour in Europe, "Time Stand Still" was officially released on 14 September 2007 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria through Neo with Sony BMG distribution.  Other distribution arrangements are currently being negotiated and the CD will be available in the US and other worldwide territories soon.  The European press has favored the band with rave reviews on the new CD with more to follow. The Hooters are currently preparing for an upcoming promotional tour in Germany and Switzerland and also for numerous shows in the USA later this year.

As Rob said in a recent interview: "Well, a key line in [the album's] title song is 'if I had a way to make time stand still' and in many ways, it really describes our efforts to make music and keep this little band of ours alive all this time. Though time and miles have separated us over the years, whenever we all get in the same room, pick up our instruments, and start to jam, something magical instantly happens - we 'become' the Hooters, and I suppose that IS our way of making time stand still. Being in a band with such great players and friends, over 25 years now, has been quite a blessing and fortunate experience."

Last Updated:  September 2007
The Hooters
Eric Bazilian: vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, sax
Rob Hyman: vocals, keyboards, accordion
John Lilley: guitar, mandolin, vocals
Fran Smith, Jr.: bass, vocals
Dave Uosikkinen: drums