‘Later Days’ by Mother Hips (Vinyl)
A mid-career slump delivered one of the band’s best albums
50/50
If you asked me in 1993 which two Indie bands would one day top the charts, I would have said Green Day and Mother Hips. Although the two groups have little in common—aside from their Northern California roots—it just so happened that both were on my radar at the time.
My friends and I were big fans of Green Day’s first two albums for Lookout Records, 39/Smooth and Kerplunk. The band later rocketed into the stratosphere with their major label debut, Dookie. That was followed by a string of hit releases like Insomniac and American Idiot.
Green Day became superstars. Mother Hips did not.
Back to the Grotto
The Chico, California-based Mother Hips self-released their debut album, Back to the Grotto, in 1993. Unlike the snotty pop punk of Green Day, Mother Hips played a style of jam band-influenced Americana rock that would later be known as “California Soul.” I was originally drawn…
