Vol. 1 by Hog-eyed Man (Jason Cade and Rob McMaken)

"As honest and direct a representation of music sourced from past generations of North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia fiddlers as one could wish for. Cade has great tone and everything’s played with just the right amount of pace and attack, with nothing wasted or superfluous. It is a tremendous resource for fiddle players and a rewarding listen for the rest of us."

--Steve Hunt, fRoots Magazine

“It’s quite remarkable, the depth and fullness of sound the two of them achieve. The duet seemingly expands to a trio or even a quartet sound.… Cade gets a thick resonant sound and solid drive from his fiddle. On the other hand is McMaken’s dulcimer, which reminds me of the playing of Irish guitarist John Doyle. From it we get a propulsive ringing attack [combined with] a drone that makes it an album highlight.”

— Bill Wagner, The Old Time Herald

An absolutely cracking CD. Played with vim, fervour and fire, it’s pound for pound one of the best albums of the year.”

— Stuart Hamilton, Blues Matters

“Hog-Eyed Man resurrect the fiddle sounds of the pre-recording era, taking the listener into a lost world of tunes deeply rooted in soil and history. Cade and McMaken conjure up an almost unsettlingly prodigious tone out of their instruments. Every cut is a gem.”

— Jerome Clark, Rambles

“What you get here is pure unadulterated old-time music ... played with verve and commitment aplenty. Virtually every tune here is a discovery, and the impact is considerable when the musicians play as expressively as they do here. It’s glorious. The two musicians play spiritedly and give a sense of total involvement and feel-good abandon within the tradition they clearly treat with respect while making the style work for them as their own. Thoroughly recommended.”

— David Kidman, The Living Tradition

“One of the joys of reviewing is when you play a CD from someone you’ve never heard of before and it’s simply wonderful.… The droning rhythmic backup by McMaken combines with Cade’s powerful fiddling to make an almost mesmerizing sound. Anyone who loves old-time American fiddling will enjoy listening to this CD, and I will not be surprised if some of these tunes start being played soon in old-time jams around the country soon.”

— Steve Goldfield, Bluegrass Unlimited

Hog-eyed Man is an acoustic oldtime duo comprised of Jason Cade (fiddle) & Rob McMaken (lap dulcimer, mando, guitar). Drawing primarily on the archaic tunes and pre-radio aesthetics of Southern Appalachia, the duo has forged a compelling and authentic style of traditional music, both reflecting deep respect for the past masters and carrying the musical conversation forward to the present era.

hogeyedman.com