Warner E Hodges

It’s an undisputed, stone cold fact that Warner E. Hodges is one of the most instantly recognisable guitarists playing today.  The story starts in Wurzberg, Germany, where Warner was an army brat. His mother and father both had a passion for country music and the young Warner was soon to join their band, playing drums.  In 1970, his older brother gave him the debut albums by Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. His father heard that there was an up and coming band featuring a hot shot guitarist coming to town, and bought tickets for himself and Warner. The band were Deep Purple, the guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Warner switched from drums to guitar.  Two discoveries would prove to be the main lasting influences on Warner’s developing style. First he discovered and fell in love with AC/DC, secondly the Sex Pistols hit America, their influence not being limited to the high energy style of Steve Jones, but also their DIY punk ethic.  Warner played with a succession of local Nashville punk bands and then he and two school friends - Perry Baggs and Jeff Johnson - met a singer who had moved to Nashville looking for musicians who were prepared to join him in fusing the styles of Hank Williams with the Ramones. The singer was Jason Ringenberg, and so Jason & The Scorchers were born. Signing with Praxis Management, the Scorchers recorded two EPs and six full albums, and played a major role in creating what we now call Alt Country or Americana. Their reputation as live perf