A true original will take the stage Thursday night at Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern.
Unknown Hinson, self-proclaimed King of Country/Western Troubadours, is that original.
Hinson, better known as the voice of “Squidbillies” character Early Cuyler, is a gun-toting, liquor drinking, outrageous performer. Performing his songs such as “Torture Town,” “Fish Camp Womern” and “Alkyhol Withdrawl,” Hinson is a Hank Williams meets Dracula act come to life, or undead.
Hinson was abandoned by his father before he was born and was subsequently named Unknown after his absent dad.
His mother raised him until age 10 and was also subsequently abandoned by her, but not before she left an indelible mark on her son’s life.
Hinson’s mother showed him his first chord on the guitar – G chord to be exact.
“I was about 9 years old, and she showed me one chord on the guitar. She didn’t teach me or nothing like that. She just showed me the chord and said, ‘Here, you take this thing and if you want to do something with it, teach yourself,'” Hinson said in his thick Southern drawl. “You can play hundreds of country and western songs with that G chord, though.”
Little else is known about this underground songwriter and guitar player.
One, he likes guns. Two, he likes “party liquor,” and three, he likes women, or “womerns” as Hinson says.
Hinson’s career was stopped abruptly with a 30-year stint in the Illinois State Penitentiary, and now free since 1993, he has been making up for lost time.
Hinson was driven to begin his country and western career after his release, and beginning with a cable access show in North Carolina, his career began its ascent.
“I knew the way to jump start my career was to get in the public as quickly as I could,” Hinson said. “I could have just got a band and started playing honky-tonks, but light does travel faster than sound, so if you get your face on TV, you can make it a lot quicker.”
Hinson’s cable-access show generated an underground buzz, and he quickly began touring around the Southeast playing his chart-topping hits.
Since the beginning of “Squidbillies” on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, Hinson has voiced the show’s brash protagonist Early Cuyler.
For Hinson, working on the show was right up his alley.
“There’s certain similarities between Early and I,” Hinson said. “He carries a gun. He likes to drink party liquor. He likes to chase womerns, and I like to do all that, too.”
The show has recently been green-lighted for two more seasons, and Hinson said show’s creators, Williams Street, are doing their best to continue their tradition of excellence.
“The season we’re working on now makes the first seasons look like kids’ mess,” Hinson said.
Hinson’s songwriting is dark, but funny.
In the grand tradition of country music, his songs focus mainly on women and some form of loving or leaving. He said his music is already created even before he picks up an instrument.
“All I do is what I do. I get some words in my head and a few chords and put them together,” Hinson said. “I have it already up in my head how I want everything to sound, and I just do it all in one fell swoop. It don’t take me long to make a record.”
Beside his songs, Hinson is also known for his uncanny proficiency of the guitar, his rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” is a well-known part of his live show.
“A guitar is a tool; it’s just like a screwdriver or a two-by-four to me. Hell, if I need a guitar and don’t have a $10,000 one handy, I’ll play maybe a $50 one. I switch ’em around – it’s like womerns,” Hinson said.
Hinson attributes his talent on the guitar to his incarceration.
“I spent most of my time in solitary and had plenty of time to practice. The hardest thing was getting some guitar strings when I broke one, but the warden saw me and liked that I was playing music and he would give me some strings when I’d break one or two,” he said.
As far as musical influences for Hinson, he points solely to one man – Faron Young.
The rest, Hinson says, is just natural talent.
“I think Faron Young was a damn good singer; he’s dead you know, but I think he was good,” Hinson said.
MSU graduate Nick Crews, a fan of Hinson, said Hinson’s originality is what makes people interested in him.
“I think he’s an original. He has a very sharp wit and he uses a simple persona to get across that wit,” Crews said.
Hinson’s show begins at 9:30 p.m., tickets are $15 and the price includes two shots.
For more information on Unknown Hinson, visit unknownhinson.com.