As the name would suggest, Medicine Hat are a blues-flavoured southern
rock band, and an excellent one at that. They've been described as ''a
cross between Merle Haggard
and Lynyrd Skynyrd'', yet if one was forced to take a guess at their place
of origin, how many of you would plump for the not-very redneck locale of
London, England?

The five piece have existed in one form or another since around 1993, but
really only started to take things seriously when the ex-Mournblade duo of
guitarist Stephen
Loveday and drummer Garry Bowler joined New Zealand born singer Mark
Jackson and guitarist Mark Wright a few years back.

So how appropriate do they feel the Southern rock tag is? Well, not very
is their somewhat surprising response, a claim that's made all the more
puzzling when they list
Blackfoot and Skynyrd among other favourites like The Ramones, The Who and
John Martyn.

''We make the music, we'll let others come up with the descriptions,''
Jackson shrugs. ''My dad used to force Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and
Billy Jo Spears down my throat,
but in your teenage years you discover AC/DC and Motörhead, so it all gets
confused.''

''Mark and I did go to America for a month where we visited the Indian
Reservations, because we wanted to get a feel of what the place was
like,'' adds Loveday. ''I loved the
trucks, the tattoos and the whole vibe. But we're not American.''

It's taken plenty of determination for a band as idiosyncratic as Medicine
Hat to make it through the trend-obsessed post-grunge maelstrom that
masquerades as the UK music
scene. Yet they've managed it, and have emerged as stronger characters.

''I see what we do as comparable to (ex-Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk
Wylde's band) Pride And Glory,'' says Loveday. ''It has a lot of truth to
it, and we're a bit like them, but
maybe a bit more melodic.''

''With us, it has nothing to do with glitziness or showbiz,'' clarifies
Jackson. ''It's earthy.''

Rumour has it their gigs are as incendiary as ever, choice covers like
'Snortin' Whisky' by the Pat Travers Band, Ricky Skaggs' Country Boy and
Motörhead's 'Ace Of Spades'
rubbing shoulders with self-penned numbers. That said, prestige gigs have
been hard to come by, although London's 12 Bar Club has been a regular
haunt and the band did
once get to support Albert Lee. Mostly, though, it's been pubs, small
clubs and anywhere that would give them a break.

''It's always the puppet show headlining and Medicine Hat opening,''
deadpans Loveday in his best Spïnal Tap vernacular. ''When the Britpop
thing was going on we almost
thought, 'fuck this, let's forget it', but we always carried on writing.
It meant too much to stop.''

The band's self-belief finally paid off when Way Out West Records got in
touch and offered to finance Bone Dry. The July issue of Classic Guitar
reviewed the debut
favourably, comparing Jackson's gruff tones to those of Hootie & The
Blowfish's Darius Rucker, describing their cover of Glen Campbell's
'Rhinestone Cowboy' as
''Raucous'' and declaring 'The Hat's' ''definitely ones to watch.''

A new bassist Lall Dalziel, The only way now it seems is up!! ''Way Out
West don't have Gut's money,'' Loveday says. ''But I really think
something could happen for us now.
It finally feels right.''

''The rock scene is definitely getting better at the moment,'' observes
Jackson. I understand that to outsiders we must seem a bit fucking mental,
but we really don't mind
swimming against the tide. Sometimes it's the best place to be, it's a
challenge. Just to do what everyone else does is so boring.''

Dave Ling - Classic Guitar Magazine

Medicine Hat are:

Mark Jackson - lead vocals Mark Wright - guitars, backing vocals Stephen
Loveday - guitars, backing vocals Garry Bowler - Drums, percussion Lall
Dalziel - bass, backing
vocals