A native of SE Louisiana, Rick learned music from his Momma, a church pianist and Fats Domino/Jerry Lee Lewis enthusiast. Rick later spent a decade in NYC working with roots acts such as Hot Water, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, Sleepy LaBeef, and Bobby Radcliff, as well as performing extensively in musicals and plays.
Since moving to Austin, Rick has played with Texas artists George Devore, Jarrod Birmingham, Dean Seltzer, Wicked Brew Band, Dane Sterling, and Bill Rice. You can email him at Rick@HogBranch.com. or visit him at www.HogBranch.com
The band’s resident carpetbagger, Nathan is from Maryland ("the thinking man’s Delaware"). He started as a standard 6-string player but says, "I was cured of that pretty quick the first time I saw a pro steel player in person." His steel influences include the usual suspects: Green, Emmons, Mooney, et.al. But his interests extend beyond country music, and he cites Jerry Byrd, Charlie Parker, and Son House as some of his musical heroes. Nathan began cutting his teeth playing clubs and recording in the Baltimore and Philadelphia areas. Frustrated with the region’s shortage of work for steel players--and tired of having his instrument called a "table slide thingy"--he moved to Texas after finishing college. Nathan currently lives in Austin and plays with Jesse full-time. Send him hate/love mail at nathan.tex@gmail.com.