Why ‘Hookworm TWO’ local comp album celebrates Arizona bands

After the success of "Hookworm ONE," a 2022 local compilation album, Ryan Clark, owner of Hookworm Records, wanted his next offering to be bigger.

Mission accomplished: "Hookworm TWO," which is being celebrated with a release party tonight at The Egyptian. (It's a double release event; Double Helix Records is also debuting the new album by Survival Guide from Austin, Texas.)

The record label showcases Tucson and Phoenix-based musicians in order to promote and support the local music scene.

“A big part of what I wanted to do was not sign bands, but work with bands on projects to create this set of compilation records that really screamed 'Arizona has something to say,' you know, that musically, Arizona belongs on your map,” Clark says.

"Hookworm TWO" features six bands: Fairy Bones, Sliced Limes, Daphne + The Glitches, Weekend Lovers and Chrome Rhino, all from around the Valley, and Birds and Arrows from Tucson. Clark asked each band to write an original song specifically for the album.

As a longtime fan of the local music scene, Clark took “Hookworm TWO” as another opportunity to to work with the bands he loved. Being a Tucson native, Clark’s goal for the new album was to open the door for Tucson musicians. Between the release of “Hookworm ONE” and “Hookworm TWO,” Clark was looking for a new project with a band that needed the support of a record label. He found Birds and Arrows and signed them to Hookworm.

“The timing just kind of worked out. Birds and Arrows have been fantastic. I love them, and being able to get them on a compilation album was very exciting for me,” he says.

Taking it upon himself to put these local bands on the map, he recruited producer Bob Hoag, who previously worked on “Hookworm ONE.” Clark says Hoag’s studio, Flying Blanket Recording is a “museum of oddball curiosity and coolness,” which he credits with the extraordinary energy that he believes was infused into the record.

“One of the things that’s awesome about a compilation album is the chance to work with six very different groups of people and put something together in an environment that’s just supercharged with creativity. Flying Blanket is a special place. Being able to get in there and create something — it was magic,” Clark says. “It’s hard to differentiate that process from the product because it was so much fun, creating these songs and just being a fly on the wall to that creative experience.”

Andrea Greenberg Connolly, singer-songwriter and lead vocalist of Birds and Arrows, says Hoag's eccentric charisma that he and his studio embody welcomed the chance to experiment on the record.

“He gets possessed, which we love because we do too. He gets really into what he’s doing and is willing to try different things, and is very in the moment. We hit it off really great with Bob. We never met him, and we just showed up in the studio to record the song. Luckily, you never know how that vibe’s going to go, but it was excellent,” she says.

Connolly thinks working on the album allowed her and her bandmates to make new connections within the local music scenes.

“I think what’s cool is what Ryan had intended is working, which is getting bands to connect and collaborate that he sees talent in and thinks they’re amazing,” she says. “He really accomplished what he went out to accomplish, which is cool because sometimes these things happen, and the bands don’t really connect, but all of us did. I think the thread that Ryan recognizes, too, is he just likes good, cool, nice people who enjoy doing what they love, and all these bands do. So it kind of worked out well because we all had charisma between us.”

The album had its first release party in Tucson, on Sept. 8, which Clark says was a success. After postponing the Phoenix release party due to COVID-19, Clark is eager for the album to make a name for itself.

“Phoenix is a big deal music town, and that’s what we’re trying to prove. A crowded marketplace is a healthy marketplace. You have a lot of options on your Saturday before Halloween, and we hope folks choose our option,” he says.

“Hookworm TWO” and Survival Guide release party. With performances by The Psychedelephants, Birds and Arrows, Survival Guide and Daphne + The Glitches. 7 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show, Saturday, Oct. 28, at The Egyptian Motor Hotel, 765 Grand Ave. Tickets are $10 at the door.