Bio

The Pigs take a hit song, turn it upside down, shake the change out of its pockets and set it down in its original form… foot-stomping bluegrass.

Killing in the Name, Gold Digger, Like a Virgin… Few people know that these well-known songs are actually old-time classics, written by The Pigs.

For over 6 years now, The Pig Family has been educating audiences at festivals and concerts all over Australia, releasing 2 albums and an EP along the way. In 2010, audiences in Germany and Denmark experienced the band’s wildly energetic performances too. A 5 or 6 piece ensemble, The Pig’s classic bluegrass instrumentation of banjo, acoustic guitars and double bass is driven by percussionist, Cousin Billy-Bob, on his stand-up drum-kit, making a supercharged Hillbilly sound. Sometimes extended family members contribute fiddle, mandolin and dobro to the mix.

Already with over 150,000 hits on YouTube, the video for their banjo-driven version of Beyonce’s hit was featured on ABC TV’s Spicks and Specks. It was also Indie Video of the Week on Rage and continues to air regularly on The Country Music Channel. The Pigs performed Single Ladies live on Mornings with Kerrie-Anne (Channel 9) and Saturday Night Country (ABC Radio National). Lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist, T-Bone Pig, claims to have written Single Ladies in 1922 while sitting on the family porch.

As well as the mega-hit songs that The Pigs claim to have written, the Pigs have a swag of cracking original tunes that they have actually written. Macho Moisturiser, the tale of a big country boy who wrestles crocodiles, but maintains a strict skin care regime, is a favourite with Pigs fans at The Gympie Muster. Hey Christina, the second single off their latest album, Horses, is a wickedly funny breakup song. The Pigs performed Hey Christina live on Richard Glover’s Thank God It’s Friday (ABC 702) in October 2010.

“I wrote Hey Christina for a girl who dumped me, then married another guy two weeks later. I guess the song is my way of hoping that life isn’t going perfectly for the newlyweds. I wouldn’t mind it, for example, if the telephone started to ring every time they were making love.” – Stretch Pig on writing Hey Christina.

The Pigs’ radio singles, Crazy, Single Ladies and Hey Christina, have been on high rotation on several country music radio stations around Australia. The music video to Crazy was nominated for a Golden Guitar award at the Tamworth Country Music Awards in 2008. The band regularly pops up on ABC local radio stations and their songs have also featured on youth and indie radio stations like Triple J, 4ZZZFM (Brisbane), Triple R 102.7 (Melbourne) and FBI 94.5 (Sydney).

The Pigs’ natural habitat is the music festival, having wowed audiences at Woodford Folk Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Skagen Folk Festival (Denmark), The Deniliquin Ute Muster and The Gympie Muster. As well, the boys have played sellout shows each year at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. At a Pigs’ concert you’ll see the Pig Brothers share the stories behind many of their more famous songs, such as this one, often credited to Technotronic:

“It was a cold morning in 1933 when I walked into our old jam factory to find the pump was broke.. so I awoke my family… with the cry.. “Boys, the jam pump has broke! wese gonna have to Pump up the Jam… by hand!” – T-Bone Pig on writing Pump up the Jam.

Discography