Greg Hoy “The Wheel”

Some might say the one-man band has all but died out. Someone should tell that to singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Greg Hoy. He stands as the ultimate example of where determination and patience can take a creative, especially one with the same inexhaustible ambition. Virtually everything on Hoy’s latest offering, Hit Music—the bass, guitars, keyboards, drums, and more—was conceived and executed entirely on his own. Having recorded under many monikers over the years, Hoy has always embraced eclecticism, but this time he sought to push the limits of his imagination and craft, fully letting go of the reins and trusting his deepest instincts for the first time in his career.

Since the record hit the shelves last spring, Greg Hoy and his East Coast collaborators, performing together as Greg Hoy and The Boys, have brought the collection of instantly memorable, low-slung rock and roll and punk-tinged experimentation directly to the people. Expanding beyond their usual 3-piece outfit, they have enveloped each track in a cacophony of horns, offering listeners the rare buzz of a genuine live performance. Now settled in his new home of Boulder, Colorado, Hoy and the band are heading out on a new tour from New York to Nashville, one last hurrah before Hoy and his wife welcome their second child this summer.

About “The Wheel”

While Hoy can often be boisterous, lighting up a stage the moment he steps on it, tracks like “The Wheel” reveal a lesser-known layer of his expansive identity. Fans may not realize he has studied mindfulness and spirituality, particularly Buddhist teachings, for over a decade. He’s even co-authoring a book on the subject. Written during the pandemic, a time marked by widespread disarray and hopelessness, the song calls out a society that has “fallen asleep at the wheel again” when confronted with a wave too big to sail over. Many turned a blind eye to the suffering around them, soothing themselves into passive acceptance rather than awakened engagement. The track’s organic, Americana-steeped, homespun construction, with urgent acoustics and layered harmonies, mirrors that unpolished chaos, a moment when institutions and governments operated with no coherent captain and no clear plan. Yet the continuous, unstoppable turning toward liberation at the heart of Buddhist teachings never stopped. The journey towards wisdom and compassion was always there, and still is, for those willing to seek it. “So let’s buckle up and ride,” he says, because the journey ahead is rough, but the guiding cycles of life aren’t disappearing anytime soon.

The music video for “The Wheel”, recorded, edited, and directed by Hoy himself, continues the thread of astute societal observation, stealthily commenting on the current state of governance and culture in North America. Despite the heft of the matter, fun seems to follow Hoy wherever he goes. Everyone on screen seems to be having a blast. As his bandmates rip through their parts, Hoy’s archaic Sony Handicam pulls the four colors—black, red, white, and blue—from otherwise achromatic frames. Waves of blue shimmer on the drum kit, and pops of red burst from the King’s billowing cape, polygonal shades, shiny scepter, and iconic Solo cup. Blinded by their brilliance, the royal protagonist turns his attention away from the matters at hand. The four noble truths of existence fade into the background, swallowed by a sea of black and white.