Michael Hurley, aka Doc Snock, Snocko, Elwood, etc. is an old guy living out in Oregon these days who's crisscrossed the USA countless times, found an audience in Europe, and thru it all remained the quintessential lo-fi hobo troubadour. He's a walking treasure of original material, but will also do covers, from a huge backlist of Americana ranging from the blues to folk to country to rock n' roll.
He's got plenty of weird songs to check out.. Most people will recognize 'The Werewolf' which Cat Power covered, among others.. haunting, deeply meloncholic and tragic but gripping song. He's got songs where he imitates crows, songs about being an ancient vampire ('The Revenant'), and plenty of humorous sing alongs, roadhouse rockers, tender ballads, you name it. It's all carried out in his signature style, very laid back, the melodies ageless.
He's also a painter and makes his own comics, starring Boone and Jocko (who are wolves) and an assortment of hootchie-mamas having drunken adventures in some alternate universe of piefaced moons and smuggler's lagoons. Many of Hurley's covers feature this world.
His site: http://www.snockonews.net/
Just google 'Michael Hurley' to find a great deal of other material on him... there's an assortment of fansites and such.
He's a contemporary and sometime collaborator with the Holy Modal Rounders, who are a big recommendation as well. They all, plus Jeffery Fredricks and the Clamtones, put out a fantastic album called 'Have Moicy!' and credited to the 'Unholy Modal Rounders' in the seventies. A MUST HAVE. It'll make you want to take your shoes off, light up, open a jug of wine, and smile back at the universe... just absolutely right in every way... songs about having a hoodoo bash with a pound of hash, robbin' banks, stealin' chickens, getting drunk, and other Bucks County, Pennsylvania pursuits (where Hurley and Steve Weber from the Rounders grew up together)
Weber apparently is online as the Rounders, but it looks like he's got some sort of spat going with Pete Stampfel, the other half.
http://www.holymodalrounders.com/
If you really want to know about the Holy Modal Rounders, get their first two albums (sold as a two-CD set ) and then check into some of their later stuff. (The Fuggs 1st album is another yougottahaveit)
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