Alternation transitions into Hog's Breath debut

DESTIN, FL - When you're new on the music scene, success requires more than playing with just one band, guitarist Ben Farmer says.

"In the current state of the music industry," Farmer, who plays with the Atlanta groups Fly Brothers and Alternation, told The Log, "it has been really difficult for musicians in the early phases of their career to commit to just one band, as there just don't seem to be enough paying opportunities until a project can get off the ground."

Farmer - who will be playing at Hog's Breath tonight with the rest of Alternation - said both groups formed out of a pool of musicians who began playing in Atlanta in 2007. As Alternation began to get higher profile gigs, the three-piece band - Farmer, bassist Michael Hurwitz, drummer Andy Hill - added Stephen Hendrix from Fly Brothers to "expand the sound."

Farmer said changing a band's line-up always affects the sound and the energy of their performances, "but it can be very positive, bringing freshness and new perspective to the music. Finding new ways to fit everyone's parts together is always a challenge, but when it works it is amazing both to take the music to that next level and also to connect with another person in the creative space to contribute and make the whole stronger."

While this is Alternation's first time in Destin, it's not Farmer and Hendrix's first visit: "The Fly Brothers started traveling down to Destin in the spring of 2008 for runs of shows down at Hog's Breath. From the first night we played, people started tuning in and coming back the next evening with an extra friend or two."

Farmer told The Log that Alternation mixes together funk and roots music and flavors the mix with reggae, groove jazz and Southern rock.

"We also bring our own flavor and interpretations to well-known songs, creating an immersive show experience," he added.

Farmer said their music influences include Dr. John, The Band, Derek Trucks and the Allman Brothers, Leon Russell, Col. Bruce Hampton, The Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, Jaco Pastorious, Bob Dylan "and many of the amazing regional bands playing around the Southeast right now."

"We hope to build this band into one that can support us all both financially and creatively," Farmer said. "It is hard to know what that will look like in the current state of the music industry, but our passion is for playing live shows and touring, building things up the old-fashioned way but with the help of the Internet and all of its promotional resources."