Fishpaste & Vibe recording and releases

It was around this time that Hog Hoggidy Hog recorded the album, ‘Fishpaste & Vibe’. The first single, ‘The Popstar Explosion’ was released as a cassette in 1996 and the original pressing was completely sold out on the first day of release. Popstar explosion was the first local punk song ever to be played on national radio and the popularity of the band and the scene as a whole increased even more. In late 1996 Hog Hoggidy Hog did their first tour to Johannesburg and released the ‘Timebomb’ EP cassette. Stehlik left the band at the end of 1996 before the full-length album was released and although he was only part of the writing process for two songs, his influence on the band stuck. David Myburgh (Later Miss David Mybergie) drummer for future label buddies, Pothole, filled in on drums ‘temporarily’ until the band could find a suitable replacement. ‘Fishpaste & Vibe’ was eventually released in 1997. This was the first SA punk album to be released on CD and the 2nd single, ‘Jim’ reached the top ten on the national rock charts. ‘Fishpaste & Vibe’ was a relative success and everything seemed to be going right for the band. However, by late 1997, although Myburgh was still filling in at shows, the band still hadn’t found a permanent drummer. By 1998 the Hogs had lost the momentum from ‘Fishpaste & Vibe’. They were in the writing process for the next album, but the newer material tended to be more experimental (sources say that this was mostly due to the band’s excessive drug and alcohol abuse at the time) and most of it never ever made it out of the practice room. Bacon says of this time period, “I was fairly convinced that I would be dead by the age of 25”. The band was eventually dropped from the label as well as kicked out of their practice studio. Myburgh was also fired from Pothole for his excessive substance abuse, but on the bright side this enabled him to become a permanent member of Hog Hoggidy Hog as Miss David Mybergie. In late 1998 Bacon and Keeto moved in together. It was at this point that the band started pulling themselves back together and a period of renewed inspiration followed and the band started focusing on the music once again. It was during this period that tracks such as Time 4 Love, Just a Lie and John & Philippp’s song were written.