West Virginia native commemorates his home state in first solo album

Kassidy Brown, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·3 min read

Oct. 25—Erik Huey, frontman of The Surreal McCoys, has released the first single "The Devil is Here in These Hills" from his upcoming debut solo album.

This song is inspired by a novel with the same name by James Greene, and Huey said the book allowed him to deep dive into the lives and culture of coal miners and really opened his eyes up to how his upbringing in West Virginia shaped who he is today.

"I grew up in Morgantown and my father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all coal miners," said Huey. "Growing up, I always thought that was the route my life was going to take in the future."

While his family history pointed to a coal mining future, Huey took his life in a different direction after his high school graduation.

"I ended up getting a scholarship to the University of Miami and then going to Notre Dame Law after that," Huey said.

Since then, Huey has spent the last 20 to 25 years doing government campaigning and lobbying.

While his career was more government based, Huey never forgot his love for music.

"I grew up listening to music, and Morgantown in the '80s was a great place for music," he said.

During his time at Notre Dame, he met the rest of the members of his band The Surreal McCoys, and they began performing together and releasing music, and even with the new solo album, Huey said the band is still going strong.

The Surreal McCoys are a "cowpunk, outlaw country" group, and in this group he and his fellow band members were able to combine their love for the punk and country genres.

"The music that I make with the band really means something to me, but this project is more personal to me and life experience which is why it made more sense for this to be a solo album," said Huey.

According to a press release sent by Paul Fallon, Huey's media relations consultant, the album which will be called "Appalachian Gothic," and it "explores darker themes and raw subject matter such as the legacy of coal mining and the ravages of the opioid crisis" along with upbeat songs of optimism and pro-union themes.

The first single and song written for the album, "The Devil is Here in These Hills" inspired a need in Huey to tell the story of West Virginian coal miners that he said are often overlooked.

"So many immigrants from Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Eastern Europe—along with African-Americans from The South—came to mine coal in Appalachia, and this song is an attempt to tell their story and the story of the generations that followed in their footsteps," said Huey.

He also added, "West Virginia and the coal mines have a rich history, I don't feel that it's celebrated enough."

Huey said that he was glad he got to explore his state's history and culture along with getting to tell his own story of growing up and those he grew up with.

"The Devil is Here in These Hills" is out now and is available on Youtube, Spotify, and Apple Music.

The album will be out on January 20 on all the same platforms along with Vinyl and CD.

"I'm really looking forward to people hearing the whole thing," said Huey. "I hope as people from Appalachia listen, they are able to hear about theirselves and their lives and appreciate it."

He finished, "The whole album is really a love letter to Appalachia."

— Contact Kassidy Brown at kbrown@bdtonline.com.