Rex Hobart and Friends March 31, 2009

Rex Hobart grew up in St. James, MO, but moved to Kansas City to find his fortune. Around 1989, he was playing in a rock and roll combo called Giant's Chair, but it just didn't feel right. So Hobart hooked up with Solomon Hofer, Vincent Floyd, and Blackjack Snow, and the Misery Boys were born. 'Forever Always Ends,' their debut, was released on the Chicago-based insurgent country label Bloodshot in 1999. Hobart and the boys then road-tested their honky tonk and heartbreak with a series of U.S. tours, returning in 2003 with the acclaimed 'Your Favorite Fool,' which featured more of the band's signature honky tonk and a duet with like-minded Chicago torch rocker Kelly Hogan. Fiddler Betse Ellis had joined the lineup in time for the recording of the group's fourth album, 'Empty House.'