!~HedOhHolic!~

Jacob William Hoggard Was Born On July 9^th 1984 In Burnaby British Columbia, And Was Raised In Abbotsford B.C.  He Has Short Black Hair, And Deep Green Eyes.  His Favourite Foods Include; Shrimp, Twizzlers, Cake, Soup, And Pie.  Jacob’s Favourite Colour Is “Funtch” A Reddy-Orange With Little Bits Of Blues And Greens In It. A Couple Of His Nicknames Are; Hoggass, Jake, Jakes, Jakey, JHog.  Jake’s Fav Pop Artist Is Billy Joel.  The First CD He Bought Was Bob Marley And The Wailers “Legend.” His Favourite Song Is “Sort Of A Protest Song” By Matthew Good Band.  Jacob Has A Sister Named Amanda Who Is Two Years Younger.  Jacob Is A Mix Of Everything I Guess You Could Say, He’s Italian On His Mom’s Side, Then On His Dad’s Side He’s Irish, Scottish, And English. He’s Got An Incredible Sense Of Humor, A Loud Voice, Strong Temper, A Gentle Attitude, And Good Looks.

Jacob Learned To Play The Piano At The Age Of Five, And Taught Himself To Play Guitar At The Age Of Twelve.  On A Dare From The Old Hedley Line-up, And At An Urging From His Mother And Then-Girlfriend, Jacob Auditioned For The Second Season Of Canadian Idol In 2004, Impressing The Judges With His Rendition of Neil Diamond's "Forever In Blue Jeans." From There He Went To Hollywood, Made It To The Top 32 Then Top 10, With Incredible Performances Like His Rendition Of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” And His Off-The-Wall Attitude Towards, Well, Everything.

Many Often Wonder Why Jacob Is So Nuttso, Or Otherwise “What’s Wrong With That Kid.” His Craziness Comes From His Mamma’s Side Of The Family.. Very Genuine.. Very Nutty.  Jacob Is A Very Easy-Going Guy, He Loves Being Around People. Which Is Probably Why He’s So Good At His Job. 

There’s A.D.D, There’s A.D.H.D, And Then There’s Jacob, With His Energy, Noise And Mostly Spastic Inflammation Of Human Movement, Jacob Is Definitely In A Class Of His Own.  Aside From His Estranged Affixation With School Glue And Child Safety Harnesses, Jacobs Musical Capability Is The Powerful Driving Force Of The Band, His Voice Has Been Known To Throw People Into A Trance.  His Creative Hooks And Machine Ability To Write The Is The Power Behind The Band That Misses Only A Voice.  Aside From His Lack Of Appreciation For Clothing And Guitar Knowledge, His Musical Insight And Talent For Eating Whatever You Give Him Is Second To None.  His Poetic Lyrics Will Run Deep, And Yet Skim The Surface Of Whatever The Heck Is Going Through His Mind.

Jacob Hoggard, Singer Of Hedley And Self-Confessed Attention Whore, Never Turns Down A Bet. “People Have Always Dared Me To Do Stupid Things, Like Eat Sandwiches Off The Floor For Five Dollars.”  But In 2003, His Band Mates Upped The Stakes: They Bet Him $150 He Wouldn’t Try Out For TV’s Canadian Idol. “They Found Out That My Mom Had Been Nagging Me To Try And Had Already Forged My Name On The Application, So It Was Either Spend A Summer Working Construction Or Appear Drunk On Television.” And Never Was There A Contestant Quite Like Him In All Of Idol History, Canadian Or Otherwise.  Jacob Was An Excellent Singer, Albeit One Who Would Occasionally Wear A Skin-Tight Blue Latex Jumpsuit. Suddenly, The Class Clown Had A National Audience. Though, To Be Fair, Perhaps The Country Wasn’t Ready For An Idol Who Had Been Kicked Out Of High School For Lighting His Desk On Fire And Who Had Up Until That Point Been Living A Life Of Petty Crime, Getting Drunk And Stealing Cars. “I Was Just Not Cut Out To Be An Idol. But The Whole Thing Was Fucking Awesome Fun. I Was A Born Attention-Seeker. And Well, Live National Television, As I Found Out, Milks That Craving.”

During The Competition, Jake Wore His Hedley T-Shirt And Promoted The Band In Interviews, Inspiring A Deluge Of Fans To Check Out The Band On Their Myspace Page. After Being Voted Off, He Returned Back Home A Hero And Now More Than Ever Wanted To Get Back To Band Business, Which Would Have Been Great If The Band Felt The Same Way. “By The Time I Got Back, The Guys Were Doing Their Own Thing, Applying To Colleges And Getting On With Their Lives. I Was Ready To Quit My Job And Eat Shit For Three Years.” Fortunately, Three Guys Were So Impressed With His Vocal Chops And Charisma That They Gave Him A Call That Would Change His Life. Drummer Chris Crippin, Bassist Tommy Mac, And Guitarist Dave Rosin From The Band Everything After Needed A New Singer And Invited Jacob To Jam.  Things Clicked Immediately And The Re-Invented Hedley Re-Worked Songs That Jacob Had Already Written, Wrote New Songs, And Sharpened Their Sound. “Tommy Came From A Metal Background And I Came In With Jimmy Eat World And Steven Tyler As Being My Biggest Influences, And It Somehow Came Together Amazingly.”

The Band Recorded A Demo, Got Signed To A Record Deal In Canada, And Quickly Found Two Established Producers Who Wanted To Work With Them: Gggarth Richardson And Brian Howes. 

 But The Entertainer In Jakes Still Hadn’t Learned His Lesson About Accepting Bets. “I Must Have Been Talking Big, So Gggarth Dared Me To Do The Entire Four-Week Recording Process In A Thong. Not Like, Oh, I’m Crazy! I’m Wearing A Thong Under My Pants! No. Naked Except For A Thong. I Got Props. Respect? Probably Not.”