Greg Hoy Finds Clarity in the Chaos on “The Wheel”

At a time when so much indie rock feels overly polished or algorithmically safe, “The Wheel” by Greg Hoy arrives with something far more refreshing: conviction.

Pulled from his ambitious self-crafted project Hit Music, the track balances Americana warmth, garage-rock looseness, and philosophical depth without collapsing under the weight of its own ideas. Hoy, who performed nearly every instrument on the record himself, approaches songwriting here less like a perfectionist and more like someone documenting the emotional static of modern life in real time.

Written during the uncertainty of the pandemic, “The Wheel” channels frustration toward a culture sleepwalking through collapse while clinging to distraction as a form of comfort. Yet despite the heavy themes, the song never feels preachy or emotionally inaccessible. Instead, Hoy wraps existential tension inside jangling acoustics, layered harmonies, and an organic, road-worn energy that feels deeply human.

There’s a rawness to the production that works entirely in the song’s favor. Nothing feels sterilized. The imperfections give “The Wheel” its pulse. Hoy sounds like an artist more interested in truth than polish, and that honesty becomes magnetic by the second chorus.

The self-directed music video adds another compelling layer to the experience. Shot with a vintage handheld aesthetic, the visuals blur satire, spirituality, and political commentary into something strangely playful while still carrying real weight underneath. It’s weird, chaotic, funny, and sharply observant all at once, much like the world the song is reacting to.

With “The Wheel,” Greg Hoy proves indie rock can still challenge people without losing its sense of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ-ADFIwP3Y

What emotions or observations originally sparked the writing process behind “The Wheel”?

This one was written sometime in 2021, right around the time of the rollout of the 'cure' for COVID. It felt odd to me that virtue from certain sides of the political spectrum had been flipped by a bought and paid for mainstream media. So, where at one time in the not distant past, let's say you have a hippy gal who was all but growing her own food, natural remedies, and clean living. Maybe she drives an electric car, or a Subaru even, is fiercely pro-choice about her body, and has fought hard to maintain that. So this type of lifestyle was considered radically left, or liberal. And once that particular personality questioned putting an untested, profit-driven, lab-made chemical into their clean bodies, the new ID for that person in the internet world became 'This person is a right-wing lunatic that hates humanity!' That's how fast 'The Wheel' was spinning for a few years there, and it's spinning even faster right now.

You handled nearly every aspect of 'Hit Music' yourself. How did that level of creative control specifically shape this song?

Part of the reason I get out of bed every day is to make stuff. And having a studio, no matter how big or small, in or near my living space all these years gives me that room. The band is on tour right now and played Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was wild pointing out the burnt-out building that used to be my creative space 20 years ago, as it gets reimagined as condos.

For 'The Wheel,' as with most of my songwriting, I need a spark of something to be a backbone. The kick drum on the track is just a drum machine. I'd been testing out a different way to mic an acoustic guitar, and that riff in A just stuck. The electric guitars were tracked on my '80s Peavey Decade - a secret weapon, a little guitar amplifier that Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age revealed to be the culprit for all those great stoner rock sounds over the years. Pro-tip: it rips for bass lines, too!

Buddhist philosophy seems deeply connected to the track's themes. How has spirituality influenced your songwriting over the years?

Between my self-work and becoming a parent, the framework of inner and inter-being has helped propel my spirit and accept the suffering that is life. With this has come acceptance. This leads to questions. What will I do about it? Intention has become a word that makes sense to me. Growing up Roman Catholic was mostly about other people's control - like any organized religion - and that means manipulation, doubt, guilt, expectation, etc.

The wheel of organized religion starts and ends with money and control. It plays nicely with capitalism in that it needs constant growth to survive. How does this coexist with reality? Looking at the state of the world, I'd argue it can't. It simply gets rebranded ('Here come the aliens!'). My creative time is evolving toward more expansion of my learning. What can I best do with my time left in this life? 

The music video balances humor and social commentary really well. Was that contrast intentional from the beginning?

Thinking back on all the videos over the years, there's only one that maybe WASN'T trying to be funny. We did a ZZ Top cover of 'Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell.' You can look that one up. It was all about doing our version of a bad karaoke break-up video. Comedy keeps us sane. It's a lot more fun to deal with heavy issues with a wink than a fist.

What do you think modern indie rock is missing right now that you wanted to bring back with “The Wheel”?

Well, we never really can get enough disco in our lives, can we? If the ship is going down, there's only one solution: everybody dance now.