Hinder makes comeback with Tulia-native singer

Tulia native Marshal Dutton's not aware of any rock stars from his hometown.

Any other ones, at least.

Dutton's making a case for being one himself, though, after joining Oklahoma City-based rock band Hinder full time this year.

The band will return to Amarillo for the first time since Dutton joined for a 9 p.m. Friday show at Midnight Rodeo, 4400 S. Georgia St.

"There were those brothers who sang country, I guess," Dutton said, referring to the Otwell Twins.

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But the floating bubbles of "The Lawrence Welk Show," which the Otwells once called home, isn't quite the same as rock stages around the country.

Dutton, a 1996 Tulia High School graduate, started his own band, Faktion, after graduating from the University of North Texas.

Originally meant to be a summer project before he entered the real world, Faktion wound up signing with Roadrunner Records and touring the country (often with Hinder) between 2006 and 2008.

After Faktion was dropped by Roadrunner, Dutton found himself working with Hinder again, primarily with founding member and drummer Cody Hanson.

"He ended up asking me to come out on the road with them in 2009 to do the pre-production for their 'All-American Nightmare' record," Dutton said.

That led to more co-writing and co-produc

ing - and after then-lead singer Austin Winkler entered drug rehab, Dutton was asked to fill in temporarily.

When Winkler and the band permanently parted ways in 2013, singer Nolan Neal joined temporarily before Dutton came on full time in January.

"I was very nervous about it, but Cody assured me that he would take all the blame," Dutton joked.

All cracks aside, Dutton said he was anxious about fronting the band, particularly since his voice sounds nothing like Winkler's.

"I thought most of these fans are going to light me up and it's not going to go good, but surprisingly, the fans have been really (embracing) and really nice and welcoming to me for the most part," Dutton said. "There are always going to be some haters and people saying some mean, terrible things, but that just comes with the territory.

"Surprisingly, it's been overwhelmingly positive for the majority of stuff, even the professional album reviews," he continued. "The band says this is the best reviews they've ever gotten."

He's referring to the band's May release, "When the Smoke Clears," a title suggested by fans but which Hanson said couldn't be more appropriate.

"We're ready to put the past behind us and move forward and focus on the music and the fans again," Hanson said. "We were all just so miserable (before Winkler left). I mean, everybody. We just decided we couldn't continue like that."

Hanson said Dutton has fit right in.

"Marshal was already part of the family, and that was the most important thing to us," Hanson said.

And Dutton said he's eager to return to his home area for the show.

"I'm really pretty excited," Dutton said. "Iv'e got a lot of old buddies and people from high school who've said they're going to be there."

How to go

What: Hinder with Full Devil Jacket

When: 9 p.m. Friday

Where: Midnight Rodeo, 4400 S. Georgia St.

How much: $18.50

Information: 806-358-7083 or www.midnightrodeoamarillo.com