Banding together: Hampton grad, dad perform side by side in Altered Egos

One of people’s most common fears is public speaking.

For folks who have such an aversion, try to imagine public singing.

As a member of the band the Altered Egos, Hampton High School graduate Ann Hodos frequently treats audiences to her vocal talents. But she’ll admit to some trepidation as far as taking the limelight.

“In the beginning, I didn’t sing as much, because I was working on my stage fright,” she said.

These days, she’s all about stage presence, and that makes Dad especially proud: On gig nights, he’s playing guitar just a few feet away from her.

Etna native Eric Hodos started the Altered Egos in 2021, after moving back to the Pittsburgh area from New Jersey with wife Audrey, whom he met, serendipitously enough, in a college music appreciation class.

Their daughter shares their interest, and despite her reservations, Ann has a performance history that includes playing bass clarinet in the high school band.

“I wasn’t in chorus, but I was in musicals,” she recalled. “I never had a lead, though. I couldn’t dance very well, so they would just put me in the back. And I’m short, so they would hide me and put a mic under me so I could sing.”

Now she’s front and center for Altered Egos shows, and as of Jan. 5, her voice can be heard throughout the world with the streaming-platform release of her song “Maxx and Ruby.”

A rousing rocker with a catchy chorus — “Tell me, and I going crazy/Or is that just how life’s supposed to be” — the tune takes its title from a similarly named children’s cartoon.

“Whenever I write songs, I’ll just start doing a tune and then I’ll kind of make up words. So if you listen to the first recording of ‘Maxx and Ruby,’ it’s literally nonsense,” Ann explained. “I started saying random stuff around the room.”

And with a glance in a certain direction, she hit upon the lyric “I’ve got ‘Max & Ruby’ on my TV screen,” which made the final cut as fitting into the song’s general theme relating to 21st-century angst.

By contrast, Eric’s “There’s No Downside,” released Jan. 29, should make listeners want to get up and boogie.

“If I had to put myself in any ‘dream’ band that I could ever be in, I’d want to be the guy in a ’70s funk band,” Eric said, and his groove-heavy tune is reminiscent of some of the standouts of that particular genre.

Both songs were recorded at Destin LeCornu’s Sunset Place Studio in Richland, the latter with popular voiceover artist Stefan Johnson contributing vocals. “Making It the Hard Way,” another Eric-penned composition, is set for a March 15 release.

“We’re planning on having a full-length album out, probably by the June time frame,” he said. “Me being who I am, I want to get it on vinyl, too.”

In the meantime, the Altered Egos’ lineup —including bass player Paul Furiga and multi-instrumentalist Rebecca Pietrusinski, who also sings — will welcome a new drummer, as Matt Piermani-Brace makes his debut with the band on Feb. 17 at Dive Bar & Grille in Lawrenceville.

On June 1 is a show closer to the Hodos’ Cranberry home, at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Marshall. The venue, which often hosts national touring acts, had the Altered Egos as headliners in October and again in December, two years after the band began playing live.

Frequent performances in the early days were at Cadence + Clubhouse in McCandless.

“That’s where we kind of honed our chops. We played probably 15 times there, and made nothing,” Eric said. “But we developed a big following out of that. We were packing that place really well.”

The distinctive presence of two female vocalists — Eric takes some leads, too — combined with a carefully crafted repertoire apparently helps the band sustain its popularity.

“We have three generations that we’re trying to keep on the dance floor at all times: the Boomers, the Xers and the Millennials/Gen Z,” Furiga said. “We want everybody out there dancing.”

Following in the footsteps of legends such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead, the Altered Egos started mainly with familiar covers but are adding more originals to the mix.

“We’re doing it in such a way that we’re bringing people in,” Eric said. “We’re not just going to be, like, here’s a set of stuff you’ve never heard before.”

He acknowledges the strong support the group has received from the folks at Jergel’s and concert promoter Drusky Entertainment, plus Prince Project frontman Wayne Smith, who invited the Altered Egos to tour with his tribute band.

Smith joined LeCornu in co-producing “Maxx and Ruby,” a project that represented Ann Hodos’ first time in a recording studio. She enjoyed that and continues to enjoy the Altered Egos experience with Dad.

“I feel like not many people have a relationship with their parents in that way, so it’s nice to be able to have that relationship with my dad and be able to do music, especially since my parents met through music,” she said. “It also helps me continue to live out my little dream of singing and performing. It’s a great opportunity, for sure.”

For more information, visit thealteredegos.com.