All of us at Figment are pleased to announce that thehoseman has been selected as this month’s user Industry Heavyweight of the month.  Why?  The answers are myriad.

We could start by pointing out the incredible musical fantasy world he’s created in the form of Uncle Duff Records.  Led by it’s iconic freak-rock impersario and ringleader, Zandergriff Miggs, it is in many ways one of the most complete “figments” on Figment.  When at you look at the bands under the Uncle Duff umbrella – Zandergriff Miggs & The Parliament of Owls, Secret Scurrility, The Notorious A.i.G., AlphaHistamines, Stalker Channing, Gorgan Zola, The Elder Berry’s, Gunshot Love, Vortromeda, Agua Netz, Hanz Openschut, Grover “Neck-Bone” Clifton, Cerrnunos, Manifold Spaceport, Sludge Cartwright, REPLACEDmints, Serpentinuum, Van Q., Karkass, Gnome – he’s arguably created one of the most diverse, both musically and creatively, collection of artists on Figment so far.  Not only are they diverse in scope, but the level of detail and craftmanship used in creating each band is simply staggering.  When you encounter a band created by thehoseman I dare you not to walk away feeling as if you’ve encountered a new “real” band.

Furthermore, thehoseman is an incredible writer.  Not only are his band and album descriptions a textbook example of how to create a backstory and style for a fake band (case in point – the band bio for Zandergriff Miggs and The Parliament of Owls), but his album reviews are among the best on the site.

Lastly, the creativity shown in his album covers is incredible.  Whether it’s creating an homage to a “real” band (REPLACEDmints) or creating something entirely new (Karkass) his designs are always not only top notch, but really reinforce the band’s sound and ethos.

I suggest you take a look at his whole portfolio and become a fan of as many of his band’s as possible, because he’s truly an Industry Heavyweight!

We’d also to thank frizbee for being such an incredible Industry Heavyweight over the past month.  His reviews have been nothing short of incredible and he’s really embraced the role while still putting out incredible stuff himself (check out Xenophilia Live and 3).  So thanks frizbee!