Hired Gun was formed in the late 1990's by brothers John and Jeff Swenning who at the time were playing football at Fresno State and seeking their degrees in Criminal Justice. The boys played every honky tonk bar they could find in California. Hired Gun went on to record an 4 original songs that would be played at local radio stations in Central Valley which gain them much respect from local country fans. In 1996 Terry Christopherson of Buck Owens and Buckaroos recorded with HG on 2 tracks. After picking Simon Palacios on bass and taking on more shows the band went on to open for Brad Paisley, Randy Travis, Merle Haggard and George Jones where the legend himself invited the brother on stage to sing with him. Hired Gun is one of the last original country bands of 1990s of the Garth Brooks while they have enjoyed overwhelming success locally they still struggle to get Nashville's attention. That does not detour them from going out on the road and doing what they love playing country music for true country fans. They are in the process of writing new material and releasing as an independent project. Hired Gun continues to define the challenges of life band mates and time by sticking to their Guns. "We were County when Country wasn't Cool". California Country