“Lovehammers triumphant new disc, ‘Heavy Crown’, restores faith that heartfelt rock and roll can still thrive. With an inimitable and unpretentious sound, Chicago’s homegrown heroes punch out an album of thought-provoking, hook-injected airwave contenders that are long on hooks and incendiary riffs.
From the explosive opening salvo Guns to the soaring Honest Ill Wait, Lovehammers nail a variety of approaches with expert finesse. With sonic jewels like Your Time, My Time and the infectious Oh My Baby forging a direct line to the any self-respecting rock music fan, Heavy Crown offers a refreshing respite from todays over-compartmentalized musical climate. The fifth full length from the band was produced by heavy-hitting producer Marti Frederickson (Aerosmith, Buckcherry, Pink, Faith Hill, Papa Roach).”
May The Rock Be With You checked in with Dino Kourelis to chat about the bands killer new album.
For starters, a lot of people may know who you are, but can you introduce us to Lovehammers and give us a brief bio in your own words on the band?
We tend to call ourselves a gang, rather than a band. We have known each other our whole lives, and feel like that is what makes this thing called Lovehammers special. The most important part of the band is our extended family that have begun to call themselves Hammerheads. We love and cherish the relationship we have with our fans, and are also as accessible and open to them as humanly possible.
Most people would not know that Lovehammers had released 3 albums prior to your first major release in 2006, now 3 years on we finally get to hear ‘Heavy Crown’ your 5th studio album, what as a band happened over the last 3 years that led up to ‘Heavy Crown’ seeing the light of day?
We basically lived a ‘Behind the Music’ episode. We had some very bad advice, and the people that were handling our band didn’t seem to have our best interest in mind. In the end, we got ripped off, lied to, and everything was just a mess. It took 3 years to try and pick up the pieces – both mentally and from a band standpoint.
‘Heavy Crown’ is a great modern rock record and needs to be given kudos, so firstly, kudos on a great record, but we would like to know what the songwriting process was for the record?
This record was written, recorded, and mixed in about 3 months. Many of the performances are live, and without a real budget, we really didn’t have the luxury of top notch facilities. We were fortunate enough to get some studio time at CRC in Chicago and Marti F. was great, letting us use his studio for most of the vocals. Other than that, this CD was recorded in bedrooms and basements – LOL!
How was it working with producer Marti Frederickson producing the album?
Marti is great. We got to work with him on our last record, and he was generous enough to let us use his studio for vocals and also lend a helping hand with some of the songs. It is always great when you get someone of his stature willing to help enhance a song.
Lovehammers have a reputation as an energetic and passionate live band. Explain to those who haven’t the chance to see you perform, just what they are missing.
We are just a “real” band. Everything you hear is being played live – no backing tracks. We try to give the audience a unique experience every show. We always ad lib, so you never really know what you are going to hear from show to show. We always love the crowd and interacting with them. Before and after the show, you can always find us mingling amongst the crowd. If you come to a show, just plan on getting sweaty. It is just raw, live, rock.-n-roll.
From the shows what do you personally get from performing live?
We get the greatest satisfaction hearing the crowd sing back to us and have the songs impact them on a personal level. If we can do that, then we have done our job.
Your fans or ‘Hammerheads’ as they’ve been named, seem to be involved in the bands decisions, whether it be choosing singles or set lists or general promotion, this is mostly due to the bands requests. It’s awesome to see a band doing this with their fans, how important are the fans to you?
The fans have always been the most important thing for our band. Since our inception, we never really fit into one genre or a clique in the Chicago scene, so we had to kind of make our own. With no allies, the only thing that we had were our fans. We just kind of took over Chicago, because of this army that was being built and getting stronger called – HAMMERHEADS.
We would post our address on our website and invite all hammerheads to our house ‘hammerhouse” before and after every show. We figured the least we could do for everyone was supply a few kegs since our fans were spending $15 on a concert ticket. It wouldn’t be uncommon to have 500-1000 fans at our house before and after a show…..
Although Marty Casey didn’t win the job of fronting INXS, Lovehammers got to tour and open for them. Did they give you any words of wisdom for how to handle the new found fame you had by being on the show?
The guys in INXS were very helpful and willing to share their thoughts, and experiences. Tim and Kirk were especially kind to us throughout our time together. Every show, we would sit on the side of the stage trying to absorb as much as we could from them. These guys are legends, and one of the reasons we have become a band in the first place. Hopefully we can do some sows with them again.
What’s next on your agenda for the Hammerheads?
Next on the agenda is getting the fans more involved. We started REEP Records (Record Executives Everyday People) in order to give the power to the real music experts – the fans. Many bands get a false sense of security from a fast talking label big wig or rep, and we have unfortunately found that the reality is those people are really out of tune with what the true fans and public want. People say the Music Industry is declining, but the truth is that Artists are getting smarter and more involved and we are getting into a very exciting time.
What can we expect for the future of one of rocks up and coming bands Lovehammers?
Our first single off this record impacts on February 9. The sing is “Guns” and it is basically a homage and a thank you to all those brave men and women who risk and sacrifice their lives everyday in the armed forces. Although are album had a Midwest release, we will also have a Nationwide Release in 2010.
We hope to see everyone on the road!!!!!!
