The Untitled Interview #119: Starring Hammer No More The Fingers

If you really think about it, friends, the 90s was a pretty fine time for music. The dudes of Hammer No More The Fingers appreciate that fact, and today the nifty North Carolinians release their second record, Black Shark, full of college rock staples and much rambunctious rockery. The guys are always a good time live and in person, so DC kids get thee down to the Red Palace tomorrow evening for what will be one heck of a good time. Below, the three gentlemen Hammer describe themselves for your reading pleasure.

HAMMER NO MORE THE FINGERS!

AS A MOVIE: The Room. Awfully Awesome.

AS A DRINK: Dark & Stormy. Spicy n' Drunky.

AS A WEATHER EVENT: Carolina Hurricane.

AS AN OBSCURE VINTAGE LP: The Kelly Family - Ain't Gonna Pee Pee My Bed Tonight. Please look up.

AS A MOMENT IN HISTORY: The invention of Betamax.

AS A DENOMINATION OF CURRENCY: Camel Cash.

AS A SPOT IN NORTH CAROLINA: The Life Crystals which lie beneath the city of Asheville.

AS A VIDEO GAME/CHARACTER THEREIN: Altered Beast. Definitely Altered Beast!

AS A WORK OF LITERATURE: Savage Trust by Cassie Edwards. Please look up.

AS A HISTORICAL FIGURE: Icke: The Overlord of Reptilian Humanoids.

AS A CAMPAIGN PROMISE: We will bring the Thunder to your Dome. All ya gotta do is ask a' Hammer.

mp3: Leroy (Hammer No More The Fingers from Black Shark)

Ramble On #2: Hammer No More The Fingers

Which is more difficult: writing a song or writing a poem? Beats the heck out of me, I don't write either. But I'll tell you who does. The trio of dudes that's rapidly turning into some of my favorite Carolinians, otherwise known as Hammer No More The Fingers. The 90s college rock-esque rockers Duncan, Jeff, and Joe came up with a mighty fine group effort with the below piece of poetry, all inspired by their latest tour across this great land. So read on, and if you're in the DC metro, I suggest you consider heading to the Rock'n'Roll Hotel tomorrow night for what will surely be a rollicking good rock'n'roll time with the aforementioned Hammer. As you can see from this here poem, they're not too shabby with the poetical stuff, either.

sweet arcade games

mr basketball you have

great mustaches

hair cuts les savy fav

girl drummers play sex cymbals

cheesewhiz meat and bread

cigarette smoke machine

clouds up your head

in sky or on land

its birds, fox japan

blew a superwadzilla in a basement insaneo

the grass is always greener at the foot of a volcano

machete confetti

invisible host

anybody need a beer

chad the bro ghost

mp3: Nobody Knows (Hammer No More The Fingers from Looking For Bruce) (courtesy Sunset In The Rearview Mirror)

100 Shows of 2010 - #74: Hammer No More The Fingers/Birds of Avalon @ Motorco, 10/9/10

I would hope my fellow DC kids would agree on this statement, that we’ve got a pretty daggum decent little stable of venues at which to take in some rock and some roll. On any given night of any given week, we can venture forth and see a good show at one of any number of places. And that’s a damn fine feeling. However, for those of us with the travel itch, it’s nice to hit the road every now and again and see what’s goin’ on in other parts of this fine world. Especially when a brand spanking new venue is involved. Enter Motorco: newest venue in the fabulous (and fabulously talent-rich) Research Triangle (Durham, to be precise). So new the paint had barely dried, but still a terribly good spot for a terribly good show. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly how it went down.

MINI RECAP: Birds of Avalon = Blazingly Amazing! Hammer No More The Fingers = Handsomely Noisy! Motorco = Motorific! Overall Score: B+++

I loved everything about Motorco immediately (well, save for the parking situation). It reminded me a whole lot of my first Richmond apartment, the loftiness of it and the exposed ductwork and the dark, friendly confines (yes, lofts can be dark and friendly. Trust.). However, my place had neither that fabulous wall of windows nor the great stage and sound. The place was packed with shiny, happy North Carolinians, reveling in this super new space, not to mention the cheap beer. But that wasn’t all, oh no. There were some pretty fine bands, too, to help ring in the official grand opening soiree for this here venue.

Birds of Avalon was the first musical treat I had the pleasure of sampling. I’d wanted to see them for a little while now, so I was way excited they were on the bill for the Motorco party. They immediately tested the sound barriers of the new club, spewing out pulsating wave of noise after pulsating wave of noise in an unflinching, unapologetic set. I’m not sure, but I might have left my body there for a little while during this set, so good was this band. The sound was a mess of things, swirls of shoegaze, the crunch of straight up bastard rock, and definitely delicious dashes of psych rock. This is a band that turns what could have been a disparate jumble of noise into a cohesive, unified wall of beauty. I could hardly believe it when they set down their instruments and left the stage. It was the biggest bummer of the night bar none.

But then, my spirits were lifted, because soon taking up where Birds of Avalon had left off were local heroes (and LET faves) Hammer No More The Fingers. Somehow this was my third Hammer show in as many cities this year. I was totally mystified by Duncan’s sartorial choice (a boiler suit), but less confounding was the band’s totally rad rock and roll. Feeding off the partisanship of the crowd, the trio (and friend on keys) stormed through a triumphant little set full of that ridiculously catchy 90s college radio rock they’re becoming known for. Between riffs there were much banter, and the tossing of many glow-in-the-dark bracelets into the happily inebriated masses. On their home turf, the band was that much louder, that much cheekier, and that much more into it. And friends, that’s a wonderful thing.

When you get right to it, my friends, I wanted to uproot Motorco and move it up north about 4 hours to this neck of the woods. Despite our venues here, I am insanely jealous about this space, and I might just have to make an effort to hit more shows down there in the near future. Especially if they keep up that whole Beatlestones dancenight thingie. Yours truly might be unable to resist that kind of tractor beam. But kudos to all involved with Motorco, and may it have many good years ahead of it.

mp3: Your Down Time Is Up (Birds of Avalon from Uncanny Valley)

mp3: Nobody Knows (Hammer No More The Fingers from Looking For Bruce)

100 Shows of 2010 - #58: Morphius Records & HotCarsKill & Churchkey Records Showcase, BiMA @ Wind-Up Space, 8/27/10

After a wee intermission (and speaking of intermissions, hey y'all! Hope you missed me, cuz I sure did miss your pretty faces), it was time for my second BiMA event of the night. Being as I was a little out of festival practice, this felt like a massive, yet awesome, undertaking. By this point in the evening I was serving as keeper of the spectacles for a friend, and I'd like to offer a word of warning, darlings: Don't attempt taking notes whilst wearing prescription specs that are not, in fact, prescribed for you. It makes deciphering them, well, interesting to say the least!

MINI RECAP: A whole lotta shakin goin' on! Overall Score: B+

The first band of round two to light my fire was Churchkey's Free Electric State, one of those daggum Research Triangle bands that you'll find being awesome just about wherever you look. Seriously. Those North Carolina bands are everywhere, and it's probably got something to do with how great they tend to be. FES was loud, loud, loud, and lordy me I love some loud. A little hint of distortion tends to go a long way when it comes to winning my affections. I liked this band a whole lot, with the hints of shoegazery that permeated into their big ole sound. They sounded dark and a little dangerous, and what gal doesn't like a little danger? Their energy was off the charts, and their intensity matched their musical radness note for note.

As impressed as I was by FES, I was possibly even more smitten with The Moaners. They were, for lack of a better term, badass. They even broke a string, and it really doesn't get much more badass than onstage string breaking. Ok, it does, but work with me. They made some ridiculously filthy, nasty, raunchy rock and roll, which is right up my alley. The rawness they conveyed was off the charts. I was reminded a little of first album Von Bondies, but this band took that Detroit dirtiness and made it sizzle even more, if possible. They were seriously, absolutely, majorly worth the drive up to Baltimore all by their lonesome, and I'm thrilled to have been able to see them.

Up next, new LET pets Hammer No More The Fingers, yet another one of those damned North Carolina bands. I actually wrote in my notes "Stop. Hammer Time", and I just had to share my scribble with you just because (boys, need a new tee idea?). Duncan got himself a haircut and looked eerily like Graham Coxon, so I was preoccupied by that for a while. They once again pulled heavily from their new, unreleased material (coming soon, I've been told). And once again, their big, bad, 90s college radio sound won me over. There's something so cheeky and fun about this band, I just can't help but like them to bits and pieces. They're violently enjoyable, with that kicky racket they make.

All in all, those three bands were all damned, damned fine. And I have to tip my hat to David Andler for his hard work getting BiMA up and running. I was nothing but impressed with my festival experience (well, except for the parking), and I really hope the festival will continue to grow and get even more wonderful year after year.

mp3: Mushrooms (Hammer No More The Fingers from Looking For Bruce)

Wish You Were Here #1: Hammer No More The Fingers

Hammer No More The Fingers has rapidly become one of my favoritest new bands. I love their raw, rambunctious energy and their sound that's been compared by many to the glory days of 90s college radio rock. Not to mention that these three dudes are three of my favorite North Carolinians of all time. They'll be playing the Churchkey Records showcase at BiMA Friday night, and I'll be there with bells on.

mp3: Shutterbug (Hammer No More The Fingers from Looking for Bruce)

100 Shows of 2010 - #47: Hammer No More The Fingers @ Velvet Lounge, 7/26/10

The other half of my doubleheader evening had me ever so very excited, ladies and gents. Sure, I was already crushing on Hammer No More The Fingers because of that delightfully clever name of theirs, but their Carolina Rock und Roll gets me pretty amped up on its own. And let's face it, to see a band that is oh so close to blowing up at such a teensy little venue like my old haunt the Velvet Lounge, well, it doesn't get much better than that. The band was great. They huffed and they puffed and they nearly blew the dang roof off.

MINI RECAP: Hammer No More The Fingers = Terrific Tarheels! Overall Score: A-

Immediately likeable, the trio set the tone for their set with new song "Atlas Of An Eye", a smashing wat to begin. The song was cute, jaunty, more than a little bouncy, and just a smidge mischievious, which is really just the way I like it. Second song "Steam" showed off very kicky drum action, as hammered out by Jeff Hammer, and got a little sassypants. Around this time I started thinking to myself that Hammer No More The Fingers kinda sorta remind me of two rather fanfuckingtastic bands - The Joggers and Crystal Skulls. Something about all the driving rhythms and the cheeky overtones, which definitely puts Hammer No More The Fingers in pretty fine company as far as I'm concerned. Duncan Hammer's bass (and moustache) was out of control good on "Vodka Grasshopper", and guitarist Joe Hammer really started to get into the song, throwing out a lively little thrash hither and thither.

As much as I like them on record, by the middle of their set I was convinced that to see Hammer No More The Fingers live is really the way to love them. They have fun, they make the kids have fun, it's a real win-win situation. "Leroy", yet another fabulous new song, had quite a jolly good beat and a good bit of swagger. I loved the off-kilter intro to "Thunder'n'Rain", which was a rather fiesty little gem, very Joggers-esque but with a lot less sonic sneering. "Fuck Dave, he's out to get me," Duncan proclaimed in "It's About Caring", a very punchy little number rife with guitar intricacies. After the languid laze of the intro, the nifty guitar play and solid percussion took hold of "Fingernails", and then, sadly, 'twas the end of the line. "The Agency" was a great way to go out, as those three little stars jingle jangled their way through one last fantastic song.

They played a total trampy tease of a set, in that all but one song was new new new, and probably might just maybe end up on the next HNMTF record. Despite the overwhelming newness, it was one heck of a set. Those boys are pretty much straight up rock, and I can't urge you enough to get yourself acquainted with them as soon as you possibly can, y'all.

mp3: Radiation (Hammer No More The Fingers from Looking For Bruce)