Stamford rock band to open shows in CT
STAMFORD — Local alternative rock band Hosemen’s song “Saturday Nite Conformity” opens with guitarist and lead singer Anthony “Quinn” Carpanzano giving a nod to his hometown.
“Come on and take me back/Where I used to walk the streets/Down from Selleck and back to Fairfield/Then I made my way around the world,” the song begins.
Selleck Street and Fairfield Avenue in Stamford is around where Carpanzano grew up.
Carpanzano then sings about Amsterdam, mentioning Dam Square and Leidseplein. “I come alive on Saturday night/And I don’t conform to your rules,” he sings.
“I’ve never conformed to really anything, and in Amsterdam, you don’t conform to nothing,” said Carpanzano, who is 52, or as he put it, “old enough to play rock n’ roll,” during an interview this week. A longtime supporter of live original music in Stamford, he currently books bands at Club London.
Hosemen’s other two members, Brien Adams and Wade McManus, also
hail from Stamford. Adams plays bass for the band and occasionally provides backing vocals. McManus rounds out the trio on drums. Both are in their late 20s.
They will open for alternative metal band Helmet at Infinity Music Hall in Hartford on Saturday night and again at Fairfield
Theatre Company’s Warehouse in Fairfield on Sunday night. The group plans to play a number of songs from a to-be-released new album.
“Come to the show and see a real rock band play,” Adams said.
Carpanzano and Adams described Hosemen’s style as 1990s grunge with dashes
of heavy metal, punk rock and new wave. Their influences include Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Jane’s Addiction, Tool, Iron Maiden, The Cure and Helmet. It’s the kind of music that Adams said is lacking at Stamford’s Alive at Five concert series.
The band’s earlier iteration,
which first played a show in 2005, was called “Mantyhose.” A decade later, Carpanzano began playing with Adams. McManus was the last to join the band around 2017.
They changed the name about a year later at the recommendation of an engineer who worked with the band on the album “Saturday Nite Conformity,” which includes the song of the same name.
The group is now recording the new album at Carriage House Studios in Westover. Carpanzano said he is expecting it to be an improvement over their first record because he, Adams and McManus have spent more time together as a band.
“It’s definitely heavier, a little darker, but also has its beautiful elements,” Carpanzano said. “It’s intense, and it has its peaks and valleys.”
He said he worked on honing his craft as a songwriter after COVID-19 came to Connecticut and prevented the band from practicing for some time.
The members of the group also have day jobs: Carpanzano works with his brothers at a corporate travel agency. Adams is a photographer. McManus works in security.
“With this album, we’re definitely planning on … turning some heads and seeing where we can go from there,” Carpanzano said. “I think all the stars are aligning for us.”