Road Hammer sticks to its sound
Pride found in ‘Hammerizing’ songs they play
The Road Hammers When: Saturday at 9:15 p.m. Where: Koodonation Stage, K-Days Tickets: Free with K-Days gate admission
Having released a new album last month, The Road Hammers are excited to hit the road and bring the music to their fans.
The Hammers — Jason McCoy, Clayton Bellamy and Chris Byrne — are on a bit of a comeback after having disbanded in 2010. They reunited in 2013 after a performance at the Canadian Country Music Awards and the result was Wheels, released June 13.
The band, which was recently nominated for a Canadian Country Music Association Award for Group or Duo of the Year, developed a dedicated and loyal fan base with their high energy shows and McCoy said they were champing at the bit to get onstage with the new music.
“We’re pretty excited when we get onstage because we still feel like we’re 18 years old and in our first band. I’m not just saying that, we really do feel that way,” McCoy said. “You know when you’re growing up and there’s three kids in the neighbourhood and whenever they play together you’d better watch them? It’s like that; we just happen to have guitars.”
The first two singles from the album, Get On Down The Road and Mud, have been in heavy rotation on country radio from coast to coast. The album remains true to the style that resulted in three Canadian Country Music Association awards and one Juno Award for the band.
Fans say that Wheels sounds exactly like a Road Hammers album should.
“That’s exactly what we wanted. We wanted to put our stamp on whatever we did. We prided ourselves on ‘Hammerizing’ songs,” said McCoy. “Everyone knows what Chris, Clay and I do individually, but it’s something different when we get together.
Country music hasc hanged since the debut of The Road Hammers in 2005, with the genre now heavily influenced by pop, rock and hip-hop.
But when the band reunited, they made a conscious decision to ignore those fads. McCoy said they don’t want to pretend to be something they aren’t.
“I just hate that term where musicians say they’re trying to be true to themselves because it sounds so pompous and that’s not us,” McCoy said, with a chuckle. “We’re not artists; we’re just three goofy guys with guitars, but we want to be as Road Hammerish as possible.”
The Road Hammers take the Koodonation stage at KD-ays Saturday at 9:15 p.m.