It had been almost 15 years since we began playing our mix of 80's hardcore , 70's rock and every kind of country music. Looking back, not a whole lot has changed... not in our belief's and not in our sound. From the beginning in 1995 we were not a band looking for a sound or an identity. We knew where we stood on both counts. We never swayed in any direction from our first release the 'Knock Her Out' 7inch in 1996 on Mans Ruin Records to our latest recording which was done 02-28-09 and 03-01-09 our sound has stayed consistently Hammerlock.
We have always enjoyed what we do and whether the rest of the world felt the same way or not...we never let that affect what we were doing, and we have done a lot. A hand full of southwest of tours by van, enough northeast and southeast fly in shows to give the most seasoned traveler jet lag. They have seen us in the Pacific northwest in two different decades and two different millenniums. Lets not forget our Local shows, which have been some of our best. We have met a lot of people and made a lot of Friends playing in the Bay Area. We've played the Rumblers Car Club SF "Night of the Living Sleds" a staggering 7 years straight. We've played the second, third and fourth Dirtbag Challenge. The founder of the Dirtbag Challenge Wendell Jones once told me that HAMMERLOCK and some of our Friends helped inspire the creation of the Dirtbag Challenge. People have come and gone from our local shows but one thing has not changed, they have always been fun and rowdy with an interesting mix of people.
Our latest studio masterpiece (if i may say so myself and thank a few Friends)] will be our 6Th full length release in addition to several seven inches, a ten inch, and a hand full of comp appearances. All of the early full length releases have been reissued at least once. We were the only West Coast band to be inducted in to the C.O.S.
We have played with some great and legendary bandsWe've had a damn good time and our music speaks for itself and states our case better than anything I could put down in type. We are going to keep making our music our way regardless of what anybody else thinks. Hope you like it and if you don't...it's not illegal for you to have bad taste.
- ANTiSEEN, Hellstomper, Cocknoose, Roller, The Wreched Ones, Rancid Vat, Lime Cell, The Jabbers, HIT & RUN, ZEKE, JOE BUCK, BEFORE I HANG, Queens of the Stoneage, THE HOOKERS, REO SPEEDEALER, ALTAMONT, ACID KING, UNIDA, Turbo Negro, FU MANCHU, BUCK CHERRY, Flogging Molly, The Lewd, Papa Roach, CHANELL 3, Hammercocks, The Forgotton, THE ADZ, The Bodies, The Stitches, BONECRUSHER, HONKY, FRACAS, The Bulmics,The Mentors, MURDER JUNKIES, Bob Wayne, Lisa Miller and Her Kin and many many more!
Travis Kenney