CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE
The new issue of Classic ... Hollering Shitkicker Outlaw Country and Blistering Redneck Punk!
Yep, it must be another Sleazegrinder blog entry. This week, from the Band Most Likely To Be In Jail Right Now Dept.
Hammerlock are from San Francisco, but you would never guess that in a trillion years. You'd guess Alabama or wherever they shot the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Texas, I suppose). They are a troublesome trio consisting of husband and wife team Travis and Liza Kenney , and the noise they make is fearsome and true, a devastating blend of hollering shitkicker outlaw country and blistering redneck punk. Hammerlock are loosely affiliated with the Confederacy of Scum, the southern riot-rock coalition spearheaded by bruisers n' bleeders Antiseen, but, much like myself, their geographical distance from the Mason/Dixon line keeps 'em from being full-fledge scum. Also like myself, they are just part time scum. But Christ, are they mean.
As I mentioned in a recent review of their new "greatest hits" rekkid, "True Grit" (Steel Cage Records), Hammerlock ooze such unreasonable menace that you don't even feel safe listening to their music, never mind watching them play or, god forbid, wandering onto their property. I like that in a band.
I also like how fetching Miss Liza is, especially when you know that if you stare too long, Travis will remove your offending orb with a fork and then eat it. (By the way, check out the cover of their "Barefoot and Pregnant" record for a rather amazing photo of Liza in the last stages of pregnancy, wielding a big ol' shotgun. Now, that's heavy!)
Anyway, if you're lookin' for them, they're usually out on the road somewhere shootin' buzzards or hosting benefit shows for one of their down-bros in their backyard (bike wrecks, mostly. Sometimes bail). Wherever they are, you can bet Booze and brawls are not far behind. Just mosey on over to www.Hammerlock.net for the full skinny.
In the meantime, here's my fave track from Barefoot and Pregnant, the impossibly snarly Colorado Mountain Goat. Yee fuckin' Haw. Hammerlock - Colorado Mountain Goat
Posted by Scott Rowley
Wednesday October 18, 2006
