| Lovehammers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Genres | Alternative rock Indie rock Post-grunge Pop punk |
| Years active | 1994—present |
| Labels | Reep Records |
| Associated acts | INXS |
| Website | www.lovehammers.com |
| Members | |
| Marty Casey Billy Sawilchik Dino Kourelis Bob Kourelis |
|
| Past members | |
| Ben Kelley John Murdoch |
|
Lovehammers is a Chicago-based, Alternative rock band. Their sound is best described as a combination of Pop-punk, and Grunge influences.
Since 1997, Lovehammers have independently released five full-length albums and EPs and one major label LP. For their self-titled major label debut (released January 24, 2006), they were known as Marty Casey & Lovehammers. They are now back to just "Lovehammers". They have also appeared live on VH1, playing acoustic versions of their songs - Trees, The Tunnel, and The Riddle.
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Lovehammers band members Marty Casey, Bobby Kourelis and his younger brother Dino Kourelis became friends in 1982 when the three were on the same Little League team in their hometown of Hickory Hills, Illinois. As young teens they formed a cover band with fellow neighborhood friends, Ben Kelly on guitar and John Murdoch as lead vocalist. They called themselves Swinging Lovehammers. After they entered college, John Murdoch left the band and Marty Casey took over as vocalist.[1]
In 1994, they discovered Billy Sawilchik, who was at the time playing lead guitar for a band called 9 Arms. In May 1994 they officially recruited him to become a member of Swinging Lovehammers. With the line-up in place the band began writing original material.[2]
In 1997, Swinging Lovehammers released their first full-length album, Ultrasound, an early incarnation of the band's now, signature, genre melding "un-pretentious rock" sound.[3]
In 1999, the band released Demolition, a four song EP recorded at DV Productions in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Demolition features the songs Real Man, Give It Up, Counterfeit and Confusion. These songs were later re-released on the Lovehammers second LP L'Strange. That same year their song Rain on The Brain is awarded a place in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest[4]
By the year 2000, Swinging Lovehammers began to acquire a larger fanbase throughout the Midwest, winning various Battle of The Bands competitions and booking gigs at notable venues and festivals such as House of Blues, Summerfest and Lincoln's Fest and are booked to play the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. They also began receiving local radio play.[5]
Around 2000, Swinging Lovehammers' fanbase swelled and their devotees were referred to as Hammerheads. On 30 September 2000, Swinging Lovehammers released the original version of their second album, L'strange.[5] By October, Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx reportedly reviews the band favorably, calling them "Another new band to keep your eyes open for".[6] On 24 March 2001 Swinging Lovehammers released their second EP How We Live produced by legendary Indie rock impresario Steve Albini, known for his work with Nirvana, PJ Harvey and Pixies.[7] On 8 August 2001, the band officially changes its name from Swinging Lovehammers to simply Lovehammers, bass-player Dino Kourelis explained the change on the band's website, "You can call us whatever you want. Most people call us Lovehammers anyway. We will keep all names to make everyone happy. We made a little change for marketing reasons, as well as ‘change is good.’" [6] On 6 November 2001, Lovehammers re-released L'Strange complete with new cover art which reflects the name change.[8]
In Fall of 2003 Ben Kelly officially left the band. In an informal to the fans via their website lead singer Marty Casey explained the departure. "He [Ben] was apart of this band for a long time. I can't honestly sit here and say I do not miss him. ... There are only 24 hours in a day and Ben was operating on a 48 hour schedule. We wanted to put every single moment of energy into our next CD. This is what I have been building up to for my entire life. I wanted to put every moment of my life into creating the best Lovehammer CD anyone has ever heard. This requires singular focus from every person involved in the record."[9] At this point Billy Sawilchik became and remains the band's only lead guitarist.
On July 27, 2003 Lovehammers released their third full-length album entitled Murder on My Mind. The album featured a number of songs written by Marty Casey during his stay in New York City, including Wait For No One, Better Off (Walk Away) and Eyes Can't See which form a thematic trilogy.[10]
In 2005, Lovehammers were opening for Cake and Gomez on the 21 city Virgin College Mega Tour. At that time, Marty Casey was participating in ongoing auditions for the reality television show Rockstar: INXS.[11] The show's purpose was to discover a replacement lead singer for the band, INXS through a televised singing competition. Casey made it onto the show and quickly became a fan favorite.[12] Despite the rest of the band's initial apprehension, they supported Casey and could occasionally be seen in the television crowd cheering him on during his performances. On September 6, 2005 Marty Casey debuted a different version of the pop-heavy Lovehammers song, Trees, which had been previously available for download on the Lovehammers website. It became an instant hit with the audience and debuted on MSN.com as a #1 download.[13] After Marty made it to runner up in the competition the Lovehammers were immediately offered a contract with Epic records and a spot as the opening band on INXS's Switched On tour. In Summer of 2006, Lovehammers headlined the Get Live tour, most of the dates were quickly sold out and the reviews were overwhelmingly favorable.[14]
On January 24, 2006 Lovehammers released their major label debut entitled, Marty Casey & Lovehammers, composed mostly of retooled versions of previously released and recorded Lovehammers tracks. The album was generally very well received by critics and fans alike.[15][16][17]
As of 2007 Lovehammers have recorded a live acoustic compilation CD/ DVD produced by Stonecutter Records entitled Acoustic Chicago, which features unplugged tracks from various Chicago based bands.[18] They are also in the process of writing and recording their next major-label LP. They have also organized a charity campaign called Shoeboxes @ Home which helps provide necessities for both men and women serving overseas in the military as well as military veterans in need residing in the U.S.[19]
In 2009, Lovehammers released a new album titled "Heavy Crown." The album was previously set to be called "Let Me Out," but was later changed to "Heavy Crown."
In June 2009, Lovehammers played a free concert at the Taste of Chicago. They opened for The Wallflowers.
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Ultrasound | REEP Records |
| 2002 | L'Strange | REEP Records |
| 2003 | Murder on My Mind | Swinging Lovehammers Records |
| 2006 | Marty Casey and Lovehammers | Epic Records |
| 2009 | Heavy Crown | REEP Records |
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Demolition EP | Reep Records |
| 2001 | How We Live EP | Swinging Lovehammers Records |
| 2006 | Merry Christmas (All Year Long) | Swinging Lovehammers Records |
| Year | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Live/Raw | Swinging Lovehammers Inc |
| 2006 | And The Rest Is History... | Swinging Lovehammers Inc |
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