Post by Ceeje on Dec 7, 2006 16:09:33 GMT -5
Rockin’ holiday
Local band Lovehammers spreads Christmas cheer with a new song
By Karen Budell
Metromix.com
It's time for the holidays, and you know what that means: hearing "Deck the Halls" for the umpteenth time while you scour the malls for everything on your gift list. But this year, thankfully, local rockers Lovehammers are breaking through the monotony of Christmas Muzak mainstays with something that has a bit of an edge.
We caught up with bassist Dino Kourelis to find out how this longtime Chicago band came up with its first Christmas song--and ask him what the guys are up to before performing at the 10th Annual New Year's Eve Rock 'N' Roll Ball with Too White Crew and headliner Collective Soul.
When and how did you guys write your first holiday song, "Merry Christmas (All Year Long)"?
We usually all dress up in Santa Claus outfits, pick up some instruments and it begins to flow out of us. Sometimes the beards get in the way, but in most cases, we are fine.
This particular song, [lead singer] Marty [Casey] wrote with producer/songwriter Marti Fredericksen. Legend has it that they were sitting around one day, said, "Let's write a Christmas song," and a few short hours later it was complete. Marty let us [Lovehammers] hear it, and we were like, "Man that is pretty cool. It is a Christmas song that rocks too!"
We weren't really planning on releasing it, but it began to gain some interest from radio stations, so we filmed a video for it [see it at martycasey.org/video.html] and put it up on iTunes.
How do Lovehammers celebrate Christmas "All Year Long"?
It honestly feels like Christmas all year long because we have the greatest fans in the world. We get gifts continuously [from all over the world] when we are on tour. Our tour bus honestly had so much stuff that we had to tell people to stop. Every city, we each had a bag full of great gifts from clothes to rings.
I personally just try to live each day to its fullest. I celebrate the fact that I am doing what I love and am able to share it with my family, friends and fans who I love.
Are you writing the new album yet?
We are always writing music. Since Hammerjam [Oct. 14 show at Metro], we have completed a DVD [titled "…and the rest is history"], which is a history of the band, as well as some live footage. We wanted to make a live DVD that played as a movie. We worked with some great local Chicago guys, SQ Films and Pawnstar Productions. We always try to build relationships and do projects with people from Chicago. People can order the DVD at www.lovehammersdvd.net. There is a trailer on there too, so you can check it out before you order it.
When is the band touring again?
We are just going to try and promote the DVD and new song and video until New Year's Eve. Once it's over, we hope to get back on the road and hit any city that we haven't yet, as well as Canada again.
Tell us one thing fans will be surprised to learn about the band from the new DVD.
I would rather keep all surprises secret and have the fans tell us something that they learned. [Laughs] I actually think people will enjoy seeing where we first started playing and where we practiced. I know we all got a little emotional when we took the cameras there.
[ Karen Budell is the metromix nightlife producer. ]
Originally published Nov. 30, 2006. Updated Dec. 6, 2006.
Source
Local band Lovehammers spreads Christmas cheer with a new song
By Karen Budell
Metromix.com
It's time for the holidays, and you know what that means: hearing "Deck the Halls" for the umpteenth time while you scour the malls for everything on your gift list. But this year, thankfully, local rockers Lovehammers are breaking through the monotony of Christmas Muzak mainstays with something that has a bit of an edge.
We caught up with bassist Dino Kourelis to find out how this longtime Chicago band came up with its first Christmas song--and ask him what the guys are up to before performing at the 10th Annual New Year's Eve Rock 'N' Roll Ball with Too White Crew and headliner Collective Soul.
When and how did you guys write your first holiday song, "Merry Christmas (All Year Long)"?
We usually all dress up in Santa Claus outfits, pick up some instruments and it begins to flow out of us. Sometimes the beards get in the way, but in most cases, we are fine.
This particular song, [lead singer] Marty [Casey] wrote with producer/songwriter Marti Fredericksen. Legend has it that they were sitting around one day, said, "Let's write a Christmas song," and a few short hours later it was complete. Marty let us [Lovehammers] hear it, and we were like, "Man that is pretty cool. It is a Christmas song that rocks too!"
We weren't really planning on releasing it, but it began to gain some interest from radio stations, so we filmed a video for it [see it at martycasey.org/video.html] and put it up on iTunes.
How do Lovehammers celebrate Christmas "All Year Long"?
It honestly feels like Christmas all year long because we have the greatest fans in the world. We get gifts continuously [from all over the world] when we are on tour. Our tour bus honestly had so much stuff that we had to tell people to stop. Every city, we each had a bag full of great gifts from clothes to rings.
I personally just try to live each day to its fullest. I celebrate the fact that I am doing what I love and am able to share it with my family, friends and fans who I love.
Are you writing the new album yet?
We are always writing music. Since Hammerjam [Oct. 14 show at Metro], we have completed a DVD [titled "…and the rest is history"], which is a history of the band, as well as some live footage. We wanted to make a live DVD that played as a movie. We worked with some great local Chicago guys, SQ Films and Pawnstar Productions. We always try to build relationships and do projects with people from Chicago. People can order the DVD at www.lovehammersdvd.net. There is a trailer on there too, so you can check it out before you order it.
When is the band touring again?
We are just going to try and promote the DVD and new song and video until New Year's Eve. Once it's over, we hope to get back on the road and hit any city that we haven't yet, as well as Canada again.
Tell us one thing fans will be surprised to learn about the band from the new DVD.
I would rather keep all surprises secret and have the fans tell us something that they learned. [Laughs] I actually think people will enjoy seeing where we first started playing and where we practiced. I know we all got a little emotional when we took the cameras there.
[ Karen Budell is the metromix nightlife producer. ]
Originally published Nov. 30, 2006. Updated Dec. 6, 2006.
Source
