Thank you Erie for supporting HAMMERD during the Roar On The Shore weekend of events! You are amazing!
We'll have a long post very soon to tell you all of this past weekends incredible sights and sounds! Cheers!
Roar On The Shore 2010!! July 15th, 16th, and 17th!
Downtown Erie, PA explodes with the roar of 10,000 motorcycles from all over the U.S. and Canada!
"If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing!"
"HAMMERD never performs the same show twice! We do not pound out the same group of songs week after week, month after month, and expect you to never get bored. We have 165 songs in our repertoire and we always have many more in the works. Every show is a new party. So come out and get HAMMERD!
07/07/2010
Well it's Roar On The Shore time again! Can you believe it's been a year already? Just as last year, HAMMERD will be bringing a Rock extravaganza to Sherlock's July 16th and 17th. I don't know how we will possibly top this years production. This will be, absolutely, a 'concert' lighting experience like you have never seen by anyone in this town or the next! You must stop in and check it out! Admission is free all weekend. Come join us for the best, most energetic, always interactive show in town! See you there!
05/27/2010
Thursday Night Downtown Block Party!! Thursday June 17th! The party starts at 6:00 p.m. sharp with music by 60" Slick. Music by HAMMERD will follow and finish the night! The first block party will surely be the best. Come join us for a great night of fun! See you there!
02/23/2010
We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to all of you that contributed to the Greg Pianka benefit being such an incredible success. It was a special day. It was a great pleasure to participate in a day full of music with some of Erie's most talented and passionate musicians in honor of Greg's family. Thanks need to go out to Raja Dean, Whiplash, Acousticats, French Maide, Ahimsa Beat, Chrohnkc, Waiting for Never, and Slam Corps. Special thanks also have to go out to Robin Miller and Kelly Donlon for organizing this entire event so quickly, and to the East Erie Turners and Dave Stevens for making it all possible. God Bless!
02/14/2010
Please join us for this special occasion to honor and remember Greg's presence in our lives and his contribution to our music community. All proceeds are going to Greg's family.
11/29/2009
Well, we completed our most recent round of shows and it felt great to be back on our game. Everything rocked hard and sounded great!
Friday November 13th brought us back to our home base of Sherlock's. This also marked the return of Brian Warzynak to the stage. Brian and his wife Jen welcomed there third boy to the world this summer and enjoyed some time to themselves as a family. Bri was very excited to get back out and rockin' though and appriciated you all welcoming him back. It is also of note that Brian's stomach was out of shape and not at all prepared for the assault of alcohol we put on it. His stomach did summersaults through the entire first set and we sincerely thought he was going to hurl behind his amp. That would have been the absolute most awesome thing and Chris would have been relentlessly brutal to him over it. He would never have lived that down! The set was strong and we hope everybody in attendance had a good time. Cheers!
We'll be playing at Sherlock's alot in the new year so I hope you enjoy seeing us there.
We also love playing out at the French Quarter. The rules go out the window, the drinks will flow, the blood may spill, and if the girls want to go crazy you'd better let 'em... It's all good! We played Thanksgiving Eve and Sat. the 28th. Both shows went well. Wednesday saw the band relive French Quarters days of old. Good tequila, an open fire, and great rock 'n' roll! Life is good! What more could you need to roll into Thanksgiving? It was great to see you all! Mike K. (owner of the Quarters) would like to thank the five or six women that surrounded him on the dance floor, for the dance. That's the best way to do it! Five or six women to one guy!
Saturday was even bigger and better. We were able to dig deeper into our set list and pull out some rarities. As always, we were able to fill requests and kick out the jams. The joint was packed and smokin'! The night epitomized the HAMMERD experience. God bless you all! I hope you had a great time. We'll see you all soon.
07/20/2009
Well, we know we've said this plenty of times before, but this past weekend was an incredible, special experience. We had great crowds, great fun, and great Rock 'n' Roll!! We couldn't have been more thrilled with how the weekend unfolded.
We welcomed back to the stage, on guitar, the returning Quinn Lukas. Mr. Warzynak was at home with his very pregnant wife and children counting the days till the arrival of their third. We wish them well. Quinn was really geared up to unleash the fury on Erie, the Sherlock's stage, and an unsuspecting audience. Rest assured, he spent himself both nights. That floor was always sticky but now it's alive. Eewww!! It was great fun to have him back in the fold. He will be around for our next round of shows so come back out and say hello.
We lit up the stage with a nonstop assault of 1980's era hard rock and heavy metal. The energy was just incredible! We resurrected some classics by Queensryche and Ozzy that we haven't played in a long time. We also rolled out some more new tunes by the one and only Van Halen. In short, it fucking rocked!
We thank you all for sharing your spirit with us this weekend. Let's do it all again next year. Cheers! Bottoms up!
07/14/2009
Don't forget!! HAMMERD brings it's rock 'n' roll circus to 'Sherlock's' Friday and Saturday as part of the 'Roar on the Shore' weekend of events. Make it your destination for a good time after the outside show has concluded.
06/28/2009
Another fantastic Downtown Erie Block Party! And NOBODY got rained on! WOW! Sluggers rocked! We did our best to bring the big 80's rock to Erie and had a wonderful time doing it! We had a lot of special things planed for this party, but unfortunately didn't get to fit them all in. Chris takes all of the blame. He just packed the set list too full. We had margaritas to make and were going to play Friction's 'Baby Talk' to name a few. Oh well. We'll have to roll it out some other time. We rocked for two hours straight! Again, the only band we've seen do that in Erie IS Friction. We rolled out the biggest, best hits of the 1980's hard rock scene. It kicked ass! You kicked ass!
We also invited up a very special guest to play a song with us. His name is Colin. He is 13 and he did a great job! And this was his first time being up on stage in front of people. Colin's parents, Todd and Jan, have seen us many times over the years and you can see Colin on our pics page at the Otter's pre-game party from a few years ago.We thank you all for indulging us and hope everybody enjoyed making that little dream come true.
Then the M-80's lit up the night with a genre morphing tribute to everything else the 80's had to offer. A whole night of nonstop hits! It was great!
Thank you to Sluggers for having us. Thanks to the M-80's for splitting the night with us. And, of course, a huge thanks to all of you for sharing the night with us!
Cheers!
Bottoms up!
HAMMERD
06/21/2009
HAMMERD has a great long history of equipment troubles, but that was largely thought to be in the past. Chris decided to visit our collective past at Scooter's Lounge and fight with his gear for the first half of the show. After throwing his guitar into the corner and then attempting to smash his wireless transmitter (he missed by the way), we regrouped and lit the place on fire! Figuratively, of course... It is, so often, the case. People watch and listen to the first set from the corners of the bar or from their comfy bar stools and chairs. The drinks soften them up a bit. The music excites them. And then the HAMMERD experience overtakes the room and it's inhabitants. It is infectious and the only cure is more!
Scooter's started a bit slow. Boy, was it a hot one in the bar! We thought we had lost the crowd at set break and then quickly and pleasantly discovered that everyone was just outside getting some air. Well, we pulled out some new stuff and some different stuff. We almost immediately got some unlikely requests and responded, in kind, with some kick ass rock. Who does that? We do! It would be tough to do requests if you only knew thirty songs..... The crowd lit up as the night carried on and we all got loose. We had a ball and loved the enthusiasm you all showed for what we do. Thanks, to all, for bringing it! Awesome! Cheers to George Merced of Chrome for stopping in. We'll be back in August. Keep a look out.
Now playing at Rumrunners is always a precarious predicament. Mother nature can bless you or trash your night. It was pouring down rain when those of us that stuck around to load equipment left Scooter's the night before. A special toast to Barb for helping the cause..... So you watch the weather all day and you make your move. We felt the worst had passed and we were free to have at it. And we did, possibly even to the dismay of the bar.?. We played for two and a half hours straight! Who does that? That's right. NOBODY but us!!! We were then cut short by Rumrunners who inexplicably told the fifty or so people who were getting HAMMERD, that the night was over and it was time to drink up and move on.?!?.. Huh?? We had a great time as usual though. The wind was a little to contend with, but so what. It was warm and pleasant. Thanks to all for coming out and enjoying it with us! We took our sweet time tearing down... We still didn't leave the bar until 2:00 a.m. and we were done at midnight!?. Oh well. This night also brought the short notice return of Mr. Quinn (Quinnie) Lukas to our lineup on guitar. It is a pleasure having him back. For those that don't know, Quinn was in the band for about two years, about three years ago. Quinn will be playing with us for the next couple of months while Mr. Warzynak welcomes a new baby into the family. We wish them all of our best! Brian will still be playing the Downtown Erie Block party at Sluggers on June 25th. So come down and give him a grand send off!
Cheers!
06/14/2009
Friday June 12th brought us right back to Sherlock's. We did up the stage and brought the goods! Chris will admit that he was quite distracted at the beginning of the set as his beloved Pens were still battling for the Stanley Cup while the band took the stage. All ended well, as the Pens were victorious! On with the show....
The show was damn hot! Had more fun than we should be allowed. We LOVE summer! God bless the women of Erie! Hotness all around but nobody gets naked anymore!? What the F*@K? LOL! Let's be serious for a second.... Our kids are liable to find the pics or vid on the net if we did that! How the hell would we explain ourselves?!? LOL!! God that would be hilarious and awful at the same time!
A big HAMMERD bottoms up to all of our friends and fans alike. Cheers to Anthony Mucci of Money Shot and his lovely wife for stopping in, sharing a drink, and offering a kind word. Another round to Tony and Ray from French Maide as well.
Take care all, and see you next week.
06/07/2008
Thank you all so much for coming out and spending your afternoon ( not to mention your money ) with us at the T.j. Burns benefit last week. The day went wonderfully and was a complete success for the family. It meant a lot to them and we are grateful for all who attended. We also had one hell of a good time! We, of course, drank too much and played too long... Nothing new there. And some lucky fans left with some personalized HAMMERD gear. I wish we had some pictures of the winners and the stuff they left with, but the pics would never get posted on this web site anyway. LOL! The raffle for the first cymbal went so fast, we raffled off a second one! Sweet! I tried like hell to get someone to buy my pants for $1, but there were no takers if I wasn't in them to take home. Wow!! Thanks again to all that attended, to "the CHRIS band" for entertaining for the first part of the show, and to the Polish Falcons for being so accommodating. God Bless!
Yesterday HAMMERD pulled off a feat almost as big as Genesis playing both the U. K. AND U.S. Live Aid concerts on the same day back in '84. We started our evening by playing an all day bike event out at 'Sidelines Sports Bar & Grill' in Harborcreek. We ended it at Sherlock's opening the evening with "Jackie". Sidelines was a bit of a clusterfuck at first do to a misunderstanding with the bar about who was to provide sound. Catastrophe was averted when we were able to bride the band that was on just before us, "Machines of Revolution", into using their system. They had the same misunderstanding as we did and had to run back and grab their own p.a. to use as well. Oops! At least it wasn't just us. Thanks again, Machines of Revolution. Check them out! They are almost entirely original and have a great, edgy sound that goes from melodic and mellow to raging and agressive..... We played a solid set and earned some new followers. Thank you to Sidelines, the smokin' hot staff, Mitzi for the invite, and Pat Ortiz for the hospitality. Cheers!
We continued our evening with a ripping set down at Sherlock's. The band cooked and we had a great vibe. When we are not carrying the whole show, you can show up, blast the rock, and get to the drinkin'! It was a nice change of pace. "Jackie" was great as always. This line up kicks and the songs are getting better and better. We think they are really starting to peak and we wish them all the best with the new album. Hope to see you again soon. Thanks for sharing the night with us. Except for the Pittsburgh Penguins getting their ass kicked, it was another great night at Sherlock's.
Another stellar performance! Another great crowd! We are on a roll and it hasn't slowed! We reinvented this shit in Erie and with all of the bluster we hear flowing from other camps, they are still walking through a door we kicked open again six years ago. I'm sure the view of our asses is good from back there! Oops! There we go again..... We all talk community but in the end we all think we are better than the next guy. Everybody has their own thing but nobody has sustained their thing as consistently well for as long as we have. NONE of them. We believe we are the best, funnest show going! And we've built the reputation that proves it. End of story! If they aren't thinking the same thing about their bands, they're doing it wrong!
Cheers!
05/30/2009
Greetings and salutations beer drinkers and hell raisers! It is with the greatest appreciation that I tell you all that you kick ass! You keep bringin' it like you have been and we'll keep rockin' the hell out of you!
Sherlock's and Sidelines were a trip.We learned many things; Warz forgot the solo to "We're not gonna take it", Brian L. likes top shelf tequila ALOT, Chris has many many accents, and Joe can't play for two hours without needing to piss and can stick around to load equipment just not unload it. Ha Ha! That's some funny shit right there but not even half of our story. Sherlock's was a good time as always. Chris got to put down the guitar for a set.... and immediately broke his mic stand. Typical. He went through three microphones in as many months a few years back when he routinely sent them crashing into the stage.... or a band mate.... or a fan.... or the walls. We did some different things for that show and we'll be rolling out a bunch of new tunes at Sherlock's on June 12th. We'll also be splitting the bill with Jackie there on June 6th as well.
Our first gig at 'Sidelines Bar & Grill' was a suc(k)cess by any measure! We had a blast, did LOTS of requests, did LOTS of shots, got paid for our efforts, AND were still standing at the end of the night! That last one was just a bonus. We would of course like to end up horizontal with all of you but, oh, behave. Special thanks and gratitude to "Still Drinkin'". You made the show a much better party! I've checked... that is illegal in the state of Pennsylvania amongst sisters... but not in the state of inebriation! YEAH! You didn't get Chris drunk but it certainly was not for lack of trying. A fine testament to our superior constitution. We will be back to rock the east side very soon so keep and eye out. Actually we'll be playing for about two hours at their all day event on June 6th. That's not a misprint. It will be the first of two shows for us that day. Harley Davidson and Precision Bike works will both be on hand with displays. Lots of food, fun, beer, and live entertainment. Tell a friend.
05/14/2009
We will be making a rare meet and greet appearance at the Polish Falcons Nest 123 on Sun. May 31st at 3 p.m. on behalf of the family of TJ Burns who is losing his battle with brain cancer. There will be good food, lots of beer (it's in our rider they have to supply us), a chinese auction (no offence to the Chinese), AND the opportunity to mingle with us! We may even be donating some HAMMERD memorabilia to raise money, like the jeans Chris wore during his very first show with the band. He had been waiting for a call from the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, but their loss may just be your gain. We had intended to have more merchandise available for purchase but we sold out of all that we had prior to this event. Entertainment will be provided by "The Chris Band". HAMMERD will be performing an impromptu set during the event and playing songs off of their first two releases exclusively. Don't miss it!
05/12/2009
We took the French Quarters by storm! We blew the stage power no less than four times! We weren't even pushing it that hard.?. We saw some old friends and helped celebrate a couple of birthdays! Happy birthday Glenn. Daryl and Misty, see what you've been missing? Isn't me train wrecking a song and reading lyrics cool? New policy.... if I have to read the lyrics, I tip the jar! If I screw up the words, women will have to fill the stage and grope me until I learn my lesson! Wait, no. I will just tip the jar and buy you beer out of it! All I know is that I had more fun on stage than I have had in a long while. Mike K. shared a new premium tequila and it may just be better than (dare I say) Cabo. Hope you all had fun! Remember, if you like it, tell a friend. If you don't, tell an enemy. Either way we'll still be out there doing our thing. Peace!
Beer!
Shaner out!
03/28/2009
O.K. So we didn't actually blow the back door off of "The Last Shot". But, we downsized the p.a. slightly and were trying to hold the volume in check. We had a great crowd and had a great time! We had the obligatory request for some Skynard and scared some people by knowing more than we should. We made good on a long standing request for "Balls to the Wall", and generally pounded out some gritty, raw, sleazy, 80's rock n' roll. Thank you to Anna and the staff at "The Last Shot", and A1ways Ready Entertainment for making it a great first show. We will definitely be back for some outdoor summer celebrations. Take care all!
03/16/2009
A huge "HELL YEAH!" to all of you HAMMERD heads out there! 'Welcome back' to all of you that have visited before, and 'welcome to the party' to those who haven't. You all have made the last few shows just great!
Wow! Was the CRUE concert awesome or what!?. It was great from where I was. The only exception would be the two obnoxious, tired looking, drunk bitches that wouldn't shut up about how everyone in GENERAL ADMISSION had better recognize their space and their right to their real estate, as it were, because they paid so much for the tickets (we all did) and were owed that spot. Upon being told to shut the fuck up for the twelfth time, they offered up an ass kicking if we dared to go down to Sherlock's afterwards because that's where they were going,,,, to see HAMMERD! I told them we would see them there. I never did. I wonder now, if they did make it and did see me on stage.?.. Hmmm?
I really enjoyed it! Their shows have become more and more casual and it serves to remind us that they are a real, down and dirty, rock band. God bless the CRUE and whatever higher power that keeps Mick Mars standing! Tommy Lee is my hero! And it became MOTLEY CRUE day in Erie. What?!?!!!
Sherlock's rocked! In spite of the late start and rushing in the door and onto stage, everyone was ready to continue the party and raise the roof. Thanks to Moj Mckay and Nat the Hat for the great introduction and everyone at Rocket 101 and Sherlock's for bringing together this special event. Rocket could have thrown us a bone on their site in their post show rap up, but wha ya gone do? We played two and a half hours straight! NO other Erie band does that for ANY reason. NO ONE! We do. We did. Not the first time and it won't be the last. The set list cut right down the middle of what we all (you all and us) love about this music. Hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. We were also able to welcome 'The Last Vegas' to the stage to do three songs. It seems that these guys have got the backing and are on their way up. So it made the occasion truly rare and special. Thanks as always to our crew; Chris Falk on lights (that odd strobing in the front was not his fault), and 'the legend' Mike "Buzz" Fatica on support. Thanks to all of you for coming out and giving your best. We'll see you again soon.
03/06/2009
Missing again I see... New Year's Resolution? Nope. Always busy practicing? Well - that would be nice - wouldn't it? Forgetfulness? Probably! Well - just a quick note... if you haven't noticed the dates on the right, or the Showcase, we will be continuing the party after the Crue concert. Rocket 101 is sponsoring it...make your way over to Sherlock's after the show, or if you won't be going to the show, stop in earlier! The crowd will be excessive and the party will continue until 2:00!
Then, while planning out next week's fun, be sure to make your way to the Last Shot at 3064 W12th (Next to the Thunderbird Hotel, if you have any late night memories of that "place"!) for their anniversary party. Come check us out for a change of pace at a new place!
12/2/2008
OK - I should be flogged (please?) for stuffing a new post in front of our earlier ramble, but I just got done fixing up a few of the pic links - what the hell happened you ask?? I have no damn clue, but it looks as though it has been a while since they actually worked. Link history shows people are still digging through the image archives, so I fixed -most- of 2006. And while I am on the subject - where the hell are all of the recent pictures? Oh - you should be asking me that... Well - we have no idea - no one specific taking pictures at shows and next thing you know, two years go by. So.... for now, if you have pictures, email them to us, burn a CD and bring it to a show - please! And in the future, if you take pics at the show, send them in, too! Pictures of us, pictures of the throngs of fans watching ;)
What the *^&%CK you say? Where the hell have those Hammerd goof-balls been? Well, I can really tell you - not practicing... but when it's as fun as it always is - us playing that is (music...get the minds out of the gutter people....) we find that it just comes natural. Maybe we have been meeting up and practicing drinking beer and watching the extensive video collection of Mr. Drummer, we don't get much time for music! Sometimes you just need a break - right?
We haven't been playing in the bars much, but we think we need to get out there a bit more - like Sherlock's in January? Or better yet, how about a Motley Crue post party again? At Sherlock's? How's that sound? Sounds pretty freakin' good to us...
I need a bathroom break....be right back...
Chris - Is it any wonder why I shouldn't let anyone else update this page? I mean really? Are you shitin' me?... Apparently he is.
And a note from Chris has appeared! What the...? Well - I suppose it is back to plotting our take-over of the.... um, I mean practicing....
9/14/2008
Welcome back to HAMMERDlive.com. The band has not been as active publically but continues to persue it's goal of bringing you the best show possible. HAMMERD continues to add to it's already extensive set list and refine the best in 80's hard rock and heavy metal music.The band would like to extend an enormous thank you to all of you for your interest and support. They'll see you all again very soon. Keep a look out.
As summer comes to a close it's time for a season end rap up. HAMMERD played some great new venues and some awesome events this summer. Our time in Put-In-Bay, OH could not have gone better. The venue, it's staff, and the spirit of this island get-away was wonderful. They will be seeing more of HAMMERD next season for sure. A special thanks to Chris Donley and Andy Christensen for making it happen. Another special thanks to John Muroski for making the trip unforgettable.
HAMMERD returned to it's home base of Sherlock's several times to enthusiastic crowds. They were real blow outs. Bottoms up!
Who witnessed the best block party event this summer at Skeeter's? HAMMERD lit up the overwhelming crowd with a set packed with the best 80's hard rock. The band stayed dry while the storm clouds gathered. The M-80's took the stage and immediatly got dumped on. It was apparently their turn this year. It was a great time! Our sincerest thanks to the M-80's for inviting us to take part in the event and thanks to you for sticking around.
A huge HAMMERD thanks to Astro, Mike, Tavon, and everybody else that made our appearence at the A.B.A.T.E rally at Jim-&-I campground in West Springfield, PA so special. Chris said, "I fucking LOVE the Jack!" (As in Jack Daniels). He continued, "I didn't think we could sweat more onstage than we did at the Skeeters block party. But this topped it!". The show went great and started off with Warz taking a ride on the back of Mike's Harley while playing 'Slide It In'. We have the pictures to prove it. No tittie contest this year but Warz still has nitemares from some of the contestants last year. Thanks to Visual Concepts Lighting, the barn never looked better. The Geek Army kicked ass on through the night and rocked the crowd until 3:15 a.m.!! That was about twenty minutes after Chris woke up. (Reference the Jack Daniels comment above.) Warz and Shaner still had to tear down that brilliant light show and got home just after sunrise. Chris was sober by then. And not hungry. Kicked ass! Got HAAAAMMERD! Sick. Hung over. And sober before sunrise? Now that's a HAMMERD experience!
In other news, our very own Christopher Shaner has accepted an invitation to join Atlantic Records recording artists and local rock legends Dirty Looks. Chris will be performing as a guitarist, primarily, and chipping in on backing vocals live with the band on October 5th at the Warner Theatre. Tickets are available through Ticket Master. Dirty Looks has had a busy year, having released two albums already with a third, titled 'California Free Ride', to drop on Oct. 2nd. Chris can be heard singing all of the backing tracks on the title cut as well as several others. Chris said,"It's a thrill to play a part in the legacy of this band that I saw on 'Headbanger's Ball' so many years ago. It's music we love and I am right at home playing. This is a must see show!"
Keep the faith!
Stay tuned.
6/10/2008
Just a note - we are still experiencing the aftermath of yet another hosting move, so the pictures (which, I do agree, are quite old) are not working now. Everything else seems to be O.K. for now! If you are in for a drive and a party, join us on Put-In-Bay for a Tuesday and Wednesday party the only way the Put-In-Bay and Hammerd can offer it up! Also, don't miss Hammerd teaming up with the M-80s for an awesome 80s block party at Skeeter's on French Street on Thursday, June 26th!!!
3/02/2008
WE, HAMMERD WILL BE PLAYING A BENEFIT FOR STROKE VICTIM JOHN HUGHES AT THE
FULTON ATHLETIC CLUB 1309 EAST 9TH STREET ON SATURDAY MARCH 22. IT'S JUST A
$5 COVER. THERE WILL BE FOOD, BEER, GAMES OF CHANCE AND OF COURSE US (HAMMERD).
THE PARTY STARTS AT 12 AND WILL GO ON TILL 6, POSSIBLY LONGER. ALL PROCEEDS
WILL GO TO MEDICAL EXPENSES AND TO HELP OUT THE FAMILY. SO COME AND PARTY WITH
US, IT'S FOR A GOOD CAUSE. SINCERELY JOEY
P.S. Why does Joey write everything in capital letters. It's like he's shouting his enthusiasm at us.
Sincerely,
Chris
2/11/2008
Wow! Speed'eez got HAMMERD! What a great time we had. Thanks to everyone for coming out and spending the night with us. Welcome to all of the new friends and fans in North East! Many thanks to Speed'eez staff and patrons for thier wonderful hospitality. Hope to be seeing you all again really soon.
p.s. Pearl Jam is NOT an 80's band. HAHA! And I'm not sorry for it!
p.s.s. I know, 'Crazy Bitch' isn't legal either. And the ass grinding it created almost wasn't either! Not sorry for that! No, sir! Not sorry.
1/20/2008
HAMMERD will be making their return to the stage on Saturday, February 9th at Spee'eez in North East at the corner of Route's 89 and 20. Don't miss this rare local appearence.
1/4/2008
Another KICK ASS HAMMERD/ French Quarters Eve blowout! Our third annual event was a great one! We had special guests, special requests, the best fuckin' light show ever there (mesmerizing), and a bang up night of great rock n' roll. Oh, and tequila. Lots of Cabo Wabo tequila! Cheers to all for sharing the event with us. We love you all! here's to good times, good friends, good music and good drink! Raise 'em up! Bottoms up! Cheers!
1/1/2008
From all of us to all of you, Happy New Year! Best wishes to all.
12/28/2007
New Year's Eve Party at French Quarter! Come join us as we ring in the new year with a grand rock 'n roll blowout. I guarantee there will not be a better time had anywhere. The party starts early with live music at 9:30. Party favors, noise makers (other than us), champagne toast, munchies and finger food all night , Mike's buffet of good eats, contests, giveaways, stupid human tricks, fun , fun, fun! And did I mention the best in 80's rock all night by the Erie areas #1 party band, HAMMERD. All of this for a mere $5 ! That's five dollars people! Spread the word and bring a friend or hear the stories later and regret sitting at home alone stuffing your face with junk food and touching yourself while watching people on t.v. have the kind of fun you deserve to be having. This is our (yours, mine, Mike's) little party that could, can, and will knock you on your ass. So avoid amateur night downtown and come out and get HAMMERD!
12/26/2007
A very Merry HAMMERD Christmas to all! Hope Santa treated you well!
12/19/2007
Hey! How the hell is everybody?? I know - some of us have been, shall we say -absent- for quite some time... The MySpace is moving, hammerdlive doesn't seem to be what it used to! Hammerd has been taking it easy for a few months - regrouping as it were... we are still here - is everyone out there still looking to get HAMMERD? Shoot us an email - let us know what you want to hear - let us know that you are itching for that 80s fix...that you need it like you need air! We will be back at you here shortly - in fact - New Years Eve at French Quarters - if you haven't had Mike's New Years buffet then you need to come out for that (in addition to the BEST 80s rock you can get!) Basically, I just had to say HI to everyone! See you all at the FQ, bring a friend or eight, wear those nice skimpy 80s outfits (if you are of the female persuasion!) and join us for the best New Years Party!
B
11/24/2007
Turkey day did not disappoint! Neither did our pre-turkey day bash! Fun! Fun! Fun! Welcome home to the many HAMMERD fans in town for the weekend and thanks for including us in your holiday. Cheers!
11/4/2007
Thank you so much to all of you that supported the the cause at the Gabe Bailey benefit on Sat. I hope they do it again next year. It was a wonderful time and probably the best organized benefit I have ever been apart of. Kudos to all. I had a wonderful time and got to re-connect with a bunch of old musician buddies. It was also such a great line-up of bands. Best wishes.
Is everybody ready for Turkey day? Are you at least ready for our annual HAMMERD pre-Turkey day bash at the French Quarters? Wednesday, Nov. 21rst. 9:30! This is one of those special shows we always look forward to. The Quarters is one of our home away from homes and always brings out the most in everyone. Come join us for the best party in town!
10/26/2007
A great time for a good cause! Come join us. Bring friends!
New - 10/22/2007
HAMMERD played Sherlock's again on Sep.19th! This time out we kept the set geared towards classic hard rock. I love Krokus and Accept! We dug in and ripped it up. Fun time. We were joined by part of our Pittsburgh area contingent. Thank you for joining us. Thanks to Quinnie for coming up. Good to see you , nerd! Cheers to our new Boston and D.C. connections. Pleasure to have you with us. Hit us up about that show! Kick Ass! Take care all!
New - 10/08/2007
HAMMERD made it's first trip to Put-in-Bay, OH on Sep.4th to play 'The Boathouse'. This is a stellar venue in an incredible location. The place is first rate, all the way. The people were great and the sound man, Tommy, was a treat to work with. He actually listened and tried to give us what we wanted. Imagine that. We were just a bit short for time but were very up for the show. That went away quickly for Chris with a series of bad equipment problems. It threw him off in a way it never does and made for a very long first set. We regrouped on break and the bar manager, Andy, encouraged us to brush it off and have fun. I guess nobody else picked up on the struggle. Good. We got to it and rolled out the best in 80's hard rock, as well as a whole handful of songs that we have never played together before. The people want what the people want and we aim to give it to them. All in all it was a fun and productive trip. We look forward to making it again several times next year. Thank you to the entire Boathouse crew and especially Chris Donley for giving us the opportunity. I hope we didn't let you down. Cheers!
New - 10/02/2007
Wow!!!! What the fuck was that?! Damn! Gun's N' Roses very own Dizzy Reed hits the stage with HAMMERDby his side as "HORZ" and tore it up! Yeah fuckers!......... Now let's put all of this into context so that we can all have a good understanding of what led to this riotous event. We were asked about possibly playing with Dizzy some two months earlier with almost no details beyond the offer. We agreed to do it and thought it would be a good fit. We got a set list of things Dizzy regularly performs with his other side project band 'Hookers and Blow'. It was a bunch of classic 60's and 70's rock as well as a bunch of Gun's tunes. We got the set list about two and a half weeks before the show and learned about 20 songs. It was pressure. It all came together very quickly but Dizzy did well to put us at ease. We got to hang out before the show and work out some of the quirks to the set. We abandoned that set list a short time into the show. Side note: "Fist of the Vampire" rolled to the chants of "HAMMERD! HAMMERD! LET'S GET HAMMERD!" We took to the stage with a similarly jubilant response. A bunch of chants for GUN'S were heard. NO ONE else was mentioned... The very late start took it's toll a bit. We had started drinking early. Oops! But we had such a great time with Dizzy and the crowd that it made the horribly undersized p.a. system and the ensuing problems seem bearable. We had an absolute blast! I haven't laughed that much in a very long time. Thanks to all that attended and to Steve and Ruth for making it happen. A special shout out to Spider for making the night unforgettable. Cheers! Thanks again.
Reminder - 9/20/2007
HAMMERD will be appearing at the Roadhouse Theatre on Sat. Sep.29th at about 2 a.m. as the backing band for Guns n' Roses very own Dizzy Reed. Dizzy is the longest running member of the band, other than Axl Rose himself! This is an absolutely special one off performance that should not be missed! See you there. Bottoms up!
New - 09/17/2007
Sherlock's ROCKS! Another hot show in a long string of hot shows. And we brought an old school light show too. We were trying to keep the set list on the light side of the era but we couldn't quite keep it there. We have so many songs that you have to sort of steer the set list in one direction or another. That's the dangerous thing about it, you never know who is going to show up. We may be staring down at a list of L.A.Guns and Faster Pussycat and all of you are calling for Judas Priest and Megadeth or vice versa. A couple of guys almost revolted when we played 'Down Boys'. LOL! But you'll have that. We thank you all for coming to rock out and give us shit. Thanks!
Next up? Dizzy Reed at the Roadhouse Theatre! See you there!
Updated! 9/02/2007
Wow ! We hate to repeat ourselves, but we can't believe how time is flying. It's been months and we're just getting around to writing. We have had a bunch of ups and downs, some great shows, and some great fun. Sorry for the delays. We have a ton to catch you up on. We'll try make it up to you. Let's get to it.
HAMMERD had the unique opportunity to share the bill with a couple of other local bands on August 10th & 11th at Erie's home of Rock N' Roll, 'Sherlock's'. Friday we split the night with Chrome, who played a whole range of classic and modern rock, and had some great fun with some old friends. Saturday turned out to be an awesome night of music. Our very good friends 'Hammersmith' kicked off the night with a super tight set of outstanding modern heavy rock. We could not have been more happy about how they played and the enthusiastic crowd that greeted us both. We killed the rest of the night and it was all over too soon. Thank You so much for sharing the weekend with us...... Hammersmith has since swapped some members and are retooling their set.
Visual Concepts Lighting, our lighting venture, got very busy from the end of July through August. We provided production for HAMMERD, Chrome, Freudian Slip, 4-Play, Spooner (twice) and Nerds Inc. We ran four shows the weekend of the 18th alone. We think we have raised the bar in Erie for production value. We appreciated the opportunity to bring what we do to the stage for others. We thank you again.
In the middle of all of those light shows, we were also able to participate in the RockErie.com stage event as part of Celebrate Erie. Quick setups are not our specialty, but we were up and running so quick we got ourselves an extra song or two. It was fun as hell and we saw a lot of new faces. We've met so many people as a result of that one short performance. Cheers to RockErie for making it all happen. We saw a handful of acts that we had never gotten to see before due to our busy schedule. It was great.
The French Quarters - August 24-25, 2007 We rolled out the rock at the Quarters for the whole weekend. Friday was a really fun time for the few of us that were there. We packed up early and got to head down to Sherlock's to see the last part of Icarus Witch's set. Saturday was a blast, with the all day event outside spilling inside. It was a packed house of party goers. Great night. Great crowd. One fight.?. He He! And we thank you all!
RockErie Music Awards - August 26th,2007 The Awards show was AWESOME! It was a very well planned and even better executed event. We were not victorious but the feeling of community among 90% of the crowd made it all worth it. The DVD of the night captured it all and we hope it is a good springboard for next year. This year was a great first step. We congratulate all of the winners and nominees and thank all who participated. We would also like to extend our deepest gratitude to all of you for all of your wonderful support. Thank You!
8/22/2007
HAMMERD will be appearing at the Roadhouse Theatre on Sat. Sep.29th at about 2 a.m. as the backing band for Guns n' Roses very own Dizzy Reed. Dizzy is the longest running member of the band, other than Axl Rose himself! This is an absolutely special one off performance that should not be missed! See you there. Bottoms up!
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We just received word that we are in for a slot on the local stage at 'Celebrate Erie'! Thank you so much and keep spreading the word! Voting does not end for the award until August 19th at midnight!
The Erie Music Awards voting is underway and HAMMERD would like to ask for your support in our quest to gain the TRIBUTE Band title. With your support we may be able to do just that. The push for votes is on! We would like to be acknowledged at the upcoming awards show event. If you could take a few minutes and click on the link above and cast your vote it would be incredibly appreciated! I consider us an underdog in our category and you and everyone else you get to vote for us could help contribute to a big upset and add some attitude to what might otherwise be a boring affair. Join the cause! And thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
HAMMERD!
7/24/2007
Wow! What a month! Two smashing block parties, more new opportunities, a venue closes, and another string of successful shows!
In the media - Did you see us on the news? We've made it on there several times this month. First during the VERY successful, VERY packed Boardwalk Downtown Block Party. Then the VERY wet and wild Peccadillo's Downtown Block Party. We were listed in the newspaper as a nominee in the Erie Music Awards 'Tribute Band' category. And we will soon be listed in the paper again as a performer at Celebrate Erie. This is all thanks to you! Thank You!
Past shows - On June 15th & 16th we played at the Fireside Lounge. We finally brought our proper light show to the Fireside and it looked brilliant! We will get the pictures up soon. Keep checking back. We played a lot of music over those two days and had a lot of fun. We made some new friends and I know we'll see you again soon. Our friends in Leader of men helped to make Sat. quite special and I thank them all for coming out to get HAMMERD and bringing their friends out too. It seems now, at the time of this writing, that that will have been our last appearances at the Fireside. The doors were closed recently. The HAMMERD family would like to wish the best of luck to Kerry and his family.
Jani Lane - Boardwalk Downtown Block Party - June 21rst - I would tell all of you about that night, but there's only , like, three or four of you that weren't there to experience it for yourselves. First off, HOLY SHIT was it fuckin' packed! I don't know how many people were actually there, but the crowd stretched all the way down North Park Row and all the way across Perry Square. Damn!! 'Matty B. and the Dirty Pickles' and 'Trev Zeppelin' rocked the outside stage to start the event and kicked ass! We powered through an hour and a half set of pure 80's hard rock platinum as the sun set and the crowd came alive. The crowd was amazing and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. We made a lot of new friends and a few new fans that night including several members of Jani's band. [The guys were terribly nice and quite easy going. A huge shout out to Mike Fasano (drummer) for being so fuckin' cool.] A special thank you must go out to Dave Freeman and Matt Orton at Boardwalk for organizing it all and including HAMMERD in it. A special thank you to Kelly Donlon for contributing to our opportunity to perform. Happy Birthday to 'Rocket 101'. Thank you to Jani Lane and band. And a special thank you to all of you for making it so special!
Scooter's - July 14th - A solid show and a decent crowd. We were able to load up the lights and bring our spirit to a room that has been good to us. Thanks as always to the staff at Scooter's for making our night easy. And thanks to the friends of HAMMERD for enjoying the night with us.
Pecadillo's Downtown Block Party - July 19th - And GOD said, "Let there be rain!" We were asked to hold off on starting to allow the crowd to fill in. But as I sat there, I looked to the sky and thought, "We're probably going to get rained on anyway. Let's see how much we can get in before we get dumped on." Luckily we were able to trudge on through the weather and the plug was never pulled. Thanks a ton to Raven Sound for sticking it out and doing a great job! Other than the obvious risk of death which might have occurred as a result of the electrified equipment becoming wet or the giant metal shed we were playing in getting hit by lightning, it wasn't that big of a deal. We got a bit wet. We did it all for the fans. Believe it or not, we have played gigs that were easily much worse . Several of you true troopers stood out in the rain as the band played on. That was amazing! You ROCK! We played a few more obscure tunes and then hit ya with the hits. All in all, we played pretty well and had a ton of fun. We'll be talking about this one for a long time.
The M-80's took the stage under clearer skies and put on a great show. I don't know why we haven't done this before but I am almost sure it will not be the last time we share a stage. They cranked out every song that you can remember that defined the early MTV experience. It definitely took me back. They brought the look, the sound, and definitely the guitars! Cheers to the M-80's from HAMMERD for ripping it up!
Cove Niteclub - July 20th - Where? Oh' where has our summer club gone? I think there were more people there at our April appearance. I think we are dying in Geneva. That's tough because we have really enjoyed our relationship there. Good people, good fun.
Sherlock's - July 21rst - What a fucking smash! Great crowd! Great light show! Kicked ass! Thanks to some old and new friends for coming out and kicking ass! Nuf said.
7/10/2007
Well hasn't it been a long time! (This is Warz here) It has been brought to my attention that someone (namely me) has been quite the lazy slacker lately! Everyone always comes to the shows, you all show your support - and I can't even figure out how to get pictures up for the last 12 months! Holy shit! It has been a while. Well, guess what I am working on tonight? The long way of putting up pics, cuz I have absolutely no idea what I ever did with my easy way. Soooooo - within the next 2-3 days, I WILL have 10 shows worth of new (old) pictures up - some of Quinn (wow that dates them), some of Pat (remember Pat?), and some of the rest of our funny mugs. Oh yea - I saw Chris had selected quite a few fan pics to - see if you are in there! Thanks for sticking with us, and see ya rocking at the next show - hey - its this Saturday! COOL! bye
6/13/2007
Hello to the HAMMERD faithful! A big shout out to all of you that came and rocked out at the Cove with us. It was a big ol' bottoms up good time. A special thanks must go out to the wonderful young ladies that put on a show for us that night. WOW! If only I could post the pictures......
If you're lookin' for the fun place to be this weekend it will be at " Fireside Lounge" in Harborcreek. We'll be rockin' out all weekend with two nights of the best in classic 80's hard rock.
5/16/2007
A great big 'Cinco de Mayo' thank you to all of you rock music fans who joined us at the French Quarter and helped me celebrate my birthday. It was a great, fun night! Our best light show. The sound was strong. We were happy. We did a lot of shots and they failed to slow us down. Nice try though. Thanks to Sean Duffy for running sound and lights for us. Thanks again to Mike Fatica for the additional help. It is indispensable. Thanks as always to Mike K. for having us out to the Quarters and for the late night 'Cabo Wabo'.
Hello Scooters! O. K. Who brought the karma? A night of hair raising 80's era hard rock with, as always, way too much fuckin' drama on the side. We cranked out the hits and you shout it out loud! Thanks for sharing the night with us. Thanks to Don and Mary for having us. Thanks to our friends in WHIPLASH for stopping in. If you come out this week I will drag you on stage to play something. And as always, if you like it tell a friend; if you don't, tell an enemy. Either way, we aren't going anywhere!
Sat. we made a special appearance at Doc Holiday's with "4 - Play" and LEADER OF MEN. It was great! People had no idea what was going on or what to make of us. We played a tight set of the best in 80's hard rock that really kicked ass. Thanks for the warm reception. "4 - Play" ripped through some classic hard rock to keep the party rolling before L.O.M. took the stage to pound out some modern classics in the making. Thank you to LEADER OF MEN and Doc's for having us. Hopefully it won't be our last time doing it. Cheers!
Chris
Erie Music Awards nominations. If you are viewing this page you are probably already aware of what is going on at RockErie.com. The process of nominating bands for the Erie Music Awards and a shot at performing during the 'Celebrate Erie' festival has already started. If you enjoy what we do and would like to help us on our way, please show your support and nominate us by clicking on the link on the RockErie homepage. We would like to be nominated in the rock band and cover band categories as well as the individual (vocalist, guitarist, bassist, drummer) categories. There is also a category for favorite overall band/performer. The number of nominations we receive will determine if we make it into the voting stage of the process for the actual EMA. We are just trying to get onto the ballot right now. Then you will be able to vote for us again in the actual contest, but only if we receive enough support from all of you. Are you following that? I hope so. We would truly appreciate your support. Thank you.
HAMMERD
5/1/2007
May is here. Which means we are only two days away from my 28th, o.k., 29th birthday. We will be celebrating Sat. at the French Quarter. Come join us!...
We also have a lot of catching up to do. Going all the way back to St.Patty's day...if you can remember it. If you can, you weren't really there. [Remember when they used to say that about the 1960's. I never got that one as a kid. I mean, if you didn't retain it, maybe it wasn't worth remembering. Right?] St. Patty's day was worth remembering and noting. It was the standard HAMMERD fare. The P.A. melted down 10 min. before we were supposed to start. We had equipment breakdowns. The new lights looked great and we rocked the fuckin' joint! Hell Yeah! Everybody now! "First we drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and drink! Then we fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight! Hey!" The Irish are such a fiesty bunch. Shananagans! Thank you, as always, for joining us. We will be blowing it up again on May 11th.
Our April 6th Sherlock's appearence will be written into the pages of history as THE BEST HAMMERD show in the modern era. The light show was completely our own; no in house stuff was used at all. We did the most hit packed set list ever. We debuted five new songs. And in spite of an exasperating soundcheck (this is your brain on drugs), we were on fire. If you weren't there, you really missed out. A special thanks to Chris Falk for making us look so good; to Mike Fatica for lending a much needed hand with set up; and to Brian Warzynak for the extra effort in taking the production to the next level. Thanks to John Brutto (Leader of Men) for joining us to celebrate your birthday. And to all of the fans of 80's era hard rock that brought the good vibes to the party.
On April 20th I (Chris) competed in the "Erie Idol" contest finals at 'Junior's Last Laugh'. We were competing for a big screen HD tv, $500, a recording package and some other stuff. It was the same ol' story; I sang my ass off, made it to the final five, and the chick won it. I wasn't perfect, but I brought it and I honestly didn't think anyone would have pitched a big bitch if I had won it. But I didn't even take second. Ouch!
April 28th brought us back to our friends at the Cove. You guys treat us so well and it is always a good time. We packed everything and everyone into one van and hit the road. Our new lights look so much better when they have room to throw. Awesome. Thanks for the shots people. Thanks to Chris Falk for making the drive to work with us. Thanks to Glen Sprague for providing us with the biggest laugh of the night. P.J., you're the best! See you soon!
Erie Music Awards nominations. If you are viewing this page you are probably already aware of what is going on at RockErie.com. The process of nominating bands for the Erie Music Awards and a shot at performing during the 'Celebrate Erie' festival has already started. If you enjoy what we do and would like to help us on our way, please show your support and nominate us by clicking on the link on the RockErie homepage. We would like to be nominated in the rock band and cover band catagories as well as the individual (vocalist, guitarist, bassist, drummer) catagories. There is also a catagory for favorite overall band/performer. The number of nominations we recieve will determine if we make it into the voting stage of the process for the actual EMA. We are just trying to get onto the ballot right now. Then you will be able to vote for us again in the actual contest, but only if we recieve enough support from all of you. Are you following that? I hope so. We would truly appreciate your support. Thank you.
HAMMERD
More to come.
Stay tuned......