Rory Kelly cleaves a rift in time with Rock-N-Roll

Posted in Raleigh Music Industry

The Sinner’s Sideshow! A Psychobilly/Burlesque Carnival

Review posted in Raleigh Music Industry.

Rock-N-Roll as it should be, Hank III saws up the Lincoln Theatre

Posted in Raleigh Music Industry Association.

Interview with Hank III

Originally posted in Raleigh Music .com

An interview with Hank III.
By: Hunter Elliott

When I heard Hank III would be rocking The Lincoln Theatre I knew I had to be the guy covering the show. Raleigh Music contacted his promoter and along with passes to the show I was granted a short phone interview with the man himself. The promoter told me I would have about ten minuets so I prepared 6 question. Below is our exchange.

I started the conversation by telling Hank I was a huge fan of his music, who I was, and who I was working for.

1) Hunter- Country Music has really changed and many folks including myself think for the worse. What are your thoughts on the reasons why?

Hank- “It comes down to who knows who, lawyers getting more control than the musicians and DJ’s, and really it is more of a business but artist are beginning to get some of that control back. With that said I will not fault any artist for making a living with their music.”

2) Hunter- Will Country Music ever come full circle and what was will be again?

Hank- “That is way too hard to say but maybe.” 3) Hunter- Can you give me some examples of musicians that influence your style?

Hank- “There are a lot of musicians that have had influence but some that come to mind are Jimmy Martin, Dock Boggs, Hell Stomper, Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Waylon Jennings, Lynard Skynard, and old Charlie Daniels.”

4) Hunter- Not long ago you released four albums at once, why?

Hank- “Nobody has ever done that before and it has been many years since I could sell my own CDs at my shows and since being signed with Curb records, now I have more creative control. Curb was holding me back as a musician.”

5) Hunter-Tell me about your involvement with Happy Tails (a humane shelter in TN so the reader knows) and your dogs Trooper and Mama.

Hank – “I have always been an animal lover and have been with Happy Tails for four years, I grew up around animals and they are close to me. Not everyone is cut out for a wife or husband but animals offer great companionship.” Trooper was rescued in Mississippi and was coming up to cars looking for help. Mama was hit by a car and had a litter of puppies in her when she was rescued.

6) Hunter- Are you in this (music) for the long haul?

Hank- “I am going to play as long as I can perform but I would prefer to retire on a good note and not try to play when I can barely hold a pick and guitar. As long as my health holds out I will make music. I have been on the road with a bus and a crew since about 1994.”

At this time I looked at the clock and it had been close to 10 minutes so I told Hank I knew my time was about up, he then told me “if you have anything else on your mind speak up”. Not wanting to miss this opportunity we went more into conversation mode. I asked him about Operation Happy Note which is a volunteer effort to send musical instruments to deployed service men and women throughout the world. Hank told me he was a big supporter of the troops and while on tour in Minneapolis he took part in signing two guitars for Operation Happy Note. We talked about his upcoming tour and the venues he chooses to play, Hank said “I would rather play the smaller venues to the smaller crowds over the larger amphitheaters.

When I asked him why, Hank said “I like the more intimate setting where I can be closer to my fans. Hank told me the folks who come to see him know he plays long shows that cross several styles. I could tell what really drives Hank is the fans. He reinforced this by mentioning the fans several times and referenced “crowd energy”. We then talked about how today you don’t need a label to put out an album, his exact words were “you don’t have to have a $500,000 mixer to sound good”.

I looked at the clock and we had been talking almost a half hour. I told him I appreciated his time as I knew he was a busy man. Hank then said what every fan wants to hear, “if you are into me I am into you”. This tells me that even though he is an outlaw, the fans matter. I got a real great feeling from our conversation and felt like I have known Hank for years.

I am definitely looking forward to the Lincoln Theatre show.

 

Unknown Hinson takes Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre to an “Unknown” Dimension

Article on Unknown Hinson written by Meghan Adkins and photographed by Hunter Lee Elliott

 

Unknown Hinson takes Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre to an “Unknown” Dimension

Leading Off 2012 with Raleigh favorite The Morning After.

Article on The Morning After posted in Raleigh Music.com written and photographed by myself.

Leading Off 2012 with Raleigh favorite The Morning After.

 

Local Bluegrass Favorite to host 10th Anniversary Show at The Carolina Theater on January 14th

Published in Raleigh Music.com by Hunter Elliott

New Airiel Down video

Chris Koch, Gabriel Nelson, and myself went to Staten Island NY  with Beaux Foy to film the new Airiel Down music video starring Crusher the dog.

Raleigh Music.com covers John Walsh and Kenny Wayne Shepherd

I have joined the Raleigh Music.com team in covering music events.

Here is the write-up by my friend Mark Winston and photographed by myself.

Gouge Wrestling body slams Rebus Works

Gouge Wrestling brings a bunch of animals (so to speak) to Rebus Works for physical combat (so to speak) in the squared circle. Along with the wrestling match was a food truck rodeo with several local vendors as well as Aviator Brewing Company. There was some great food along with cold beers and some interesting entertainment. Wrestlers from Gouge put on an excellent show for the public’s enjoyment.  I am not a huge fan of professional wrestling, I believe it has something to do with all the way over the top showmanship.  This style of wrestling is a bit more to my liking, still plenty of showmanship but a little more gritty making this seem more real (which we all have opinions on ). Several of the wrestlers were Andrea the Giant, Redman, Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. Otto Schwanz, Lou Marconi, and Rob BoogieWoogieman McBride. I think what I enjoyed the most of the show was how the wrestlers played to the crowd, especially the children. After the show I had the chance to meet Andrea the Giant and a few of the other wrestlers and they were all really nice folks Not that I did not expect that but still it was not hours before they were battling it out with one another.

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