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 Photo Gallery | Press/Reviews | Tour Dates | Bio
The gutters of Hollywood are littered with burnouts, casualties and victims. There are very few real survivors—guys who remain standing in spite of every attempt to knock them down. One of them is The Hangmen's Bryan Small. Since the 1980s he's led his band through lineup changes, disastrous major label deals, addictions and too many demons to name. One thing has always remained constant. Small's commitment to musical honesty, integrity and rootsy, high-wattage Rock n' Roll. In the City is the latest saga in The Hangmen's long, sometimes tortuous, and always interesting history. Paying a visit this time around is yet another survivor, Social Distortion's Mike Ness, who produced the seven songs that make up this EP. You might assume that the Hangmen and Social Distortion are friends from way back in the day, but surprisingly they're not. While Small has always been a fan of Social D, the bands only got to know each other a mere three and a half years ago, when they shared a stage for the first time. During a tour together, Ness told Small he wanted to produce The Hangmen's next record, and naturally Small's response was, "Okay!" "I totally feel like we're kindred spirits," Small says, adding that both bands emphasize "simplicity, and doing what you do and staying true to that." Small and Ness even wound up blending their songwriting talents on "Train," something that Small probably wouldn't have considered with anyone else. "I don't write with other people," he says. "It was really hard for me because I want to be in control of everything!" Small's willingness to give up control to someone he completely respected has resulted in one of the most exciting Hangmen recordings to date. After all these years, The Hangmen are still unearthing sparks of inspiration amidst the grime, and while the lyrics to songs like "I Wanna Be Loved," "King of the Road" and "In The City" often ache with desperation, there's also a persistence and kickass musical attack that keeps it all fresh. Fitting right in is a cover of "I Will Stay," from a little-known '70s Finnish band, the Hurriganes. (And yes, it was Finnish-born guitarist Rane Raitsikka who brought the Hurriganes records to his bandmates.) In the City is 23 minutes of Rock 'n' Roll that has both depth and attitude—exactly what you've come to expect from The Hangmen. |
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