New York, NY (Top40 Charts) As musical trends come and go, The Hangmen have remained uncompromising since their formation in 1986. From big money major label deals to debilitating drug addiction, lead singer Bryan Small has continued to charge forward with the headlong momentum of a runaway train.
Bridging the gap somewhere between The Gun Club and the Rolling Stones, the band's latest offering, Stories To Tell smashes together Small's lurid love songs with unsparing, unsentimental blasts that shine a penetrating light into the dark and seedy corners of life. From the melodic "Midnight Riders" to the haunting "On The Outside," Small delivers an album with a simplicity and depth of songwriting reminiscent of
Neil Young and Tom Petty.
"Midnight Riders is a rite of passage song. It's the way my friends and I lived in our early days navigating life, being in bands and coping with everything as kids in Hollywood. We didn't have boundaries. We didn't have mentors. We were notoriously fucked up geniuses in our eyes. I'm not surprised by the path we took for ourselves - some made it, some moved home and some died." Small himself recently relocated after 38 years in Los Angeles to his hometown of Missoula, Montana, so his kids could grow up around family.
"We recorded in different studios over the course of about a year and a half, which is the way some of my favorite albums were made," reveals Small, "This is the first record since Mike Ness (Social Distortion) produced In The City that I've kinda let go of the production and mixing to get a different view of these songs."
Longtime Hangmen fan Rob Schnapf (Elliot Smith, Beck, X) also stepped in to produce two tracks on Stories: "
On The Outside" and "Last Time I Saw You," a tribute to "Rontrose" Heathman, the former Hangmen and Supersuckers guitar player who passed away in 2020.
Stories To Tell also includes a raucous cover of Credence Clearwater Revival's "Sinister Purpose." "CCR has always been a part of The Hangmen's DNA to some extent. It was a bit of an overlooked song that spoke to us. Jimmy
James (guitarist) brought it to the band and it was a natural fit."
Stories To Tell will be released
September 8, 2023 on Acetate Records. A month-long European tour commences
September 13 in Paris.
Label site: https://acetate.com/the-hangmen/
BandCamp: https://thehangmen.bandcamp.com/album/stories-to-tell
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID:
"I find myself totally fixated by The Hangmen's dirty, sloppy, scuzz drenched, spilled beer, piss stained, rawk crud noise stylings. They channel the Ramones, Gun Club, Cramps and the
Rolling Stones and turn it all into a wild musical slop that gets stuck between your ears!" - Keith Morris (Circle Jerks,
Black Flag, OFF!)
"If you haven't seen The Hangmen live, you should kick yourself in the ass!" - Mike Ness (Social Distortion)
"A mix of buzz-saw chord structures with a Country and Western flavor reminiscent of Crazy Horse" - Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times
"Welp, Bryan Small has done it again. This record is so Hangmen, it hurts - this may just be the best record they've ever made. I've listened to it 35 times already and I can't get enough. The hits just keep on coming! 6 stars out of five!!" - Eddie Spaghetti (Supersuckers)
"The Hangmen's punk rock ferocity and country/roots music puts them in an artistic class with the likes of other Los Angeles greats X, Gun Club and Social Distortion." -
Vincent Jeffries, Allmusic.com
'STORIES TO TELL' TRACK LISTING
1. Broken Heartland
2. Midnight Riders
3. Last Time I Saw You
4. On The Outside
5. Sinister Purpose
6. Bayou Moon
7. Behind The Wheel
8. Stories To Tell
9. Hard Luck Jim
10. Runnin' Kind
Formed in 1986, The Hangmen immediately caught the eye of Circle Jerks frontman Keith Morris, who began managing the band and produced the demos that landed them a deal with Capitol Records. In 1989 they released their self-titled debut produced by Vic Maile, (Motörhead, The Who "Live at Leeds") before switching to the newly formed DGC Records whose roster included The Nymphs and
Nirvana to name a few. That seemed like the perfect landing spot for the band, but unfortunately the Rob Younger (Radio Birdman) produced album Suicide
Doors was never released and the band dissolved into addiction.
Not one to be down for long, a newly sober Small started writing again, the result was 2000's Metallic I.O.U. released on the Los Angeles-based indie, Acetate Records. The Hangmen found a willing accomplice and partner in crime in label owner Rick Ballard, who produced their follow-up, We've Got Blood On The Toes Of Our Boots, a live recording of their OOP Capitol Records debut and 2019's Cactusville. Tours with longtime fans
Social Distortion and the Supersuckers followed. Mike Ness would later produce The Hangmen's 2007 release In the City. "I totally feel like we're kindred spirits," Small says looking back, adding that both bands emphasize "simplicity, and doing what you do and staying true to that."
In 2010, the popular Finnish record label Hype Records released Lost Rocks, an eighteen-song Hangmen retrospective. Shortly thereafter, former Supersucker Ron Heathmen joined the band for 2012's critically acclaimed East Of Western. 2019 marked the release of Cactusville as well as a performance on legendary European television show, Rockpalast.
DISCOGRAPHY:
1989 The Hangmen
2000 Metallic I.O.U.
2002 We've Got Blood on the Toes of Our Boots 2004 Loteria
2007 In The City
2011 Lost Rocks: Best Of
2012 East Of Western
2019 Cactusville
2020 Thunderhead (single)
2023 Stories To Tell
THE HANGMEN EUROPEAN TOUR 2023
13/09 WED PARIS, FR @ LA DAME DE CANTON
14/09 THU RENNES, FR @ LE NOKTAMBÜL
15/09 FRI St. GUILLES CROIX VIE FRI, FR @ ROCK THE SEA
16/09 SAT PERIGUEUX, FR @ LE MOULIN DU ROUSSEAU
17/09 SUN ZARAGOZA, SP @ SALA Z
19/09 TUE LIERGANES, SP @ LOS PICOS
20/09 WED A CORUÑA, SP @ MARDI GRAS
21/09 THU MADRID, SP @ CLAMORES
22/09 FRI BURGOS, SP @ AMB
23/09 SAT BILBAO, SP @ KAFE ANTZOKIA
24/09 SUN TOLEDO, SP @ PÍCARO
26/09 TUE GRANADA, SP @ LEMON ROCK
27/09 WED BENIDORM, SP @ ROCKSTAR
28/09 THU VALENCIA, SP @ LOCO CLUB
29/09 FRI BARCELONA, SP @ SIDECAR
30/09 SAT MONTPELLIER FR @ SECRET PLACE
01/10 SUN COMO, IT @ JOSHUA BLUES CLUB
03/10 TUE ZAGRED, HR @ HARD PLACE
04/10 WED BELGRADE, RS @ KC GRAD
05/10 THU PRAGUE, CZ @ VAGON
06/10 FRI BERLIN, DE @ WILD AT HEART
11/10 WED HAMBURGH, DE @ APOLLO CLUB
12/10 THU KOLN, DE @ SONIC BALLROOM
14/10 SAT MESSANCY, BE @ BACK TO THE PIPELINE
