Lovehammers
is a Chicago-based, Alternative rock band. Their sound is best described as a combination of Pop-punk, and Grunge influences.
Since 1997, Lovehammers have independently released five full-length albums and EPs and one major label LP. For their self-titled major label debut (released January 24, 2006), they were known as Marty Casey & Lovehammers
. They are now back to just "Lovehammers". They have also appeared live on VH1, playing acoustic versions of their songs - Trees, The Tunnel, and The Riddle.
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LOVEHAMMERS TICKETS
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History
Beginnings
Lovehammers band members
Marty Casey,
Bobby Kourelis and his younger brother
Dino Kourelis became friends in 1982 when the three were on the same Little League team in their hometown of
Hickory Hills, Illinois. As young teens they formed a
cover band with fellow neighborhood friends,
Ben Kelly
on guitar and
John Murdoch
as lead vocalist. They called themselves
Swinging Lovehammers
. After they entered college, John Murdoch left the band and Marty Casey took over as vocalist.
In 1994, they discovered
Billy Sawilchik, who was at the time playing lead guitar for a band called
9 Arms
. In May 1994 they officially recruited him to become a member of
Swinging Lovehammers
. With the line-up in place the band began writing original material.
In 1997, Swinging Lovehammers released their first full-length album,
Ultrasound, an early incarnation of the band's now, signature, genre melding "un-pretentious rock" sound.
In 1999, the band released
Demolition, a four song
EP recorded at DV Productions in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Demolition
features the songs
Real Man
,
Give It Up
,
Counterfeit
and
Confusion
. These songs were later re-released on the Lovehammers second
LP L'Strange. That same year their song Rain on The Brain is awarded a place in the
John Lennon Songwriting Contest
By the year 2000, Swinging Lovehammers began to acquire a larger fanbase throughout the Midwest, winning various Battle of The Bands competitions and booking gigs at notable venues and festivals such as
House of Blues ,
Summerfest and
Lincoln's Fest and are booked to play the
CMJ Music Marathon in
New York City. They also began receiving local radio play.
Name Change and Ben Kelly's Departure
Around 2000, Swinging Lovehammers' fanbase swelled and their devotees were referred to as
Hammerheads
. On
30 September 2000, Swinging Lovehammers released the original version of their second album, L'strange. By October,
Mötley Crüe's
Nikki Six reportedly reviews the band favorably, calling them
"Another new band to keep your eyes open for"
.
On
24 March,
2001 Swinging Lovehammers released their second
EP How We Live produced by legendary
Indie rock impresario
Steve Albini, known for his work with
Nirvana,
PJ Harvey and
Pixies.
On
8 August,
2001, the band officially changes its name from
Swinging Lovehammers
to simply
Lovehammers
, bass-player Dino Kourelis explained the change on the band's website,
"You can call us whatever you want. Most people call us Lovehammers anyway. We will keep all names to make everyone happy. We made a little change for marketing reasons, as well as ‘change is good.’"
On
6 November 2001, Lovehammers re-released
L'Strange complete with new cover art which reflects the name change.
In Fall of 2003
Ben Kelly
officially left the band. In an informal to the fans via their website lead singer
Marty Casey explained the departure.
"He [Ben] was apart of this band for a long time. I can't honestly sit here and say I do not miss him. ... There are only 24 hours in a day and Ben was operating on a 48 hour schedule. We wanted to put every single moment of energy into our next CD. This is what I have been building up to for my entire life. I wanted to put every moment of my life into creating the best Lovehammer CD anyone has ever heard. This requires singular focus from every person involved in the record."
At this point
Billy Sawilchik became and remains the band's only lead guitarist.
On
July 27,
2003 Lovehammers released their third full-length album entitled
Murder on My Mind. The album featured a number of songs written by
Marty Casey during his stay in
New York City, including
Wait For No One
,
Better Off (Walk Away)
and
Eyes Can't See
which form a thematic trilogy.
Rockstar:INXS and Major Label Debut
In 2005, Lovehammers were opening for
Cake and
Gomez on the 21 city
Virgin College Mega Tour. At that time,
Marty Casey was participating in ongoing auditions for the
reality television show
Rockstar: INXS. The show's purpose was to discover a replacement lead singer for the band,
INXS through a televised singing competition. Casey made it onto the show and quickly became a fan favorite. Despite the rest of the band's initial apprehension, they supported Casey and could occasionally be seen in the television crowd cheering him on during his performances. On
September 6 2005 Marty Casey debuted a different version of the pop-heavy Lovehammers song,
Trees
, which had been previously available for download on the Lovehammers website. It became an instant hit with the audience and debuted on
MSN.com as a #1 download. After Marty made it to runner up in the competition the Lovehammers were immediately offered a contract with
Epic records and a spot as the opening band on INXS's
Switched On tour.
In Summer of 2006, Lovehammers headlined the
Get Live
tour, most of the dates were quickly sold out and the reviews were overwhelmingly favorable.
On
January 24 2006 Lovehammers released their major label debut entitled,
Marty Casey & Lovehammers, comprised mostly of retooled versions of previously released and recorded Lovehammers tracks. The album was generally very well received by critics and fans alike.
Recent Events: 2007-Present
As of 2007 Lovehammers have recorded a live acoustic compilation
CD/
DVD produced by
Stonecutter Records entitled
Acoustic Chicago
, which features unplugged tracks from various Chicago based bands. They are also in the process of writing and recording their next major-label
LP.
They have also organized a charity campaign called
Shoeboxes @ Home
which helps provide necessities for both men and women serving overseas in the
military as well as military
veterans in need residing in the
U.S.
In 2009, Lovehammers will release a new album entitled "
Heavy Crown." The album was prevously set to be called "Let Me Out," but was later changed to "Heavy Crown."
The album is currently available for pre-order on their official site.
Members
- Marty Casey - Lead Vocals, Guitar
- Billy Sawilchik - Lead Guitar, backing vocals
- Dino Kourelis - Bass Guitar
- Bob Kourelis - drums
Discography
Studio Albums
| Year
| Title
| Label
|
| 1997
| ''Ultrasound
| REEP Records
|
| 2002
| L'Strange
| REEP Records
|
| 2003
| Murder on My Mind
| Swinging Lovehammers Records
|
| 2006
| Marty Casey and Lovehammers
| Epic Records
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| 2009
| Heavy Crown
| REEP Records
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Singles and EPs
| Year
| Title
| Label
|
| 1999
| Demolition
| Reep Records
|
| 2001
| How We Live (EP)
| Swinging Lovehammers Records
|
| 2006
| ''Merry Christmas (All Year Long)
| Swinging Lovehammers Records
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DVDs
| Year
| Title
|
| 2004
| ''Live/Raw
Swinging Lovehammers Inc
|
| 2006
| And The Rest Is History...
Swinging Lovehammers Inc
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