With a name that promises a mixture of cuddles and extreme violence, let’s hear from Hearts & Hand Grenades…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from the Buffalo, NY area.
How did you meet?
Mike and I have played together in several cover music bands in the past and decided that it was time to create our own original project. We knew both Kenny and Tom from the local cover music scene and decided that they were the right combination of talent to bring Hearts & Hand Grenades to life.
How long have you been playing as a band?
The band has only been together for a little over one year now. We had been playing together in various different bands over the last eight years but it wasn’t until last year that we decided to take a crack at the original music scene.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Since we are a female fronted rock band, we wanted to choose a name that really gave us a good sense of contrast and something that represents our sound. We tossed a lot of ideas around but ultimately landed on Hearts & Hand Grenades. We are definitely not ‘sugar & spice’, but more ‘sweet & sour’.
What are your influences?
I think individually we are all influenced by different artists, but we all have shared an interest in bands like Metallica, and AC/DC. For me personally, I really like Avatar, and my personal favourite is MUSE. The list could go on and on. When you listen to our music, you can hear some musical flavour going back to the 80’s hard rock and metal scene all the way through today.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
For us, it’s a lot about some catchy guitar riffs and meaningful lyrics. If the song doesn’t offer some kind of emotional connection, then we didn’t do our jobs. I think something unique about us is that we can sort of float in multiple genres but still keep a hard rock sound. We have crossed over with alternative, metal, and even a little punk.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
When writing the lyrics, I try to focus on a feeling, or an event, or some other kind of emotional connection that I can use to bring a song together. I think some of the themes are frustration and anger, then in contrast we have some songs about hope and salvation. I think the songs definitely have something that everyone can find themselves in at some point.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We bring a lot of energy to our live performance and engage the crowd as much as possible. We have only played a few shows together over the past year with this band as it was just getting started, but we do have some lined up for the near future, which will include a little traveling nationally so that is very exciting for us.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
I don’t think I’d call this ‘wild’ but it definitely was hilarious. Mike and I were setting up for a gig and as he was running the cables for floor monitors at the front of the stage, he knelt down and must have stretched awkwardly because he split his pants from front to back. And he didn’t have anything he could change into. So, being the quick thinker that he is, he grabbed a role of duct tape and sealed his pants up from the inside… and played an entire show wincing while the tape was sticking to, what we’ll call, unpleasant areas.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
I love Warwick. I have two long sale Warwick basses that I use currently, and they are both matte black. My weapon of choice the 5 string Corvette SS. I love everything about them, the tone, the feel, all of it. Mike loves his Ibanez guitars and Kenny wields a Fender. Tom always keeps his Tama drums close by.
What are your plans for 2020?
We do have some shows already lined up this year, and we plan on putting together some tour dates shortly after that, so we have some exciting things ahead for us. Our newest EP ‘Adrenaline’ will be released on May 1st, and after that we will be getting right to work on creating some new music. We have no plans of stopping so we hope to just create, tour, and meet some fans along the way.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
I would love to open for MUSE. The amount of energy that those guys bring to their live shows is incredible. If I could ever open for them, I think I would feel like yep, we’ve made it. I don’t think I’d have a specific band that I’d want to open for us, but if I had to choose, I’d pick the Goo Goo Dolls. They are also from Buffalo and that would be a really cool lineup!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLCKkPFwv1s
