The music you missed this summer
By: Sam Wershow
Issue date: 9/19/08 Section: The Arts
Before this awful weather causes you to write off Minnesota as a cold, forsaken wasteland, try spending a summer here. Having barely survived the past two winters, I was astonished to discover that the Twin Cities can actually be a lot of fun. Midwesterners do summer right: lakes, beaches, barbecues, beer, and music. Ah, music. Nothing says summer like brawling in the streets at four a.m. after a rowdy concert. On July 31, Minneapolis enjoyed a rare treat. Hellbound Glory, hot off their first record deal, barnstormed the Midwest in their beat-up Winnebago.
Who is Hellbound Glory? I'll tell you, you ignorant schmuck. They are the best band you've never heard of and some of the most exciting live performers in the country. Take a healthy dose of punk-rock nihilism and add it to a pure strain of the American roots musical tradition: blues, country and folk. Give that package to a group of the drunkest, wildest scumbags Reno has to offer and you get Hellbound Glory. Self-dubbed "Scumbag Country," Hellbound has mastered their niche genre, if not outright created it. This summer, they finally scored a record deal with Gearhead Records, typically more of a punk label, and went on tour.
Previously, the group had only played small towns throughout the mountain west, in addition to their home base in Reno. Hellbound is a simple five-piece band, with drums, two guitars, pedal steel and bass, plus the occasional banjo. The band cites Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johhny Paycheck as key influences. Lead singer and guitarist Leroy is the band's public face, if they can be said to have one. What they do have is a devoted fan base in Reno bars, and a growing cult following.
My first Hellbound show was on Leroy's birthday in June 2007. I had gotten some of the band's tracks from a friend, and everyone in town said they were great live. It was a no cover show at Davidson's Distillery-a bit of a misleading name, considering its one of the rowdier biker bars in Reno. East of downtown Reno, Davidson's got a stripper pole in the corner, and the chick behind the bar looks like she could stomp your ass.
Who is Hellbound Glory? I'll tell you, you ignorant schmuck. They are the best band you've never heard of and some of the most exciting live performers in the country. Take a healthy dose of punk-rock nihilism and add it to a pure strain of the American roots musical tradition: blues, country and folk. Give that package to a group of the drunkest, wildest scumbags Reno has to offer and you get Hellbound Glory. Self-dubbed "Scumbag Country," Hellbound has mastered their niche genre, if not outright created it. This summer, they finally scored a record deal with Gearhead Records, typically more of a punk label, and went on tour.
Previously, the group had only played small towns throughout the mountain west, in addition to their home base in Reno. Hellbound is a simple five-piece band, with drums, two guitars, pedal steel and bass, plus the occasional banjo. The band cites Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johhny Paycheck as key influences. Lead singer and guitarist Leroy is the band's public face, if they can be said to have one. What they do have is a devoted fan base in Reno bars, and a growing cult following.
My first Hellbound show was on Leroy's birthday in June 2007. I had gotten some of the band's tracks from a friend, and everyone in town said they were great live. It was a no cover show at Davidson's Distillery-a bit of a misleading name, considering its one of the rowdier biker bars in Reno. East of downtown Reno, Davidson's got a stripper pole in the corner, and the chick behind the bar looks like she could stomp your ass.
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