Nine Pound Hammer
Nine Pound Hammer is an American cowpunk band formed in 1985 by vocalist Scott Luallen and guitarist Blaine Cartwright (later of Nashville Pussy) in their hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky. Though not recorded until 1988, the band was one of the initial wave of acts to combine the roots sound of country music with punk rock, and became a forerunner to subsequent roots-punk artists.
History
Nine Pound Hammer first played at The Ross Theater, opening for the Xtian rap group, The Disciples Of Decadence, in nearby Evansville, Indiana, with drummer Toby Myrig, David Epperson, and bassist Brian (Forrest) Payne, in 1984. David and Brian left, and Bart Altman, thunderstick man from The Disciples Of Decadence, joined on bass. This lineup played a single show at the Ross Theater as The Yuppie Mop Dogs on August 31, 1985. The band played locally in Owensboro, Kentucky and Evansville, Indiana, garnering a very loyal following before relocating to Lexington, Kentucky as the Raw Recruits. The band then changed their name to The Black Sheep and became the house band at Great Scott's Depot. Darren Howard replaced Toby, and the band became Nine Pound Hammer again. The name of the band is taken from the Merle Travis song Nine Pound Hammer.
Brian Moore (Active Ingredients) and Rob Hulsman (Tarbox Ramblers) joined on bass and drums in 1988, just before recording the band's first LP, The Mud, The Blood, and The Beers.
The band has six full-length albums and several EPs.
In 2005, Nine Pound Hammer was asked to pen a theme song and lyrics for 12 oz. Mouse, a new Adult Swim animated series showing on America's Cartoon Network. Singer Scott Luallen also appears in the series as the voice actor for the character Roostre. More recently, they were featured on Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Colon the Soundtrack with the track "Carl's Theme," in which the lyrics play off of the character "Carl" and one of his lines in Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Releases
Full-length
- The Mud, The Blood, and The Beers - 1988
- Smokin' Taters! - 1992
- Hayseed Timebomb - 1994
- Live At The VERA - 1999
- Kentucky Breakdown - 2004
- Mulebite Deluxe - 2005
- Sex, Drugs and Bill Monroe - 2008
- Country Classics - 2010
- Bluegrass Consiracy -2016
Other
- 12 oz. Mouse Theme - 2005
- Carl's Theme - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Colon the Soundtrack - 2007
Current line-up
- Scott Luallen (vocals)
- Blaine Cartwright (guitar)
- Earl Crim (guitar)
- Rob Hulsman (drums)
- Mark Hendricks (bass)
Former members
- Brian Moore (bass)
- Matt Bartholomy (bass)
- Bill Waldron (drums)
- Bart Altman (bass)
- Brian Pulito (drums)
- Adam Neal (drums)
External links
- Nine Pound Hammer on MySpace
- Nine Pound Hammer discography at Discogs