I have some new music for you, so listen up on this Monday morning… The Hardways comin’ at ya! They are releasing a new album, March 25. This will be the bands fourth album, titled Whittle It Away. Whittle It Away was named by fans in an online survey. The album has an atmosphere of hard-hitting bluegrass-rock with a little punk thrown in there. I got to chat with Gingher Leyendecker, the bands banjo and rhythm guitar player, she described the album as a wide variety of sounds from everything to cow-punk to sweet love songs to crunchy rock, all the while maintaining that southwest saloon style The Hardways are known for playing. Influenced by every sound under the sun.
The Hardways formed in 2004. Each member gives so much into this band and with each their own unique energy and experience. Gingher, herself a college art professor and president of the Arizona Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. She writes most of the songs while driving on long road trips going to see her grandmother who is almost 100 years old. Well known lead guitarist Dirty Dan Bain is out of Oklahoma. A number of songs reflect his nickname. Bassist Chris Lykins is a facial reconstructive surgeon! Lykins is a well-trained musician and has toured the world with a metal-rock band, Atrophy before joining The Hardways. Drummer Nate Hawbaker keeps the band rolling on the roads by driving the bus, and is also a bus manager of a bus mechanic business which keeps all the kids in Phoenix on the road for school.
This album was recorded with Studio Cat Productions out of Phoenix. The title track to this album was written around the opening riffs. A non-traditional style with a slide banjo. Putting some down and dirty sounds for energy of this album. After just finishing Whittle It Away, the band has already started working on album number five that they hope to release at the end of this year or early next.
Gingher says any crowd is fun to play for as long at the audience if having fun the band plays off of that energy.
This album is a fun, full of energy rockin’ good time. These guys genuinely enjoy making this journey together and it shows through their songs.
