Holy Hand Grenade - Philadelphia 1997

What was I doing 10 years ago? I was living in Philly, planning my escape from the City Of Brotherly love which I now, look upon with a certain fondness. Not the escape , but the actual city. Sure, the city had attitude and that wannabe Goodfellas element , but it also had some great culture of music and art. My affinity of the word "yo" came directly from 10 years of existence in Philly. Well, I was going to live shows and listening to a lot of indie rock and jazz. Also, I went to the record release party at Nick's (Upstair's at Nick's) for Holy Hand Grenade. A powerpop indie rock band, although it was called college rock back then, that was just releasing their debut record. The record, Smoked was full of great melodies and harmonies that was also backed up by their live shows. For a three piece band, they had a full engaging sound. I remember they did a great live version of The Clash's 'Clampdown'.

The potential for the bigger stage was there because none other than Matt Wallace (The Replacements, REM, Faith No More) produced the album, but the record industry at the time was still trying to ride the wave of 70's rock with noodling guitar solos, and harmony was a four letter word left for bands across the Atlantic, or people trapped in the 60's. One of the members of the band was the brother-in-law of a good friend from college. My buddy was in the area not to long ago and I asked him to send me the songs as my old boss had lost the album when I was living in Philly. After 10 years, the album still holds up. As tastes and sounds change, what makes this band unique is the harmonies. If you're a fan of early Supergrass and Beatles, you'll "get it". It might not happen on your first try, but stick with it, and it will reward you. At least, that's what happens for me with music that I will still listen to some 10 years later.

Go check out their myspace page : Holy Hand Grenade


Here are a few tracks from Smoked :

Holy Hand Grenade - Bitter Cigarette

Holy Hand Grenade - Mohair Fuzz