ALTERNATIVE COUNTRY
Alternative country sometimes called insurgent country, or Americana is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music. It has been used to describe country music bands and artists that have incorporated influences ranging from roots rock, bluegrass, rockabilly, honky-tonk, alternative rock, folk rock, and particularly punk.
In the 1990s the term alternative country, paralleling alternative rock, began to be used to describe a diverse group of musicians and singers operating outside the traditions and industry of mainstream country music
GIRLS, GUNS & GLORY
MusicWire Magazine - Boston's hottest new Alt-Country band Girls, Guns and Glory, getting ready to hit Top 10 in R & R. This kid's got a fantastic voice and these kids have the moves.
“I’ve been going wild, like the river runs. And I’m afraid that this rambling has only just begun.” So sings Ward Hayden, singer/songwriter of Girls Guns and Glory, on the band’s new album Sweet Nothings (Lonesome Day, 2011). These words, found in the song “Snakeskin Belt,” are an apt introduction to the band itself. Girls Guns and Glory is a celebration of sweet and tasty, fun lovin’ and hard timin’, honky tonk music that is simultaneously casual and complex. The band combines elements of early rock ‘n’ roll, country, and rhythm & blues to deliver its own brand of American Roots music that satisfies like homemade apple pie.
“Girls Guns and Glory were the buzz band of the AMA conference. I expect them to break out in a major way.” — Robert Weingartz (AirPlay Direct)
“Girls Guns and Glory delivered a graceful, sturdy set of Buddy Holly-meets-Buck Owens twang ‘n’ roll that translated to the night’s most sublime performance. Singer-guitarist Ward Hayden has the pillowy voice of a ’50s pin-up star — the constant comparisons to crooners like Chris Isaak and Lyle Lovett are well-deserved — and his band’s amber-soaked melodies, tight musicianship, and casual elegance were a tonic to an evening.” – The Boston Globe
“Girls, Guns and Glory just might re-ignite the whole country-rock scene in New England…GG&G has some serious country music chops, but they also kick it up with rock ‘n’ roll abandon.” – The Patriot Ledger
“Imagine Lyle Lovett and Chris Isaak paying tribute to classic American rock n’ roll from Elvis, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison.” – The Boston Herald
For Ward Hayden of Girls, Guns and Glory, just getting a chance to perform his band’s blend of rock and roots country in Boston Clubs was an exercise in persistence when the group first formed. The band couldn’t get any clubs to allow an alt-country ensemble to take the stage, so they spent their own money to rent a club for the night. “We packed in 350 paying customers that first night,” Hayden says. “After that, people took us more seriously.”
Flash forward to 2011, and Girls, Guns and Glory is one of the best regarded members of the Boston independent scene. Their latest single, “The Universe Began,” has become a personal favorite of Chad Ochocinco, New England Patriots wide receiver, who has taken to Twitter to speak of playing the song “73 times already.” It seems only a matter of time before the band starts attracting mainstream listeners, and rightly so as their blend of Lyle Lovett and Roy Orbison vocals with the hard-fighting country sounds of a veteran bar band makes for an exceptionally infectious listen. Trust me, Hayden and Girls, Guns and Glory deserve to be on your musical radar. When their album Sweet Nothings breaks wide, you’ll want to say you were among those who heard them first.
Girls, Guns And Glory at the 34th Annual Aurora Country Festival in Aurora, Kentucky, October 9, 2011
Photo By: NewsWire Images
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