Post-Halloween hair-raising

Ham1 - Another Flipped Lid Pt. 1

Reverb [ˈrēˌvərb; riˈvərb ] noun - an effect whereby the sound produced by an amplifier or an amplified musical instrument is made to reverberate (be repeated several times as an echo; Latin: reverberat- ‘struck again,’) slightly. (Source: Oxford Amercan Dictionary)

When you add said reverb in varying amounts to a slightly over-amplified guitar, whoo boy... it really raises the hairs on the back of my neck - I said the same thing about a particular Low song ("When I Go Deaf") here a while back, though I ended up taking the song down because Sub Pop wasn't okay with it being up... anyway, when you strip down a slow-tempo indie rock song to bare essentials, then add a bit o' the ol' reverb, it works wonders.

In this particular case, it is courtesy of Ham1, an Athens, Georgia-based three-piece joined by other musicians in their supposedly legendary live performances. Ham1 is lead by Jim Willingham, a vet of the hard rock scene of the 90s (including Harey Carey and Crown Vic) who jumped ship and relocated to the gentle climes of Florida, where he was inspired by the music on the radio (for the old folks) to make something new and beautiful. This lead to the instrumental-only band The Prince Rondavels, and later to Ham1. Willingham writes the songs, sings and plays guitar. He's joined by Eric Harris on drums and organ; and Chris Sugiuchi (who Willingham started The Prince Rondavels with) on trombone and percussion. They both also sing/shout background vocals. Some of the other folks that contribute to the Ham1 sound include Pete Erchick (the Olivias), Nick Bielli (Japancakes), and Ballard Lesemann (Rock*a*Teens).

The Ham1 sound is a great mix that draws from the palates of indie and classic rock, and according to their bio, they also draw inspiration from spaghetti westerns, flea-market junk records, old movie soundtracks, and "modern dilapidation." There are definitely echoes of this sort of broken-down nature of the South - an aesthetic that is both good (I know some seriously stylish southern folks) and bad (as in being poor is hard) - in the music that I appreciate. I decided to go with an instrumental song, of which there a few on their new self-titled album, because although the songs with words have a great classic-indie-rock feel to them, this particular song packs a real punch musically.

Check out their site, and get in touch with the guys (email them: bookerwd - at - yahoo.com) if you're interested in hearing more of their stuff. The album is a trip, and is recommended.