Hank Williams III

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This article is about Hank Williams III. For his grandfather, see Hank Williams. For his father, see Hank Williams, Jr..
Hank Williams III
Hank III performing in 2006 at the South by Southwest Festival.
Hank III performing in 2006 at the South by Southwest Festival.
Background information
Birth name Shelton Hank Williams
Also known as Hank III
III
The Unholy 3
Born December 12, 1972 (1972-12-12) (age 35)
Nashville, Tennessee
Genre(s) Country, Cow punk, Punk rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, Musician, Bassist
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums
Years active 1996–present
Label(s) Curb, Bruc
Associated acts The Damn Band, Assjack, Superjoint Ritual, Arson Anthem
Website Official Website

Shelton Hank Williams (December 12, 1972) is an American musician. He is sometimes credited as Hank III or even III. The three is often represented by a modified version of Raymond Pettibon's Black Flag logo.

The grandson of Hank Williams, Sr. and the son of Hank Williams Jr, both country music legends, the younger Williams' music alternates between somewhat traditional country, and a more aggressive music that touches on punk rock and elements of various heavy metal styles. His music is difficult to classify concisely, but has been described as hard-twang, cowpunk, altcountry, hellbilly, and honky punk.[1]

Hank III enjoys an extremely loyal grassroots fan base and much of his success can be attributed to his taper-friendly stance of his frenetic live tours, which have been his main promotional vehicle.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Williams spent much of his early career playing drums in punk rock bands.

In 1996, mounting child support payments led Williams to capitalize on his family name and sign a contract with Nashville, Tennessee music industry giant Curb Records. Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts was issued shortly thereafter, which spliced together recordings to make it seem that three generations of Williams men were singing alongside one another. Upon first meeting Hank III, Minnie Pearl, a friend of Hank Williams Sr., reportedly said "Lord, honey, you're a ghost," as she was astonished by his striking resemblance to his grandfather.

Williams' first solo album, Risin' Outlaw, was released in September 1999 to respectable sales and strong reviews. While his name (and his uncanny vocal and physical resemblances to his grandfather) could have guaranteed Williams a thriving country audience, he had little patience for the often predictable Nashville sound, nor for even the minimal constraints on behavior his promoters required. His opinions on this subject are well summed up in the songs "Trashville" and "Dick in Dixie" Lovesick, Broke and Driftin' was released in 2002.

Known for his relentless touring, Williams' live shows typically follow a "Jekyll and Hyde" format of a country set followed by a hellbilly set, and then an Assjack set. He plays country and hellbilly with his "Damn Band" and produces a very different sound with Assjack, which is a punk rock band. The lineup for Assjack includes the addition of supplemental vocalist, Gary Lindsey, bassist JoeBuck switching from upright to electric bass, and the departure of his fiddle and slide guitar players. In the past, The Damn Band/Assjack also featured fiddle-player extraordinaire Michael "Fiddleboy" McCanless, who would play both sets, adding traditional violin for country set of the concert before plugging his instrument into an amplifier and distortion unit for later sets. Another former band member was guitarist Duane Denison, previously with The Jesus Lizard, who left The Damn Band and Assjack in January 2001 and later that year formed Tomahawk.

Williams had a great deal of trouble with Curb Records. He expressed dissatisfaction with his debut, and reportedly the label was unwilling to release his appropriately named This Ain't Country LP, nor allow him to issue it on another record label. In response, Williams began selling t-shirts stating "Fuck Curb." Also during this era, Williams played bass guitar in Superjoint Ritual, a now defunct band led by with former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo. Joe Fazzio, former drummer for Superjoint Ritual, has toured with Hank III as well as contributing to his album Lovesick, Broke and Driftin'.

In late 2004, Thrown Out of the Bar was slated for release, but Curb opted not to issue it. Williams and label executive Mike Curb would be in and out of court for the next year before a judge ruled in favor of Williams in the spring of 2005, demanding that Curb release the album. Shortly thereafter, Williams and Curb came to terms, and Williams dropped his "Fuck Curb" campaign. Bar was reworked into Straight to Hell, released on Curb’s rock imprint, Bruc, which featured a cover of "Pills I Took," originally by Those Poor Bastards.

Battles with Wal-Mart had delayed the release of Straight to Hell, which was released on February 28, 2006 as a two-disc set in two formats: a censored version (for Wal-Mart), and an uncensored version, which was the first major-label Country album to bear a parental advisory warning. One of the songs, "Pills I Took", was written by a little-known Wisconsin group called Those Poor Bastards who originally released the song on their 2004 CD Country Bullshit[2].

Currently, Hank III is touring in support of Straight to Hell, and has been overheard claiming that a rock record, presumably under the moniker of Assjack, will finally see the light of day in less than a year, followed by a new country album. He has also played drums for Arson Anthem, formed with Anselmo and Mike Williams from EYEHATEGOD.[3]

As Stated in a Youtube interview, Hank is currently working on a new album, for now Hank calls it "Damn Right & Rebel Proud" and has some of the same type of songs on it as Straight to Hell. [4]

[edit] Other activities

  • Hank III has recorded the tracks "87 Southbound" and "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs", which were penned by Wayne Hancock, a musician who is often compared to him.
  • Hank III appears in the film Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician (2001).[1]
  • Hank III has written liner notes for all three studio albums by grindcore band Brujeria.
  • Hank III played drums on Arson Anthem's eponymous debut.
  • Hank III is credited with Guitar and Vocals on 'Ramblin' Man' and Vocals on 'Okie from Muskogee', both on the 2000 album 'the Crybaby' by the Melvins

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Solo

Year Title US Country US 200
1996 Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts 29
1999 Risin' Outlaw 52
2002 Lovesick, Broke and Driftin'A 17 156
2003 A Lethal Dose of American Hatred (w/ Superjoint Ritual)
2006 Straight to Hell 17 73
2008 Damn Right, Rebel Proud

[edit] Other appearances

  • Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (contributing track: "Atlantic City") (2000)
  • Driven Soundtrack (contributing track: "Hang On") (2001)
  • Timeless: A Tribute To Hank Williams (contributing track: "I'm A Long Gone Daddy") (2001)
  • Sharp Dressed Man: A Tribute To ZZ Top (contributing track: "Fearless Boogie") (2002)
  • The Crybaby (The Melvins, Vocals and Guitar on Ramblin' Man, Vocals on Okie From Muskogee) (2000)
  • Dressed In Black: A Tribute To Johnny Cash (contributing track: "Wreck Of The Old 97") (2002)
  • Live In London... England (Dale Watson Backing Vocals on "Country My Ass") (2002)
  • Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three (No Values) (2002)
  • Grand Ole Opry at The Ryman Auditorium: Tribute to Hank Williams Sr. (2003)
  • Stars & Guitars (Willie Nelson and Friends Vocals on "Dead Flowers" and "Move It On Over") (2003)
  • Touch My Heart: A Tribute To Johnny PayCheck (contributing track: "I'm The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised") (2004)
  • Rebel Meets Rebel (Rebel Meets Rebel (David Allan Coe and Pantera), Vocals on "Get Outta My Life") (2006)
  • 50 Years Too Late (Joey Allcorn, vocals on "This Ain't Montgomery") (2006)
  • Everybody Loves ANTiSEEN: A Loving Tribute To The Boys From Brutalsville (contributing track: "Ruby, Get back to the hills") (2006)
  • For the Sick: A Tribute To EyeHateGod (contributing tracks: "Take as Needed for Pain" and "Torn Between Suicide and Breakfast"; credited as The Unholy 3) (2007)
  • Arson Anthem self titled (2008) (featuring Phil Anselmo on guitar, Mike Williams on vocals and Hank 3 on drums)

[edit] Singles

Year Title US Country Album
2000 "I Don't Know" 50 Risin' Outlaw

[edit] References

  1. ^ hankIII
  2. ^ Popmatters music review
  3. ^ Metal News - Superjoint Ritual Is No More ( Metal Underground . com )
  4. ^ YouTube - Hank III interview (American Nightmare Radio)

[edit] External links

Interviews

Reviews

Fans

Misc.