January 29, 2009 Issue
Boston’s Best Three Gs: Girls Guns and Glory
Americana Outfit Makes High Country Debut at Boone Saloon February 4
Boston-based Americana band Girls Guns and Glory will make their High Country debut at Boone Saloon on Wednesday, February 4. The band recently took home Act of the Year and Americana Act of the Year at the 2008 Boston Music Awards.
Take the rocking energy of a live version of Johnny Cash’s classic “Big River,” mix it with the lonesome country wail of Dwight Yoakam and the smooth croon of Chris Isaak, toss in some of Calexico’s modern Southwestern flavor and you’ve got something that resembles Boston quartet Girls Guns and Glory.
Recently proclaimed Act of the Year and Outstanding Americana Act of the Year at the 2008 Boston Music Awards, Girls Guns and Glory will make their High Country debut at the Boone Saloon on Wednesday, February 4. The show will start at 10:30 p.m.
Ward Hayden has the kind of pure, heartache-filled country croon that most singers of that ilk would give their right arm for.
Fortunately, he and his band play the kind of music that gives Hayden’s voice the perfect country-flavored platform from which to soar.
Strangely enough, Girls Guns and Glory has served as Hayden’s first real time at center stage. According to the Scituate, Mass. native, music teachers urged him during his formative years to sing without the distinctive breaks that give its distinctive mournful character.
“This is my first go at [being a lead singer], which is something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Hayden. “My voice has always had these natural breaks; that’s where it wanted to go. They were always trying to train it out of me.”
Formed in October 2005, Girls Guns and Glory has been on a tear since the release of Fireworks and Alcohol, the band’s nine-song debut that Hayden referred to as a “glorified demo” he began recording with longtime friend and bassist Bruce Beagley.
“We’d never really gone after music before,” said Hayden.
Fireworks and Alcohol helped land the band dates around Boston and helped get the band on the road. However, before the release started picking up steam, the band’s calendar was empty.
“We couldn’t get booked anywhere,” lamented Hayden. “In the Northeast we were too country. Everywhere else we weren’t country enough.”
Fortunately, the band’s luck changed, as did the music scene in their hometown of Boston.
“When we started doing it, there were just a few bands that were playing music that had anything to do with Americana,” said Hayden, adding that the Boston scene for country and roots-based rock music has expanded considerably during the last few years.
For Hayden however, country music was anything but new. The twangy sounds coming out of Nashville filled his childhood, leaving an indelible imprint on the musically gifted youngster.
“In my household, my mom was a huge country fan,” said Hayden.
But like most kids, Hayden’s taste began to change as he grew older. Through Boston’s very non-country oriented music scene, Hayden began frequenting hardcore and punk shows. Eventually he did a stint as the drummer for an avant garde noise rock band.
While attending college in Connecticut, Hayden’s car had only an AM/FM radio and a cassette player. Instead of scanning the dial for suitable musical accompaniment for his long drives to and from Boston, he began borrowing tapes from his mother’s stellar collection of country classics including Dolly Parton and Charlie Pride. The music of his childhood that he’d ignored for years soon opened the floodgates. It only took a couple of Johnny Cash songs and Hayden was immediately hooked.
“The second I heard it, I said this is it; this is what I’ve been looking for,” said Hayden.
In addition to Beagley, Hayden found other likeminded souls in a pair of Massachusetts natives: drummer Johnny Graham and later guitarist Colt Thompson, who joined following the departure of the band’s original lead guitarist.
Since their debut, Girls Guns and Glory has released a pair of full-length efforts—each more ambitious than the last: 2007’s Pretty Little Wrecking Ball and last year’s Inverted Valentine. The latter, released last May, features Mariachi horns on the standout track “Temptation,” while the song “Suzie” is bolstered by a swell of strings that brings it to life.
“The guys in the band, they love playing music. They love making music,” said Hayden of the band’s considerable output, adding that he hopes the band will have yet another release available by August.
The year 2009 represents the band’s biggest foray into the world of touring. By all accounts however, Hayden and company are stoked to be hitting the road hard all over the United States between February and June.
“It’s fun,” said Hayden of touring. “We love playing new cities and trying to build a following in different markets.”
While they won’t have a Mariachi trumpet player, extra percussion or a string section on the road, the four members of Girls Guns and Glory are confident that they’ll be able to get their songs across.
“It’s a rock and roll band at heart—a cohesive little rock and roll unit with country frills,” said Hayden.
To hear music by Girls Guns and Glory, click to www.girlsgunsandglory.com.
Want To Go?
Date: Wednesday, February 4
Time: 10:30 p.m.
Location: Boone Saloon
Cost: $7
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