Edward James "Ed" Hamell, performing as Hamell on Trial, is an American punk rock, anti-folk,

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

musician, described by

Righteous Babe Records Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label that was created by folk singer Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company. History Righteous Babe Records was originally ...

as "loud, fast music informed by politics, passion, energy and intelligence, played by a guy with a sharp tongue and a wicked sense of humor".

Biography

Born in Syracuse, New York, Hamell spent years as a member of many bands before venturing into the realm of the solo singer-songwriter. He finally got his big break when he moved to Austin, Texas and earned a residency at first the Chicago House and then the Electric Lounge. Since then, he has released a number of albums on various labels, including

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

, his own

DiY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

label Such-A-Punch Media, and

, the label started by his longtime supporter and frequent touring companion, Ani Difranco. Ed has a son named Detroit, born in 2002. Detroit performed on Ed's album '' The Happiest Man in the World''. Hamell was seriously injured in a car accident in May 2000, but recovered from head and spinal injuries to release the album ''Ed's Not Dead: Hamell Comes Alive'' the following year. His touring covers the US, Europe, Scandinavia and Australia. In 2008, with the breakup of his 22-year marriage, Hamell wrote a song a day for a year and posted a video of it on his YouTube channel hamelltv. It is now over 450 songs. In 2014 Hamell signed to

New West Records New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...

and released ''The Happiest Man in the World''. He began production on a one-man show with the same title based on the album and the demise of his marriage to be world premiered at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2014. In 2017, Hamell released his second album for New West Records, ''Tackle Box''. In August of that year, Hamell streamed a selection of songs performed live at monuments around Washington, DC, in a series collectively called "Hamell Takes DC." In 2018, Hamell composed the music and lyrics for the Columbus, Ohio based Shadowbox Live's play ''F#(K Cancer: The Musical''.

Style

Hamell addresses poignant and controversial issues, but with a comic edge. Known for rapid and powerful strumming on his heavily amplified 1937 Gibson L-00 acoustic guitar, Hamell's musical styling is as far from traditional

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

as it is from the typical drum-heavy electric guitar ridden sounds of traditional

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

music. "Hamell’s signature sound comes from his strumming with maximum aggression, tight to the bridge, which lends a metallic ring to a sustained and percussive low-end rumble," writes Randal Doane, in a profile in ''Harper's''. "Hamell also plays slide guitar lines sweetly drenched with the timbre and phrasing of his musical forebears of the Mississippi Delta. 'I’m a Libra,' he told me last fall, over coffee. 'I need the balance.'" His sound and composition is comparable to that of the Velvet Underground. Live performances also include extended jokes and comic anecdotes between songs, demonstrating Hamell's respect for the stand-up comedy of

Bill Hicks William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—wa ...

, who is celebrated in the closing tracks of Hamell's album ''Choochtown''.

Discography

* 1989 – ''Conviction'' (Blue Wave) * 1992 – ''Letter to Mike'' (Self-Published, cassette only) * 1996 – '' Big as Life'' ( Doolittle/Mercury) * 1997 – ''The Chord is Mightier Than the Sword'' ( PolyGram) * 1999 – ''Choochtown'' ( Such-A-Punch Media) * 2001 – ''Ed's Not Dead: Hamell Comes Alive'' ( Such-A-Punch Media) * 2003 – ''Yap'' ( Such-A-Punch Media) * 2003 – ''Tough Love'' (

) * 2006 – ''Songs for Parents Who Enjoy Drugs'' (

) * 2008 – ''Live From Edinburgh: The Terrorism of Everyday Life'' (

) * 2008 – ''Rant and Roll'' (

) * 2014 – '' The Happiest Man in the World'' (

) * 2017 – ''Tackle Box'' (

) * 2017 – ''Big Mouth Strikes Again'' (

) * 2018 – ''The Night Guy at The Apocalypse, Profiles of a Rushing Midnight'' ( Saustex Records) * 2020 – ''The Pandemic Songs'' ( Saustex Records)

Awards and honors

May 2007 – inducted into the SAMMY (Syracuse Area Music Awards) Hall of Fame
Aug 2007 – Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
May 2009 – Conveyor Awards of Excellence for Best Story Telling – Non-Theatrical & Best Musical Moments at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival
July 2009 – Directors' Award at the Capital Fringe Festival

References

External links

Hamell On Trial on Righteous Babe Records

Official Website
* Allmusic guide entry
FFanzeen: Rock'n'Roll Attitude With Integrity: Hamell on Trial by Fire

Hamell on Trial collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...