Nine Pound Hammer is an American

cowpunk Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s - early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New wave music, new wave with country music, country, folk music, folk, and b ...

band formed in 1985 by vocalist Scott Luallen and guitarist Blaine Cartwright in their hometown of

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

. Nine Pound hammer was one of the first rural hardcore punk bands to substantially incorporate rural blue collar motifs into the minimalistic hardcore sound. Their lyrics (suggestive of outlaw country) featured themes such as alcoholism,

rural poverty Rural poverty refers to poverty in rural areas, including factors of rural society, rural economy, and political systems that give rise to the poverty found there.Janvry, A. de, E. Sadoulet, and R. Murgai. 2002“Rural Development and Rural Pol ...

, and violence, and included references and homages to the likes of

Jesco White Jesco White, also known as the "Dancing Outlaw" (born July 30, 1956) is an American folk dancer and entertainer. He is best known as the subject of three American documentary films that detail his desire to follow in his famous father's footstep ...

and

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

. In contrast, most of the urban, experimental

bands of 1970s/80s Los Angeles and the UK were roots rock, folk rock or New Wave bands incorporating country music instruments and influences as a secondary (sometimes temporary) aspect of their sound. Following the breakup of the band in 1997, guitarist Blaine Cartwright formed the band Nashville Pussy, which shares many of Nine Pound Hammer's musical and lyrical conventions with the addition of a lead guitarist and a more

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

/ Southern rock-focused format.

History

Nine Pound Hammer first played at The Ross Theater, opening for the Xtian rap group, The Disciples Of Decadence, in nearby Evansville, Indiana, with drummer Toby Myrig, David Epperson, and bassist Brian (Forrest) Payne, in 1984. David and Brian left, and Bart Altman, thunderstick man from The Disciples Of Decadence, joined on bass. This lineup played a single show at the Ross Theater as The Yuppie Mop Dogs on August 31, 1985. The band played locally in

and Evansville, Indiana, garnering a very loyal following before relocating to

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

as the Raw Recruits. The band then changed their name to The Black Sheep and became the house band at Great Scott's Depot. Darren Howard replaced Toby, and the band became Nine Pound Hammer again. The name of the band is taken from the

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...

song "

Nine Pound Hammer Nine Pound Hammer is an American cowpunk band formed in 1985 by vocalist Scott Luallen and guitarist Blaine Cartwright in their hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky. Nine Pound hammer was one of the first rural hardcore punk bands to substantially i ...

". Brian Moore (Active Ingredients) and Rob Hulsman (Tarbox Ramblers) joined on bass and drums in 1988, just before recording the band's first LP, The Mud, The Blood, and The Beers. The band has eleven full-length albums and several

EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...

. In 2005, Nine Pound Hammer was asked to pen a theme song and lyrics for ''

12 oz. Mouse ''12 oz. Mouse'' is an American adult animated television series created by Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. The series revolves around Mouse Fitzgerald, nicknamed "Fitz" (voiced by Maiellaro), an alc ...

'', a new

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

animated series showing on America's

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

. Singer Scott Luallen also appears in the series as the voice actor for the character Roostre. More recently, they were featured on '' Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Colon the Soundtrack'' with the track "Carl's Theme," in which the lyrics play off of the character "Carl" and one of his lines in '' Aqua Teen Hunger Force''.

Releases

Full-length

* The Mud, The Blood, and The Beers - 1988 *

Smokin' Taters! ''Smokin' Taters!'' is an album by the Kentucky-based cowpunk band Nine Pound Hammer. It was released in 1992. The band supported the album with a European tour. Some demos were recorded in Glasgow in 1990. "Long Gone Daddy" is a cover of the Ha ...

- 1992 *

Hayseed Timebomb ''Hayseed Timebomb'' is an album by the Kentucky-based cowpunk band Nine Pound Hammer, released in 1994. The band supported the album with 10-week tour. "Wreck of the Old 97" is a cover of the Johnny Cash version of the song. Critical reception ...

- 1994 * Live At The VERA - 1999 *

Kentucky Breakdown ''Kentucky Breakdown'' is an album by Owensboro, Kentucky-based cowpunk band Nine Pound Hammer, released in 2004. It marks the first new material from the band since the album '' Hayseed Timebomb'' was released ten years earlier. Critical recepti ...

- 2004 * Mulebite Deluxe - 2005 * Sex, Drugs and Bill Monroe - 2008 * Country Classics - 2010 * Bluegrass Conspiracy -2016 * The Barn's On Fire (Live) - 2017 * When The Sh*t Goes Down - 2021

Other

* ''12 oz. Mouse Theme'' - 2005 * ''Carl's Theme'' - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Colon the Soundtrack - 2007

Current line-up

* Scott Luallen (vocals) * Blaine Cartwright (guitar) * Earl Crim (guitar) * Brian Pulito (drums) * Mark Hendricks (bass)

Former members

* Brian Moore (bass) * Matt Bartholomy (bass) * Bill Waldron (drums) * Bart Altman (bass) * Rob Hulsman (drums) * Adam Neal (drums)

External links

Nine Pound Hammer on MySpace
* {{Authority control Owensboro, Kentucky Hardcore punk groups from Kentucky American alternative country groups Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups reestablished in 1998 1985 establishments in Kentucky Country music groups from Kentucky