Kevin Hambrick
Haven't you heard, the man who just might one day go down as the Fort Wayne rocker, Kevin Hambrick, is single again. Well, he's happily married (as far as we know), but he is, for the first time in years, a man without a band. Having spent time with Blueberry Hurricane, Big Red and Rojo, probably a nine other bands and, most recently, The Orange Opera (who recently called it quits after longtime bassist Bryan Brubaker decided to leave the band to focus on other things), Hambrick is now something of a lone wolf.
"Well, I think the end was bound to come at some point," Hambrick told me in a recent interview when asked about the demise of the Opera. "You never truly want to admit that, but it is what it is. Bru was pretty burned out all together with music and touring and, you know, waiting in bars for hours to play a show. I totally understand what he was going through and no one was mad at him. It was more of just a sad feeling to see something end that you've been doing for so long.
"We pondered the idea of looking for a bass player but really came to the shared opinion that Bru was such a solid fit that we just couldn't replace him with any 'ol bass player, no matter how skilled they are. I think that says a lot about Bru's playing and stage energy."
Having gone through four guitarists since the inception of the Opera (Hambrick and Brubaker were always joined by drummer Kevin Hockaday), Hambrick said that, having gone through the task of teaching so many guitarists the songs already, he also couldn't imagine doing it again, only this time with a bassist. He added that the band could be back with a new lineup someday, but for now, the idea of more or less starting over was not one he had much interest in.
After winning the whatzup Battle of the Bands in September of 2007, Hambrick and the boys were on a roll, playing shows with national indie bands, touring and building relationships with labels and sister artists everywhere like Dr. Dog, The Teeth and And The Moneynotes, to name just three. The band's excellent final release, Year of the Beard, marked a new creative high point in the long story of Kevin Hambrick, making it appear, seemingly, that the band was on their way to bigger things.
"After Year of the Beard came out we went on one tour with our final guitarist, Zach Smith (known mostly as a member of Definitely Gary and a guy with infinite hair/beard growing options)," Hambrick told me. "We hit some Tennessee, Georgia and East Coast cities, then ended that tour in Scranton, Pennsylvania, playing at the town's St. Patricks Day parade with our buddies And The Moneynotes, one of my favorites for sure. During that tour our van started to go down hill at a quick pace; we basically drove home from Scranton at speeds ranging from 25-55."
Every time I talk to Hambrick, a longtime DIY musician who has had trouble catching breaks outside of his hometown, I ask him about his changing ambitious in this forever changing music climate. Rightfully so, he never seems to quite know what to expect, let alone shoot for.
"I mean, yeah, It'd be great - touring and meeting some great folks and bands - but you begin to see everything's not
what you think it would be on a label," he told me. "Maybe someday, who knows. I'd still love to sell songs if i could."
And songs he has. Hundreds, easily. Many of which no one (aside from maybe his wife and former bandmates) has heard just yet. Great songs, or so I'm told.
'I'm very often coming up with new songs," he said when asked about the rumors of his endless stacks of unreleased works. "And when I'm not doing that I'm driving myself nuts, trying to fine tune ideas and recordings that I've already done and not yet released. After the band broke up I did get Hockaday to lay some drums for one of the new Opera songs we had been working on; next I did another new Opera song myself that we had in the works. Right before the band ended we were doing a lot of dueling guitar rock tunes. It was a pretty cool direction that we were headed."
So, I asked, of course (for the benefit of the music world), what the chances are of us fans ever hearing any of these songs?
"Well, my project I'm working on right now is an MP3 database for my whole catalog - previously recorded and unreleased stuff," Hambrick explained. "There will be more info coming soon on all that stuff. But as far as some of the new material I've been writing … some little filler tunes sound like Russian job application music or music that I picture being played in a 70s laundry mat - perhaps for a recently divorced woman. Pretty crazy, huh?"
Yes. Crazy. But like all of Kevin's music, also built by a man with an incredible understanding of those who came before him, specifically The Beatles, T-Rex, Badfinger and Dinosaur Jr., the bands he counts as his primary influences. All the mod cons of today and yesterday.
"There are too many songs to count," he finally adds. "I guess there will be more info about all that stuff coming soon."
Can't wait. F'real. But now … the question we've all been waiting for: what, exactly, is next for Fort Wayne's golden rock God?
"Oh man, who knows. Right now I've been playing acoustic shows with Mark Hutchins and loving that," Hambrick laughed. "He's my favorite local songwriter. And my brother's songs also rule. But I don't know … if a band comes about or I play solo or whatever, well, that's great. I'm just enjoying family, recording and football - even though my Redskins are having another tough year.
"Goals change, folks change, music changes. The main thing for me is being happy with what I've done and what I can do now," Hambrick said with a beat of excitement. "If it's supposed to be then it will be. If it's recording in my basement forever then that's fine. If it's wearing a robe, eating cereal and having 36 children, then okay! Work, family, football, walking dogs and hanging with my wife. I'm hairy and old, what can I say?"
You're also rockin', bubs. We all know it, and we'll be waiting patiently, with headphones ready, for your next masterpiece.
Written by G. William Locke
