As musical trends come and go, The Hangmen have remained uncompromising since their formation in 1986. From big money major label deals to debilitating drug addiction, lead singer
Bryan Small has continued to charge forward with the headlong momentum of a runaway train.
Bridging the gap somewhere between The Gun Club and the Rolling Stones, the band’s latest offering, Stories To Tell smashes together Small's lurid love songs with unsparing, unsentimental blasts that shine a penetrating light into the dark and seedy corners of life. From the melodic “Midnight Riders” to the haunting “On The Outside”, Small delivers an album with a simplicity and depth of songwriting reminiscent of Neil Young and Tom Petty.
“'Midnight Riders' is a rite of passage song. It’s the way my friends and I lived in our early days navigating life, being in bands and coping with everything as kids in Hollywood. We didn’t have boundaries. We didn’t have mentors. We were notoriously fucked up geniuses in our eyes. I’m not surprised by the path we took for ourselves - some made it, some moved home and some died.” Small himself recently relocated after 38 years in Los Angeles, California, to his hometown of Missoula, Montana, so his kids could grow up around family.
“We recorded in different studios over the course of about a year and a half, which is the way some of my favorite albums were made,” reveals Small, “This is the first record since Mike Ness (Social Distortion) produced In The City that I’ve kinda let go of the production and mixing to get a different view of these songs.”
Longtime Hangmen fan Rob Schnapf (Elliot Smith, Beck, X) also stepped in to produce two tracks on Stories: “On The Outside” and “Last Time I Saw You”, a tribute to “Rontrose” Heathman, the former Hangmen and Supersuckers guitar player who passed away in 2020.
Stories To Tell also includes a raucous cover of Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Sinister Purpose”. “CCR has always been a part of The Hangmen’s DNA to some extent. It was a bit of an overlooked song that spoke to us. Jimmy James (guitarist) brought it to the band and it was a natural fit.”
Stories To Tell will be released September 8, 2023 on Acetate Records. Pre-orders can be placed now at this location. The artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
"Broken Heartland"
"Midnight Riders"
"Last Time I Saw You"
"On The Outside"
"Sinister Purpose"
"Bayou Moon"
"Behind The Wheel"
"Stories To Tell"
"Hard Luck Jim"
"Runnin' Kind"
“Welp, Bryan Small has done it again. This record is so Hangmen, it hurts - this may just be the best record they’ve ever made. I’ve listened to it 35 times already and I can’t get enough. The hits just keep on coming! 6 stars out of five!!” - Eddie Spaghetti (Supersuckers)
Catch The Hangmen live at the following shows across Europe in 2023:
September
13 - La Dame de Canton - Paris, France
14 - Noktambul - Rennes, France
15 - RockSea Bar Restaurant Club - Saint Gilles Croix De Vie, France
16 - Moulin Du Rousseau - Périgueux, France
17 - Sala Zeta - Zaragoza, Spain
19 - Whisky Bar - Los Pinos, Spain
20 - Mardi Gras - La Coruña, Spain
21 - Sala Clamores - Madrid, Spain
22 - Amb - Burgos, Spaon
23 - Blow Up Fest at Kafe Antzokia - Bilbao, Spain
24 - Sala Pícaro - Toledo, Spain
26 - Lemon Rock Bar & Hostel - Granada, Spain
27 - Rockstar Benidorm - Benidorm, Spain
28 - Loco Club - Valencia, Spain
29 - Sidecar - Barcelona, Spain
30 - Secret Place - Saint Jean De Védas, France
October
1 - Joshua Blues Club - Como, Italy
3 - Hard Place - Zagreb, Croatia
4 - Cultural Center of Belgrade - Beograd, Serbia
5 - Vagon Music Pub & Club - Praha, Czech Republic
6 - Wild At Heart - Berlin, Germany
11 - Apollo Club - Hamburgh, Germany
12 - Sonic Ballroom - Cologne, Germany
14 - Back To The Pipeline - Messancy, Belgium
“If you haven’t seen The Hangmen live, you should kick yourself in the ass!” - Mike Ness (Social Distortion)
Formed in 1986, The Hangmen immediately caught the eye of Circle Jerks frontman Keith Morris, who began managing the band and produced the demos that landed them a deal with Capitol Records. In 1989 they released their self-titled debut produced by Vic Maile, (Motörhead, The Who - Live At Leeds) before switching to the newly formed DGC Records whose roster included The Nymphs and Nirvana to name a few. That seemed like the perfect landing spot for the band, but unfortunately the Rob Younger (Radio Birdman) produced album Suicide Doors was never released and the band dissolved into addiction.
Not one to be down for long, a newly sober Small started writing again, the result was 2000’s Metallic I.O.U. released on the Los Angeles-based indie, Acetate Records. The Hangmen found a willing accomplice and partner in crime in label owner Rick Ballard, who produced their follow-up, We’ve Got Blood On The Toes Of Our Boots, a live recording of their OOP Capitol Records debut and 2019’s Cactusville. Tours with longtime fans Social Distortion and the Supersuckers followed. Mike Ness would later produce The Hangmen’s 2007 release In The City. “I totally feel like we're kindred spirits,” Small says looking back, adding that both bands emphasize “simplicity, and doing what you do and staying true to that.”
In 2010, the popular Finnish record label Hype Records released Lost Rocks, an 18-song Hangmen retrospective. Shortly thereafter, former Supersucker Ron Heathmen joined the band for 2012’s critically acclaimed East Of Western. 2019 marked the release of Cactusville as well as a performance on legendary European television show, Rockpalast.
