Hamell On Trial May 13, 2006

Acerbic singer/songwriter, joke-telling Ed Hamell defies all musical categories. "Punk acoustic" and "anti-folk" come close. His biting social commentary and caustic sense of humor may be an acquired taste, but his devoted following will tell you that Hamell on Trial is a major unique talent. For years the garrulous and witty Hamell tried to carve out a niche for his artistic vision in a blue-collar Upstate New York town, playing guitar and fronting an all-original band, before going solo.

While he's no stranger to social issues, his most recent album, Songs For Parents Who Enjoy Drugs may be his most scathing indictment of the powers that be - and his most hysterical. "I've never been as topical or angry as I am now, and that is a direct result of the kid. He's going to grow up in a country that's in need of a serious mend, and as always, I cling to humor to get me through it." Hamell On Trial sees this album as an answer to the question, "How can an anarchist raise a child?" And like every good children's story, Songs For Parents Who Enjoy Drugs has a moral. The guitar is mightier than the sword.

A Warbling, super-sensitive folk singer he definitely is not. If you're looking for cum-bye-yah by some soft-strumming, tearful folkie, Hamell On Trial is going to offend you. On stage his raw, bold energy has Rolling Stone magazine calling him a "homicidal Otto Preminger." On more than one occasion, opening act Hamell On Trial sent the headliner band, with all its Marshall amplifiers and Les Paul guitars, running for cover. "I'm a rock and roll show. Period," Hamell says. "I love Iggy and the Stooges, Lou Reed, the MC5. Folk singers bore me. Insincerity incites me."