The Return of the Hammer
Hayseed punk pioneers are back - and heavier than ever
Don Beat

“Listen to this record, ham,” indie promoter Dave McKeigan said back in the fall of 1989 as he flipped me a copy of The Mud, The Blood, and the Beers LP on Wanghead with Lips Records. “It’s punk, and it’s country too.”

It had “PROMO” written on it in smeared black felt tip, and it looked like another one of the deluge of non-descript, independent cold soul college rock releases I was being spatooned with at the time.

It wasn’t. Nine Pound Hammer’s debut album was an adrenalized wake up call amidst the stale state of punk, which was being overrun and crossbred with metal for the zillionth time.

Nine Pound are one of those weird combos that kick your earz ’n ass from across the room by mixing the best energized elements of early Black Flag and the Heartbreakers, early Stones and Merle Travis. I’d seen Rank and File, so I’d been exposed to what was earlier being called Cowpunk — and I didn’t dig that much — but I wasn’t ready for this.

My good friend Glen Campbell and I were working for friction Magazine at the time — reviewing records, writing gig reviews and living high on the entertainment hog while attending Red River College and farming stories over to The Projector when McKeigan called again.

“I’ve got Nine Pound Hammer playing the Albert for three shows this week. Why don’t you come down?”

We went, but we didn’t come down. It was draft night, and our table was full of glasses and bottles of Standard. There were six people in the bar including us and our photographer. The band went off and played their exhilarating mix of country & punk like they were onstage at a huge outdoor festival — and they blew our heads off. The lanky, longhaired singer was hilarious, leaping all around the stage to the beat of every number when he wasn’t delivering some type of introspective sermon in between songs. The band’s original tunes were hilarious, too, and they played cover songs by the Ramones, Dead Boys, Dictators and Kiss. It was sensational! No Winnipeg band was doing anything like this at the time.

The climax came when guitarist Blaine Cartwright jumped off the stage and crashed into our table during Rock and Roll All Nite. He kicked it over, knocking over all our drinks.

We loved them. The next night there were 15 people at the Albert, 50 the night after.

“Not to sound corny, but Winnipeg is our home away from home. The last time we were up there it was 1994,” vocalist/ songwriter Scott Luallen says from his Kentucky home before delivering the goods.

“I’d really like to express how deeply sorry I am about Glen passing away a few years ago,” Luallen says. “Y’know, I’d only see him once or twice a year, but he and I got on great, so these two nights in Winnipeg are dedicated to my friend Glen Campbell from Winnipeg cuz he’s no longer with us. He was one of my best friends. He was a big guy, and a great guy, a sweetheart who could crush your skull in.”

Nine Pound Hammer went on hiatus in 1996. Cartwright started Nashville Pussy with his wife, guitarist Ruyter Says (they met in Winnipeg). Scott got married, too — but, since 2000, the boys have gotten together almost every year to play a few shows or go on a tourette. They released an album called Kentucky Breakdown in 2003 to rabid reviews, they toured Europe extensively in 2004, and after they hit the ’Peg with drummer Brian Pulito and bassist Earl Crim, they’re going on another intensive European tour which will see them play the Monsters of Rock Festival in Belgium.

The Hammer is back!

“We needed a break,” Luallen says. “We were at it for 10 years. I got married after we took a little break, and I’ve been working in a homeless shelter

“I’m not skinny Scott anymore. I’m big. I’ve been described as a monster thug hick, but I still rock,” he says.

Luallen’s also been real busy voicing a character called Rooster the Corndog Farmer on an animated program called 12 Oz. Mouse, which is shown on the Cartoon Network in the U.S.

“The main character is a crudely drawn gangster mouse. He’s into speed metal,” Luallen says.

“I’ve been in four episodes. I have a hook for a hand. It switches hands. It’s funny.”

Nine Pound Hammer wrote and recorded the 12 Oz. Mouse Theme for the show as well, and Scott says the band will play the song at the Pyramid along with a hammering load of fan faves.

“We still play a lot of the old songs, Headbanging Stockboy, Run Fatboy Run, Cadillac Inn, Froggy, Hayseed, I Don’t Think So, y’know,” he says.