Hard Luck Souls – A Rock and Oddities Interview with Liam Sweeny

What I love is truth in advertising. If I buy a CD from a band named Death Stompers and I hear a piccolo and a butterfly beat, I have to call some serious BS. I think we all do judge a book by its cover and a band by its name, and it’s really on bands these days to deliver as promised. The Hard Luck Souls, I think, really deliver here. A bluesy rock band, they sound exactly like you thing a group of hard luck souls should sound – dusty and hopeful, shoes kicking grit and thumbs out, hoping for a ride.

I sit with The Hard Luck Souls and he talk trick dice.

RRX: You’re a blues influenced rock band, original stuff. There’s something about the kind of band you are that me just a tad more excited when your name came across my desk. It’s almost a timeless kind of thing, a thing that’s gotten happily bigger than us. Tell me, and tell us; what is it about a good old rock band that does it for us?

HLS: It’s the rawness of the music. The grit. The emotion behind each guitar bend or drum fill. It’s the camaraderie on stage and with the fans. You hear that term “rock star” growing up. And it usually meant some bad ass on stage, playing some kick ass music with their friends. So instantly, I’m intrigued.

RRX: Rock is probably one of the most evolving forms of music to grace this business end of an amplifier. Many forms of music have strict conventions for what makes a song that kind of song. A blues song, strictly, is going to one of a handful of ways, but rock can do donuts in a parking lot. What do you think has to be in it for it to be rock?

HLS: I think rock music has many faces. Rock music itself is influence by rhythm and blues. It’s always been evolving. So it’s only natural for rock music to evolve. There are so many sub genres of rock. It’s amazing. But I think musically, there has to be naturally made music. Guitar, bass, drums, keys. It’s gotta have at least 2 out of 4! Lol

RRX: The Hard Luck Souls have been blowing doors off of bars and venues throughout the Capital Region. It’s a big scene, much bigger than even some bands around here realize. We have the benefit of having interviewed three-hundred bands and others. Who would you say are some bands you would put on a bill with you but haven’t yet?

HLS: We’ve been very lucky being able to play with a lot of great bands from this area. There really is a lot of talent in this area. I guess the bands we would like to play with who we haven’t yet played with, we will be playing with on the very near future!

RRX: The origin stories of bands can be spectacular, but usually, they’re what people might expect; person A meets person B, they jam, it’s good, and more people came along. I think some people are looking for car chases and bar fights. So if you’re origin story doesn’t have any of that, would you like to make something up for us?

HLS: We have each played in countless bands in the Capital Region in all sorts of styles. Metal, Rock, Emo, Blues, Punk, Hardcore, you name it… It wasn’t until 2016 that our paths all crossed at the right time to make The Hard Luck Souls what it is, a group of friends at similar points in their lives that enjoy making music.

However… the real story (we don’t talk about it though) is we were the last 4 standing at the end of a fight club meet up (cough*), I mean “new hire orientation” that took place in the basement of a waffle house circa 2016. I remember looking over the provided implements of culinary battle; cleavers, whisks, a myriad of tongs, pokers, spatulas, and the expired ketchup bottle that Mark held in a half cocked Judy pose ready to fight to the bitter end. Just as we were ready to commence, the stench of battle was suddenly cut by the odor of cigarette ash, anger, and waffles that had begun to permeate the air. Our appetites for battle transitioned to an appetite for triple stacks of smothered, covered, capped, and topped hash browns.

You see, the morning staff had started their shifts and could be heard above our heads slamming pans with casual disdain. We took our seats in a dirty booth and tended to our wounds. It was over watered down coffee and orders of unconvincing hash browns; all the symptoms of food, just angrier. We came to the conclusion that starting a rock and roll band would be the best way forward. The rest is history.

RRX: Practice is where it all comes out. You’ll have a set when you play out, and you’ll have a sound, and that sound people will come and pay to hear. Do you think people would pay to see your practice sets? Are they just calling parts out and rehearsing bits or are they free-for-alls where you bust out freedom and fire?

HLS: I think it’s a mix for the most part depending on our upcoming schedule. If we have shows, we like to perfect the setlist, etc. But we always have kind of an open jam session as well because we’re always writing new material. I think some of our best stuff comes spontaneously at practice.

RRX: You’re going to be performing in Rock Oddities at the end of October. It really emphasizes on ‘oddities’; I noticed that right now, they’re still looking for paranormal-area vendors. And with the lineup, it’s going to really prelude to Halloween. Do you have any idea what you’re going to play?

HLS: Can we blow any surprises? We will have something to match the spirit of the season. That’s for sure.

Interview by Liam Sweeny.