Two of the Clear Lake area's finest, together at Chelsea Wine Bar.
CHRIS HARDY: Made up of not so equal parts Singer, Sinner, and Songwriter. Chris J. Hardy has come a long way since his musical beginnings. Hardy cut his teeth in the crazy world of Rock-N-Roll while being a hired gun for the notorious bad boys of Houston, E.T.V. Their outlandish stage show and lifestyle landed them big gigs and even bigger problems while on the road. "I was fed up of doing their thing, and was miserable" So one day Hardy simply walked away! "What are you gonna do, people would ask me?" Hardy just unplugged and never looked back. "I grabbed my acoustic and decided to be plain old me" Hardy will tell you. Fast forward three years and we find a seasoned songwriter whose path started as a coffee shop styled artist trying to find his singing voice for first time. To the Hardy we have come to know and love today, a Texas Songwriter with a deep voice and even deeper lyrics! Stories of Sin, Redemption and everything in between. "Be honest! If life gets ugly, don't be afraid to be ugly. But when its beautiful, by all means don't be afraid to be beautiful" Hardy crosses over not just from style and genre bending, but in his ability to capture the listener and tell a story that everyone not just country fans can enjoy! " So that's where you will find him now, icehouses, saloons, dives, honky tonks, street corners, out houses and anywhere else that will take in a Texas Troubadour in exchange for a cold beer and tip jar!
GRIFTERS & SHILLS: Amplifyin' and testifyin' for your soul.
His was hard rock and heavy metal. Hers was the classic sound of the East Texas piney woods. Theirs was a fiery collision, bearing forth a sound that was at once novel and instantly familiar--nodding to roots seated deep in high lonesome harmonies and back porch blues, while peering out at a scorched path bound by modern assertions and contemporary commentary.
Behind Grifters & Shills is John and Rebecca Stoll, native Texans who met in a classic rock/blues jam band in 2008. Between them they discovered a magnetic chemistry that manifested not only in music, but in all aspects of their relationship. When they began playing as a two-piece band, they found a unique voice in the combination of Rebecca's East Texas vocal stylings and John's formidable guitar work. They immediately began writing their own songs, while testing the waters of vocal harmonies and adding an array of instrumentation to their arsenal. A typical show will feature a delightful range of electric instruments, including John's archtop guitar, Rebecca's bass, a driving stomp board, a couple of cigar box guitars, a handful of harmonicas, and an occasional kazoo.
They call it high lonesome heavy metal, and together, this two-person, dozen-instrument act provides a show full of sound a fury, punctuated with raw, quiet vulnerability, forging new trails and shining new light on familiar ground. NEW ALL-ORIGINAL ALBUM COMING IN NOVEMBER 2019.