Welcome to my
website: velvethammerband.com. This is simply a
tribute site.
The
band formed in 1994 out of Chicago's southside and by sometime in '96
parted ways. Velvet Hammer was the first actual band that I (Sheree
Frey, guitarist) was in
and being primarily an all female band (except the drummer) made it
quite unique in that there weren't too many female musicians around to
jam with. (At least not for this particular type of music).
Most of the musicians I had met at
the time were all male so jamming with females was really something I
wanted to do.
Although the band wasn't together for all that long, the singer who was a poet at the time
and I managed to write our first songs
together. Together, we were a songwriting team for quite sometime
before actually putting the entire band together.
During our rehearsal days and trying to convince some of our male
musician friends that we really could actually write songs, we were
invited to play on Ron Fitzgerald's Realm Of Magic, a cable access show
that was aired on Chicago's south side. This was the perfect opportunity for us
to play and make a video.
After
rehearsing for a while and getting the set list together, we played at
clubs and parties around Chicago's south side under the name Velvet
Hammer (named after a drink). Some of you south-siders may
remember us.
There
are some recordings and pictures of the band that have circulated.
Some of the band shots on the gallery page were taken by a photographer
who the drummer knew.
For
me, being in the band was great fun but unfortunately didn't last. The band
eventually fell apart due to discrepancies amongst band members over music,
etc......but being a part of the band was definitely a learning
experience for me not only as an independent guitarist and composer of
music, but working with others as well.
A lot of
original material had been written over the years and unfortunately from
the demise of it all, was never properly recorded. I will have to
say that I met a lot of interesting people over the years and eventually
branched out musically forming other bands.
The summer of 2006 came around
and the singer and I decided to blow the dust off some of the old Velvet Hammer
songs and play a few shows together under the name "The Hammers".
An
acoustic act and very short lived, merely a spin off the old band but by
no means a solid concrete project.
We
played a few parties and appeared in Chicago's Spot 6 for
a "benefit" show along with Actor/Gothic Illusionist, Ron Fitzgerald &
other talent......what a great time that was!
Music has always been a love of mine and an important part of my life.
My musical inspiration is Jimmy Page and he inspired me to play the
guitar.
Originally a piano player, my love for the guitar took over. Today
I am very active in my current band.
My
musical influences include Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath & Ozzy,
Ronnie James Dio, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Heart, UFO, Rush, Fleetwood Mac,
and Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society, Soundgarden, Faith No More and
there's more........ I love all sorts of different bands which I haven't
even named and I am also a huge jazz freak!
Listening to
such artists as Al DiMeola, Alan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin, Michael
Hedges certainly takes one into a completely different musical genre.
But that's what makes music so wonderful!
As an
independent guitarist/composer of music, I still have much to learn. I will continue
on this quest and whatever obstacle, road block or bump I encounter, I
will get past it and continue on my musical journey.
For me, it
didn't end here, this whole thing just evolved into other things.
Although, this particular lineup is a thing of the past, the music
will be remembered.
.