Give us a potted history of the band
Hero Jr.’s four members come from four different musical backgrounds and all of them ended up in Indianapolis, Indiana for completely different reasons. Hero Jr. has been on the road since 2010 playing over 900 national shows. Hero Jr. has supported Tom Petty, John 5, Alice Cooper, Kings X, Offspring, and many others on tour.
Who inspired you to start making music
Hero Jr. has many influences ranging from 1970s British rock bands Led Zeppelin, Bad Co., and Black Sabbath, as well as influences from the 90s Grunge era, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and they also have an element of the psychedelic jam band era of The Grateful Dead. Hero Jr. is song focused but can take a 5-minute song and transform it into a 15-minute experience.
And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically
Led Zeppelin as they were very dynamic and interacted like one complete unit as if they were psychically connected. Nirvana because of their introspective songwriting accomplishments and the raw force they exhibited on stage and in the studio.
If you’re trying to explain who you sound like to someone that’s never heard you, what do you say
Hero Jr. has their own sound but if you put Nirvana, Zeppelin and Sabbath in a blender for a second you would be able to hear the influences.
The Hero Jr. website has all the applicable links and tons of live music, tour dates, etc. www.herojrmusic.com
Tell us how you write
Evan and Ken start the process by writing the song the old-school way, 2 acoustic guitars and a pad of paper each. When they are happy with the song it’s brought into the rehearsal room where everyone contributes. Finding the right groove and pocket for each song is very important and the band spends pre-production time finding the right “home” for each song before recording, which they do all live in their home studio. Recording live is one of the keys to the band’s sound as everything is glued together and each recording is the experience of the band’s relationship with each other. The vibe is there and all the instruments and effects are printed and all that is needed is there to mix each song. The sound is raw and unpolished. Like you are sitting in the rehearsal room with the instruments playing in your face.
Tell us about your live show what would be your dream gig
Before anything else, Hero Jr. is a live band. They have toured over 900 shows since 2010 and never play the same show twice or the same song the same way. They are known for spontaneous jams and you can feel the band’s true brotherhood and love for music and performing when you attend a show
What can we expect from you in the near future
There will be an album at some point in the next year but the band will definitely be releasing singles every few months.
Tell us your favourite records that are rocking your headphones/tour bus / stereo
Currently listening to
Alice In Chains “Face Lift”
John Mayer “Sob Rock”
Dio ” The Last In Line”
Chicago “1”
Amyl And The Sniffers “Comfort To Me”
Check out the bands track Hey Maaan, below:
Find out more via the bands Website or Facebook
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