Born as a result of a life-changing Randy Weeks show at Los Angeles’ legendary Cinema Bar, Mick Rhodes & the Hard Eight have been honing their singularly raucous, yet delicate and melodic rock ‘n’ roll since 2007. “I walked into the Cinema one summer night and Randy Weeks was playing,” Rhodes said. “The room was hot and packed. The crowd was riding a wave with Randy’s band, higher and higher, then he would just reel them all back in. It changed what I was doing overnight.”
After dozens of shows in and around L.A., the band entered Interstellar Studios in 2010 to record its debut album. The result, “’Til I am Dust,” is a record rich with layers of heartache, longing and joy, with no Autotune, and simple, soulful instrumentation.
“It took longer to finish than we thought it would, and that was frustrating,” Rhodes said. “But looking back, the record evolved at its own pace, and I’m not sure it would have otherwise.”
Mick Rhodes & the Hard Eight features seasoned veterans of Los Angeles’ roots, punk and rock scenes: Mick Rhodes on vocals, acoustic and electric guitars; Wyman Reese on keyboards and piano; Brian Hall on electric lead guitar; Brian Wells on drums and percussion; John Sleeger on bass and background vocals; and Steve Sturgis on acoustic guitar and background vocals. This core group is joined by Emily Moultrie and Robin Banks on background vocals, Jim Shirey on fiddle and mandolin, Roofie Barnes on cello and Jeff Masters on harp.
The band can found playing shows in L.A., and plans are afoot to perform at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas in March 2012. Tune in here for updates on these and all other MR8 shows.
The band is currently in the studio recording its follow-up to “’Til I am Dust.” The new record, tentatively titled “A Thousand Ways,” is due in 2012 on Hot Tramp Records.
Formed in the wake of the original punk explosion of the late 1970s, Human Therapy has been writing, performing and recording since 1980. The band’s classic debut EP, “American Dream,” was originally released in 1983 on Doctor Dream Records. “The Sky Falls” single followed in 1985, with a song (“No More”) on Toxic Shock Records’ “Barricaded Suspects” compilation rounding out the band’s initial recorded output.
Human Therapy’s early years included shows with legendary names like the Cramps, Social Distortion, the Minutemen, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Dickies and countless others. The band toured the USA in 1985, after several regional tours around the Southwest. Human Therapy has played sporadically over the past few years, spending enough time together in the summer of 2007 to record its latest, “It’s So You,” for Hot Tramp Records.
There are no impending plans for a follow-up to “It’s So You,” but we here at Hot Tramp hope the band will someday soon accept our invitation to record again. Check back here for news on this and for information regarding the band’s annual summer live shows.
