“It’s The Hangmen he wanted to kill… we got run out of Cactusville,” laments Bryan Small on the album’s title track of The Hangmen’s seventh album. Flanked by longtime members Jimmy James (guitar), Angelique Congleton (bass) and newcomer Jorge Disguster (drums), Small recollects the harrowing tale of a gig in Tuscon promoting their major label debut. “It was such a formative trip for us as a young band. There was death, drugs, booze, guns, girls and rock n’ roll… and we met some new friends along the way.”
One friend in particular, Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers remembers the gig well, “They pulled up in a perfectly shitty van and proceeded to literally fall out of it. I know that one of them immediately puked in the parking lot. Combine all the L.A. coolness of the dudes with the songs and, oh my god, no one could touch them. The fucking SONGS. Right out of the gate I was struck by the patient, laid back-ness of their rock-n-roll ways. They changed a lot about the way I thought about what a band should be and how songs should be delivered. They instantly became our heroes.”
The Hangmen were formed in Los Angeles in 1986 and immediately caught the eye of Black Flag/Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris. Morris managed the band, and along with Bad Religion’s Brett Gurewitz, produced the demos that landed them a deal with Capitol Records. They released their self-titled debut in 1987, but things soon came crashing down. A switch to DGC Records (the newly formed subsidiary of Geffen who’s roster included The Nymphs, Nirvana, etc) seemed like the perfect landing spot for the band. Unfortunately, the album Suicide Doors was shelved and the band dissolved into addiction.
Not one to be down for long, a newly sober Small started writing again, the result was 2000’s Metallic I.O.U. Tours with longtime fans Social Distortion and the Supersuckers followed. Ness would later produce The Hangmen’s 2007 release In the City. “I totally feel like we’re kindred spirits,” Small says looking back, adding that both bands emphasize “simplicity, and doing what you do and staying true to that.”
In 2010, the Finnish label Hype Records, Lost Rocks, an 18-song Hangmen retrospective. Shortly thereafter, former Supersucker, Rontrose Heathmen joined the band for 2012’s critically acclaimed East Of Western.
2019 marks the release of Cactusville and another chapter of The Hangmen legend continues. Small has taken his brand of songwriting to another level, putting him in an artistic class with the likes of Tom Petty and Neil Young as purveyors of honest and simple songwriting.
Side 2 of the LP features the Best Western Players, Bryan Small’s countrified side project. In the same vein as Neil Young’s “American Stars and Bars,” the songs take on a different feel, with vocal harmonies and haunting pedal steel echoing throughout. It’s familiar territory for Small, who grew up in rural Montana before making his way to Los Angeles. “The ‘country’ side of The Hangmen has been there from the start, it stems from the love of Gun Club, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, etc.,” explains Small, “the Best Western Players were brought in to realize the songs as they were conceived.”
The Hangmen will join Acetate Records label mates the Supersuckers on a rare East Coast US tour in September. Additional dates TBA.
THE HANGMEN w/ Supersuckers (unless otherwise denoted *)
08/23 Los Angeles, CA @ Redwood Bar Record Release Party *
09/02 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
09/04 Greenville, SC @ Radio Room
09/05 Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
09/06 Wilmington, NC @ Reggie’s 42nd St. Tavern
09/07 Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
09/08 Nashville, TN @ Little Harpeth Brewing
09/10 Richmond, VA @ The Camel
09/11 Washington DC @ City Winery
09/12 Harrisburg, PA @ 10th St. Stage
09/14 Harrisonburg, VA @ The Golden Pony
09/15 Pittsburgh, PA @ Hard Rock Cafe
09/16 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
09/18 Portland, ME @ Geno’s Rock Club
09/19 Hampton Beach, NH @ Wally’s
09/20 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
09/21 Amityville, NY @ Amityville Music Hall
09/22 Brooklyn, NY @ El Cortez
