Artist Spotlight is a segment that we started to introduce our listeners to some deserving up and coming artists/ bands. They have made an impact on us for all of the right reasons. We think they kick ass and we hope you do too! Today, we’d like to shine the spotlight on Hearts and Hand Grenades!
Hearts and Hand Grenades is an explosive American hard rock group from Buffalo, NY fronted by Stephanie Wlosinski on lead vocals and bass guitar. This band is literally exploding with an edgy sound for all generations of true rock addicts!
The band was originally founded as a cover band in 2012 by guitarist Mike Bress. Mike (who also happens to be a seventh-degree black belt) taught martial arts at a dojo he owned, and Stephanie who happened to train there overheard he had a band, so she mentioned she played bass guitar. She immediately replaced the band’s original bassist and shortly thereafter they added Tom Lafferty on drums, and Kenny Blesy on lead guitar. Within a month, the band began performing gigs and they eventually became one of upstate new York’s premiere cover bands.
In March of 2019, the band scored a gig supporting multi-platinum rockers the Goo Goo Dolls at the long-running annual charity event, Variety Kids Telethon. After the band’s set, they were approached by Goo Goo Dolls vocalist/bassist Robby Takac. He was so impressed with their performance, that he invited the band to record at his GCR Audio. The band took him up on the offer, however there was one small problem… the band had no original songs to record! They quickly got to work though, and within a month they had enough songs to record the four song EP entitled Wait, which they released independently in July of 2019.
While continuing to perform locally throughout the year, the group continued writing new music and molding their sound. Through the many connections they built with promoters while playing cover songs, they were able to frequently perform their originals as well, mixed in alongside the covers on their set list. It was not long before people became familiar with (and began requesting) their original songs, so they decided it was time to record additional material. The band revisited GCR Audio and Robby Takac hooked them up with producer Justin Rose (Goo Goo Dolls, James Taylor, Spyro Gyra) who recorded, mixed and mastered what would later become the band’s debut full-length album Turning To Ashes. Turning To Ashes, was the group’s debut full-length release featuring eight original songs. The album was released worldwide on January 8, 2021, and it was critically acclaimed by the likes of Classic Rock Magazine, Power Play, and many dozens of other media outlets all over the world.
As the pandemic restrictions started to ease up in the Spring of 2021, the band quickly re-enlisted producer Justin Rose and revisited GCR Audio to record a second album, which would be titled Between the Lines and delivered it to Eclipse Record. The band’s sophomore effort contains ten hard-rocking earworms full of savage riffs and powerfully deep lyrics. Standout tracks include the album’s high-energy first single “Bad Medicine” represents the disappointment experienced when something doesn’t go as planned. “Beautiful Pain” is about the kind of pain you can learn and grow from, while owning your actions that may have brought you to that point. Of particular note, the title track “Between the Lines” is about the lies we are told by the media and how it negatively affects society. This album is pure, controlled emotion… rock like you’ve never quite experienced it before, and the kind that only Hearts & Hand Grenades can deliver. Get ready to scream it out for the world to hear… Hearts & Hand Grenades are back and their latest album rocks! Between the Lines was released on November 19, 2021 via Eclipse Records.
We sat down with Hearts and Hand Grenades lead vocalist/bassist Stephanie Wlosinski for a short, but fun Q&A session!
Every superhero or villain has an origin and a band is no different minus the radioactive spiders and secret government experiments. What is the origin of Hearts and Hand Grenades?
We come from the Buffalo NY area, and here in Western New York, there is a massive cover music scene. We all had been playing in various bands for some time and our paths would continue to cross from venue to venue. After kidnapping Kenny at the ripe age of about 19, we began successfully gigging together, which led us to the idea of wanting more for our music. Mike and I began what soon became Hearts & Hand Grenades and it wasn’t long before we got Kenny on board with that as well. Once all of the pieces came together we got to work on what soon became our first album and here we are! H&HG was essentially born from the boredom of the over saturated cover music, and the NEED to get our own music out there.
Band names can have a meaning or it can be a name pulled out of a hat. What’s the story behind Hearts and Hand Grenades?
We knew that we wanted to go with something contrasting since our sound never really has fit into one single genre. We have a knack to pull inspiration from Punk, Southern Rock, Classic Metal, etc and we just go with what we like instead of worrying about checking off a one-size-fits-all box. So, we settled on Hearts & Hand Grenades after much debate, and we think its suits us well. We can be nice and cuddly or we can knock you on your ass.
What are you currently working on?
We are getting ready to start working on material for what will become a third album, but we are more so getting ourselves ready for our first UK tour in March. We have worked with Midnight Tornado Touring and Polestar Music Management to put together one fantastic run for our UK fans!
What’s your most useless talent?
Absolutely crushing it in every Resident Evil game. My father and I have been playing those games since the very beginning and to this day we still do. Its become quite an endearing family tradition and it has sharpened my hand-eye coordination dramatically!
What are your five favorite movies?
Evil Dead (1981)
Evil Dead 2
Army of Darkness
Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Night Of The Living Dead (1990)
I think I just told you a lot about me lol
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