WHAT: Seattle rock band featuring Katy Devereau (vocals), Dave O’Leary (bass), Roger C. Davis (guitar), Doug Marrapodi (drums, percussion) and Billy Stover (keyboards). (Devereau is the sister of Chris Cornell.) Managed by Maurer Music Management (contact smaurer@maurermusic.com). Photos by Marika Garland.
SOUND: In the band’s words, the sound is “sexy, sultry, slightly dirty, seriously seductive.” Devereaux, an experienced vocalist with a strong command of the microphone and sly sense of humor, sings with passion and conviction. The entire band moves like a well-oiled machine. Happy Hour Hero blends rock, soul, blues and R&B. The harder songs are nicely balanced with sultry ballads. My favorite of the latter is the gorgeous “Monkey Girl.”
QUOTE: “If you haven’t seen the band live, you may be a little surprised at the new sound,” bassist Dave O’Leary says in a blog. “There’s a wall of guitar forming. It will span left to right, top to bottom, and it will be righteous, triumphant even.
“Roger (C. Davis, guitarist) hit a home run during this tracking session. You’ll see. And when I say surprised, I mean in the best of ways. Live, we’ve been like this ever since I joined the band. I’m not as sure how it was before live, but the studio recordings, as good as they were — and yes, they are excellent recordings of excellent tunes — the guitars were a little thin. They didn’t roar and scream when they needed to. My opinion of course, but there it is.
“The new recordings though, have guitar to spare. It’s big. It booms. It rocks. So as evidence I present a sample of the ‘Truck Song.’ It’ll be our first release from these recordings and should be available for download shortly before Christmas.”
RELEASES: Happy Hour Hero: “Strength in Numbers” (self-released). Recorded, produced and mixed at Soundhouse Recording by Jack Endino. (Some songs were recorded and mixed by Glenn Lorbecki at Glenn Sound.) The album was previously released (minus the radio edits) by Going South, the band’s previous incarnation, in March 2007. Listen to a sample of the new “Truck Song” on the blog page of the band’s Web site.
WHERE TO LISTEN: On Myspace.com and the band’s own Web site (biography, music, videos, news and calendar).
NEWS: On March 19, 2010, Happy Hour Hero will perform new material for Hugo House’s Literary Series, with the theme of “Laws of Attraction.”
NEXT SHOW: Friday (Dec. 4) at Mars Bar, 609 Eastlake Ave. E. Doors open at 8 p.m. The show includes a set by The Parents. Admission: $6.
Watch the band’s video of “Ashlee Simpson,” which features the lyric, “You’re still full of sh– at the end of the day”: