If you like the good ol’ lazy, twangy country music your Grandpappy used to listen to…if you like going to see a band where the comatose players look like they‘d rather be having eye surgery than be on stage…if you enjoy the feeling of disappointment and long for the sensation of blood dripping from your ears while listening to a hack garage band who, quite frankly, should have stayed in the garage…then you’d better stop reading and run screaming from this page. Because Artie Hemphill and The Iron Horse Band is your worst nightmare, and they’re barreling down on you at full speed!!
For the rest of you…hold on to your hats and hang on tight, cuz you’re in for the ride of your life!
Who is the Iron Horse Band? I’m glad you asked. This is a high energy quartet of amazingly talented musicians who perform with two goals in mind; play awesome music & have a great time doing it! And one thing’s for sure, when these guys take a swing at a task, they don’t just hit their mark, they beat it to a quivering pulp!
“But Mamma, country music scares me somethin’ fierce!” What? You don’t know if you like country music? That’s only because you’ve never heard it done the way these boys do it! Once you get an ear full of Artie Hemphill & The Iron Horse Band you’ll be a fan for life. But hey, if this group can’t hook your trout…nothing will!
However, once you’ve been converted and become a “true believer”, there are only two simple rules that you’re required to follow when listening to The Iron Horse Band:
1) If you don’t have a smile on your face, you need to go home and take your medication.
2) Anything is legal as long as you keep one foot on the floor.
So, the next time you feel your music becoming a bit anemic, all you need to do is go see Dr. Iron Horse. Just one hefty shot of their miraculous musical tonic will invigorate your tired mind and cure all of your country music woes. After all, clinical studies have shown that 5 out of 5 fans recommend going to check out Artie Hemphill & The Iron Horse Band…and besides, you should always listen to your doctor - (No prescription required).
Artie Hemphill:
Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar:
Artie Hemphill comes to Utah Valley straight from the one and only "Music City” - Nashville, Tennessee. Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, Artie has been around the block and his sultry baritone voice has been heard in just about every type of venue imaginable. Even as a small young-‘un, Artie had grand visions of living in the spotlight. Years later as Artie took to the road in pursuit of his musical dreams, he was first drawn to Utah by his lifelong best friend, Dave Thurman. Playing together in the band “High Country” they spent countless hours tearin’ up the landscape, showing the Utah folk what real country music sounded like. But Artie’s sights had always been squarely fixed on Tennessee. So, hitting the open road again, Artie's passions took him to Nashville where he spent 10 years writing, singing, and recording country music. Since bringing his growing family back to settle in Utah, he has once again teamed up with his good buddy, Dave, to form The Iron Horse Band. And man, you should hear this guy sing! Have you ever gone to a restaurant and ordered something new and funky because the description sounded enticing, and then when you got it, it was absolutely the best thing you ever put in your mouth? Yeah…like that! As the “Front Man” and voice of the band, Artie drives home the rock-solid lead vocals with power, energy and drive as well as rounding out the musical mix playing acoustic rhythm guitar. When you see this natural perform and hear him belt out that sweet country music, you’ll have no doubt that Artie is “the real deal”.
Dave Thurman:
Bass Guitar/Back Ground Vocals:
Dave (“The Bass Man”) Thurman is no stranger to the music industry. Since learning his first few chords on the guitar from Artie way back in 1986, Dave has infused music into his life as a driving force, and he’s driven it hard! After cutting his teeth playing acoustic guitar in California garage bands and music competitions, he found his calling playing “Da Bass” when he and Artie joined up again in Utah with the band “High Country”. He spent many nights & weekends playing all over Utah until a call came in from his good friend Kevin Sharp, who had just been signed by a major Nashville label. Before he knew it Dave and High Country were touring the US as the road band for a 1-charting country Artist. Dave started out playing bass but his freakishly impressive PR skills were soon put to use as he took over the role of Kevin’s tour manager. He and Kevin spent the next three years touring together with the likes of Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Sawyer Brown and many, many others. Though off the road now, Dave still wields his trusty bass and he and Artie are back at it again! These days he gets his musical fix by turning up his rig and pumping out earth-shaking tones for The Iron Horse Band. (Just don’t talk to the bass player).
Mike Fjerstad:
Lead Guitar/Back Ground Vocals:
Mike began playing guitar at age 8, and man does it show! All you have to do is be standing too close to him while he’s busting out one of his searing hot licks and you’ll be getting skin grafts for the next 6 months. However, far from being the stereotypical long-haired head banger, this boy dun got hisself an ejucashun! Having graduated from BYU in 2007 with a degree in Media Music, Mike is an active music educator with over 8 years teaching experience. He has worked as a guitar instructor for The School of Music at BYU, taught group guitar classes to high school students at Maeser Preparatory Academy in Lindon, and also served as a guitar instructor and producer at The Music School in American Fork until its unfortunate demise in 2008. Mike is also a very accomplished performer in his own right. In addition to belting out sizzling lead vocals for his Rock band “To The Death”, his other TTD roles include guitar player, songwriter and the producer of the band’s album, which has received radio play on X96 and KOHS 91.7. In addition to playing live with various local bands and artists, Mike has also lent his talents to many recording projects as a session player. Some of these projects include; music for short films, educational and religious videos, as well as demos and albums for aspiring singers, songwriters, and performers. Sure, it’s a bit of an inconvenience for the other band members to have to wear flame-retardant clothes on stage, but man is it worth it! He’s a smokin’ player, he’s young, he’s hip, and best of all, ladies…he’s SINGLE!!
Ryan Flores:
Drums:
Ryan Flores is a man of many talents. Though trained to play the piano, organ, clarinet and alto saxophone, Ryan found his true love, the drums, when he was just a wee lad listening to the Beatles. Since then, he’s been mercilessly pounding the skins to every genre of music across the spectrum. While earning his BA in Music at BYU, Ryan has been layin’ down the rhythm for a number of local artists whose specialties range in everything from Pop to Jazz. And if that ain’t enough, his extensive percussive background includes such musical styles as Classical, Caribbean Pan and Traditional March. Now, as a fixture in The Iron Horse Band, Ryan has the distinctive honor of adding the most sacred of all musical genres to his repertoire…country music! “Is there anything this boy can’t play?” you ask. There may be, but so far…we haven’t heard it. It has also been rumored that Ryan enjoys using his “vocalizer” to belt out a few tunes of his own. Some say, if you catch an Iron Horse show on a full moon in the fifth week of the month, you might get the rare opportunity to witness Ryan adding his bewitching harmonies to the vocal mix…Of course, that’s only if you believe all that white wash!
Drew Williams:
Piano/Keyboard/Back Ground Vocals:
Drew Williams is smorgasbord of talents when it comes to the multi-faceted world of music. Drew first embarked on his musical journey at the tender age of 6 where he began exploring his interests in singing, and playing such instruments as the violin, saxophone and guitar. But it wasn’t until he turned 13 that he discovered his true passion in life, the piano. Within three short years, Drew was invited to tour with a regional country artist which allowed him to share the stage with many national acts. This opportunity not only helped him develop the skills and talents he needed to transform into a performing artist in his own right, but it also assisted in broadening his horizons and bringing his other great love into focus, producing. It wasn’t long before Drew was engineering recordings for a number of Utah based artists and making plans to produce his own album, “Drive”. By age 22 he was playing numerous venues across Utah as a solo artist and had established his own production company. These days, the young Mr. Williams is a music major at Utah Valley University and plays in a number of performing groups of various genres. Most importantly, however, he keeps his keyboard ablaze pounding out sweet country chops and honky tonk licks with his Iron Horse buds. Though Impressive, heated debates rage on concerning the long term impact of Drew’s talents. After all, top analysts predict that, at Drew’s current rate of development, by the age of 30 he will have put every music professional in Nashville out of a job!
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Artie Hemphill and the Iron Horse Band's Friend Space (Top 15)
Artie Hemphill and the Iron Horse Band has 92 friends.
Hey there, just wanted to stop by and say hello, and see how you are doing. How was your weekend? Mine was pretty busy. Question for you, are you logging into Myspace as much these days or have you gone over to Facebook and Twitter? I have been giving away an MP3 of "The Wish" if you would like to have it shoot me an email to joshcanovamusic@gmail.com
Hey
everyone...tune in your tv's to KJZZ television station on Friday, Oct
2nd at 9:00 am. We'll be doing interviews and playing a little music
for ya!
Just stoppin by to say hello,roll the numbers on the player and listen to some really GREAT music,,,awesome job,,,enjoy the weekend and feel free to drop by any time.
