MySpace a place for friends

To quote Sam Phillips “famous is fast/ you don’t have to be talented or do good work or be smart/ it’s perfect for me/ but every time I go after it/ my ideals run off with my heart”. That one statement sums up the attitude of the four piece rock band based in Mobile, AL called Hamelin.

The band calls the 2004 release of their alternative rock album Paintings on the Wall their beginning. Influenced by acts including Counting Crows, Pearl Jam, and Coldplay the band wrote and arranged ten songs for the first record. The album was recorded by Brian Graves in Mobile within a span of five weeks. The lineup was a traditional rock lineup. Jonathan Brown played drums, Adam Lynn worked base, Garrett Thornton added guitars, and Newell rounded out the group. With album in hand Hamelin entered two local talent competitions and was pleased to be selected winners in both. They also moved on to be one of ten finalists in a regional contest for a record contract with Imprint Records. The bands first single “Whispers” spent several months in rotation on a local radio station (WABB 97FM) and was selected to be on the Atlantis Music Conference compilation album. Due to the airplay and an increasingly impressive live show the band developed a strong and loyal local fan base. To date, Hamelin has sold over 1600 copies of Paintings on the Wall, most of which being from their trailer after live shows. While the band did enjoy some success with Paintings all four members agree the best rewards from the album may be the musical lessons it brought them. Paintings on the Wall taught Hamelin how to be a band, and how to create and sell music.