Smashing Pumpkins, Jeff Buckley, Superdrag, Beatles, Collective Soul, Eels, Foo Fighters, Incubus, Alice in Chains, Cheap Trick, The Blue Oyster Cult, Bad Company, Devo, Hank Williams, Black Sabbath, The Kinks, QOTSA, NWA, Al Green, Aaron Nevile, Nevermore, Eric Clapton, Fountains of Wayne, NIN, The Police, Pink Floyd, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Rage Against the Machine, Better Than Ezra, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Soundgarden, King's X, Marty Robbins, Stone Temple Pilots, Mungo Jerry, The Police, Ween, The B-52's, Pearl Jam, Vic Chesnutt, Kool and the Gang, Garbage, Cream, Splender, Barry White, Paul Simon, Paul Westerburg, Paul McCartney, Soul Asylum, The Screaming Trees, Candlebox, Red Red Meat, George Carlin, The Drifters, The Ventures, REM, Boston, Chicago, Timbuk3, Crowded House, Down in the Mouth, Nirvana, Weezer, Led Zepplin, Prince, The Eagles, Prince, Beethoven, Henry Rollins, Kevin Smith, Hunter S. Thompson, etc.
Sounds Like
An alternative to rock... which is also, coincidently, rock.
Part I: The Game
When Monte Peck decided that he wanted a rock band... By asking his younger brother to play drums on his first "solo" effort, he inadvertently formed what was to become The Hanyaks. During the recording sessions for "Like A Parthian Shot", Monte stepped back and realized that The Hanyaks were too damn rock for the music he was writing/performing at the time. So, he began to record covers (Nestled Under The Covers) and softer tracks that were more indicative of the sound he was going for. The result was phenomenal.
While "The Breakdown" (Peck's freshman opus) is loaded with moody predominantly acoustic rock/blues/R&B/country/whatever, "Like A Parthian Shot" explores the balls-to-the-wall/heavier-than-a-wet-bag-of-lead rock terrain that Monte has been climbing since his teens. Songs of love lost and tweenage angst coming at you full blast hasn't sounded this sweet since 1995. This is not to say this this record is dated... it's to remind you of what good music sounded like. Obviously, The Hanyaks aren't reinventing the wheel here. They are just keeping it rolling (and rocking).
Peck describes The Hanyaks sound as intelligent post-modern pop/grunge. What does that mean? You be the judge. *2007*
Part II: The Name
The word hanyaks, pronounced "haun-yocks", is Czech/Polish slang for
rascals, heathens, scalawags, etc. Peck says that when he was young, his grandparents, who are of Czech/German descent, used the word hanyak when he and/or his brother were misbehaving. The elderly, hailing from small southern Texas towns (once Czech/German/Polish settlements) are often heard shouting the word towards the young and reckless. While there is no official documentation to verify this English translation of the word, it is backed exclusively by popular belief. There is one particular story maintaining that long ago, in the old country, there was a certain tribe of socially unacceptable natives that would wreak havoc on settlements and destroy property. Simple country folk developed a prayer for warding off these barbarians, in hopes of keeping their villages safe from harm. This prayer came to be known as the Hanak, also pronounced "haun-yock". Through years of language and dialect evolution, the word Hanak became the term of description for those whom the opposing prayer was originally intended. Certain groups may also spell the word with a J. Example - Hanjaks. *2007*
