Travis Bennington-Lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonies
Mary Ellis-Bass, Keyboard, Harmony vocals
Mike Eckmann-Drums
Brad Lohman-Sound
Influences
Fatman's Harley
Lucky You Tattoo
Video for Peace (2007)
White Trash (2005)
It is what it is (2005)
Sounds Like
Our music is diverse. Since we write all the music we play, and we come from different musical influences, our style is unique. We might play one song that is reminicent of an 80's power ballad, followed by an alternative upbeat sounding song, followed by county/southern rock song.
Hard Times Band is made up of Travis Bennington, Mary Michele Ellis, Mike Eckmann, Bradley Lohman and Jerry Waring. Travis is a singer, songwriter, guitar player, attorney, artist, and avid Vikings fan. Mary is the bass player, keyboardist, back up vocals, attorney, nurse, dancer. Mike is our real drummer (aka plays the full kit) and our acoustic drummer (aka plays the djembe), keyboard sound effects, architect, creative photo guy. Bradley is our sound engineer, fashion consultant, marathon runner, mechanic, single hot dude. Our music doesn't REALLY fit one genre. You have to figure out where you would file it among your music collection. There is some definite rock, swing, acoustic ballads, country, latin..we even have a rap song!! The band has changed over time but Travis has been a constant as he is the main brain behind the word. Give it a listen. The music is well written. The lyrics are smart and Travis' voice is phenomenal. (Obviously, Travis did not write this himself!)
Though our name is Hard Times, we are actually in an era of Good Times. Our self titled album was recently released and our Naked album, made up of acoustic works, will be out in November. In addition, we have new material in the works. We have a great team of musicians working on this project and our music keeps getting better and better. Since the hard times are behind us, the band has experienced numerous positive turns such as having the opportunity to play at such fun venues as the Nebraska State Fair, Heartland Music Festival, Fremont Days Rodeo, Tin Lizzy's, Bushwackers, The Manhattan Club, Ice House, Whiskey RoadHouse, The Lounge, Maggie McCall's, The Lodge, The Other Bar, The Press Room, The Scott Voorhees Show, The Dog House, and a number of other wonderful places. Today, HTB has just finished mixing and mastering at Empty House Studio with their second album. Their third album will be out soon. We have videos on YouTube to check out namely "It Just Has To", "White Trash" and "It Is What It Is."
Looking forward to hearing you play on Thursday night. Am trying to get a crowd together to come and see what they have been missing!!! See you soon!!!
