HANK IV is a San Francisco rock band with no relation whatsoever to the Hank Williams clan. Hank IV plays hard-charging, primitive and visceral dual-guitar/tandem vocals rock punk that has been likened to “Crime meets Viletones meets Styrenes punk” (Z-Gun Magazine) and by WFMU’s DJ Terre T as “a sick combination of Volcano Suns and Blue Cheer and Chain Gang!”
August 2008 update:
Hank IV's second full-length album, Refuge in Genre, is being released on Siltbreeze this October 14th, 2008. Sporting 11 feral cuts in 30 svelte minutes, Refuge in Genre was recorded in shattering hi-fidelity by Tim Green (The Fucking Champs) at Louder Studios and mastered by Robert Spurr Weston IV (Shellac).
"The rollicking San Francisco quintet known as Hank IV have been in the cross-hairs of the Siltbreeze hunting rifle since just after their debut LP was released on the Hook Or Crook label back in '06. The sound of Hank IV is a bit too wily and scrambled to pigeonhole as any one type of honk. Forward thinkers might tag 'em as Panic-Skiffle, combining the cunning and menace of compadres such as Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments or The Country Teasers, with a dual guitar attack that nods toward the Bailey/ Keupper-era Saints as much as those dudes looked at Smith/Kramer for their nascent moves. Through all this stutter and pummel vocalist Bob McDonald (formerly of Denver hardcore icons Bum Kon) doesn't throw caution to the wind as much as atomize it. If a shattered leg can't keep this dude from heralding the apocalypse, do you think your tender widdle ears have a chance? Not likely, bub." - Siltbreeze
Objects in Mirror
Hank IV was hand-picked by Mission of Burma to support on their September 2008 California tour.
Hank IV has played twice at SXSW, including the 2008 WFMU 50th anniversary showcase with Half Japanese. In 2007, Hank IV performed at Gonerfest IV in Memphis and at Budget Rock VI in Oakland. Hank IV has played live twice on WFMU (Brian Turner's show and on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic).
LIVE VIDEO CLIPS:
* SXSW 2007, (3-camera shoot courtesy of Autopilot Films, NYC)
* Gonerfest IV, 2007.
WHEN YOU'RE REACHING FOR THE TOP SHELF:
Hank IV (as their alter-egos Theme Weavers LLC) wrote and performed the theme song for Tom Scharpling's The Best Show on WFMU.
THUS SPEAKETH THE PUNDITS:
San Francisco act, Hank IV, play a throaty, rollicking version of rock'n'roll that cuts through the grease with the grimy edge of wry-hooked songs. Their sound hints at being a fun live band, and they play feverishly danceable tunes that will have the entire audience acting like idiots by mid-set. Their last album released on Hook or Crook Records, "Third Person Shooter," came with high acclaim, and they another on the way on Siltbreeze titled Refuge in Genre." - Victim of Time
“Frisco’s sexiest seniors follow up their excellent debut album with ‘Dirty Poncho’ an excellent 45 that recalls non-hardcore LA punk of 1982. Specifically, I’m thinking of Flesheaters territory. Read: territory, i.e., smart, well written rock & roll with an edge as well as some respect with the sounds that came before it.” – Z-Gun Magazine
“The new 7” from Hank IV ‘Dirty Poncho’/Symptomatic’ get’s the pulse racin’ like I figured it would. The a-side find ’em at their most aggressive yet, spinnin’ a yarn about a gal (I think) I know who has a thing for the ‘Susan Atkins look’. She’s lucky they didn’t say nothin’ about that moustache. Right Sanchez? Ding! The flip chews & spits out more of the proto-skiffle tar ‘n tuneage these guys have been excellin’ at since their inception.” – Siltblog
“Hank IV is all about bringing the swaggering, spastically flailing, hard-charging rock. Hearkening back to the rousing sounds of ‘80s/’90s punk, this quintet of S.F. scene vets has a sound resembling Mission of Burma drummer Peter Prescott’s other band Volcano Suns, with hints of everything from the Fall and Country Teasers to West Coast old-school in the vein of X, Dead Kennedys, and Crime. What elevates Hank IV above the middling fray is the band’s ability to deliver punchy garage rock with snarky lyrics. Loaded with anthemic tandem vocals and dueling guitar clamor, Third Person Shooter makes a solid addition to San Francisco’s current rock arsenal.” — Mike Rowell, SF Weekly
"Incredibly brainy, powerful and genuine twin-guitar punk rock played by folks who have seen, done and snorted it all. Third Person Shooter is one of the year’s top punk albums, offering up a powerful take on Rock’N’Roll with million dollar smarts and a drug-addled, spiteful 70s punk mood, minus all the smirks and fashionable clichés. Hook Or Crook Records went all out on this pup, including a CD version inside every colored vinyl LP. You have no excuse, motherfuckers!" - Mitch Cardwell, Maximum Rocknroll
"Whoa, check out singer Bob McDonald's moves; part Sally Can't Dance era live Lou Reed herk, part 'She Lost Control' era Ian Curtis jerk, part Jack LaLanne dedication, part Robbie Robot spazz arms from 'Lost In Space', part Robert Shields in sweat-face. Awesome! The rest of the band was killin too, the twin guitars were like the sonic attack of Bailey/Kuepper from prime era Saints, the bassist was throwin down solid & the geezerly dude on drums looked like he was wound pretty tight too. His arms & feet couldn't stop! It was great." - Siltblog
"Smart, cliché free, punk rock with the kind of edge you find in mid 70s CLE punk or Crime-ridden San Francisco. Nine strong songs pack this puppy, three of which (Melonhead, Tonight We Ride, Crime of the Scene) are great and one of which lands in my all time classic punk songs list. That one classic is Hole in My Eye, a tune with the drive of the Viletones' Screaming Fist, but a bit smarter. How good is it? I am writing this from the emergency room because Hole in My Eye kicked my balls so damn hard they have swollen to the size a grapefruits. I might have the doctor replace them with a pair of steel ball bearings. I wanna be ready the next time I see them live. Really. I am not lying to you." - Scott Soriano, Z-Gun
"Hank IV are rude, ill-tempered, potty mouthed ruffians whose music has absolutely no socially redeeming qualities… other than enormous raw energy, infectious, hard-charging tune-age and enough kinetic wallop to T.K.O. a narwhal. They’re very much informed by the skeazier side of pre-HC punk. All their songs evince a marked sense of rhythmic strut and swagger. Each and every one comes equipped with an ear-catching rhythm guitar riff that’d be the envy of anyone from AC/DC to the early Who. Lead singer Bob McDonald has one incredible piercing sneer of a voice—think of Jello Biafra sans helium—that he wraps around lyrics that are unashamedly hate-riddled, dripping with disdain. These are often times bolstered with rambunctious group shout-along choruses. It sounds rousing as hell on record, all though if you heard this behind you on a deserted street you’d sure wanna be packing heat. Hank IV basically make the Dead Boys sound like Midnight Oil in terms of ’tudes projected." - Your Flesh
"A sick combination of Volcano Suns and Blue Cheer and Chain Gang!" - DJ Terre T, Cherry Blossom Clinic, WFMU
"What teacher's lounge did these guys meet in? These over 35s knocked out some great Crime meets Chain Gang meets Viletones meets Styrenes punk rock, that hearkens back to the dark grunt of late 70s Frisco punk, while remaining fresh." - Terminal Boredom
BEST OF's FOR "Third Person Shooter" LP: Best of 2006 - Terminal Boredom Number 2 album of 2006 - Evan "Funk" Davies, WFMU Number 8 album of 2006 - Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic show, WFMU "One of 2006's top punk albums." - Maximumrockandroll
DISCOGRAPHY: Refuge in Genre vinyl LP w/digital download card, Siltbreeze, October 2008 Dirty Poncho 7", Plastic Idol, 2007 Third Person Shooter LP/CD, Hook or Crook, 2006
MAILORDER:
To mailorder a copy of the Hank IV Third Person Shooter LP/CD, visit the new Paypal-friendly Hook or Crook Super Store. For the "Dirty Poncho" 7", check out Plastic Idol
