Product Description Wielding his acoustic guitar like a machine gun and tossing words and ideas around like grenades, Hamell on Trial is a high-intensity performer who writes and sings about sex, love, politics, near-death experiences, God, drug dealers, road trips, and just about anything else that enters his brain. On his latest album, Ed Hamell captures the frenetic energy of his live act in a carefully crafted recording which also stands on its own. The result is an excellent introduction to an artist whose work defies easy categorization. This time around, Hamell's primarily solo act is fleshed out with guest appearances by Ani DiFranco (whose voice and guitar are featured throughout, most notably on the duet "All That Was Said"), Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart, Jeff Buckley), Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers), and Jonathan Kane (Swans). He's also got behind-the-scenes help from the likes of veterans John Leckie (Radiohead, John Lennon, George Harrison), Phil Nicolo (The Rolling Stones, Cypress Hill, Sly and Robbie), Ani D, and Andrew "Goat" Gilchrist (Drums & Tuba) as producers. Review "...with an explosive strumming style and well-defined sense of the absurd." -- The London Times, June 11, 2003"No folk-punk or antifolkie plays harder or louder....Hamell hasn't lost his knack for describing true crime and evoking existential outrage." -- Blender, September 2003Genius is a rare commodity - but here it is in the one-man folk-punk band called Hamell On Trial. -- New York Post, August 26, 2003If talent, creativity and artistic integrity still count for anything, this is one of 2003's best albums. -- Rollingstone.com, August 26, 2003Nothing [...] prepares us for just how compelling, how satisfying, how fist-stirring and soul-leaping is [Ed Hamell's] fifth album. -- The Austin American-Statesman, August 26, 2003 About the Artist Hamell on Trial is a one-man punk band—and by punk we mean (mostly) loud, fast music informed by politics, passion, energy and intelligence, played by a guy with a sharp tongue and a wicked sense of humor. As The London Times recently noted, Hamell's "explosive strumming style and well-defined sense of the absurd" make for a live show that's "thought-provoking and hilarious." Born in Syracuse, NY, Ed Hamell started many a band before grasping the amazing appeal of autonomy: the solo musician's ability to write a song and perform it the same evening. Freed from the spiritual and financial burdens of a full band, he found himself with a bunch of new songs and a gig at a benefit concert. "I had never played solo before and never really listened to acoustic music," he recalls. "Every musician in town was going to be there, so, knowing that I was going to be scrutinized, and also to differentiate myself from the James Taylors of the world, I decided to call it Hamell on Trial, figuring it would be a one-time deal. The Trial eventually adjourned for Albany, NY, where a steady Wednesday night gig at a place called the Half Moon Café drew a whopping 10 to 12 people a week. But it was only after another relocation—this time to Austin, TX—that things started to click, including a regular spot at The Electric Lounge, a showcase at South By Southwest, and a contract with Mercury Records which ultimately produced two albums (Big as Life and The Chord is Mightier Than the Sword; highlights of both were later collected as Mercuroyale). Parting ways with both the Lone Star State and his major-label home, Hamell moved to New York in 1997 and started Such-A-Punch Media so he could self-release his next disc, Choochtown, an interconnected collection of songs about drunken, disaffected characters of the sort he'd met while tending bar back in Syracuse. A serious car accident while touring waylaid Hamell on Trial for a year, during which time he started work on a one-man play. Before he could finish it, however, the European success of Choochtown encouraged him to tour the continent, and an invitation to open a number of U.S. shows for longtime supporter Ani DiFranco led to a live album documenting those dates, Ed's Not Dead/Hamell Comes Alive. 2003 brings a new studio album on Righteous Babe Records, Tough Love, featuring contributions from John Leckie, Gary Lucas, DiFranco, and others, along with a monthly column in Uncut Magazine, plans for a live DVD, and a new nationwide tour. If that sounds like a lot for one band— let alone one man—to take on, you obviously haven't seen Hamell on Trial in action. See more