Hearts & Hand Grenades Interview 2nd March 2020
MM: Can you tell us about your Band and who’s your biggest influences
HH:Hearts & Hand Grenades was formed at the beginning of 2019. The band is a four-piece band fronted by female bassist/lead vocalist Stephanie Wlosinski. Hard rock music is our forte and we love creating upbeat fist pumping music for the masses. I’d have to say bands like Judas Priest, Metallica, and AC/DC are some of our biggest influences over the last several decades as well as Korn and System of a Down in recent years.
MM: Where do you draw your inspirations and ideas from
HH:Most of the musical ideas happen from a noodling on a guitar while watching tv. When you find yourself headbanging to a riff you just played you think “That was really cool sounding, how can I add more to this?” We always ask ourselves, is this upbeat and hard rock enough to make the final cut? All of the lyrical content is credited to Stef. She tells a story with every song and keep things very unique.
MM: What would you say is your Bands favourite song?
HH:I think you would get a different answer if asked each member separately as we all have our different tastes in music. Personally, one song that has stood the test of time is Thunderstruck from AC/DC. This song is as upbeat as it gets and has been used in countless sports events, movies, tv shows, etc. to get the crowd and/or viewers pumped up for what is about to happen. I love that song.
MM: Plans tour and festival wise for 2020
HH:Currently, the band has no upcoming tours. We are looking to put something together at the present time however. If we have a first choice, we would love to hop across the pond and do a tour for all of our fans in the UK. They have shown us so much love between all the press, social media plugs, and radio play. Being able to perform live for them would be incredible. We do have a couple of larger events we are playing in the summer months already. 2020 is looking very positive for the band so far.
MM: What can we expect from (Band Name) live
HH:Hearts & Hand grenades puts on an unforgettable performance live. We keep the crowd participation at a maximum level as well as a fun visual stage show. Fans will find themselves headbanging and fist pumping for the duration. Seeing everyone having a great time means everything to us.
MM: What do you like best and worst about touring
HH:Up to this point we have not toured. This is something we are looking to do this summer.
MM: Which three Bands would be your ultimate touring buddies
HH:I would love to tour with Avatar, Gemeni Syndrome, and of course AC/DC. These guys all have an awesome stage show along with crowd engagement. It would be fun as hell to play with these modern bands as well as a band I’ve listened growing up and being heavily influenced by.
MM: What's the most memorable concert you've been to (other than your own) and why
HH:The most memorable concert I’ve been to was at the Carolina Rebellion a couple years back in North Carolina. This was a three-day music festival comprised of tons of national/international bands on the roster. We were introduced to Avatar. These guys had a small time slot, but in that time they drew us right in and made immediate fans of us. The stage show and music was unforgettable. They are currently on our must see list every time they come near our hometown.
MM: What do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment so far
HH:Up to this point, I think our biggest accomplishment has been finishing off our whole first album. I never thought we’d get to this point but as we released the music, the fanbase just continued to grow and we just had to keep writing more. We are just a few short weeks away from a new EP release called ‘Adrenaline’. I personally feel this are our best piece of work and the fans are going to love it.
MM: Which are your Two favorite Albums of all time
HH:My Personal favorite albums of all time are ‘The Razors Edge’ from AC/DC and the ‘Black Album” from Metallica. There were so many songs from these two albums that shaped music for us as they are today.
MM: Can you remember the first time you ever played live and how it felt to have people watching you?
HH:The first time I ever played live I can remember almost Sh*^#%*g in my pants. I was so nervous and the butterflies in my stomach almost ate me alive. All I kept saying to myself in my head was “Don’t screw up, Don’t Screw up”. After a few songs, the butterflies went away and the people clapping and cheering after each song drew in new confidence. By the end of the show everyone was cheering for the band and that’s when I knew, This is what I need to be doing!
MM: Growing up which Bands posters did you have on your bedroom wall.
HH:Growing up I always had Judas Priest and Metallica posters hanging on my walls. Every time you walked into that bedroom it reminded you to put on that cassette tape and start spinning those fantastic inspirational songs. Remember having to rewind the tape to listen to a song more then once and guessing where the beginning of each song was?
MM - Who do you think influenced the world of Metal / Rock more than any other person
HH:This is not an easy question as there were so many people in their own way to who contributed to the rock and metal world as we know it today. But for me, I’d say it would have to be the metal god himself “Rob Halford”. There are so many hints of the music of Judas Priest in the music that’s out there today including our own. The style and feel of music has stood the test of time.
MM - What's the most important thing to the band right now?
HH:The most important thing for our band is quite simple. It is just to be heard! Getting our music out there for people to hear with a million other unsigned bands and no record label to assist is extremely difficult. We’ve made it a point to stand out from the rest by creating incredible music with a different feel and vibe. We make sure our stage shows are very memorable and hope the fans keep coming back for more.
MM:If you could do a cover of any song which one would it be and why?
HH:I’d have to say ‘Highway to Hell’ from AC/DC. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone dislike this song for one. Stef sings this song with such power and vocal conviction that she just draws the crowd right in. Hearing this song with a female front also gives it some tasty flavors.
MM: Tell us why we should buy and listen to your Band
HH:We have put every ounce of our creative thoughts and energies into our music. The hard rock and metal scene has been dominated by male vocalists all along. We bring songs to the table with the raw power this genre expects but with the raspy female power vocals our fans have come to love. With the recent completion of our third EP ‘Adrenaline’, I think we’ve established ourselves in the rock and metal world as force to be reckoned with.
MM: Four words to describe (band Name)
HH: Rock and Metal LiveS!
Final Words for your fans and our readers
HH: Hearts & Hand Grenades has a new EP called ‘Adrenaline’ coming out on May 1st, 2020. Be sure to pick it up on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, etc. The music will also be available for streaming on every digital streaming platform like Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, etc. So make sure you like our Facebook page, follow us in Instagram and Twitter, and hopefully we will see you live in the very near future!
Interview By :Seb Di Gatto
