HAK
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HAK

Band Blues Rock

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Great Music!"

See my review for Greg (is it Great) Minds Think Alike by the same group. This disc is awesome as well - loved the blues jams again. Keep up the extraordinary work!
- Keith Newcomer


"in a sunny meadow"

I posted the following comment in i-tunes (in Belgium where I live), [it is in french, so I will try to translate] "It is pure talent, as in the former CD (listen to "Winners lose", "I'll Ask You"), these are ballads with funny jazzy chords, original and sensitive lyrics (...), A great class for a band who seems to enjoy, without frenzy, its creative vein, as if it was an ice cream, they just sit on a bench, in a sunny meadow.
- Yves Leenaerts


"Review"

I love the blues jams you guys put together. This is one of my favorite discs I have bought off CD Baby (and I have bought quite a few now). The songs are different and arranged in a really cool manner. I just wish the CD was longer as I cannot wait for new music. I found the music to be original and hard to compare to another band(s), which is the highest of compliments for a musical group as many CD's sound alike and are boring. I look forward to your next release!! - Anonymous


Discography

In Too Deep (2006)
"An extraordinary genre-bending album from an up-and-coming Minnesota band. Blending blues, rock, jazz, pop and funk, these Twin Cities natives are proving real music is alive and well."

Greg Minds Think Alike (2007)
"The sophomore album from HAK blends their soulful, bluesy style with modern pop and delivers a tasteful, timeless album."

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Bio

HAK was born in 2002 in drummer Andy Coldwell’s bedroom. Coldwell’s schoolmate, Kyle Strohmaier, had brought over his new Epiphone for an attempted jam session. The two boys, 13 years old at the time, managed a couple recognizable verses and choruses of Purple Haze, and were subsequently addicted to the idea of forming a band. Shortly thereafter, Strohmaier contacted Hugh Gilmore, bassist and former bandmate from a short-lived jazz sextet. It was after the addition of the third member that the first-name acronym HAK was chosen as the band name.
Gilmore, Coldwell and Strohmaier quickly became loyal friends; HAK was, and remains, secondary to their friendship. The band underwent rapid musical development, playing cover songs at small gigs when possible, but truly began to experiment with originality and more complex musical texture after the addition of keyboardist Mark Bates in 2004. Led by Strohmaier, the band began to compose and arrange its own music. By 2005, the band had accumulated enough original material – mostly blues and jazz-infused rock – to begin work on its debut album. In Too Deep dropped in May of 2006, the bluesy “Some Kind of Woman” and mellow “Winners Lose” being favorites among audiences.
In early 2007, a band conflict led to the dismissal of Bates, and the three original members quickly picked up Zach Dimond, an excellent vocalist with some keyboard and guitar skills. The budding friendship and personal similarity between Strohmaier and Dimond led to collaboration on an abundance of new original material. The music shared a similar style with the first album, but took on a new energy and musical precision. In June of 2007, HAK began recording its second album, Greg Minds Think Alike. Whereas lead vocals had been purely Strohmaier on In Too Deep, the task was shared equally with Dimond on HAK’s second studio endeavor. In September of 2007, the band released Greg Minds Think Alike, an eclectic mix of songs that get straight to the point – no musical nonsense.
Since its formation, HAK has steadily become more active in live performance. In just a few years, the band has progressed from small-scale private gigs to frequent performances at various musical venues in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The combination of a complex but crowd-pleasing repertoire and the shock-factor of the band’s young age has led to HAK’s popularity among bar and club owners. These same factors guarantee that HAK will continue to be dynamic musical pioneers.