Hollister Fracus

Hollister Fracus - it's a strong name for a strong band. In fact, the name itself is a reference to an explosive event in American history where a brotherhood of individuals declared its independence from the norm and proved that they could stand for something that set them apart from the ordinary. It is this same determination and strength that drives the band to combine powerful grooves and upfront melodies in their songwriting with infectious enthusiasm and undeniable energy in their live shows. This is what Houston-based Hollister Fracus is all about!
On drums, Cleveland Ohio born Aaron Lakner provides a solid backbone by blending excellent acoustic drum tones with intelligent electronic sequencing to make this part of the band complete. His approach is due to his wide range of musical influences from "old school rap" and early metal all the way to the alternative, harder-edged bands of today.
Houston native Jerry Lanza plays bass. He is a natural and pure musician who combines a totally unique and aggressive sound with a knack for finding the right bass lines to complement both the drums and guitar. His influences range from Boston and Ozzy (with Bob Daisley on bass) to Godsmack and Pantera.
With Chicago born and founder of the band Mike Pruneda on guitar you get nothing but no-nonsense, in-your-face riffs that stick with you long after you've left the venue or heard the songs. His influences are any band that "inspires" such as Rage Against The Machine and Hed PE of today to the legendary riffs of Black Sabbath and AC/DC which have proven to stand the test of time.
Vocally, Amarillo Texas born Jim Finley provides great hook-driven lines and powerful aggressive melodies that fit with the music to create both memorable and commanding songs. Influenced by Stone Temple Pilots, Sevendust, and Pantera just to name a few it is clear that he draws from many diverse directions in the pursuit of his art-form.
Through the years, the band has made quite an impact by putting out three very well selling independent albums and performing just about anywhere. Hollister Fracus possesses an insatiable hunger that will always take them to the next level and enables them to accept any challenge and take every hurdle in stride.
- Houstonbands.net

The throbbing pulse of the hard rock music that Hollister Fracus was playing exhilarated anyone entering the Jones Rd. club, Forgetta'Bout It, on the last hot Saturday night of July, exciting those who crowded the stage, heads banging, feet jumping and hands waving in the air.
Lights flashed on the stage and radiated out over the fans to reveal eyes glued to these heavy rock musicians, a band who definitely knew how to entertain their audience. With an intense set of original songs and only a couple of cover songs thrown in for good measure, the band successfully pulled off what is often difficult in the Houston music scene: getting an equal amount of audience approval for the originals that the covers seem naturally to bring.
Interviewing these guys after the show felt like hanging out with old friends. The band members' comfortable nature made it more like a party than an interview, and the positive energy at Forgetta'Bout It that night was enough to make me want to come back for more.

- Space City Rocks

Many bands have come and gone from the Houston area music scene in the last decade (let's not start a list), but very few bands have had the ups and downs of Hollister Fracus, North Houston's hard rock heroes. They have changed with the changing times, both musically and in its lineup. The changes have come to pass in only the past year or so, when vocalist Jim Finley joined the fold.

Not surprisingly, a new frontman, along with an emerging modern rock sound, changed the direction of Hollister Fracus (Finley, bassist Jerry Lanza, drummer Aaron Lakner and guitarist Mike Pruneda)-- as they have gone from big-haired rock to nu-metal with ease, finding a new audience along the way.

The band shows off its new chops with a new EP, SCAR, which featured new music culled from the band's writing and recording sessions over the past year--music that meets with the approval of younger fans, as evidenced by the band's appearance with four other bands at a friendly competition at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion last April; while the young crowd responded well to Conroe-based band Paris Green and old men swooned for the hot chick fronting the Asian jazz band Phuz, it was Fracus who closed the show--and brought down the house.

Fracus has also been getting widespread airplay lately on The Buzz (94.5 FM); the EP's leadoff single, "Systematic", is the most requested song on The Texas Buzz, a weekly show hosted by temporary Buzz morning jock Pam Kelly. The band has also been playing to larger hometown crowds of late, making appearances at the recent Houston Press Music Awards and last summer's Warped Tour.

- The Bulletin

At last we have a CD review from a kick ass metal band from Houston, Texas: Hollister Fracus. Formed in late 1997, the band enjoyed limited success in its initial incarnation, releasing 3 albums. The first, Hollister Fracus, was self-released. Their second CD, Has It Come To This, was released through Albatross Records, a rap label and, as you might expect, they had no clue how to market and promote the band. The third CD, Assinine, was released through Twin Buddha Records and enjoyed the most success to date but again, the label did little to push the CD and give it promotion.

The band developed a nice following in the Houston area over this time, but in 2002 original vocalist Jason Morgan left the band to pursue other interests which could have resulted in the band's death knell. But not so fast. The band found an ample replacement in Jim Finley, who brought his own unique style of singing and it was quite apparent that his addition would take the band in a whole new musical direction. By combining elements of bands such as Godsmack, Disturbed, Stone Temple Pilots and Anthrax, they forged their own distinct sound which is evident on this current release and one that both old school metalheads such as myself and the newer, younger generation of metal fans can appreciate.

Scar originally was not going to be an official release. The 5 tracks on this EP were written by the current lineup and produced in demo form to hopefully generate label interest in the band. They even printed several hundred copies of the track “Systematic� in CD single to give out to anyone and everyone. A copy of this track managed to land in the hands of a DJ on the local Houston Buzz station and she decided to showcase the band on her Sunday evening Texas Buzz show. The track quickly became one of the top ten most requested songs and opened other doors for the band, including a side stage appearance on the Vans Warped Tour when it rolled through Houston. The band was also nominated for the Houston Press music awards. The band rethought their strategy a bit and headed back to the studio to redo the tracks and produce the EP themselves.

Scar is a great hard rock CD. All of the tracks contain signature guitar riffs and catchy vocal hooks with just enough anger and aggression to grab you by the privates and not let go. Every song on here has the potential to become a single. The band itself has great potential and with the release of the EP hopefully 2004 will be a banner year for them. Check it out for yourself at www.hollisterfracus.com where you can listen to clips of all 5 tracks. The EP can be purchased at certain record stores in the greater Houston area, CD Baby's website and Amazon.com, to name a few. Hollister Fracus' Scar proves once and for all that Houston's metal scene is alive and well.
- KNAC.COM

Static-X returned to Houston for the first time since the band headlined Buzzfest's second stage last year and played at The Meridian on Tuesday, along with Soil and local act Hollister Fracus to set the tone for a night of "evil disco."

It was obvious everyone was there to see vocalist Wayne Static scream while jamming, guitarist Tripp Eisen and his style that can only be described as metal techno, aggressive bassist Tony Campos and new drummer Nick Oshiro.

The band complained about the heat after ripping through "Destroy All," sending an onslaught of crowd surfers onto the stage. They then took it back to Wisconsin Death Trip with "Bled for Days" before pausing to make subjects out of the crowd.

"Everyone put your fist in the air," Static said to the crowd. "We call this the ‘fist of metal.'"

The band snapped a photo of the event before going into "Anything but This" and "Down," material off of Beneath...Between...Beyond.

Soil has opened the show for the last three tours that Static-X headlined. "Breaking Me Down" and "Unreal" stirred the pits up this time around, but the majority of their set was from their newest album, Re-Define.

Hollister Fracus, the opening act, played songs off its Scars EP. Standout songs "Systematic" and "Scars" had Houstonians familiar with them singing along.

Static-X's performance was the highlight of the show. The band's "evil disco" took on a physical form as they performed a seemingly choreographed jam. Campos danced to the aggression in the riff and screams of the music. Eisen's dance was more of a trance, following the music with robotic movements. Finally, Static, sporting a high-top fade and a long, braided goatee, gave the audience something fun to watch.

- The Daily Cougar