Nine Pound Hammer

Even though Nine Pound Hammer disbanded in 1996 and guitarist Blaine Cartwright moved on to work with the band Nashville Pussy, members still reunited for a short series of live performances. Bandmates first got back together in Georgia in 2000, and repeated the reunion event with another show three months later in Kentucky. The following year, Nine Pound Hammer reunited again and headed to North Carolina, where the band performed at that summer's Sleazefest in the city of Chapel Hill. The band formed in 1985 in Evansville, IN, when singer Scott Luallen and Cartwright pulled together the lineup of Brian "Forrest" Payne on bass, Toby Myrig on drums, and David Epperson. Soon, however, Payne and Epperson dropped out, and bass player Bart Altman took Payne's place. Gigs followed in Kentucky and Indiana before the group re-christened itself Raw Recruit and headed to Lexington, KY. Another name change ensued, with the band ending up as Black Sheep and landing a regular gig as a local nightspot's house band. Drummer Darren Howard soon stepped in to take over for Myrig, and the group reverted to the name Nine Pound Hammer. The lineup continued to evolve, with bassist Altman dropping out and Kathy Lewellyn stepping in. Before the 1988 release of The Mud, the Blood, and the Beers for the Wanghead label, the band also included bassist Brian Moore and drummer Rob Hulsman. Moore soon left, his shoes filled by Matt Bartholomy. In 1992, Crypt Records put out Smokin Taters. A two-month European tour followed, but the lineup still hadn't settled down. By the time a second tour of the continent rolled around, Hulsman was out and Johnny Evans was in. By 1994, when the band recorded Hayseed Timebomb, Bill Waldron had become the group's drummer. Nine Pound Hammer embarked on another European tour, and a recording of the band's performance in Sweden was issued as a double live album three years after the group officially disbanded. Another change in drummers took effect that same year with the addition of Adam Neal, who came aboard in time for the band's North American tour. An appearance at Sleazefest followed in 1995. The following year, Waldron came back for the band's Japanese tour. Cartwright and spouse Ruyter Suys, along with Nine Pound Hammer drummer Neal, pulled together a new group called Hell's Half-Acre. The group evolved into Nashville Pussy.