The Empty Hearts are an American
garage rock supergroup band formed in New York City in 2013. which produced its first album and launched its first tour in 2014.
Not to be confused with British R&B band of the same name formed in 1981, active until 1985.
Background
The band was founded in 2013 by
The Chesterfield Kings bassist
Andy Babiuk and a roster of founding members including
Blondie drummer
Clem Burke
Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums f ...
,
The Cars
The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboard ...
guitarist
Elliot Easton
Elliot Easton (born Elliot Steinberg, December 18, 1953) is an American guitarist. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals for The Cars, and his guitar solos are an integral part of the band's music. Easton has also recorded music as a so ...
, and
The Romantics
The Romantics are an American rock band formed in 1977 in Detroit. The band is often put under the banner of new wave and power pop. They were influenced by 1950s American rock and roll, Detroit's MC5, the Stooges, early Bob Seger, Motown R&B ...
guitarist and vocalist
Wally Palmar. Palmar also plays the harmonica on the band's self-titled first album, which was released 5 August 2014 and produced by
The Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United S ...
producer
Ed Stasium
Ed Stasium is an American record producer and audio engineer, who has worked on albums by the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead, the Smithereens and Living Colour.
History
Stasium began his recording career in 1970 fronting the band Brandywine. ...
. The band included
Small Faces
Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...
and
Faces
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...
pianist
Ian McLagan
Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...
on Hammond organ and Wurlitzer until his death in December 2014. The group says that the album took just five days to complete at Babiuk's Fab Gear Studios in Rochester, N.Y. with many of the songs being recorded in a single take. The group's name was suggested by
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandoli ...
whose
Wicked Cool Records
Renegade Nation is a music and entertainment company founded by Steven Van Zandt in 1999. The company focuses on artist management, production, live events, and distribution. It is also the parent company of Van Zandt's independent record label ...
label had released three of Babiuk's Chesterfield Kings albums. The band's first concert date was 16 October 2014 at Londonderry, New Hampshire's
Tupelo Music Hall
Londonderry is a town in western Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. It sits between Manchester and Derry, the largest and fourth-largest communities in the state. The population was 25,826 at the 2020 census. Londonderry is known f ...
. The band performed at the
NAMM Show
The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...
in January 2016 and at the 85th annual
Hollywood Christmas Parade
The Hollywood Christmas Parade (formerly the Hollywood Santa Parade and Santa Claus Lane Parade) is an annual American parade held on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It follows a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) route al ...
in 2016.
The band's "Second Album" was released on August 28, 2020.
[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-empty-hearts-the-second-album-the-worlds-gone-insane-video-1022973/] Official videos from the album included the songs, “Jonathan Harker’s Journal,” "The World's Gone Insane," "Coat-Tailer," and "Come On and Try It." The song, "Remember Days Like These" featured Ringo Starr and was released as a limited edition 45 rpm vinyl single with the song, "Tell Me Reasons Why." The band did not tour in support of the album.
Band members
Current
*
Andy Babiuk – Bass (2013–)
*
Clem Burke
Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums f ...
– Drums (2013–)
*
Elliot Easton
Elliot Easton (born Elliot Steinberg, December 18, 1953) is an American guitarist. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals for The Cars, and his guitar solos are an integral part of the band's music. Easton has also recorded music as a so ...
– Guitars (2013–)
*
Wally Palmar – Lead vocals, Guitar (2013–)
Former
*
Ian McLagan
Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...
– Keyboards, Organ (2013–2014; died 2014)
Discography
Albums
*''The Empty Hearts'' (2014)
*''The Second Album'' (2020)
Singles
* "It's Christmastime/Joyful Noise" (2017)
* "Coat-Tailer/Run And Hide From You" (2019)
* "Remember Days Like These (feat.
Ringo Starr)/Tell Me Reasons Why" (2020)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empty Hearts
American garage rock groups
Rock music supergroups
Rock and roll music groups
Musical groups established in 2013
2013 establishments in the United States
Musical groups from New York City