EPK – HardBall – Self-Titled (2023)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“We are really excited to finally get this album in people’s hands. There have been terrible periods of development hell and sessions of re-tracking the same parts over and over trying to get the vibe just right. It’s been a long, and at times aggravating process to get it to where we’re truly happy with it. We’re all perfectionists, especially Jeremy, who acted like the in-band producer throughout most of the process.
I feel as though we created something innovative and contemporary while still honoring our heroes from the ‘90s alternative rock and ‘80s punk scenes. We’re having our cake and eating it too.” – Hardball
For fans of Nirvana, Wipers, Hüsker Dü, Flipper, The Melvins
Band Name: Hardball
Album Title: Self-Titled
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: Distrokid
Linktr.ee/hardballbc | Facebook.com/hardballmusic | Instagram.com/hardballbc | Hardball.bandcamp.com
“Hardball is a Vancouver-based trio who certainly studied up on grunge music in all of its grimy detail. But the band brings something more than template Seattle sound ditties to its full-length, self-titled debut. They’ve got a good sense of humour…. Songs such as the single Worried As S—t feature little lyrical jabs thrown in that turn the self-importance of bands such as Soundgarden, Nirvana and Pearl Jam inside-out. Like, seriously, what is up with the lead singer’s hats? The tune won’t tell you. But the band might offer an explanation from the stage that night.” – Vancouver Sun
“Punishingly heavy and powerful, the band members go absolutely musically berserk on this one, throwing everything they’ve got against the wall, with the song’s intensity matching the weight of its message. Gun control is an issue we hear about in the news virtually every day. HARDBALL have stepped up to the plate here with a representation of the anger many of us feel about these societal challenges.” – V13
“Vancouver’s Hardball are sharing their self-titled full-length, which will take you through the grunge journey of dirty riffs and speedy shredding.” – New Noise Magzine
“The more I listen to this album the more I fall in love with it. I was a huge Nirvana fan in my youth and this scratches that itch and then some. It has elements of all three of their albums whole also bringing plenty of their own sound and creativity to things. There isn’t a bad track on the album and I’d recommend it to anyone! 9.5/10” – Overtone Magazine
“You can’t accuse Hardball of not taking things seriously. Their self-titled debut album, as reckoned by lead singer Scott Budgie, is a testament to a labour of love, sweat, and tears. The journey to its creation involved scrapping and re-doing, and the results that emerge from this dedication are undeniably palpable… The hard work invested in Hardball’s self-titled debut album is evident in every track. This is not a mere grunge revival; it’s a reboot that captures the genre’s spirit while infusing it with their own artistic vision. This album marks the starting point of a new chapter in the grunge movement, and it’s clear that Hardball is here to make their own mark. 8/10” – Maximum Volume music
“if you do like Nirvana – then you might have a new CD to purchase!… the opener ”Just A Tree” in true grunge mode. If you on the other hand take ”Me And you” we’re in for more of a party hard rocker with a slight punk vibe. Still some grunge in it, maybe mainly for the lead vocal of Scott Budgie who sounds very much like Kurt Cobain at times. This band is furthermore more interesting to listen to, musically, compared to Nirvana. Hear the hard-working guitar playing in ”Worried As Shit” for example. Same in the quite grungy ”Talk To Me” with good variation between intense and softer parts, plus nice riffing guitars. All in all, yes: quite grunge oriented but still more than that. Well worth checking out if you’re into this type of music.” – Melodic.net
“HARDBALL is a trio from Vancouver that tries to revive this period through realistic, harsh songs and a thick and hard sound. Their first album is without doubt the most beautiful tribute to the nineties scene that we have been able to listen to for a very long time” – Metal News Fr
“HARDBALL brings to their music, a claw, a rather distressed and tortured atmosphere. And then around the compositions, something struck me: the emotion. It is palpable all the way, feels right away, because it feels like Scott is literally living this music. Any grunge or nostalgic fan of this era should have an ear, because this album is inspired.” – Olivier No Limit – Soil Chronicles
“The riffs are sharp, the bass pumps the blood to the most inaccessible parts of the body and the drumming is truly outstanding. Above all, Hardball brings a sound that sounds quite melancholic and – typically grunge – is an indictment for a lot of things in the world that are firmly out of whack. Whether there is still an audience waiting for a grunge band, we cannot say for sure, although we assume that good music always finds a way. And to be honest, we are pleasantly surprised by this debut album.” – Musika
[Download Album Cover | Download Album Lyrics]
Band Name: Hardball
Album Title: Self-Titled
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: Distrokid
Track Listing:
1. Just A Tree (3:55)
2. Worried As Shit (2:21)
3. NRA (2:33)
4. In The Mail (4:16)
5. Me And You (2:47)
6. Chili (5:55)
7. Talk To Me (5:25)
8. Ian’s Song (2:36)
9. I/O (3:18)
10. Open Air (9:47)
Album Length: 42:57
Album Credits:
All songs performed by Hardball All songs written by Hardball
All songs produced by Hardball
Every Song was mixed by Felix Fung at Little Red Sounds, except for track 9 I/O, which was mixed by Jeff Black at Black Note Productions
Mastered by Greg Mindorff at Suite Sound Labs
Album Artwork by Scott Budgie and Sara Colliss
Canadian content MAPL
Album Recording and Live Bband Lineup:
Scott Budgie – Vocals, guitars
Jeremy Head – Drums, guitars, synth, backing vocals
Jamie Black – Bass, backing vocals
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The Album as a whole is explained by Scott Budgie (Guitar/Vocals)
To us, the album is a huge deal, because it’s something we worked on for MANY years. It is not something we slapped together on a weekend. At one point the album was about 70% done and we made the tough decision to basically scrap it and re-track the drums for 8 of the 10 songs. It was worth it in the end. It finally sounds the way we wanted. Every line of vocals on the album was recorded dozens, if not hundreds of times over multiple sessions.
The seemingly endless periods of delays and problems that plagued the production of the album were beginning to cause me distress. Finally, seeing the release of this album on the horizon has been very therapeutic for me.
Artistically the album covers a lot of different, but related themes. In my mind, it’s a concept album, but it’s admittedly the most incoherent concept album of all time. It’s a deep dive into my own psyche, unturning all the different stones that maybe should have been left alone, all the while worrying about being too self-indulgent in the process.
I like unusual delivery of lines and run-on sentences in my lyrics, as well as a mixture of absurd and dead serious subject matter. It makes it feel chaotic and unpredictable.
In some ways the album is like a collection of ideas that we’re excited to finally document and move on from, that’s the main reason why there is a cross on the album cover. Not because it’s the end of HARDBALL, but because it’s the end of HARDBALL as we know it. We have a lot more to do in the future and we feel that this album is an awesome starting point. We’re really proud of it.
Track By Track:
1.) Just A Tree
I was reluctant to open the album with this song because of the jangly open chord parts that, to me sound almost Nashville-like. I didn’t want to give anyone the wrong impression right off the bat (no pun intended). But I also like the scope of the song: covering major and minor chord progressions, dissonant guitar parts, quiet to heavy dynamics (a grunge staple), the wild layered synthesizer breakdown during the bridge, and finally the lovelorn vocals at the ending.
Lyrically, the song describes unrequited love and uses being a tree as an allegory for remaining loyal, reliable, and unbothered. (it’s music for the incels, just kidding, but basically)
2.) Worried As Shit
This track’s self-disparaging lyrics are pretty par for the course with HARDBALL. Mainly focusing on my own flaws including socially awkward behavior, and an inability to maintain healthy relationships. Mostly tongue-in-cheek but also not.
3.) NRA
Musically this song is just supposed to sound completely bonkers. Drums going completely ape all over the place, obnoxious riffing and big low-tuned power chords, the heavily distorted bass guitar holds down the main riff. NRA is an anthem about gun control. Not really even with a coherent position on the matter. Calling it NRA despite not directly having anything to do with the NRA just seemed funny to us. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the US has major social problems that have led to regular shootings. I don’t like it, and I can’t do anything about it.
But, I’m going to shout about it the way a scared, confused child might.
4.) In The Mail
(My favorite track by far)
HARDBALL’s answer to dynamically epic songs like The Smashing Pumpkin’s “Soma”. I think we succeeded in creating a really vibey song that builds in tension and then just blasts off at the halfway point and goes hard until the end.
Using postal mail as an analogy, the lyrics describe a relationship beginning with the excitement and anticipation of meeting someone new, and slowly falling into complacency and boredom.
5.) Me And You
Me And You is a short burst of high-energy verses and riffs held together by a recurring harmony. Lyrically Me And You is basically a cynical version of Neil Young’s “Old Man”, making (sometimes nonsensical) comparisons to things I have in common with my old man.
6.) Chili lulls you in sounding like a simple
verse-chorus-verse structure before going full prog-stoner metal on you. The lyrics come from agonizing sleepless nights brought on by guilt and self-loathing.
7.) Talk To Me
Originally it seemed we didn’t have much for this piece other than the heavy floor tom hits combined with the palm muting which we thought was really cool. It took a couple of years for the overall direction to come together. Looking back, that palm mute/floor tom thing was a pretty boneheaded idea to pursue, but it ended up being worth it for the heavy riffs that came along.
8.) Ian’s Song
This song was the closest to being thrown out, but we all think it’s funny so it just made the cut. It’s definitely the oldest song on the album. It’s a true story about an old Scottish man who lived in our former bandmate’s basement. He would sometimes terrorize us while we were jamming in the garage. He frequently drank our beer and stole our food from the fridge upstairs. Eventually, he moved to a different city. I often wonder what became of that guy.
9.) I/O
Known internally as ‘Inside Out’, this is a classic HARDBALL song with sudden changes in dynamics. It begins with solo vocals and guitar before the entire band comes in dialed up to 10 for the hardcore-inspired verses and choruses. It ends with an abrupt change to a mellow arpeggio instrumental outro that serves as a fake-out ending to the album.
The lyrics are a satire of macho hardcore punk, which I love, but I don’t fully understand the tough guy culture behind it.
10.) Open Air
HARDBALL’s 10-minute epic. Beginning with clean guitar, soft vocals, and a tom beat that carries the intensity up and down, eventually.
Open Air goes completely off the rails and ditches its verse/chorus structure in favor of 4 minutes of bone-crushing riffs to close out the album. Lyrically the song describes trying to hang in there in a relationship that’s not working for either side. It also includes an homage to Danzig’s ‘Until You Call on The Dark’ with the line ‘until you start to call on the dark/I’ll hold on, I’ll hold on’.
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Fun Facts – Story Angles
1. Despite the name no members of HARDBALL have ever taken part in team sports, and in fact, despise them.
2. HARDBALL once opened for DOA when they were coming through Penticton. Here’s a quote from Joey Shithead (or Joey Keithley? I don’t know what he goes by these days) regarding HARDBALL’s set to the best of my memory “You guys said you were punk. I don’t know what that was, but it wasn’t punk.” Obviously, we’re punk and it’s the old guy who’s wrong. After the show, we tried to shake him down for a bigger cut of the door money.
3. Fun Fact: We make regular use of extended-range instruments, including baritone guitars and 7 strings, but keep it somewhat restrained so as not to seem forced.
4. We have a tendency to meticulously plan every aspect of our tours except where we’re going to sleep. We’ve definitely pitched the odd tent in the middle of the night at the end of a cul-de-sac in Red Deer.
5. Scott used to own the Mystery Machine from one of the live-action Scooby-Doo movies but crashed it and it was a total write-off and there are no pictures to prove it but it’s true.
L-R: Scott Budgie (Guitar/Vocals), Jamie Black (Bass), Jeremy Head (Drums)
Photo by Kaila Hald
Emerging Vancouver, BC, Canada punk/grunge trio HARDBALL is set to release its debut self-titled album on July 21, 2023 on all major streaming platforms via Distrokid, as a digital download through Bandcamp, and directly from the band on 12” LP, and compact disc.
In support of the album, HARDBALL are setting out on tour this August with appearances throughout Western Canada.
HARDBALL is comprised of former Poles frontman and Vancouver local Scott Budgie, as well as Okanagan residents, drummer Jeremy Head also of The Motion Picture, and bassist Jamie Black.HARDBALL’s self-titled album is a joint production between recording engineer Matt Roach of Rain City Recorders in Vancouver, BC (Baptists, Misery Signals, Comeback Kid) and mix engineer Felix Fung of Little Red Sounds in New Westminster, BC (Needles//Pins, Girlfriends and Boyfriends, Mode Moderne).
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