Hank Williams III

Hank Williams III
Hank III performing in 2006 at the South by Southwest Festival.
Background information
Birth name	Shelton Hank Williams
Genres	Country, Punkabilly, Punk Rock, Heavy Metal
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, drummer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, bass, drums keyboards, yodeling
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Hank3, Curb
Website	hank3.com

Shelton Hank Williams, also known as Hank Williams III and Hank 3 (born December 12, 1972), is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal. He is the principal member of the punk metal band Assjack, the drummer for the Southern hardcore punk band Arson Anthem, and was the bassist for Pantera singer Phil Anselmo's band Superjoint Ritual. He has released seven studio albums, including five for Curb Records. Williams is the grandson of country music legend Hank Williams and the son of Hank Williams Jr..

Music career

Early career

Hank spent much of his early career playing drums in punk rock bands during the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. Williams signed a contract with Nashville, Tennessee, music industry giant Curb Records. Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts was issued shortly thereafter, which spliced together recordings to make it seem that three generations of Williams men were singing alongside one another. In the late 1980s, upon first meeting Hank Williams III, Minnie Pearl, a friend of the late Hank Williams Sr., reportedly said "Lord, honey, you're a ghost," as she was astonished by his striking resemblance to his grandfather.

Risin' Outlaw and contract issues (1999-2004)

Hank Williams III first solo album, Risin' Outlaw, was released in September 1999 to respectable sales and strong reviews. While his name (and his uncanny vocal and physical resemblances to his grandfather) could have guaranteed Williams a thriving country audience, he had little patience for the often predictable Nashville sound, nor for even the minimal constraints on behavior his promoters required. His opinions on this subject are well summed up in his songs "Trashville" and "Dick in Dixie."

Williams' live shows typically follow a Jekyll and Hyde format: a country music set featuring fiddle player Adam McOwen and slide guitar player Andy Gibson, followed by a hellbilly set, and then an Assjack set. He plays both the country and the psychobilly with his "Damn Band." Assjack produces a very different sound than either, mixing heavy doses of metalcore, psychobilly, and hardcore punk.

The lineup for Assjack includes the addition of supplemental vocalist Gary Lindsey, bassist Zach Shedd switching from upright to electric bass, and the departure of his fiddle and slide guitar players. McOwen's predecessor was fellow-fiddle-player Michael "Fiddleboy" McCanless, who would play all three sets, adding traditional violin for the country set of the concert before plugging his instrument into an amplifier and distortion unit for later sets. Fiddleboy passed away in 2003. Another former band member was guitarist Duane Denison, previously with The Jesus Lizard, who left The Damn Band and Assjack in January 2001 and later that year formed Tomahawk.

Williams has had significant contractual conflicts with Curb Records. He expressed dissatisfaction with his debut, and reportedly the label was unwilling to release his appropriately named This Ain't Country LP, nor to allow him to issue it on another record label. In response, Williams began making t-shirts stating "Fuck Curb." Also during this era, Williams played bass guitar in heavy metal band Superjoint Ritual, a now-defunct band led by former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo.

Thrown out of the Bar and Straight to Hell (2004-06)

In late 2004 Thrown Out of the Bar was slated for release, but Curb opted not to issue it. Williams and label executive Mike Curb would be in and out of court for the next year before a judge ruled in favor of Williams in the spring of 2005, demanding that Curb release the album. Shortly thereafter Williams and Curb came to terms, and Williams dropped his "Fuck Curb" campaign. Bar was reworked into Straight to Hell, released on Curb’s rock imprint, Bruc. Battles with Wal-Mart delayed the appearance of this album, which was released on February 28, 2006 as a two-disc set in two formats: a censored version (for Wal-Mart), and an uncensored version that was the first major-label country album ever to bear a parental advisory warning. One of the songs, "Pills I Took", was written by a little-known Wisconsin group called Those Poor Bastards, who originally released the song on their 2004 CD Country Bullshit.

The New Beginning, Post-Curb (2007-present)

Williams recently played drums for Arson Anthem, formed with Phil Anselmo and Mike Williams of the sludge band Eyehategod.

Williams released his long awaited punk-metal album AssJack on August 4, 2009.

His next album, Rebel Within, was released in May 2010. It charted at number 20 in Billboard magazine.

Williams' former label Curb Records released This Ain't Country under the title Hillbilly Joker on May 17, 2011 without the consent or input from Williams after his contract with the label had been terminated. Williams told his fans, "Don’t buy it, but get it some other way and burn the hell out of it and give it to everyone."

On May 18, 2011 it was posted on Williams's web site that he is busy making new material / album which could be released very soon.

On June 23, 2011, it was revealed through Williams' personal Facebook that he would be releasing four new CDs on September 6, 2011. It said to expect country, doom-rock, speed metal with cattle callin' on the releases. Entitled Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town (a 2 disc country record), 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin' (a metal record in the newly anointed cattle core genre) and Attention Deficit Domination (a doom-rock record), these new albums will be released on Williams's own record label Hank3 Records through Megaforce Records, and feature guest appearances by Tom Waits, Les Claypool (Primus), Alan King (Hellstomper), Ray Lawrence Jr., Troy Medlin (Sourvein), Dave Sherman (Earthride) and Williams' dog, Trooper.

On July 13, 2011, the track listing for the four upcoming albums were posted online.

Discography

Main article: Hank Williams III discography

• Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts (1996)
• Risin' Outlaw (1999)
• Lovesick, Broke and Driftin' (2002)
• Straight to Hell (2006)
• Damn Right, Rebel Proud (2008)
• Rebel Within (2010)
• Hillbilly Joker (2011)
• Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town (2011)
• 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin' (2011)
• Attention Deficit Domination (2011)

Other appearances

• Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (contributing track: "Atlantic City") (2000)
• The Crybaby (The Melvins, vocals and guitar on "Ramblin' Man", vocals on "Okie from Muskogee") (2000)
• Driven Soundtrack (contributing track: "Hang On") (2001)
• Timeless: A Tribute To Hank Williams (contributing track: "I'm a Long Gone Daddy") (2001)
• Sharp Dressed Man: A Tribute To ZZ Top (contributing track: "Fearless Boogie") (2002)
• Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash (contributing track: "Wreck of the Old 97") (2002)
• Live in London... England (Dale Watson, backing vocals on "Country My Ass") (2002)
• Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit The West Memphis Three (contributing track: "No Values") (2002)
• Use Once and Destroy (Superjoint Ritual, touring only bassist) (2002)
• Grand Ole Opry at The Ryman Auditorium: Tribute to Hank Williams Sr. (2003)
• A Lethal Dose of American Hatred (Superjoint Ritual featuring Hank III on bass) (2003)
• Stars & Guitars (Willie Nelson and Friends, backing vocals w/Keith Richards and Ryan Adams on "Dead Flowers") (2003)
• Touch My Heart: A Tribute To Johnny PayCheck (contributing track: "I'm The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised") (2004)
• Rebel Meets Rebel (vocals on "Get Outta My Life") (2006)
• Everybody Loves ANTiSEEN: A Loving Tribute to the Boys from Brutalsville (contributing track: "Ruby, Get Back to the Hills") (2006)
• For the Sick: A Tribute To Eyehategod (contributing tracks: "Take as Needed for Pain" and "Torn Between Suicide and Breakfast"; credited as The Unholy 3) (2007)
• Arson Anthem (Arson Anthem featuring Hank III on drums) (2008)
• Black Dog Yodel 7" (Those Poor Bastards and Skelton, vocals on "Black Dog Yodel") (2009)
• Insecurity Notoriety (Arson Anthem featuring Hank III on drums) (2010)
• The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2010)
• Rare Breed: The Songs of Peter La Farge (contributing track: "Marijuana Blues") (2010)

External links

• Official website
• Hank III interview on AmericanaRoots.com
• Hank III interviews, videos & message board on Hankville.com