Empty Hearts Coming to Town - GoLocal Interviews Elliot Easton
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
There's a new rock band coming to town, although it's made up of familiar faces. The Empty Hearts are a “new” supergroup full of well-known talent. With members from The Cars, The Romantics, Blondie, and The Chesterfield Kings, the guys that make up this quartet come with strong rock and roll credentials.
Elliot Easton
The Empty Hearts will be playing the Park Theatre in Cranston on Sunday October 19th. The group got its name from E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who is rumored to carry a super-secret list of unused band names. Clandestine origins indeed.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPerhaps the most recognizable member of the band is Elliot Easton, former lead guitarist of The Cars. Although he made his name playing for the 70s-80s New Wave chart toppers, Easton has always had more of a rock and roll heart.
“Rock and Roll, Top 40, it’s the reason we all got into playing music in the first place,” chimed Easton in an interview with GoLocal last week. He’s excited to begin the tour with his new band, Cranston being the fourth stop on the debut tour, before the Hearts heads to Japan.
The Empty Hearts
The band also includes Blondie drummer Clem Burke, bassist Andy Babiuk of the Chesterfield Kings and lead singer/rhythm guitarist Wally Palma of the Romantics.
The rock veterans came together with “a phone call from Babiuk, who wanted to start a band where everybody got along and had a good time.” After agreeing to join, Easton went to Babiuk’s New York studio “where we worked on each others’ songs till we were ready to make a record.”
The group released that album, eponymously titled The Empty Hearts, and produced by Ed Stasium (The Ramones, Living Colour), in August. The result is straight ahead Rock and Roll ride that incorporates a range of styles. For a taste of the sound, click here to listen to 90 Miles an Hour Down a Dead End Street.
Easton hinted that concertgoers can expect to hear a lot from the new album as well as classic material from all four groups. “It’s so much fun playing live shows, we really have a blast,” proclaimed Easton. “I think you can expect us to mix it up.”
Although they may not be as young as they used to be, the band does not lack for energy or enthusiasm. The sound is old school, right out of the Top 40 of the 60s and 70s; think Jerry Lee Lewis meets Huey Lewis, with a dash of Bluesy R&B thrown in for good measure. The vibe is pleasingly retro, and the production value is pure 21st century.
The Cars
In our interview, Easton shared some memories of his original band, The Cars. The band was a major part of the soundtrack of this Boston University student in the early 1980s. They rode the new wave into town in the late 70s, scoring mainstream success with their debut album The Cars.
Some of their albums were recorded at their Newbury Street studio, Syncro Sound, which Easton hoped would “make Boston a top recording destination for musicians.“ In fact, artists including Peter Wolf and Aerosmith recorded albums there. Many of Easton's driving guitar solos were also recorded at the studio.
Easton noted that “the band reunited for some shows in 2011,” and although no plans are in the works for another tour, their music remains in heavy rotation on FM radio and in arenas across America.
Empty Hearts October 19
The Empty Hearts launch a mini-tour of the East Coast this week, before heading to Japan later this month. Good seats are still available for the Park show. Click here for details.
Ken Abrams reviews Roots, Rock and Blues for GoLocalProv. Click here to E-mail him.
Related Slideshow: Top 5 Fall Concerts
The Fall music season has arrived, and GoLocal presents five of the best area concerts. From Rap to Blues to Classic Rock, there's a show for everyone.
Related Articles
- Frampton and the Doobies Rock Twin River
- Beach Boys Coming to Town – GoLocal Interviews Mike Love
- Queen Rules Mohegan Sun
- Newport Folk Preview – Five “Don’t Miss” Acts
- Newport Jazz – Top Five Friday Acts
- 5 Live Music Musts - October 3, 2014