The Hanover Saints are a Sacramento street punk band fronted by vocalist/guitarist Brian Hanover (real name Brian Faucett), best known as one of the longest-running acts in the city's underground punk scene.[1][2] Across roughly a decade of activity they completed seven U.S. tours and released two full-length records and four EPs before disbanding in 2005, later reuniting around 2010.[1][3]
At a glance
- Sacramento-based street punk band fronted by Brian Hanover.[1]
- Originally active for nearly 10 years; called it quits in 2005.[1]
- Career totals (through the original run): seven U.S. tours, two full-lengths, four EPs.[1]
- Reunited around June 2010 after roughly three years on hiatus.[3]
- Releases issued on Hanover's own label, Revolution Ink Records.[3]
- Evolved from a "Christian punk" band to a band with Christian members playing to general audiences.[3]
Origin and local status
The band is repeatedly identified as the "Sacramento-based street punk band" Brian Hanover fronted, and is described as cementing its legacy "in their hometown" of Sacramento.[1][3] Hanover has been immersed in the Sacramento punk scene since the mid-1980s, discovering punk in late 1984/early 1985 and attending local shows around that time; he formed Hanover Saints in his mid-20s.[1][3] By these origin cues — a Sacramento band founded by a lifelong local, framed explicitly as a "hometown" act — the Hanover Saints are unambiguously a local (Greater Sacramento) band.[1][3]
Frontman: Brian Hanover
Brian Hanover (also known as Brian Faucett) is the band's vocalist/guitarist and the central creative figure across all lineups.[1][2] He runs the screen-printing business and record label Revolution Ink (Revolution Ink Records), on which he releases both his solo work and Hanover Saints material.[1][3][2] Hanover identifies strongly with a D.I.Y. ethic, self-releasing and self-pressing records.[1][3] After the band's 2005 breakup he pursued a solo acoustic/singer-songwriter career — encouraged onto a bill by Kevin Seconds (of 7 Seconds) in 2005 — citing influences such as Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.[1] He has said the solo experience made him more focused and willing to take risks when writing for the band.[3]
Releases and recordings
Truth Rings Out (2002)
The band's 2002 debut full-length, Truth Rings Out, was recorded at Eme Studios in Sacramento in April 2002 and released on Facedown Records.[4][5] It marks the band's earliest studio work under the Facedown imprint, a label associated with the Christian hardcore movement.[4][5]
Blood, Guts & Glory (2004)
The band released Blood, Guts & Glory in 2004, also on Facedown Records.[6]
Murdertown
Murdertown was recorded at The Hangar in Sacramento, produced by Mike Erickson and engineered by Eric Broyhill.[7] It was released on GMM Records, a label run by Anti Heros singer Mark Noah.[8][9] According to NeuFutur Magazine, Murdertown contains 15 tracks and runs approximately 35 minutes; the reviewer called it "the best punk album of the year" and compared the band favorably to Rancid's And Out Come the Wolves era.[10] The album is repeatedly cited in Submerge coverage as the band's prior record before their reunion-era release, produced with involvement from the band Pressure Point; Mike Erickson persuaded Hanover to include the song "Bad Man" on it.[1]
Bitter Pills (EP, 2010)
Bitter Pills — an EP described as the band's first release since Murdertown, issued in December 2010 on Revolution Ink Records (digital and CD), with a limited cassette run by the local label Pleasant Screams Cassettes and hopes for a vinyl pressing in early 2011.[3] The band recorded it on a roughly $500 budget.[3] Coverage noted a more soulful vocal style with an Iggy and the Stooges feel alongside the aggression of Murdertown.[3]
Through the original run the band's output was summarized as two full-length records and four EPs.[1]
Lineup history
Founding members Brian Faucett (vocals/guitar) and Wyman Harrell (drums) started the band in 2001, later joined by brothers Sean Hills (bass) and Patrick Hills (guitar) for the Murdertown-era lineup.[11] The reunion-era lineup, as listed on Bandcamp, consists of Brian Hanover, Chris Chase, and Wy Harrell — with Chris Chase on bass in place of Sean Hills.[12]
Breakup, hiatus and reunion
The Hanover Saints "called it quits in 2005."[1] Hanover described the pause as a hiatus driven by mental, business and family pressures and a desire to step away from a band perspective.[3] About three years later, longtime drummer Wy Harrell — who had played on some of Hanover's solo material — and the rest of the group regrouped, playing a show in June and moving forward independently given changes in the music business.[3] The reunion-era EP Bitter Pills followed at the end of 2010.[3] At one point during the wind-down the band played as a three-piece, with Chris from the band Killing the Dream on bass.[1]
Identity and "Christian punk" framing
Submerge coverage traces an evolution from a "Christian punk" band to a band whose members are Christian but who "play to the masses and not just to the converted."[3] Hanover resists labels, says he never made a conscious decision either way, and has reported having record offers pulled because of his beliefs; he describes himself as not fitting neatly into the church or into scene factions.[3] His lyrics shifted over time toward the personal rather than the political, though some reunion-era songs (e.g., "Nailed to the Letter") carry political leanings.[3]
Scene relationships
- Pat Hills — a recording/engineer figure (of Bastards of Young) who is noted as having been "in other credible local bands over the years including Hanover Saints"; he is the longtime go-to engineer for fellow Sacramento band Tera Melos.[13]
- Pressure Point — involved in producing Murdertown.[1]
- Killing the Dream — member Chris played bass in a late three-piece version of the band.[1]
- The Secretions — Brian Hanover (as Brian Faucett, "owner of Revolution Ink and vocalist/guitarist for Hanover Saints") contributed to Submerge's 2016 tribute marking the Secretions' 25th anniversary, reflecting the band's standing within the broader Sacramento punk community.[2]
- Kevin Seconds / 7 Seconds — Kevin Seconds talked Hanover into his first solo bill in 2005; 7 Seconds was a foundational early influence.[1]
- Anti Heros — singer Mark Noah ran GMM Records, the label that released Murdertown.[8][9]
Notable shows
- A St. Patrick's Day punk party at The Fire Escape Bar and Grill in Citrus Heights on March 17, 2011, where Hanover Saints shared a bill with The Secretions, Drastic Actions, Mad Judy and Surrounded By Thieves (21-and-over, $10 cover).[14]