John CapuchinoHysterians: Stripped to Basics They stood together, a trio of misfits, all 23 years old, looking like they just stepped out of a time machine that came from London, 1965. Kevin Hamnaker, the loud, boisterous Drummer stood next to Will Finn, the bands bassist, quiet and sober, with a thoughtful mans expression on his face. Tim Shanon, the bands guitarist, stood by them both and did not speak much, though he did watch the happenings around him, not missing a single detail. All of the band members are in school currently. Shanon and Finn go to SJSU and Hamnaker attends De Anza College. Black and white posters of The Rolling Stones hung on the walls of their makeshift studio for the day. Mick Jagger stared from the wall like a rock and roll god. A copy of Cat’s Cradle, which looked like an original edition, lay on a stack of LP’s. In the back corner of the room was the drum set. It sat metallic blue with glitter, created in the 1960’s, a gift from a friend. Finn played a guitar that looked like Buddy Holly might have used its equal. Shanon’s beard was shaggy without care. And they all wore shirts that fit too tightly. The Hysterians are young idealists who play Rock and Roll for the sake of the music. One member said that it’s more about keeping Rock and Roll alive and documenting their music rather than trying to be the next commercial success. For the Hysterians the music is directly attached to their lifestyle, like a pair of broken-in jeans that fit perfectly. In that sense the music has become a snapshot of the moment, a permanent etching in stone of the events of these young men’s lives. The band sights The Kinks and The Rolling Stones as influences, though you can hear a strong streak of punk rock through their chords. They have verses that sound like the Beatles on acid, and then the songs melodies morph into a punk rock Ramones like chorus. Hamnaker said that the bands music is mostly primitive and stripped down. They incorporate no synthesizers or samplers. There is no mastering of tracks. Only electrified guitars and amplifiers are used. In the small bedroom that the band was using as a studio, the music sounded like classic garage rock. In contrast to the bands belief in stripped down music, they have had to turn to technology to make their music accessible to the wider public. The band members said that they particularly hate MySpace, though they choose to have a MySpace page. Finn said that regrettably MySpace is really the only means of getting music out to the public without a record deal or relying solely on concert sales. Finn added that a Frenchman contacted them and told them that he loved their music. He flew from France on his honeymoon to meet them in San Jose. He had pressed several 45″s of their music for them to keep and shook their hands. Finn said that he was cool.