The Disconnected - Hamell On Trial: Song Lyrics, Music Videos & Concerts

The Disconnected

Hamell On Trial

Comedy2020

On Tour

Song Details

The Disconnected was released on December 4, 2020 by Saustex Records & Entertainment, LLC as a part of the album Yap

AlbumYap

December 4, 2020

LabelSaustex Records & Entertainment, LLC

LanguageEnglish

BPM197

Melodicness

Acousticness

Valence

Danceability

Energy

OVERVIEW

LYRICS

Lyrics

I played anywhere I could in Austin. The chance of a paying gig was

Pretty slim, but I had to get my name around, so I'd take anything

Or invent something. No matter what the obstacle, I could take it

And more often than not, turn it around. The worst gigs I ever had

Were back in Albany anyway: a trailer park where when they passed the

Hat I got a gum wrapper; a camp reunion where I played under a low

Tarp in the rain, and the water kept dumping on me until my guitar

Was so wet the wood buckled. But it was a volleyball game that took

The prize. Five hundred kids at a Catholic college. I played while

They smacked that volleyball around. Nobody paid attention to

Me. They yelled over the music, and I'm, and I'm pretty damn

Loud. And oddly enough, the priest when he paid me, five

Hundred dollars, my biggest paying gig by far at that point

Said, "I hope you'll come back next year." And anything was

Better than my hometown of Syracuse. When I played there, a loud

Acoustic player doing punk and spoken word, it was too alien

"He has two heads. He's not the same as us. We must kill him."

Austin was different. No paying gigs to be sure, but you could do

A shitload of open mics to hone your craft and hopefully kick their

Ass to get your name around. I had a temp job, working with the

State by day, a keypunch gig, and Monday nights I could hit two

Open mics, Tuesday three if I ran around fast enough, and I never

Missed all three, Wednesday and Thursday two each. There were none

On the weekends, but sometimes you could score an opener. Alejandro

Escovedo was always good to me. Maybe you could get your own gig

And there were a ton of benefits to play. And unlike other towns I

Had lived in, in Austin people actually came out for the benefits

Somebody had seen me at an open mic and called me to do a benefit

For the Police Benevolent Association. I rarely work in cahoots

With the police, but they were building a shelter for battered

Children. Of course, I was in. I remember it being a gorgeous day

I was relatively new to town, but it was brutally apparent

Immediately how great the weather was compared to living in upstate

New York. There were a ton of bands that day: rockabilly

Surf, country, Tejano, Tex-Mex, zydeco, polka, swing

Singer-songwriters, and even Scottish bagpipes

It started at noon and ended at two in the morning

My set was at five o'clock. It went pretty well. I wanted to hang

Around, but my wife was sick, so I needed to get home to take care

Of her. I was bringing my gear to my car when I was approached by

Three young kids. Two guys and a girl, in their early teens. They

Were all pumped up, red in the face, enthusiastic. "We really liked

What you did." They had a ton of questions. "What do you call that?

How do you get that guitar to sound like that? Where are you from?

What do you listen to? Do you have any CDs?" I was flattered, gave

Them the scoop as best I could. I really had nothing going on then

I turned the line of inquiry to them. They were in a band. Hardcore

Straight edge, metal punk. The Disconnected. They showed me their

Card. It said it all right there, including the biggest text of all

"No ballads." Big, bold letters. "No ballads." Serious. I asked them

What time they were playing. "Two thirty a.m.," they said. I thought

For a second, pulled a homer. "Wait a minute," I said. "The benefit

Ends at two." They said, "Yeah, the promoter is afraid that we'll

Scare people away, so he's going to let us play when everybody

Leaves." I admired their spunk. I loved to play too and I understood

They kept going on about the hailstorm they went through to get

There. They came from Corpus Christi, but the bass player

The driver, the only one old enough for a license, said

He never went below sixty-five. I was unfamiliar with

Texas. I asked him how long it took to get there, and he

Said three hours. Three hours to play to nobody. For free

When I was in seventh grade, two of my first concerts were Jimi

Hendrix and The Who. The Who with Keith Moon. It kinda fucked me up

For life, setting the bar astronomically high. I play with a million

Young bands now, who come up to me and ask, "How'd you like our band?

" I was twelve years old when The Who came out, did these incredible

Songs, played great, sang great, wrecked their gear, fought with each

Other, and the most amazing drummer in the world died and was

Resurrected every night. That was a fucking band. I carried Sleater-

Kinney's gear into a club once, and the lead singer pouted through the

Whole set because it was too hot in Texas. I'd been all excited for

The saviors of rock and roll that night. Never believe spin. I told

The Disconnected that I'd try to come back to see them at two thirty

And I did. Sure enough, everybody had gone, and they played to an

Enormous field under the Texas stars to me and three of their friends

. They were fucking great. They played like their lives depended on

It. Fast, furious, passionate, for every battered kid that gig was

Benefitting. I helped them load into their car. I couldn't

Have put them up. My apartment was too small. My wife was sick

So I don't know why I asked, but I did. "Are you going back

Tonight, or are you staying?" They said they were staying

They wanted to hit the record stores tomorrow. "Do you have a

Place to stay?" "Oh yeah," they replied. "We're staying at a

Friend's." I was relieved. I was off the hook. "Yeah," they

Grinned. "He won't be there, but he says we can stay in his yard."

Written by: Ed Hamell

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