All About Hem

If you're looking for news about the band Hem, you're in the right place!

June 14, 2010

Departure And Farewell Update

I recently had the pleasure of hearing some of the in-progress songs for Hem's upcoming album Departure And Farewell. They're so good, you guys. It's been a few years since the last full album (September 2006, not counting last year's Twelfth Night), but it looks like greatness takes time.

Friday Night Lights

Hem was mentioned in last Friday's episode of Friday Night Lights (season 4, episode 6, "Stay"). You can watch it below and for at least the next few weeks at Hulu. Some of the (awesome) characters go to Austin, Texas for an indie music festival and talk about going to see Hem. The brief mention of the band is a few seconds after the 28 minute mark.

May 24, 2010

Drama Desk Awards

The 55th Annual Drama Desk Awards were held yesterday. Hem was nominated in the "Outstanding Music in a Play" category for their Twelfth Night music, but the award went to Branford Marsalis for Fences. Sadness all around All About Hem, but at least the audience cheers totally sounded loudest when Hem's name was read at yesterday's awards! You can see a complete list of winners here and here.

May 11, 2010

Not California, Not Hem

New in stores today is a cover of Hem's song "Not California" on the album Welder by country artist Elizabeth Cook. Hem's Gary Maurer even plays guitar on the track! You can hear a sample and buy it almost everywhere, like at iTunes and Amazon. I think it's only the second Hem song to be covered on an album, the first being "Stupid Mouth Shut" by Groovelily, which (I believe) was released before Hem's version on Rabbit Songs was officially commercially available. You can listen to and buy Groovelily's song at places like the band's store or Amazon.

May 10, 2010

Twelfth Night Deserves All The Prizes

Hem has been nominated for a 2009 Drama Desk Award! Their music for Twelfth Night is one of the nominees in the "Outstanding Music in a Play" category. Find all the nominees here (PDF). The play scored two other nominations, for Anne Hathaway (Outstanding Actress in a Play) and Hamish Linklater (Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play). The Drama Desk Awards honor New York theatre (all New York theatre, unlike the Tony Awards, which are just for Broadway shows), and are in their 55th year. They're quite important awards, and it's fantastic for Hem to be recognized. Winners will be announced May 23 at a big fancy soiree in New York, which will apparently be streamed online at TheaterMania.com. Good luck, Hem!

April 10, 2010

Tour Date and New Album

On Saturday, April 17, Hem's Sally Ellyson and Steve Curtis will both be performing in New York at a couple Motherlodge live arts exchange events. First, at the Barrow Street Theatre at ~~10am~~ (NEW TIME) 10:30am Sally will sing some songs from her upcoming lullaby album, Into the Night. (You read that right!) Steve will be with her playing guitar, and Rachael Benjamin of Holler will be playing harp. Tickets and more details available here and here. Then, at Downstairs at the SoHo Playhouse at 9:30pm, Steve as part of Little Silver will be hosting and playing at a songwriters circle. It's not quite Hem, but it's close! Also, Motherlodge is a neat group with a lot of interesting folks involved, so if you're in Kentucky or New York, keep an eye out for all their events.

March 18, 2010

Departure And Farewell

The discography page for Hem's upcoming album Departure And Farewell has been updated with some new song details. Look for a name change to song 16 and the addition of new songs 20, 21, and 22. (Thank you, Dan!) Also, because surely you're all wondering, the song titles are numbered in the order they were first added to the album page and are probably not in actual album order.

March 9, 2010

Guitar Chords

Rabbit Chords now has guitar chords for every original Hem song. Go browse and play! Thanks so much, Geoff!

February 23, 2010

Guitar Chords

Rabbit Chords, a site dedicated to providing chords for Hem's songs, has just been updated with guitar chords for a bunch of songs from No Word From Tom and Funnel Cloud, making chords now available for almost every Hem song. Thanks so much, Geoff! You can also find a small number of handwritten chords by the band at Hem's site.

February 14, 2010

Liberty Mutual TV Commercial

Since some people have been asking, NBC has indeed been airing the Liberty Mutual television ad featuring Hem's song "Half Acre" from their first album Rabbit Songs. The commercial is originally from 2006 but is nicely getting reused, no doubt because the music is so awesome that it catches everybody's attention. I've only seen the 30 second version of the ad on TV this week, but you can see the 60 second version here at YouTube.

Valentine's Day

Today is the perfect day to pick up Hem's cover of the Bruce Springsteen song "Valentine's Day." It's available on Hem's cover EP I'm Talking With My Mouth, which you can get on CD or as a download at places like iTunes and Amazon. Go get it!

Random Site News

Recently I've been trying to fix broken links throughout All About Hem to other websites, starting with the ones on the upcoming album pages for Departure And Farewell and You Don't Know About Me Without You. If you ever notice any broken links, or have any other tips, comments, suggestions, or extravagant gifts, I'd like to hear from you!

January 19, 2010

Sweet Heart Rodeo

Sweet Heart Rodeo, the third album from Dawn Landes, is available in the US starting today. Dawn is a sometimes-member of Hem, having providing backing vocals and her glockenspiel talents to Hem's albums Eveningland, Funnel Cloud, and No Word From Tom as well as having toured a lot with the band. There's a bunch of new press about the record, including this American Songwriter interview where Dawn talks about her work with and inspiration from Hem. The new album is folky, quirky, charming, and a wonderful little gem of romance and rodeos. Find it everywhere, like at iTunes (US and UK) and Amazon (US and UK). You can also find more about Hem from American Songwriter in the magazine's neat book Song: The World's Best Songwriters on Creating the Music that Moves Us, which has a long interview with Hem's Dan Messe.

January 11, 2010

All About Me

Today is All About Hem's 6th birthday. I cannot believe my little website idea came to life and has had such a fun six years. Thanks to everyone who's visited the site over the years and especially to everyone who's sent me news, photos, and random emails of encouragement. Extra thanks to the good folks managing Hem at Nettwerk and to Geof, who is definitely my favorite web host. Largest and deepest thanks to Dan, Gary, Sally, Steve, and the rest of Hem for a wealth of beautiful music (and more to come in 2010) and for being so generously kind and supportive, not just to the website but to me as well.

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