PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Hearts & Hand Grenades is an explosive American hard rock group from Buffalo, NY fronted by Stephanie Wlosinski on lead vocals and bass guitar. This band is literally exploding with an edgy sound for all generations of true rock addicts! Shortly after being discovered by Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac, the band was handed to producer Justin Rose (James Taylor, Goo Goo Dolls, Spyro Gyra) and the result is this rockin’ masterpiece Turning To Ashes.
The band was originally founded as a cover band in 2012 by guitarist Mike Bress. Mike (who also happens to
be a seventh-degree black belt) taught martial arts at a dojo he owned, and Stephanie who happened to train
there overheard he had a band, so she mentioned she played the bass guitar. She immediately replaced the
band’s original bassist and shortly thereafter they added Tom Lafferty on drums and Kenny Blesy on lead
guitar. Within a month, the band began performing gigs and they eventually became one of upstate New York’s premier cover bands.
In March of 2019, the band scored a gig supporting multi-platinum rockers the Goo Goo Dolls at the longrunning annual charity event, Variety Kids Telethon. After the band’s set, they were approached by Goo Goo
Dolls vocalist/bassist Robby Takac. He was so impressed with their performance, that he invited the band to
record at his GCR Studios. The band took him up on the offer, however, there was one small problem… the
band had no original songs to record! They quickly got to work through, and within a month they had enough
songs to record the four-song EP entitled Wait, which they released independently in July of 2019.
While continuing to perform locally throughout the year, the group continued writing new music and moulding
their sound. Through the many connections they built with promoters while playing cover songs, they were
able to frequently perform their originals as well, mixed in alongside the covers on their setlist. It was not long
before people became familiar with (and began requesting) their original songs, so they decided it was time to
record additional material. The band revisited GCR Audio and Robby Takac hooked them up with producer
Justin Rose (Goo Goo Dolls, James Taylor, Spyro Gyra) who recorded, mixed and mastered what would
later become the band’s debut full-length album Turning To Ashes.
Turning To Ashes is the group’s debut full-length release featuring eight original songs full of savage riffs and powerfully deep lyrics. From the very first single off the album “Nothing Left” which is a breakup song about ending toxic relationships, it is evident this band does not mess around.
With the second single”Adrenaline”, the band ramps it up a notch singing about their insatiable appetite for being on stage and performing live. The title track “Turning to Ashes” was written about feeling like you don’t fit in or that you’re different from everyone else.
Turning To Ashes will be released worldwide on January 8, 2021, via Eclipse Records.
Stephanie Wlosinski (lead vox, bass), Mike Bress (guitar, keyboard), Kenny Blesy (lead guitar), Tom Lafferty (drums)
LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/heartsandhandgrenades/
