Dezeray's Hammer

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They wanted a more traditional rock-guitar sound, so they lost the keyboardist, increased the guitar factor and changed the name.</div> <bR> <div> Why Dezeray's Hammer? It was the name of an Albert Hill song about a girl Mr. Whisnant had a crush on while living in a small town in Illinois. Mr. Whisnant said that "Dezeray" (he changed the spelling of her name) probably doesn't know she was such an inspiration. </div> <bR> <div> "I don't think she even knows I exist," Mr. Whisnant said.</div> <bR> <div> The Spartanburg band's first release, Immune, is due in stores Tuesday. The album title was chosen because most of the songs on the album are about building immunity to problems that can arise in relationships.</div> <bR> <div> Mr. Whisnant said the title has a double meaning, encompassing what the band has encountered during its seven years in the music industry and how it has built immunity to those problems. </div> <bR> <div> "It's just a tough industry to be in, and there are a lot of heartaches if you're going into this line of work. You definitely have to be prepared for rejection and things not always working out. After awhile, it helps if you can emotionally be able to handle it. And I think that's where kind of building up a bit of a coat of armor, so to speak, can come in handy," he said.</div> <bR> <div> The band was fortunate to work with producer Greg Archilla (Matchbox Twenty, Collective Soul, Edwin McCain) on Immune, Mr. Whisnant said, calling Mr. Archilla the "cream of the crop."</div> <bR> <div> "He's real easygoing, yet he'll push you to pull out things that you know you can't necessarily get out yourself. He'll push you a little harder until you get angry or whatever in order to get the particular part of that song across," Mr. Whisnant said. </div> <bR> <div> The album's first single, What I Think, is already pressed and ready to go, according to Mr. Whisnant. The band has radio ads already bought in some stations.</div> <bR> <div> Like most of the songs off Immune, What I Think is also a relationship-themed song about somebody realizing that they don't really mean anything to their significant other. </div> <bR> <div> "At the same time, ti's kind of hopeful. It's not one of those 'in the depths of despair' kind of songs. It's got a hopeful overtone to it," Mr. Whisnant said.</div> <bR> <div> Mr. Whisnant is also hopeful about the future of Dezeray's Hammer. This is the band's second run as a signed artist in the music industry. The first time out (in '96), the group, as Albert Hill, was signed to Universal/MCA. When Universal's president had a falling out with the CEO and left, the band wanted out of its deal. </div> <bR> <div> "We asked to leave and we were two weeks away from release. It was a nightmare for us," Mr. Whisnant said.</div> <bR> <div> Although the label kept Albert Hill signed, Mr. Whisnant said it was "more or less dropped" because the label wasn't going to push the band. Luckily, the group's manager realized this and pulled the group form the deal.</div> <bR> <div> "In this business, a lot of times it's better to not have had a deal at all then to have a bad one," Mr. Whisnant said.</div> <bR> <div> In retrospect, Mr. Whisnant isn't too upset about leaving the major label.</div> <bR> <div> He doesn't think the band was ready to be big at that time, he said.</div> <bR> <div> "It was one of the most fun periods of my life 'cause I was young, and we really didn't have anything to worry about," Mr. Whisnant said. </div> </td> </tr></table></body>