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Sound Circuit

Travel is a curse

5/18/2016

 

The Curse of Hail has been doing its thing in town for nearly a decade. But now, the current lineup of vocalist Ken Payne, guitarists Josh Adamson and Luke Haffner, bassist Ben Monroe and drummer Adam Baszczynski (pronounced: “Baszczynski”) are forging some new territory for the band as they head out on the band’s first extended tour.

“We’ve done little weekend trips, but nothing as long as this,” Payne said of the upcoming weeklong tour. “It’s kind of a tough task. It’s a lot to take on as a band to consistently tour and manage relationships and jobs. For us, it’s been a matter of waiting for the right opportunity.”

For The Curse of Hail, the right opportunity came in the form of an opening slot for Wisconsin-based metal act Pangea.

The Curse of Hail plays Lefty’s on Tuesday, May 24 at 5 p.m.

The Curse of Hail plays Lefty’s on Tuesday, May 24 at 5 p.m.

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The two bands have been friends for some time, and that strong relationship made a tour together feel like a natural step. It also puts The Curse of Hail in the interesting position of being an Iowa band starting a tour elsewhere, then coming back to its hometown in the middle of the tour.

But for the band members, the tour route is worth a few extra miles in exchange for getting into markets they have never played live in before.

“We’re excited to get on the road and play shows on a more consistent basis,” Payne said. “I think it’ll make us a better band, playing every day. Even on the small weekend trips we’ve taken, our set has been so much tighter by the end.

“For me, it’s personally exciting, too. I’m from Wisconsin, so it’s exciting to go back home and play some of those cities that I haven’t played before.”

The tour will kick off in Oshkosh on Friday, May 20 and will hit three more cities along the way, before bringing The Curse of Hail back to Des Moines on May 24. Then it is on to Waterloo before eventually ending the tour in Moline, Illinois, on May 28. Once home, the band will get back to work on a new album of material, which they hope to have out late this year or early 2017.

“Yeah, we’ll just try to dive into the new tunes,” Payne said. “Getting them squared away and then getting back into the studio. Hopefully recording will be a quick process.” CV

 

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