Band overview

## Hudik Summer Band: Overview

### History

Hudik Summer Band was founded by Benny Wernstedt in early june of 2022, during Hudiksvall Summer Week. His first tracks include *Redig rock* and *Benny*. After Benny showed his friend Johnny Eastwood some early songs, he too began writing some material for the band. On the bands debut record *Benny*, Johnny contributed the tracks *Philly rock*, and *ögonkontakt*. The latter was an earlier song, recorded before HSB, but fit the sound. Also in the early days, The band recruited Göran Persson on guitar, but he could not cut the mustard, and was kicked from the band during their first show, a small gig at the english pub the bell..

In August the same year, the duo met drummer PerArne, who would join the band shortly after getting to know Benny and Johnny. This was great for the band, as they had been relying on Drum machines sometimes. The addition of PerArne made the dream of performing live a reality, and allowed for easier songwriting with jamming as a group. In fact, the fan favourite song *Fryser i sanna* was improvised live during a rehearsal (this version can be found on *Live i Garaget*)

In February of 2023, the new lineup played their first real concert for a crowd; *Live at Lindegårn*. The gig was Johnny Eastwoods gift to a friend, who celebrated his 20th birthday. This gig famously includes the cover of *Jailhouse Rock*, with multiple guests at the birthday party taking to the mic. The gig was also promoting their upcoming album *En Flaska Pilsner*, which would be released just two weeks after the gig. The band did perform the song *Basic Noise*, but the recording has been lost to time. *En Flaska Pilsner* was the bands first full length, clocking in at a full 35 minutes of length. The songs are more varied than their previous material, with more experimentation across genres and styles.

At the time of writing this, Hudik summer band has just released a new single: *Runnin out of Stones*, Which is a punky short song. An anonymous source claims that the single is part of an upcoming album with a more streamlined sound, with more punk elements and more straightforward rock.

## Style & Aesthethic

Hudik Summer Band play primarily a sort of "throwback rock", with the sound of electric blues and hard rock bands of the 70s. Notable influences & inspirations are Hurriganes, Eddie Meduza, The Rolling Stones & AC/DC. Though they primarily play this type of music, they also experiment a lot, and have for example done a cover of George jones' hit song *The race is on.* The band themselves state in their soundcloud page description that they: "Specialize in Dynamic Idiocy".

The bands lyrics often detail the typical youth life in Hudiksvall, singing about cruising round and partying on the town in summer. A lot of the bands songs reference different alcoholic substances, often beer and gin. A recurring theme in their songs is the "Harley-Davidson" brand of motorcycles. They also sing about the swedish "Raggare" culture, which ties into the Hudik Summer Week Theme, being a local festival where the people of Hudiksvall drive their motorbikes and classic cars round the town. A couple tracks on the LP *En flaska Pilsner* detail social issues and disappointment in the local government and capitalism, but most of their tracks talk about the light hearted summer life in Hudiksvall.

## Members

#### Benny Wernstedt

Benny Wernstedt is the founder and primary Keyboard player for the group, although he possesses great skill on a variety of instruments. Notable compsitions include *40 Folk 40 Grängare*, *Song For Räkpizza*, *Mellerads* and many more. Benny comes from the countryside outside of Hudiksvall, and has been playing since he was a child. His lyrics are often very storytelling and evoke images in the listeners mind.

#### Johnny Eastwood

Born in Laredo, Texas , Johnny Eastwood is the primary guitarist for the band. Johnny favors Hofner guitars and basses and orange amps. Often in the bands songs the singer will yell out Johnnys name before or during the guitar solo. Some of his more famous tracks are *En Flaska Pilsner, Skrovmål* and *Philly rock.* Johnny is a stylish man, often wearing an all-black suit or leather jacket, and most often wearing sunglasses. He likes to wear Bolo-ties to show his texas heritage as a country man. He sings backup on a lot of Benny's songs.

#### PerArne

PerArne is the most mysterious member of the band, as he is the newest. PerArne has contributed to a lot of the songwriting process of tracks, as some of them have been improvised on the spot. PerArnes fast and tight drumming style suits the band perfectly, laying the groundwork for Benny & Johhnys wild playing on top. Although sticking to drums for the live shows, PerArne too plays multiple instruments.