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Ballbreakers history
dates back to the summer of 1995, when five players,
from various musical backgrounds, decided to band
together to create what has now become known as one
of the top "tributes to the music of" AC/DC
around today, as well as purveyors of the hard rock
sound through their driving original music.
The ball was set in motion one summer evening
when, through a mutual friend, Jerry met Steve. Both
having been in various bands that |
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regularly played the
area circuit, the conversations soon turned to the
different projects that had been involved with, the
musicians that they each have known as well as their
influences and music in general. After about a month
or so they decided that it was about time to get
together and see if something would click. So the
call went out to some other musicians that they knew
were available. |
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At this point
Eddie was writing with Steve and recording some
demos (Some of these songs can be found
Ballbreakers first all original c.d.
"Ballbreaker 1" available for purchase right here on
ballbreaker.net.) when he got the call. Mark had
been playing with Jerry for some time with multiple
bands, and had just been involved in a project
called Bon Voyage with him. (This project also
included Todd at that time.) With Eddie and Mark in
place, one more element was needed, so Jeff Gillette
was called in on the drums. |
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With the cast now
set, it was time to get to work. The band began to
learn songs but had no real direction to take the
group into, that is until they learned AC/DC
classic "You Shook Me All Night Long." They soon
realized they had an uncanny likeness to the sound
of AC/DC, right down to Eddies raspy, whiskey
soaked replication of the voice of their front man
Brian Johnson. It was this night that
BALLBREAKER was truly born. |
Soon after,
BALLBREAKER , walked into a small bar in
Caledonia, NY for an open jam night with a set of
AC/DC classics and took the bar by storm. The
people who were there to witness that evening began
to tell their friends of what they saw that night
and word soon spread. With all the positive response
from BALLBREAKERS trial run, they soon were
getting calls for shows with their very first full
fledged appearance supporting THE GOOD RATS.
They were now taking the show on the road, making a
name for themselves in Rochester and it's
surrounding areas. With the addition of Paul
Marlzoff on drums, they decided it was time to drive
the bands playing field out farther and begin to hit
more of NY. BALLBREAKER spent the next couple of
years taking it on the road and spreading their name
across the Empire State.
Todd Tracy now entered the BALLBREAKER
fold and the band shifted gears once again. Their
ultimate lineup was in place and a new age in the
bands history was dawning. With a new found energy
the band took a whole new stage show to the club
scene. One LA music producer once called
BALLBREAKER possibly "the greatest bar band in
the country" and this could be evidenced during
their support of national acts such as LOVERBOY,
NAZARETH, and QUIET RIOT.
As they continued to perform their tribute
to the music of AC/DC to sold out clubs,
concerts, and fairs across the state they felt that
the time was ripe to release an all original c.d.
The year 2000 was a landmark year for BALLBREAKER,
in that it saw the release of the classic,
independently released disc "Ballbreaker 1" that
features such favorites as "Inside Out," "Whiskey,
Women, & Rock," and "Give Me A Reason." The disc
found quick acceptance from fans and press alike.
This new c.d. gained them exposure in magazines and
on radio stations throughout the United States,
Italy, France, Denmark, The Netherlands, and
Germany. The first track off the disc, "Inside Out,"
was also used in ads for the NFLs, BUFFALO
BILLS during their 2001/2002 season. 2003 saw
them as a featured artist on a world-wide release
called "Voltage Overload," on Sharkbite Records.
This was an AC/DC tribute disc with 10 of the
worlds top AC/DC acts paying homage to the
hard rock legends. Ballbreaker appeared performing
the song "Let Me Put My Love Into You," recorded
live during their support of LOVERBOY.
2005 found the band celebrating their 10th
anniversary with the release of their second full
length original c.d., "Hangman's Tree."
Ballbreaker's newest , hard hitting platter of
straight ahead rock n' roll quickly found critical
success, being called "a power rock n' roll bomb" by
French music distributor, Alain Brennus, and being
ranked in the top ten hard rock releases of 2005 by
Canadian webzine sleazeroxx.com, wich also listed
the track, "Little Misunderstood" in the top 25
songs of 2005. The critical acclaim soon translated
into a distribution deal with Houston, Texas based,
Perris Records, and endorsements by companies such
as Coffin Cases out of Los Angelas, California. As
the buzz around Ballbreaker's "Hangman's Tree"
continued to grow, the band found themselves with
appearances in major publications such as Rock N
Roll Damnation, and Revolver Magazine. Yet another
highlight for the band was that the lead track form
the disc, "Two Pump Chump," appeared in the
independent, feature length film, "A Night At The
Cat," released by Daydream Productions. The Boys in
Ballbreaker rounded out 2005 with appearances on
various radio and television programs such as, The
Sunday Night Shakedown With Frank Deblase, The
Headbangers Basement With Darrell Michaels, and Time
Warner's Radio TV.
As Ballbrekaer embarks on it's second decade of
rock n' roll their future looks brighter than ever.
Currently, the band can be found working on their
third c.d. due out in early 2007. Their song "When
The Hammer Comes Down," will be appearing on a
forthcoming c.d. sampler from Perris Records that
will be available at Tower Records, Borders, and
Best Buy stores. The disc also features notable acts
like, Bang Tango and Robin McCauley of MSG. Perris
Records will also be releasing Ballbreaker's first
two c.d.s ( including their, out of print, self
titled, first disc ) via digital downloads as well
as Ballbreaker ring tones for wireless phones.
With all of this, Ballbreaker continues to
bring their explosive performances out on the road
for all to see. Watch for them to come to a town
near you!!! |
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