Renowned Guitarist Duane Denison Rejoins Hank3’s Band
Hank Williams III, a.k.a. Hank3 has just embarked on a 15-date east coast tour after an extended period off the road, and joining him will be one of the most respected guitarists in independent music, and one that harkens back to the formative years of Hank3’s “Damn Band.”
Duane Denison is known for lending his guitar maestro talents to such projects as Firewater, the supergroup Tomahawk, and The Legendary Shack Shakers for a period, but most notably Dennison is the lead guitarist for the noise rock band The Jesus Lizard, which landed him on Spin’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time at #79 for being “Tightly controlled yet capable of ripping and tearing like a runaway chainsaw,” and for his “riffs influencing an entire generation of post-hardcore guitarists.”
When The Jesus Lizard disbanded in 1999, Denison began to play in Hank3’s touring band right as 3’s first album Risin’ Outlaw was being released. Denison made the shift to neotraditional country expertly, and became a staple and favorite of the early Hank3 live sound. Hank3 calling out “Denison!” before his solos can be heard in many early videos and live recordings of the band. Duane left the Damn Band in 2001 after seeing a Mr. Bungle concert and being impressed by vocalist Mike Patton (also of Faith No More fame) and joining the supergroup Tomahawk with Patton, John Stanier of Helmet, and Kevin Rutmanis of The Melvins.
Denison later played with Firewater and a band called U.S.S.A. before a stint with Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers in 2008—the same year The Jesus Lizard reformed. Denison continues to perform with The Jesus Lizard today.
Classically trained, but influenced by a wide variety of styles, Duane Denison earned a degree in classic guitar at Eastern Michigan University, and studied under noted classical guitarist Christopher Parkening. The addition of Denison to Hank3’s Damn Band would definitely make the upcoming shows ones to see.
Denison lends his talents as Hank3’s lineup sees the absence of stand up steel guitar and dobro player Andy Gibson for the first time in many years. Andy also works with many artists as a sound engineer and producer. The other current members of The Damn Band are:
Anthony Galler – Upright Bass (Damn Band & 3)
Daniel Mason – Banjo (Damn Band)
David McElfresh – Fiddle, Steel Guitar (Damn Band), Keyboards (A.D.D.), Guitar (3Bar Ranch)
Duane Denison – Guitar (Damn Band)
Matt Bohli – Drums (Damn Band)
Phillip Cancilla – Drums (3Bar Ranch)
Bobby Hattenburg – Drums (3, A.D.D.)
The upcoming tour is expected to feature two hours of Hank3’s country and hellbilly music, followed by two 30-minute sets of punk-inspired music.
Hank3 Tour Dates:
Duane Denison in an early incarnation of Hank3’s Damn Band:
June 5, 2014 @ 8:54 am
It will be good to see Duane back but it saddens me that Andy will not be with them.I hope the Andy situation is just temporary for this tour and will be on the next tour. It also sucks that Shawn isn’t back on drums for the country set!
June 5, 2014 @ 12:15 pm
With Andy Gibson being in such demand these days with his recording business, it’s completely plausible that they just couldn’t get schedules to sync up. Hank3 hasn’t been touring much lately, and sometimes that makes it hard to keep priority over players. With how versatile Andy is as a player and how close he is to Shelton, I’d be surprised if he’s not on the road with him again in the future.
June 5, 2014 @ 9:15 pm
Well, if that is the case, Trig, why didn’t he mentioned that Andy would not be joining him on this tour? Why doesn’t he say something. He gave us a list of his band, and I tell you Andy Gibson’s name was not on it, neither was an explanation as to why. And yes, what about Shawn? What, no further update as to what is going on with him. I suppose number Three still have that one man is an island mentality.
June 5, 2014 @ 9:09 am
Hank 3 just did two shows in Kentucky and I unfortunately missed both of them. I’m stoked that Duane is back with them! The man is one of the greatest living guitarists. but it does suck that Andy isn’t out there this time around and I hope he hasn’t left the band permanently.
June 5, 2014 @ 9:10 am
I’m pretty stoked for this show, even though the only date I can make is Rochester NY — 330 miles from home.
June 5, 2014 @ 12:13 pm
I love Hank 3 and I am glad he has been adding talent to the Damn Band.
Making the Spin Top 100 guitar players is quite an honor.
June 5, 2014 @ 12:26 pm
I recently heard a cover version of the song “Flushed from the Bathroom of your Heart” performed by 3 on my Sirius Radio.
I try to purchase everything I can by iii, do you know if this is from a compilation album or an entirely new project? I can’t find it anywhere.
Trig, keep up the good work
June 5, 2014 @ 3:20 pm
Is this available online??
June 7, 2014 @ 6:40 am
I couldn’t find it anywhere…
What I heard was a studio recording, in not sure if it is from a compilation or a new album that he’s going to release.
I can’t begin to tell you how much new music/deep tracks that I have been listening to on my Sirius/XM radio lately.
June 5, 2014 @ 3:25 pm
The only version of that that I know of is from Johnny Cash. I think Hank Jr. may have covered it at some point as well. May be from a new album but I haven’t heard that specifically. I’m hearing it’s going to be 2015 before we hear new Hank3 music.
June 5, 2014 @ 8:50 pm
Was there some sort of bad blood between Duane Denison and Hank 3 back in the day?
June 5, 2014 @ 9:16 pm
Not that I’ve ever heard of. More seemed like Duane just wanted to work with Mike Patton, which you can’t blame him for because Mike is some sort of mad genius.
June 6, 2014 @ 6:43 am
Wow. This is the biggest lineup change I’ve seen in the last 5-6 years. Maybe ever. Is Zach Shedd just sitting out this tour or did he move on altogether? Either way, I’m glad he’s back on the road.
June 6, 2014 @ 7:19 am
Zach moved on due to supposedly having back problems
June 6, 2014 @ 12:43 pm
Thanks, man. Good to know. I’d love to see some shows with Joe Buck like in the old days. I know he’s busy doing his own thing (which is awesome) but a guy can hope.
July 9, 2014 @ 2:47 pm
I don’t believe that is true.
July 9, 2014 @ 4:36 pm
That was the word out of the mans mouth himself. You can go to the Hank 3 Cussin Board and see it for yourself!
July 11, 2014 @ 10:46 am
Clarification: I do not believe that is true regarding Zach. Hank 3 fans might have said that. I am not sure if they got that information from Hank 3 himself, or… God, whatever. I am not convinced that the split, if there is one, is/was amicable. My thing is this, how does he just sit back and allow himself to lose a good player like Zach? He screwed up somewhere!!!! Let’s hope he’s got enough humility to fix it.
July 23, 2014 @ 7:01 pm
He always lets people go if there’s bad blood. Makes me wonder. Hank is not one of those people who beg on their knees for someone to come back to the band.
June 6, 2014 @ 7:10 am
What a bummer. His second upright player after zach in two tours, no andy and no shawn. Not liking this a bit.
July 11, 2014 @ 11:06 am
Totally agree with you Justin. Makes you wonder if he’s an ass!
June 9, 2014 @ 7:04 am
Anybody seen a show yet? I read that he played for 4 hours in Louisville. Curious as to the sound of the band, but I’ll know after Raleigh!
June 10, 2014 @ 10:46 am
Saw him in Newport & he played well over 4 hours
June 22, 2014 @ 8:51 am
Saw Hank3 at Rams Head on Friday the 20th.Good as the other times I saw him.I did miss Andy though.Still a great concert and got to hear stuff from Guttertown / Ghost to a Ghost and Brothers of the 4X4 live.Best 20 bucks you,ll ever spend!