Hackensaw Boys
A Fireproof House of Sunshine
Free Dirt
A version of the Hackensaw Boys has been on the Americana scene longer than the genre has had a name. David Sickmen has been the constant in the ever changing line up of the band. Through all the changes, Sickmen and company have endeavored to raise a little hell, encourage a more peaceful world and preserve the vernacular string band roots of working class America.
A Fireproof House of Sunshine is a concise statement of purpose. The five songs on this disc are about rolling with the changes. As Sickmen sing on “Pass Unloving Eyes,” it’s time to “get on past the dyin’ and get on with the livin’” Some days that’s harder to do than others. “You Act Like My Friends” is an up-tempo tune about a truly messed up relationship. For me the most moving song on the record is “Factory Song.” The song tells the life cycle of the corporate shell game them play with small town America. In the first verse, the man comes to town promising jobs in the new factory. A few years later, he comes back to close the factory, throw the people out on their ear and move on to another town. This is the sort of song Joe Hill would have used to get past people’s resistance and get them to feel the injustice around them I don’t know if that can work in this age of Faux News. I can always hope.
