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[Pictured] West Hammock[/caption]Last Thursday, the up-and-coming band West Hammock played the Ska-/Punk-inspired night at The Spill alongside friends The Cardboard Crowns in downtown Peterborough. The band took the stage second, and although the guys say they don’t particularly subscribe exclusively to ska or punk exclusively.

In fact, they consider themselves closer to an indie-rock style. However, the crowd didn’t seem to notice and were exceptionally responsive to the clean and fun style of the group. With Hunter Sheridan on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Sean Thornton on the keys, Ryan Mead rocking the drums, and Curtis Stewart slamming the bass, I found the group to be extremely tight both socially, which I would find out later after the performance, as well as musically. They showcased some original work as well as some well-known covers to get the crowd engaged.

I got to talking with a few band members prior to the show in order to get a sense of what they were all about, and how West Hammock came to be.

“We’ve been playing with each other for probably around four years now and are really starting to gain some momentum musically, and have been fortunate enough to play with some really great bands, and made a lot of good friends along the way,” said Frontman Hunter Sheridan to Arthur before heading on-stage to set up for the performance. “I go to the University of Guelph, although we play primarily out of Oshawa because that’s where the rest of the guys live around. It’s a lot of driving for everyone but we do our best to get together at least once a week to practice and, in the end, it’s all worth it to see something we work so hard on come together.”

The band has a number of shows lined up including opening for 2014 Juno Award winners, The Strumbellas, at the Moustache Club in Oshawa for the third time this year, as well as some appearances in Guelph, Oshawa, and Toronto areas.

West Hammock has been busy in recent months with the release of a few new songs of their own, as well as some covers such as “West Coast” by Lana Del Rey, and an original entitled “Anchors”, both of which were recorded at Claremont’s Chalet Studios. These tracks and others can be found on YouTube or iTunes under the band name and have even appeared on our own Trent Radio in past weeks during the “Radio Free Arthur” hour on Mondays at 1PM.

The future certainly seems bright for these young, talented, ambitious, and all-around nice guys, who say they are looking forward to getting started on their next full-length album set to be released in 2016.

The group also has their sights set on the possibility of embarking on a small Canadian-based tour, venturing as far north as Quebec, but the guys say that at this stage, it’s just an idea and will depend on tackling the ever so daunting task of working around each members hectic school and work schedules, a truly painstaking assignment that every band, large or small, is all too familiar with.

West Hammock encourages anyone who will find themselves in the downtown Toronto area on December 3 to check them out at The Central (603 Markham St), where they will be performing alongside Red Eye Flights and The Sky Valley Band.

As is necessary in this day and age, the group is highly active on a variety of different social media platforms, with Facebook being the primary outlet for the most current information regarding the band. They also run a meticulously managed and up-to-date website featuring upcoming shows and recently released tracks at www.westhammock.com.