Dino Kourelis of Lovehammers

Special thank you to Howard of Lovehammers.com for the photos of the band at Mancow's Lava Lamp Love Lounge. All other photos of band members from Lovehammers.com.

MsLiz asks:

Where were you when you heard Marty was not chosen as lead singer for INXS, how did you find out, and what did you do when you heard it?

I was at Joes at the Marty Party with a couple thousand of my closest friends.

Are you excited about the possibility of touring with INXS?

Yes! I think it will be a good tour. They obviously have their existing fans, but I think we will introduce a younger fanbase. Most of their fans already like Marty as well, so that should be a great fit. We will be a little more "rock" than them, but it will still be a good fit.

If you go on tour with INXS will you record a new album or will you tour using Murder on My Mind [MoMM] (which is a rocking album by the way)?

We are currently looking at different options. So many people haven't heard MOMM yet, so that might be a great way to get it out to the world. At the same time, we feel like we have material that is complete that is better than MOMM, and we want to get that out!

What is the funniest thing that ever happened at one of the Lovehammer shows? Any other interesting stories/fan encounters?

Too many to even begin to mention. I did wake up in some random house once with an old couple hovering over me asking who I was. To this day I have no idea how I got into their house and passed out on their couch. Parties at Hammerhouse after our shows were always lots of fun too - we would give out our address at the concert and invite everyone back.

Teresa asks:

Will you do a Lovehammer's performance b/f starting touring with INXS?

We have a couple planned, and are considering some other tour offers. Not sure what we will do at this point.

angela asks:

How do you see your music evolving after Marty's experience with Rockstar?

I just think in general that our musicianship and songwriting has evolved and gotten better over the years. I don't think Marty appearing on the show really evolves anything, except for possibly getting some tips from different people and having opportunities to work with certain people. Music is always evolving - with or without the show.

Marty Casey and Bobby Kourelis of Lovehammers

Apparently Marty and Bobby started the band, so can you explain when you and Billy joined?? And did you all have the same role in the band back then as you do now??

I just saved my money for a few months and bought a bass for $200 - after that I was in the band. I didn't know what a bass was except for that it had 4 strings and nobody else had one yet. We asked Billy to play a gig with us at U of I. Marty and I had never met him. Bobby and our old guitarist Ben didn't know him either, but they knew he played guitar. They asked him if he wanted to play that night, and he said Yes. They practiced for an hour, and then came to U of I, and we played for like 4 hours at a house party. He never left the band...

I don't know what my role is in the band.

Bob and I don't have day jobs. We do part time stuff to make ends meet when we can - nothing full time. I could list about 100 different jobs that I have had over the past couple years. Billy sells liquor for some company. I have a Finance degree, and used to be a Financial Analyst as well as an Auditor and Accountant. Bob has a Chemistry degree and used to be a Chemist. Our old guitarist Ben is a lawyer.

What is your favorite LH song and which would you want to release as your first single??

I don't have a favorite, cause they are all my little babies but a few that I really dig are: The Tunnel, This Town, Bulletholes, Use Me, Straight as an Arrow, Clinic, Trees, Hold On.

Marty mentioned that you guys will probably start recording a new album soon. Do you already have material ready, or will you be starting from scratch?? And how will that fit into the tour with INXS??

We have a bunch of material, and we have all been working on stuff while Marty was on the show. I am also sure that we will come up with a million more ideas once we are in the studio. We may have to release MOMM Worldwide, and then release a second when the tour is over - this is just a thought, I honestly have NO IDEA what we are going to do. We are just looking at different options and ideas at this point.

What's your favorite thing about making music?? And if you had to choose any career besides music, what would it be and why??

I love when our music touches someone, makes them feel a certain way, or helps get them through a hard time, or even helps them enjoy a great time in their life. I love music that affects me, or makes me feel a certain way. Many bands these days are thrown together and given a song that is a "radio hit" but it doesn't really make you FEEL anything. Music used to mean something, and I want to get back to that. I don't think you can BS music fans - if what you are saying tho them is fake, they will realize that really soon. Think of bands nowadays - most people don't' even know the members in the band. They may know the song, or the "hook" of the song, and maybe what the singer's first name is, but there isn't that connection that I think is so important. I remember growing up knowing everything about the bands I loved - Pearl Jam, Motley Crue, Nirvanna - we knew EVERYTHING about every member in those bands. Of course we had our favorites, but we were so connected, we knew and loved everything.