Hard Luck Angel is a creation long in waiting for its members. The concept of a roots-alt-country group is at the core of all of its members. The other is that each member is a writer themselves.
The brainchild of a Craigslist post starting with one "I don't care about making money, I just want to live in a van and play music and travel all over" from fiddle player Brandi Belle.
Brandi is the "real" musician in the band actually having studied music. "It's great" says member Shaylor Alley "I am not a musician's musician in any way, we can look at a chart and have Brandi work out individual charts for an open position and a 5th position in a matter of seconds. Something that takes me hours sometimes". Brandi is a song writer, and sings harmonies with the group. Along with her fiddle skills she will often pick up a banjo and pick out a part to a song, plays a number of other instruments and keeps true to her Texas roots where she has played with a number of touring musicians.
The next Craiglist addition came from Shaylor. Shaylor is one of the lead singers in the group sharing time with his favorite song writer Trapper Haskins. Busy lives had kept Brandi and Shaylor from hooking up and playing until Shaylor posted an add with the title "Alt Country Band Project". He immediately had replies and one he took notice of was from Trapper. "This sounds like a project I am interested in, I like your songs and especially your voice (Shaylor's), but it sounds like maybe you want to front your own band". Shaylor's reply was "No, I want this to be a band, and I love your stuff so let's get together and see what comes of it."
The group immediately clicked. Working on a set list of mostly originals with some unique versions of covers mixed in. Tight harmonies and more than 7 instruments between them, the group offers a sound that is fitting for two-stepping and a listening room full of songwriters.
"The songs are just amazing by themselves" says Gabe Gomez of the Santa Fe Reporter, "Then you add the musicianship and harmonies and it's impossible not to fall in love with the group".
With songs that range from almost traditional country-folk ballads to Red Dirt and Southern Rock, they are so well written and thought out that they always come across and connected, even though they are written by different individuals.
Hard Luck Angel is working on an EP for release spring '09 and putting together some regional touring for summer and fall.
Trapper Haskins, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, began playing and writing on a nylon string guitar at the age of 12. In the decades since he has become the consummate craftsman. Custom guitars, wooden boats, and award winning songs, he has fashioned them each with an exacting attention to detail. Peers have acclaimed his material for being both lyrically poetic, though still musically accessible.
Trapper Haskins
One of the principal songwriters with Blacktop Lullaby, Trapper splits instrumental duties between picking his beloved Martin D-16 guitar and playing slide on the dobro. And while he maintains a deep respect for the musical heritage of the city he hails from, Trapper now hones his songs in rural Tennessee on a front porch up on the Cumberland Plateau.
Brandi Belle
I started playing fiddle when I was 16 years old. My dad traded a washing machine for my first instrument, which was much too small. I didn't care, I had known my entire life I wanted to be a fiddler, so I played it until it quit making noise. I thought it was broken, it just needed more rosin. My entire family learned to play at about the same time, so we formed a bluegrass band, The Possum Ridge Ramblers. We traveled as far as Missouri playing bluegrass festivals and churches. I taught myself for the first year and learned what I could from other fiddlers at jams and festivals. Big thanks to Raymie Moore and B.B. Snell, they are both fine fiddlers, who were always very helpful. I went to McLennan Community College when I was 17 years old so I could study with Dick Gimble. It was a great experience, I learned so much, and was lucky enough to play with Johnny on occasion. I was even able to attend his fiddle camp in Taos, NM a couple of times. At one of the Belton Fiddlers Showcases I heard a real violinist for the first time. I was so amazed by her tone I knew I had to try and learn to play like that. So when I finished my degree in Fiddle at MCC, I switched to violin. It was a struggle, there was so much to relearn. I graduated with an associates degree in violin from Temple College over a year ago. All of this time I had been performing with local country bands, trying to play every chance I got. I play with a group called Rusty Road out Waco now and study music composition at UMHB. My goal is to tour the world playing fiddle. I don't care anything about a record deal. I just want to live in a van, eat truck stop egg salad, and have great musical adventures. I also pray every night that Uncle Tupelo will get back together and then let me play fiddle with them. When you are young, you play because it makes people love you, when you are older (like me) you play because music is your air.
Shaylor Alley
Hailing from the high desert of New Mexico, Shaylor brings his vast experience of life to his music. Playing guitar since he was 6 and writing since he was 11, Shaylor’s passion runs deep like history of the west. Playing his first open mic at 14, Shaylor quickly became a local favorite “young celebrity” around Santa Fe and started playing his own solo shows soon after. After grappling with a few years of college, Shaylor self-released his freshman album in 1999 “Backroads” and spent that year hitting music hard. “I was really proud of the album and the songs that were represented at the time, but I was young-the songs were young. In some ways they are fresh and naïve like so many of us at 17, 18, or 20; but the songs are one takes. When I wrote then, the songs just poured out in 15 or 20 minutes and that was all I did with them”. The album won the 1999 New Mexico “MIC” award for best musical production “country”, and was well received regionally by radio. “I remember driving home one night and “Words like Wind” was playing (on the radio)-I was just singing along like I did to so many other songs and then stopped and went- Hey that’s me!” Shaylor soon started a young family with his wife and he was forced to put some of his music ambitions on hold. Working as a Farrier and later as a paid Firefighter, Shaylor never gave up writing or on his dream of doing music full time. “I remember sitting at home one autumn, and wondering where the last 8 years had gone”. Shaylor then made the commitment to put music back in the forge to shape his next musical journey. “I had written a lot during that time, and I knew I had to clean a lot of songs up, I started to look at my songs really critically”. Shaylor has written songs for two documentaries by film-maker Ben Daitz, and had songs considered for other mainstream films. Shaylor is working on putting together his newer, more mature music onto an album to be released soon. Songs like “Reasons to Quit”, draw from the turmoil created by addiction to alcohol. “I wanted something to speak to a person wrestling with that” Shaylor says. “Reasons to Quit” makes you want to reach out and help someone, and when you listen to the clear-rich voice-you can’t help but want more. “When the wind blows” is a twist on the tiring of a relationship like getting tired of the windy days of spring when you wonder if it will ever stop. “Life is Short” is one of those profound songs that makes you want to live life right now, and stop whining when things don’t go your way. Songs like “Never give up” make you want to get up and dance; while making you reflect on what dreams you might have let go of because it seemed too hard. Shaylor now has a quiver full of songs that are more mature, and works daily on new material to share with his fans. Recently-relocating to Nashville, Shaylor is truly on the road to making his passion his livelihood.
Kim Risberg-In Memory
Kim Risberg was one of the founding members of Hard Luck Angel (along with Trapper, Brandi and Shaylor). She left this world on Monday February 23rd 2009 in a tragic accident. A contributing songwriter to the group and a classically trained drummer who showed up to the first practice with brushes and added the perfect percussion to every song. She will be missed and her songs will be kept alive through Blacktop Lullaby.