The Working Hour

(From before The Working Hour name change from The Urban Rednecks)

By: Oren Shmoel & Inessa Vengerko

"...This year at Rockin� for Riley there were two main acts. Not to take anything away from the other bands, which played their hearts out, but the Urban Rednecks and Stereo Deluxe stole the show."


"...The Urban Rednecks are relatively well known...and at Rockin� for Riley they showcased their original songs: �Six,� �Spaced Out,� �Kansas City,� and �Pretty Girl,� all of which are on their album."

"They drew a great response from the crowd as they �rocked out.� But this show meant something more, as they played for free and all the profits went to Riley Hospital for Children.
�We decided to play at Rockin� for Riley because it is a good cause and it makes me feel good inside to play for free.� Urban Rednecks guitarist Matt Corken said. �I would definitely do this again,�
For Urban Rednecks lead singer Andy Riesmeyer, the reason behind the performance was more personal, as one of his long time friends was at the hospital at the time.

�We made shirts for her and dedicated our entire set to her,� Riesmeyer said. �It just felt good to do that for a good friend.�
Like many high school bands, the Urban Rednecks have a dream of making it big someday." - North Central High School

(Pre-Name Change)
The Urban Rednecks
www.urbanrednecks.com

Some people think the name makes the group sound like a rap-country band, but the band considers themselves �piano rock, with a lot of blues and jazz influence.� They started in 2002, Andy Riesmeyer remembers. �It was awesome that we could make as much noise as we felt like without having to worry about people making fun of us. I just started writing music and then gradually it evolved into something really, really important to me.� Riesmeyer, the band�s primary songwriter, believes his songs are distinguishable forms of self-expression, each for one specific emotion. In the fall of 2007, Riesmeyer and drummer Peter Doherty will attend college together in Chicago, where they plan to continue producing music, stating, �Both of us would give up everything ... and once you�ve reached that point, you know that you won�t let anything get in the way of what you want.�
�Will Ryan - NUVO - Indy's Alternative Voice

Pop duo gets help from Zero Boys

The guys in pop duo The Working Hour — vocalist Andy Riesmeyer and drummer Peter Doherty — are tired. They've been playing music together for eight years — a good run for any band, but especially impressive since both members are only 20. "In a couple of years, it will be safe to say that we will have been doing this longer than we haven't been," says Riesmeyer.

Legend has it that the band got its start when 12-year-old Riesmeyer was walking through a shopping mall. "I saw this T-shirt at like, a Hot Topic or something, that said, 'How to Get Chicks.' It said something like, 'Be a doctor, be good at sports, or, if all else fails, start a band.'" Acutely aware of his and drummer Peter Doherty's disinterest in biology and lack of athletic skills, Riesmeyer decided that music was the way to go. The two spent the first two years screwing around and making noise in the Doherty's basement, eventually recording their first song, a cover of "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. The record got heavy airplay in Doherty's mom's minivan.

By the time they hit high school, the pair had decided to pursue music full-time. So, for the next four years, while Doherty attended Cathedral and Riesmeyer attended North Central High School, they spent their free time rehearsing and writing songs in Doherty's parents' garage. "They were probably the worst songs ever," laughs Riesmeyer. At the time, they were playing under the moniker The Urban Rednecks, a name they dropped in 2007. "We were afraid that people thought we were playing, like, Kid Rock-style stuff, some horrible rap-country songs or something, so we just had to change it," says Doherty.

They arrived at "The Working Hour" as an homage to a song off of one of their favorite pop records, Tears for Fears' Songs from the Big Chair. The name change was only part of a long list of changes the band went through in the two years leading up to the making of the band's new albumUnbreakable.

"We went through a lot of identity issues. Since it was just Andy and I trying to play, we tried electronica, looping, back tracks, everything," says Doherty. They spent much of their time churning out songs until a cohesive idea of The Working Hour was formed. "We sat down there, writing songs, for over two years. A lot of them were full eight-hour writing days. We probably have about a hundred songs, enough to release two more albums," says Riesmeyer.

The two years of "band boot camp" were part of the plan laid out for them by their mentors, Indianapolis hardcore band and Doherty family friends the Zero Boys, who guided them through rehearsals, writing, and recording. "I'm pretty sure every single member of [The Zero Boys] has contributed to our band in some way. I mean, Mark [Cutsinger] basically taught me how to play drums from the beginning," says Doherty. The Zero Boys not only lent a hand musically, but guided The Working Hour through the dizzying business side of the industry. But the fortune of this happenstance arrangement isn't lost on the two young guns. "We just feel so lucky, so grateful for their help," says Doherty.

The fruit of their efforts, Unbreakable, is a remarkably polished, cohesive album that showcases every ounce of those two years of work. Produced by Zero Boys frontman Paul Mahern, the record offers a variety of power-pop arrangements that are catchy and well-developed, complex and rich. The album's subject matter may be age-appropriate for their combined four decades of life — girl is loved, then let go, then regret sets in — but the instrumentation, production value, and overall quality belongs to a much older group. The band became a trio for the sessions with contributions by the equally young and equally talented Ethan Walden on bass.

Riesmeyer, whose vocals bear resemblance to Ben Folds, seems to always be smiling when singing, an extension of the bouncy, ebullient mood of the music. The Working Hour seems to be in that special window of time when a band is playing well, and hasn't yet had the thrill of performing toured out of them. Their excitement is infectious, especially when when the guys break out their killer covers of "Don't Do Me Like That," and "Wild Night."

The next challenge for the band will be figuring out what will happen when Riesmeyer turns 21 four months before Doherty. Who will wait outside the back entrances of bars and clubs? Doherty looks nervously at Riesmeyer. "We've been in the bars before. They're not that great. I'll be outside with him." - NUVO