Glass Hammer, based in Tennessee, officially began in 1992 when longtime friends Steve Babb and Fred Schendel began writing and recording their first album.
Steve Babb and Dave Carter's partnership began in the winter of 1980 when they were in their teens- their band was called Wizards and was influenced by Rush Black Sabbath, Ted Nugent and Kiss. Besides being a fan of heavy metal, Steve Babb liked the sounds of Yes and ELP, which began to influence the Wizards sound.
Though unknown, Wizards' performances gave them a solid following in the southeastern part of the US and though Wizards disbanded in 1983, David and Steve continued in various traveling groups like Angel's Flight and Band of Angels up until the formation of Glass Hammer in 1993.
In 1984, Fred Schendel and Walter Moore meet in the small Tennessee town of Oak Ridge were they started play in several local cover bands and eventually formed The Obvious in 1985, (Moore on vocals and guitar, and Schendel on keys). The covers varied from Genesis, to Rush, to ELP, to Pat Travers. They were chosen to be a house band at Six Flags in Atlanta, GA in the summer of 1986. During the same time, they were Moore and Schendel were part of a three piece original Prog band on the side, called- Just Add Water. Some of this music reappears- slightly reworked, on several Glass Hammer songs.
When The Obvious broke up in 1986, Schendel moved to Chattanooga and met Babb. Fred and Steve worked together for several years before forming Glass Hammer, and began working on their first opus, `Journey of the Dunadan,' a concept album based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, finished in 1992, the band released it the following year. The album was well-received and mixed complex compositions and epic grandeur with intimate acoustic work. A narrative was used to add atmosphere and familiarity with the story.
Though Schendel and Babb played almost every instrument on their debut album, they recruited Moore to play drums live. Michelle Young added her angel-like voice (heard on one track of `Journey'), and additional keyboard talents.
Glass Hammer toured around the southeast with the line-up of Babb (bass/lead vocals), Schendel (synths/piano/organ/lead vocals), Moore (drums) and Young (on keys/vocals).
In 1994 `Perelandra,' their second album was created, with David Carter guesting on several tracks and joined Glass Hammer as a permanent member. `Perelandra,' was released in 1995 with solid success, was based loosely on the works of C.S. Lewis. The style of the album was a bit cooler in tone, but the band kept their familiar epic/complex arrangements.
After a tour to support the album, Michelle Young left to pursue a solo career. During a hiatus, Babb and Schendel released an album of fantasy-themed electro-ambient music under the project name- TMA-2. The album,- `Artifact One,' released in 1996 was more of a techno/dance album than true Prog.
In 1997 the band began working in the recording studio again. In the meanwhile, they released `Live and Revived', a limited-edition collection of live rehearsal recordings and unreleased material written just after `Journey' was released. The band Wyzards (Wizards changed their name to Wyzards)- which was not dead, released- `The Final Catastrophe'. Babb and Schendel joined by their former band mate Bill McKinney, recorded several songs from Wyzards' history as well as a new 18-minute epic written just for the album. Schendel guested on Hammond organ and keyboards. With the new Glass Hammer album not yet finished, Moore and Babb, released a second TMA-2 album,- entitled `Tick Tock Lilies.'
In March 1998, `On To Evermore,' was released, to solid reviews, showcasing a slightly heavier guitar sound.
Glass Hammer released `Chronometree, in April 2000. Guest stars Arjen Lucassen and Terry Clouse, as well as new vocalist Brad Marler, helped expand the Glass Hammer sound.
In the fall of 2001, Glass Hammer released- `Live from Middle-Earth' a return to the land of JRR Tolkien and has received good reviews from Tolkien aficionados and Prog fans.
Not to be idle, Babb and Schendel have created "a musical called `David and Goliath,' which includes `74 minutes of new music and drama written by Steve and Fred, and featuring GH alumni Susie Warren, Dr. David Luther, and Sarah Snyder. This is a "family" musical which will most likely be distributed through Christian bookstore chains in 2002, but no contracts have been signed yet. Steve and Fred are currently working on a new musical called "Songs From the Garden - The Story of Adam and Eve", for the same market.'
Discography
`Journey of the Dunadan,' 1992
`Perelandra,' 1995
`Live and Revived' 1997
`On To Evermore,' 1998
`Chronometree, 2000
`Live from Middle-Earth' 2001
