Artist Retrospective: Hollywood

I remember the night that I first became aware of the band Hollywood still well. It was a show that I did not expect much from, I was there to support a friend who was putting on the show and to hang out with friends. There weren't many people there, maybe 20 people in a room that could hold a couple hundred.

It was a mostly unremarkable show. I was unfamiliar with the two bands that were touring. My friends assured me that Counting The Days were great and well worth the time so I was anxiously awaiting them. Nobody mentioned Hollywood. When they came on, they weathered bad sound and bad attitudes to put on the same show for 20 kids that they would've for 200. I gave them a large chunk of my money that night and became a big fan.

Hollywood is a melodic rock fueled hardcore band out of 'Music City USA', Nashville, Tennessee, that ended all too soon earlier this year.

Hollywood's contributions to the music world consist of two EP's, 'Brave Sounds' (2006) on Keepitcore Records and 'Starving Artists' (2007) on Thrashed! Records; They also released a split EP with Counting The Days (2008) on BurnBridges, an impressive collection for band as young as they were.

They were a band that worked hard, and wanted to get their music to as many people as they could. They managed to do several tours and gather a fan base that loved them. Not the largest fan base, but a group of people who really loved what they did as a band and respected them. I like to count myself among them.

Driving down to Nashville earlier this year gave me my second opportunity to see Hollywood, and on their home turf, and it was great. It was just awesome seeing them in their hometown with a bunch of kids just going nuts for them, they were definitely a band that deserved that and I was happy to see that they were appreciated. That performance just cemented my love for the band even more at that point, and several months later, I was very bummed out to hear that they had decided to call it quits.

I was sure that they were a band that was going to 'make it'. I was just waiting for them to blow up, and to see this happen, I was stunned. So when the final show was announced, my friends and I made plans to drive down to Nashville again to pay our respects.

So on July 15th, 2008, myself and 3 friends packed into a car and drove to Nashville to see Hollywood's final show. What follows is my most favorite show that I have ever attended. The excitement and energy that was in that building that night was insane. There were kids from all over to see this great band one last time.

Hollywood ripped through pretty much every song that they had, and the reaction was amazing. I don't think I've ever seen so many kids on a stage before singing along to every word that a band has wrote. It was a unity that I had never felt to that extent in hardcore before and I think that it's something I will always remember.

I remember hearing Patrick Flynn of Have Heart jokingly complaining about how they had to after that, and I'm sure that's the only time in the past year and a half that Have Heart has ever been so eclipsed by a band that played before them, but a better band could not have been found to have filled that role.

"In this city's streets, is where this city's heart beats"

RIP Hollywood 2004-2008

Hollywood on MySpace