GENERATION HEX

FEATURE

STREET BEAT SPOTLIGHT

GENERATION HEX

by Ernie Thomas

The first half of the name Generation HeX reflects that a band whose music spans the generations – from Motown and the hard rock Sixties, to today’s top stars like Velvet Revolver,

They put an emphasis on Seventies rock covers by Led Zeppelin, Foghat and Ted Nugent, but their show also features dance covers by the Commodores, Wild Cherry and Stevie Wonder.

“The HeX part of the name is partially a play on the term Generation X, but it’s more than that,” said guitarist Jim “Jimisix” Karones of Oak Lawn, a dyed-in-the-wool Baby Boomer. “When we started this band [in early 2005], we wanted to capture some of the ‘magic’ of seeing live rock ‘n’ roll shows back in the day. So that’s where the ‘HeX’ part came from.”

All members are veterans of the Chicago club scene. Karones’ first notable band, Final Faze, was a club staple in the late 1970s and his follow-up group, Rumorz, performed at Chicagofgest ‘81.

“Those were great days,” noted the string-bending vocalist. “People came out to clubs every night because seeing a band was an event. We’re trying to recapture that again with this band.”

The rest of the HeX-Men are likewise survivors of the region bar wars and enjoy banging out rock ‘n’ roll as much today as they did back then.

Drummer Ed Nadess of Tinley Park and bassist Greg Pender of Orland Park have been a rhythm section together since they too were part of the Rumorz band with Karones. Prior to Rumorz, Pender played with Papa St. John, who regularly opened shows for STYX during their early Wooden Nickel Record days.

Lead vocalist Angelo Negrette of Blue Island, came on board in late 2005, replacing former frontman Jack Pender who has since gone full time with the Creed tribute band, My Sacrifice.

“I’ve known Angelo for a long time,” noted Karones. “He’s worked out great since joining up with us. Like everyone else, Angelo has been a part of the [Chicagoland] music scene for a lot of years.”

While the four friends make up the nucleus of the HeX line-up, for bigger shows they call in the sonic reinforcement of their unofficial fifth member, keyboardist Pete Reno of New Lennox.

Since they have enough cover material to perform several hours with no repeats, Generation HeX are now beginning to focus their off stage attention to writing original songs for their first album.

Karones recently wrapped up work on his own solo album, Land Of Dreams, and said he would like to see the group start recording their CD later this year.

More information online at: www.generationhex.net

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