HISTORY!

Winter break once again brought joy to the students at Burris Laboratory school. Along with this joy though came the realization that many would have nothing to do to pass the time. James Murray, then a junior at Burris, had the idea to start what he thought would be a 50’s/60’s type oldies style band. While looking at the possible others who could join him in this endeavor he chose Jon May, as his lead guitar, Steve Polcz, for the rhythm guitar, and Artie Hill, to play bass.

During this winter break which seemed to drag on, the four would meet two or three times, trying to find that sound they all could agree on. After a couple of practices it became apparent that something was missing. To fill that void they brought in Ben Parkison to play the tenor sax. Right away with the new addition all members could finally hear what was to be the future sound of The H-Men.

Jon and Steve started the process of writing and perfecting songs. What they had come up with was what appeared to be a blend of rockabilly, rock n’ roll, and surf. It wasn’t anything that any of them had heard somewhere else and liked, but it seemed to fit, and work.

With multiple practices behind them and no shows lined up the band was looking forward to performing. Once while practicing in the basement of Burris High School Mike Schull and Matt Amos, of the local and well received Burris punk band The Retreads, heard The H-Men. What they heard impressed them a great deal.

It wasn’t long before The Retreads would extend the invitation to play at the annual Masquerade dance to The H-Men. In the time between booking the dance and performing it The H-Men concluded that Steve Polcz was not working out for the better. With the release of Steve, The H-Men played their first show ever in the Burris cafeteria. They were very well received by the audience and saw only a long-term band relationship coming out of this.

In the time between that first show The H-Men would have played shows with bands such as The Deans, The Smokejumpers, and The Juliana Theory. During this time The H-Men decided to produce an album to please the small following they had. The tape titled “Knock It Off” was recorded in the loft of H-Men drummer James Murray. Artie Hill had recently bought a four track recorder and decided that he would mix the album himself. What, at the time, seemed to be a fair recording sold well around the hallways of Burris.

After tape sales and many low paying gigs The H-Men had built their bank account to a little under $600. For a while The H-Men were not sure what to do with their collective “small fortune”. Within a few months it was decided that The H-Men would travel to Lafayette, IN, and record a six song single on CD. It was in the studio, Sonic Iguana, that the H-Men realized what they were capable of. Reaching $300 over budget by the end of the session, the band was more than happy to pay the debt out of their pockets for such a great sounding quality recording.

The H-Men had one hundred copies of the recording made and entitled the disc “K is for Killer”. With all cover design done by James is was time to put the CDs on the shelves and see how they sold. It was slow start for the band but as The H-Men booked more shows, they sold more CDs. The H-Men have now finally gotten out of debt with the sales of the CDs. {Editor's note: It was at this time that the H-Fan Club was formed, showing their loyalty by memorizing all the songs and coming to all the shows!}

In mid-September Drummer James Murray played his last show with the band, before leaving for college in California, for a year and a half. In the few weeks before James left he trained the newest addition to The H-Men. Carl Byers was the chosen one who would fill James’ absence.

After James left to become a certified Gemologist, the H-Men did not stray from their path. With Carl as the newest addition to the band, the H-Men played more shows including their second annual CIRCVS. It was at this show that they for the first time sold a recording not featuring all of the original members of the band.

"Music To Drive By" showed of the true talent of the long time song writer Jon May, and went back to the true style which they had originally hoped for. This tape including, "The Strip", and a cover of Link Wray's "Rumble" showed that the H-Men were capable of more than up-tempo surfabilly music. It proved that they could pull off a slower sound, and that Carl is more than able to step in as the fourth part of the H-Men.

The H-Men are going strong, and are showing no signs of quitting in the near future. With "Music To Drive By" being the first album on Jon May's own record label, MFR, The H-Men will always have a label that they can call upon and trust. With hard work, and a little luck in their future, The H-Men are a band that show no sign of fading into the dark, and will surely play together as long as the love of the music is still there.

The H-Men played their final show together on August 19, 2000. Jon is now playing with famed Burris band The Retreads , and Brazil along with The Incentive (which includes Artie). James and Ben are focusing on their work (or something like that....) So here's to a great couple of years.

Thanks to James for so kindly writing most of this up for the Fan Club! And for the great graphics!

Go to an older H-Men Fan Page, which doesn't have all that much on it, but it's good anyhow. The H-Men

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