The Hanyaks

Monte Peck began high school as a defensive end, but a serious injury left him in a cast and a wheelchair — oddly enough — he picked up an old guitar his mom had left in the attic. And... the rest is history. Monte, former co-host of the popular “Shut Up and Sing” songwriter showcase has given his fans a wonderful pop record that is dedicated to his two grandfathers, features his brother Marshall on drums, and his mom Aileen on backing vocals on HAD IT SO GOOD. Lots of other players here: Nick Garcia (guitar), Russell Boyd (piano), Jason Kupka and Timothy Spreyer (hand claps), special guitar appearance by Andy McIntyre, Neal Shotwell, plus Chris Rains (cello) and Karen Goh (piano).

The CD opens with FOR ME, which starts in a minor key. Now this is a good song. Building slowly, almost with a dirge, which does fit, the lyrics that tell of an imperfect man who had settled for less than best. I just cannot remember theold pop song this reminds me so much of; one of those classics but live, this song must shatter the rooftops and then whisper at us so we really get that good enough is not enough.
HAD IT SO GOOD is classic pop music... right out of the Sixties.
WAITING ON LINZE could be the twin upside down sister song of The Eagles' ALREADY GONE with old Monte waiting out in Winslow, Arizona. I really like TRY NOT STARE, which is true pop rock and could have gotten high marks on American Bandstand. (Did I mention this is, like, retro music that evokes an earlier, simpler time?) R is a ballad of sorts. A heavy metal ballad, that is, complete with a sizzling guitar solo but also with those quieter moments with the fuzz tone guitar licks. ONE MORE MONTH is very reminiscent of bands like The Association and FLY ON THE WALL is a song that would make Jules Gary Alexander proud as it builds and builds. ALONG THOSE LINES is another singer’s song where a young man looks forward to his future opportunities. I like this one too, especially piano parts. DYING ON THE INSIDE... let me stop and just say this is a very listenable record. I can just see the Bandstand dance floor crowded as couples draw near to dance slow and hum along. The closing song, THIS IS IT opens with Rains’ cello. This is a slow, haunting song that, once again, is so classic that when you hear it, you don't realize that Peck is recording at the end of 2008.

-Dougan Flanagan - Flanfire

The Breakdown

The debut album from Monte Peck and the Hanyaks reads like history of the last 60 years of pop music. Peck delivers a memorable introduction to his Hanyaks, drawing on influences as diverse as Marty Robbins, Nirvana, and Dr. Dre.

Kicking things off with the self-indulgent For Me, Peck proves he has the chops to make Connor Oberst cry. (Then again, who doesn't.) Mission statement in place, Peck switches gears and proves his proficiency with country and blues. Had It So Good would be right at home on a jukebox between Folsom Prison Blues and Should've Been A Cowboy.

No tour of pop music would be complete without a stop in Motown, and Peck doesn't disappoint. Try Not To Stare would make Smokey Robinson proud. That and R, the aural love-child of Chris Isaak and Joe Walsh, are the album's highlights.

Songwriting so taut you could bounce a quarter off it keeps the album firmly on track through an 80's detour, the experimental Fly On The Wall, and an orchestral finish. While there is a definite nineties sensibility to the album (namely a Weezer-tight band), grunge is conspicuously absent.

This is a songwriter's album. It reads like a road map of where Peck has come from. We can only guess that the missing pieces are a clue to where he's going.

-Erin Maree-2009- - Desanity Weekly

When it comes to straight up hard rock, it’s best served with at least a smudge of humor and a little instrumental variance to cut through the noise. Lincoln four-piece The Hanyaks are back from a long recording hiatus with just such an effort.

The band has released third full-length album, Social Candy, independently via its Bandcamp page (with plans, according to Facebook, for wider digital availability). Recorded in Lincoln at Sotano Del Monte (frontman Monte Peck’s home studio), the nine-track album is the band’s first in almost seven years, since 2010’s Like A Parthian Shot.

Social Candy has all the elements of a solid mid-aughts rock record. Peck and guitarist Robert Klingsporn pump out a wealth of earworm riffs that often spring into breakaway solos, as in “Lime Green World,” and “Duct Tape.” Both those tracks recall a snarkier Alien Ant Farm and a far less serious Coheed and Cambria. Peck’s lyrical jabs are rooted in the present but poke at known targets like rival suitors on the country-tinged “Cut You Loose” and melodramatic emo kids (“SoEmo”) with unforgiving sarcasm.

Together with its hard-charging instrumentalism, that attitude makes for a record that feels incubated. It’s as if the band has gathered some pent-up energy into a basement rock spirit bomb, unleashing it in a form somewhere between reckless abandon and planned attack. - HearNebraska.org

Around 1pm on Tuesday, August 29th, Monte Peck (The Hanyaks) simply posted this question on Facebook: "Hey folks... would anyone be interested in having/playing a benefit/fundraiser show for victims of hurricane Harvey? Please DM me."


Little did he know that within minutes, he would be overwhelmed by the response.

While Peck has called Lincoln home for the past 7 years, he is a native of the Texas gulf-coastal region still being pounded by Hurricane Harvey. He watched in horror as his old stomping grounds, Port Arkansas and Rockport, were completely decimated.

With the help of Cortney Kirby (The Bourbon, Freakabout), Peck has enlisted a lineup of local artists eager to dedicate an evening of performance to raise money for Harvey's victims. The concert features ten phenomenal local acts (including Mobius, The Rewind, and DJ Relic) and a raffle with prizes donated by some of Lincoln's most generous businesses.

Monte Peck and his band The Hanyaks are slated to close out the night.

All of the night's proceeds will go directly to non-profits helping Hurricane Harvey victims. - 1011 News