Ugly Stick double-CD reissue out in July

In the late Eighties and early Nineties, Ugly Stick, a four-piece band hailing from tiny Delaware, Ohio, blended the frenetic, stop-start punk of Los Angeles–era X with the melodic, driving, country-tinged guitar rock of vintage Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and created a Midwestern rock style that critics agreed was “genre-crossing” and “seminal.” Steeped in the small times and small towns of America’s rural heartland, and inspired by the roots of rock’n’roll and the almost mystical landscape in which they grew up, Ugly Stick made music that is at once expressive and raw, evocative and hard-hitting.

The band’s previous efforts include the pivotal "Absinthe" (1993), heralded as the “bedrock of the Cowtown sound” (Columbus Alive), and in 2008, Ugly Stick reconvened briefly to record the critically acclaimed "Still Glistening", praised as a “pioneering blend of genres” (Altsound).

Now, Hovercraft is proud to announce the release of "Pick Up the Hatchet", a double-CD reissue of Ugly Stick’s self-titled cassette-only debut (1989) and the band’s sophomore effort, "Shaved" (1991). Newly remastered and never before available beyond the flea markets, drive-in theaters, and the lone record store in Delaware County, Ohio, these albums reveal the band at its most spasmodic and quixotic.

"Pick Up the Hatchet" is a rough, tuneful ode to growing up and getting out as sung by the rarest of raconteurs: untested young spirits caught in the act finding their way. The collection will be available in stores July 12, 2011 and can be purchased digitally through iTunes and all other online outlets.

A free MP3 download of Ugly Stick's single "Holy Ghost" is here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?eu7ebz871zk9m22.

Website: www.myspace.com/uglystickohio