Framing Hanley rewrites history

It’s often hard to turn tragedy into triumph, but if there is a group of people who know how to, it’s the five members of the Nashville-based rock band Framing Hanley.

When a tragic car accident took the life of a close friend, Ashley Hanley, in 2006 the group of friends overcame adversity and used music to heal their scars.

After they signed with Silent Majority Records in December of 2006, the band had to alter things a bit. Their original name, Ember’s Fade, was already used in another band’s name so they had to change it. It didn’t take long for the band to find a new name, as they decided to honor their fallen photography-loving friend the only way they knew.

That’s when Framing Hanley was officially born.

“We wanted to do something to pay remembrance to her,” frontman Kenneth Nixon said. “It’s something that is very meaningful to us.”

The current lineup, featuring Nixon (23) on vocals, Chris Vest (22) on drums, Luke McDuffee (22) on bass and Brandon Wootten (23) on guitar have been playing together since late 2006.

The only lineup change was the addition of Ryan Belcher (19) on guitar in place of Tim Huskinson, who left the band in mid-2007 to deal with family issues and back problems.

“Ryan filled in when (Tim) had to miss a couple of tours after back surgery,” Nixon said. “He’s been with us ever since.”

The band originally started as a high school garage band featuring Vest and McDuffee. An opening for a lead singer came up, so the duo decided to post flyers on the bulleting boards across a community college they attended.

Nixon, who already had an interest in rock music, found the flyer and decided to try out.

The rest is history.

“I just answered the bulletin and went to rehearsal and auditioned for the vocals and ended up making the band,” he explained. “From there it was somebody that knew somebody that knew somebody else. That’s all it was.”

Over that time Framing Hanley has surely had to cope with many things since they first burst onto the scene in 2006.

However, it’s the way they have overcome those obstacles together that has brought the band closer together.

Nixon said the toughest part about being in a band is not what they went through, but what they represent.

“Just being a young band,” he said. “That’s one of the hardest things to overcome in the industry is being a ‘baby band.’ It’s hard for people to take us seriously and once we get in front of them, most of the time their demeanor changes. We want to just go out there and show people that even though we are young, we are passionate about music as well.”

Apparently things worked out. In 2007, the band released their first album, “The Moment, featuring 10 Framing Hanley originals.

They’ve opened up for the likes of Trapt, Fuel, Saving Abel and Tantric among others. In addition, they worked with Jeff Hanson, the former manager of Creed.

They’ve also had the chance to tour 46 of 50 states in just their first tour two years ago.

Nixon, as well as his band mates, are grateful to be where they are today, especially making it as a rock band growing up in the heartland of country music. If it weren’t for Nixon’s uncle, and a collector’s set of Guns-N-Roses’ “Appetite for Destruction,” he would probably not be in the spot he is today.

“For me, growing up in Nashville, I was around music all of my life, he said. “My dad’s brother brought his Guns-N-Roses Appetite for Destruction Collector’s Set over to our house. That’s what did it for me. If it weren’t for that album, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into rock in the first place. It changed my whole perspective on music and look where it got me today.”

Their favorite song to play is a rock remake of Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop,” which has surfaced on YouTube and on their MySpace page.

“It’s something very different and it is a really upbeat and fun song,” Nixon said. “The crowd really responds well to it.”

When the speakers are off and the show is over, Nixon said all of the members like to “be as lazy as we can be,” and sleep. Although with the recent releases of EA Sports Madden 09 and NCAA 09, much of their time has been spent behind the XBOX 360.

When it’s all said and done, the band members want their fans to know that they are just another one of them.

“We’re just five guys who love music, hit it lucky and caught a break,” Nixon said. “To be where we are now is almost unimaginable. We love just being able to play our music for a different group of people every night.”

To hear songs from their album “The Moment,” or to find out more about the band, find them on MySpace at www.myspace.com/framinghanley.