Hard Water Is Against the Rocks

SOUTHINGTON — A Southington-based band, Hard Water, has molded itself into one of the most original in the area.
The group recently released its first album, “Against the Rocks,” which features songs with lyrics drawn from the teens’ lives and other sources. “One or two are about girls, one or two are about anti-government,” said James Buckwell, a New Britain High School junior. “They really come out of nowhere,” he said of the lyrics he writes.
The band is made up of James Buckwell, 17, on the bass and vocals; Ian Sherwood, 16, on the guitar; and Julian Sherwood, 14, on the drums and vocals. Each brings his own unique talents and personality into their music, which makes their sound different and distinct.
“Against the Rocks” has 12 tracks, all of which offer something new for the ear to enjoy. It’s mostly alternative rock, but every once in awhile you can hear punk creeping in. The album is strong altogether, because the band is able to mix talent and new ideas with their extensive knowledge of the rock genre, to make something that sounds compelling.

“My influences would be Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Who, The Strokes, Sublime and A Tribe Called Quest,” said Buckwell.
Ian Sherwood then gave his influences, “The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen.” He also enjoys New Alternative music.
Julian Sherwood, who does amazing drum work on the track “In the Garden,” listens to the same things as James and Ian.
When the band isn’t listening to their favorite music or practicing they’re busy with school or shows. They’ve played at Toad’s Place, The Space and Zen Bar. They’ve also been featured on WCCC 106.9 as the Homegrown Artist of the week, and they made it onto The River 105.9 twice.
Just recently, Hard Water was featured on Fox TV 61’s 10 p .m. news.
They’ve accomplished a lot, but where are they going to go from here?
“I want to do this as long as possible,” said Buckwell.
Julian said, “I want to go to college, but stick with the band as long as possible,” he said, also saying that he would like to study marine biology.
Ian also wants to remain with band, but would like to keep it as a side project. That is unless the band makes it big.
“I want to go to college, but continue with the band,” said Ian.
If you are interested in buying a copy of their album you can do so at cdbaby.com,amazon.com or itunes. If you would like to see them live they will be playing a show at Zen Bar, 317 Farmington Ave., Plainville. March 27.

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace Going 3D In 2012

On Feb. 10, 2012, Jar Jar Binks will annoy us in the third dimension. Yes, the infamous first chapter of the Star Wars saga is going 3D, but who is actually excited about this?

I'm not going to sit here and bash the film, that's been done enough, but I would like to ask why do we need these films in 3D? The prequel trilogy had enough problems with filling up the screen with nonsense and now they're going to add 3D, it just seems like we should let these films be.

Maybe some of you are excited to see the saga in 3D, but I feel it's unnecessary. I also feel that 3D is really unnecessary, yeah for some movies it might work, but do we really need to see the original Star Wars trilogy in 3D? I don' think so.

A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi captured our hearts and imaginations without the use of 3D. I loved these movies because I felt a connection to the characters, the world they lived in and the story. Yeah the early special effects were great and the lightsabers are kick ass, but those things aren't the reason I come back to these films, I come back to them to enjoy the story and the characters.

Bottom line: I'm not really interested in seeing the prequels in 3D and the original trilogy doesn't need it, because their story and characters are already in the third dimension.

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