Rising from the ashes of some notable and forgettable Wisconsin bands is HAMMERED.

HAMMERED is a product of the 1980’s hard rock/hair metal scene. Twin brothers John Berghammer (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar) and Tom Berghammer (vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar) are the writing foundation of HAMMERED. Tom Reitz (vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar) and Tom Loppnow (vocals, drums, percussion) complete the band.

John Berghammer, Tom Berghammer and Tom Reitz have been close friends since meeting in 1985. Together with Greg Lenske (lead vocals, drums), ANGEL WHITE played for six years in the hard rock, club circuit in Southeastern Wisconsin. ANGEL WHITE was successful on a local level and played many great shows. But the band broke up as the demands of life grew.

By day for the next ten years…John Berghammer was the Advertising Director for a large automotive group in Milwaukee. Tom Berghammer was a Business and Regional Manager for various Consumer Products companies throughout the United States. Tom Reitz was a dentist with his own practice in Edgerton. Greg Lenske was a firefighter serving the city of West Allis.

By night for the next ten years…John and Tom Berghammer developed songwriting skills together. Tom Reitz and Greg Lenske played in a variety of bands.

In 2001, John Berghammer met Tom Loppnow working as the Audio Engineer at Another Planet Film and Post – a radio/television/movie production studio. The two connected and Lopp began jamming with the Hammers. An accomplished vocalist and drummer with a full resume of bands…Lopp fit in well. Songs from the Berghammer archives began to flow out of the sessions. Soon Tom Reitz (TR) was called in for lead guitar work. HAMMERED was solidified.

The first opportunity for HAMMERED to do something special was in late 2004 when David Orgas was producing the movie DARE TO DREAM: THE ALAN KULWICKI STORY. David needed a song to describe the character, determination and will of Alan Kulwicki. Written by HAMMERED, NUMBER 7 is that song. David used NUMBER 7 under the climactic race sequence and under the closing credits of the movie. The movie was released in 2005.

In 2006 HAMMERED wrote and recorded another theme song for a movie soundtrack. This is the song SNAKES ON A PLANE. Written for a songwriting contest for the movie, SNAKES ON A PLANE was never submitted for entry. The deadline had passed. We blew it.

Recorded in the same session was a fun tune called GET HAMMERED TIME. It has become the band’s theme song.

Recorded in December 2006 is a trio of songs. THE BITTER END is a triple acoustic guitar song about divorce. ROCK AND A HARD PLACE describes a guy’s struggle between his woman and the road. THE COLOR OF RAIN is about a father losing his young daughter.

HAMMERED are not a bunch of wide-eyed kids trying to be rock stars. Individually, band members have performed hundreds of gigs over the years. The main goal of HAMMERED is to make a positive difference through our songs.

Enter 2007. The future is bright. HAMMERED has an arsenal of songs to be recorded. The rockers are filled with anthem choruses and riff-driven guitars. The ballads are touching and inspiring at the same time. There are songs about good vs. evil and significant events between birth and death.

“You win when you finish, you lose when you don’t try” – NUMBER 7.

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