Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Gerrard.
Will, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My cousin (James) and I (Will) always played music, went to shows religiously, and were in other bands over the years, but never in a band together. For many years, we have a sound in mind we always thought would work and be fun to explore, meshing reggae and blues. After going to the last ever transnational Warped Tour, we were inspired to start a new band together. We intended to make it a pop punk project, but when we got together for our first session with the original drummer (Lavi), it just wasn’t clicking. We quickly changed gears to try out this reggae/reggae rock and blues sound and there was instant chemistry.
Fast forward to the next summer and a friend was throwing a pool party for July 4th in Jax Beach. He called me up and said he wanted our band to play at the party. The only problem was, we didn’t have a singer or even a name. I called up an old school mate (Cody) who I knew was back in Jax and was a phenomenal singer. I pitched him the band, the upcoming show, and he said “Im in”. Singer, check. We still needed a band name. At the time, my friend (Taylor) and I had a tournement fishing team and outdoor media operation call Hulagans. The name and aesthetic was just such a natural fit for the band too so we ran with it. Name, check. The band spent the next 2 or 3 weeks hammering out a 2 hour set of covers for this fourth of July party. The party was a smash hit and The Hulagans were officially born. A clip from that first show was even posted on Barstool Sports.
Seven years later and we’re still here doin’ our thing. After that first show, we committed to staying the course and putting in the work quite literally week after week. We get together to play at least once a week. We continued to create, build relationships, put in consistent work, and fully embrace all of our experiences and opportunities along the way and every year has only gotten better for us. We just had our biggest year yet as a band, accomplishing our #1 goal since day one – to play at the Reggae Rise Up Festival. Now we need a new #1 goal.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Like a lot of bands, we have had a line up changes to contend with. We are on our 3rd drummer and we have lost 2 guitar players as well. Life happens and people have to follow their path, but its always hard to rebuild that bond and lock in with new players, much less finding a drummer in general. Borderline impossible feet.
Maybe 9 months after the band officially started, COVID happened. We had a couple gigs under our belt and a big opportunity lined up to open for Arise Roots from Cali at Jack Rabbits in San Marco. Of course that show was canceled when music venues shut down. That one stung – we were all excited for that first big opportunity. Like most bands that made it through Covid, we struggled through trying to figure out how to do live streams and DIY recording and video editing. Once venues started to reopen here, Jack Rabbits was cool enough to have us play shows there a lot in that transition period. We really cut out teeth and gained a lot of experience with all aspects of live performance during that time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are a band playing original music thats a fusion of reggae, blues, and southern rock. Back when the band started, we didn’t know what to call it so we started calling it Swamp Roots Reggae and that self titled genre has kind of become synonymous with the band. I don’t think many people typically try to combine those flavors.
Id say we are most proud of our debit set at the Reggae Rise Up music festival this past March in St. Pete, FL. That’s a big deal on the East Coast and that was our #1 goal, the mountain top since we started. It was an incredible experience and we cant wait to do it again.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
As a band, we all fondly remember going to the Vans Warped Tour every summer. I think it was a core memory for all of us and key in keeping us interested in music, keeping us inspired to chase this dream, and whether we knew it or not at the time, we were studying how the pros were putting on a sick live show.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hulagans_music
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hulagansmusic904/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCReYymAYqParUsuSyY5Ffw
- Bandcamp: https://thehulagans.bandcamp.com/album/bout-damn-time
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1L5ciyz6Aq3GvvVwcYogEp?si=95a97a2e456e44eb
