Annie Hardy

Annie-Summer Hardy (born June 5, 1981) is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the American rock act Giant Drag.

Previously signed to Interscope Records, she was voted one of NME's "50 Coolest People," and has received major news coverage in NME,^[1] Spin,^[2] MTV News^[3] and Rolling Stone,^[4] among others.

She is known for her quick-witted stage persona and retorts to insults (Hardy has said, "As long as I get the last laugh, I'm fine"^[5]), and for the explicit titles of some of her songs, such as "You Fuck Like My Dad" (which was shortened to "YFLMD") and "My Dick Sux" (though the lyrical content of the actual songs is not as blatantly explicit).

Early life

Hardy grew up mostly in San Clemente, a city in Orange County, California. Her mother is Molly Hardy, a part-time playwright and director.^[6] When Hardy was younger, she acted in one of her mother's plays. She got her first guitar when she was in the sixth grade, but attempts at getting lessons failed.

In the tenth grade, Hardy went to a boarding school in Ojai of which she says, "There was nothing to do there. I was acting there and I was in the choir."^[7] It was there that she met another girl who also had a guitar. According to Hardy, "Her Dad was teaching her Beatles songs. So we learned how to play together. I learned a lot by studying piano books that had chord charts. I bought some rock books. Around then I learned how to play and sing at the same time."^[7]

After high school, Hardy did extra work for money and pursued a musical career. In 1998, she moved to Los Angeles. At some point, Hardy worked as a DJ at Beauty Bar. Hardy continued looking for band members and was involved in many potential bands, including Mein Coif, with friends Mike Felix (now drummer of Toys That Kill) and Max Humphrey (bassist of The Adored).

Giant Drag

In May 2003, Hardy and Micah Calabrese formed Giant Drag. Hardy's mother, who had worked with Calabrese, had initially attempted to get Hardy and Calabrese to meet, but the two eventually met through mutual friends. They began recording music together, including covers of Journey's "Who's Crying Now" and the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows."

According to Hardy, "One day I said, 'Hey dude, you know all my songs. Why don't you be my drummer?' He agreed."^[7] They considered looking for a bass player, until Calabrese began playing bass parts on a synthesizer with his left hand while playing drums with his right as a joke. Hardy and Calabrese decided that Calabrese would continue to do this from that point on.

Giant Drag's first show was on June 4, 2003, at the Scene in Los Angeles, one month after they decided to be a band. They went on to play venues like The Troubadour, Silverlake Lounge, The Fold and The Derby.

On January 25, 2005, Giant Drag released the EP Lemona on Wichita Recordings. This was followed on September 13, 2005 by their first full-length release, Hearts and Unicorns, on Kickball Records.

In December 2008, NME announced that she was suffering from muscle disorder fibromyalgia.^[8] According to College News, her condition was later referenced in Paul Avion's (of Par Avion)'s song "Fibromyalgia".^[9]

Celebrity fans include Daniel Radcliffe.^[10]

The Swan Song EP was released on February 16, 2010.^[11][12]

Collaborations

In February 2010, she made her screen debut in a short film by Spike Jonze.^[13]

Hardy provided guest vocals on the song "Pink Cellphone" from the 2006 Deftones album Saturday Night Wrist.^[14] On 26 April 2007 Hardy performed the song "Just Like Honey" onstage with The Jesus and Mary Chain for their reunion show the day before Coachella.^[15]

Other works

Annie Hardy frequently co-hosts the Get The Fuck Up "GTFU" radio show^[16] with Jeremy Weiss and Aaron Farley.

On January 4, 2007, Hardy announced on Giant Drag's official website that she will be recording a cover of Madonna's "Oh Father" for a charity/tribute Madonna album that will benefit AIDS in Africa tentatively titled "Through The Wilderness."^[17]

Giant Drag's cover of "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak is currently the commercial for the upcoming season of Nip/Tuck on the FX Network.^[18][19] Giant Drag originals have been featured on television shows including The L-Word, Jericho and the movie A Love Song For Bobby Long starring Scarlett Johanson and John Travolta.

See also

• Micah Calabrese
• Giant Drag

Footnotes

External links

• Giant Drag official website
• Kickball Records
• LA Weekly
• SFBurning
• Filter Magazine
• Flavorpill NYC