Carrie Akre
Vocalist - Hammerbox, Goodness, The Rockfords
Carrie Akre, lead singer of Hammerbox, was a powerful presence on stage. Her lyrics resonated in ways male led bands did not. “You think we’re all the same, it doesn’t matter, your actions speak different from your words…oh you’re crying again…boy you probably need to take a step up, the words you’re speaking will hurt you in the end now…two wrongs have never been a right...”
Hammerbox released a debut on C/Z Records and Numb on A&M. Carrie later formed Goodness and The Rockfords, both releasing multiple records and touring widely, and also collaborated with Pat DiNizio and released five solo albums and two 45” singles.
Carrie sought to collaborate with women through compelling imagery that tells her story. Rosetta Greek’s work captures her in a new light, created at the end of a long day producing a collaborative piece for a gallery launch. The project encourages women to embrace their power, speak it openly, and recognize what can happen through collaboration.
Photo by Rosetta Greek
Transcript
Hi, my name is Carrie Arke and I'm the lead singer of Hammerbox, Goodness, The Rockfords, and I'm also a solo artist. I grew up in the Tri-Cities, Kennewick actually, which is located in southern eastern corner of Washington.
It was a very car required place. My first car was a 1963 Datsun that I called Shithead. I love that car. It was equipped with a cassette player and X, the band, was on constant rotation. Exene Servanka in particular, I really adored her and was an idol of mine. And I dreamed of LA and wondered what it must be like to live there and be in that punk scene.
Cut to 1994 and Harris and I, who was the guitar player for Hammerbox, were playing an acoustic set in Seattle at this cafe that was called I Spy, opening for the one and only Exene Servanka. Needless to say, I was nervous and I have always loved playing intimate shows, but with Exene standing there, I was kind of shaky and was really nervous. I had to close my eyes and carry on.
Afterward, I made myself muster the courage to tell her what a huge fan I was of her poetry and music. And I'll never forget what she said to me. "You have an amazing voice and I should be opening for you. Do you want to hang out?" I couldn't believe it. That was such an incredible moment for me. And I'm sure I stood there with my mouth open. I said, "Hell yes, I wanted to hang out!" And I did. Moments like these I keep and I cherish always, and I remain grateful and a huge fan.