The Empty Hearts

The Empty Hearts are four guys with impressive musical résumés who've joined together to play music they love — simple, straightforward, but soulful rock & roll informed by '60s garage rock and British Invasion sounds. The Empty Hearts feature Wally Palmar of the Romantics on lead vocals, rhythm guitar, and harmonica; Elliot Easton of the Cars on lead guitar and vocals; Andy Babiuk of the Chesterfield Kings on bass and vocals; and Clem Burke of Blondie on drums and vocals. The idea for the Empty Hearts came to Babiuk while he was providing period-appropriate music gear for David Chase's '60s rock film Not Fade Away; working on the film reminded him of the excitement and spontaneity of playing music in his teenage years, and he wanted to form a band with some friends that would feel as fun and as powerful. Babiuk first recruited his longtime friend Palmar for the project, and they then brought in their mutual friends Burke (who had played with Palmar in the Romantics) and Easton (who had done session work with Blondie). Babiuk's friend Steven Van Zandt suggested the name the Empty Hearts, and the new quartet got to work writing songs. The band gathered in Rochester, New York in March 2013 at Babiuk's recording studio Fab Gear, with Ed Stasium as producer and former Faces keyboard player Ian McLagan guesting on piano and organ. In five days, the Empty Hearts knocked out an album's worth of new material, and after striking a deal with 429 Records, the album, simply called The Empty Hearts, was released in August 2014.