Super 400 (w/ SpaceTrash)

Super 400 makes its Unihog debut, supported by Unihog faves SpaceTrash.

Super 400’s self-titled debut was released on Island Records in the summer of 1998, with the young trio flexing their skills on shimmering rock ballads (“Tired Ghost of Love,” “Don’t Grow So”), pop-infused numbers (“Hitch a Ride”), heavy groove-rock anthems (‘One 1000,” “Day Bye Day”), and the enduring, chunky-riffed fan favorite “Cause.” They began outfitting a touring van to hit the road and promote the album (and their first single “Dreamboat”) with Island’s support. But in December of ’98, the Seagram Company bought PolyGram Records and its subsidiary labels, including Island. The new ownership unceremoniously dumped nearly all the rock bands from their rosters, including Super 400.

The newly-independent trio took a collective breath, refocused and continued doing what they’d always done: gathering new fans with a steady schedule of scorching live gigs at rock venues around the region, and spending around 30 hours every week jamming, writing and performing new material for their next album. They also kept busy with a variety of session and support work around the Northeast US, including overseas tours of England, Scotland and Wales. Kenny even made his national television debut in front of millions of viewers on “Saturday Night Live” in January 2001 in Lenny Kravitz’s band for the broadcast.

Kenny Hohman picked up the guitar as a boy after hearing Eddie Van Halen’s mind-bending tracks on the early Van Halen records. Joe Daley’s two older brothers were already established musicians, so when Joe was a teenager, he cut his teeth playing the drums with them at dingy clubs and blues joints in and around Troy. After high school, Joe and Kenny moved to New York City, then Woodstock, in the hopes finding the right bass player and establishing a Rock and Roll band. Their travels left them unsatisfied and Hohman and Daley returned home, where on a Monday night blues jam, they unexpectedly met bassist Lori Friday. Friday grew up in a one-stoplight town, subsisted on the heavy rock and soul sounds of her heroes and was searching for her musical match. The three made a date to jam in a Troy warehouse, and after 45 minutes, Super 400 was born. They didn’t need to speak of it – they were a band from the first note.

Tours both in the US and abroad started a chain of bootleg recordings that have been traded and coveted around the world. Their international following sold out over 20 shows across Europe on their last tour. Back home, the mayor of Troy gave Super 400 their own official holiday, ‘Super 400 Day’, to recognize the band’s musical achievements as well as the love and support the city has shown for them. Super 400 recorded their most recent full length, ‘Sweet Fist’, at legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis, TN, and followed the release with their biggest US tour to date. They’ve appeared on national television in the US and abroad, written music for top-rated shows on American television, and continue to light stages with their love and intense passion for playing. The COVID pandemic prompted a fortification of the home studio, where the band has been writing, recording, mixing, making art, and launching these efforts to their online audience as well as planning full length releases in 2023.

In 2022, Super 400 was honored to be inducted into the New York Capital Region Music Hall of Fame, as well as being the recipient of the award for Best Rock Band.