Ed Hamell, who performs under the name Hamell on Trial, has built a steady following for his anti-folk, punk rock-influenced acoustic music. Alternating between brash and funny, his sound has more in common with rock than the gentle folksingers of yore. Hamell on Trial got his start in upstate New York, where Hamell split from the band he was playing with and embraced the notion of playing as a solo act. After recording his 1989 debut as Hamell on Trial, Conviction, for Syracuse's Blue Wave Records, he eventually decided that a journey south might be beneficial to his musical ...