Hackensaw Boys, ‘You Act Like My Friend’ [Exclusive Premiere]

Longtime string band Hackensaw Boys have a new project coming in June, and they're premiering one of its songs exclusively with The Boot. Readers can press play below to hear "You Act Like My Friend."

The group's David Sickmen tells The Boot that a documentary on blues artist Howlin' Wolf "really moved me," and inspired Sickmen to write "You Act Like My Friend." "[I wanted to] write something that felt like a Howlin' Wolf tune to me but through the lens of a Hackensaw Boys song," he explains.

"The song tells the tale of a troubled, badass woman who is completely mesmerizing, but, in a relationship, is probably gonna chew you up and spit you out," Sickmen adds. "It's getting at that feeling of not being able to help yourself, going down a romantic path with someone, even if you're pretty sure it’s not for the long haul and you’ll probably wind up hurt and left behind."

The Hackensaw Boys, originally formed in Charlottesville, Va., have been around since 1999, when Sickmen founded the group with three other musicians. Sickmen left the band in the mid-2000s, but re-joined in 2012 and is now the only founding member remaining. In addition to Sickmen, the Hackensaw Boys also currently include Beau Dodson, Chris Stevens and Caleb Powers.

The Hackensaw Boys' new EP, A Fireproof House of Sunshine, is due out on Free Dirt Records on June 21. Sickmen says the title is a nod to the band's history.

“I always thought that our story was about all the people that have come and gone from the band, but I think now the story’s more about a band that just wants to keep developing," he notes. "It’s not about the past 20 years we put in, it’s more about the next 20 years we want to put in.”

Fans can visit HackensawBoys.com to learn more about the EP and the band's upcoming tour dates.

Listen to Hackensaw Boys' "You Act Like My Friend"

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