Turn those radio dials back to when rock was king because on Friday, Hall Aflame will release its new album Amplifire.

The record, according to the band’s guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, is “old school, uplifting, hard rock and roll.”

“It’s not metal, it’s not thrashy, it’s not negative. It’s just fun, hard rock,” said Vanderhoof, who grew up in Aberdeen and who starred in the famous Metal Church. “If you like that stuff, then you’re gonna love this music.”

While the project, produced by RatPak Records, was supposed to be much smaller scale than what it has become, a full, 12-track album with three music videos, Vanderhoof is eagerly anticipating its release.

“I’m stoked about it,” Vanderhoof said. “It’s amazing because we didn’t really think Hall Aflame was ever gonna really do anything except maybe record a few things, but it just took off like crazy. The response we’re getting from the videos and stuff is more than we had even hoped. We’re going to be really looking forward to playing live very soon.”

On April 7, about 40 people were invited to watch the music videos on the album. There was a lot of applause that night, which bodes well for the record’s and videos’ mass appeal.

Vanderhoof spoke about the album a few days ahead of its May 3 release. He sounded excited and eager to unleash Amplifire on the world. Vanderhoof is also the reason for the album’s title. Here is the track listing, according to RatPak Records:

• Helltown

• Ripcord

• 1974

• This Ain’t Love

• The Same Gutter

• It Ain’t Enough

• Gunnin’

• Pullin’ Me Apart

• Long Way Down

• Keeping Them All Away

• Cowboy

• Paradise on Ice

So far, Hall Aflame has released two songs on all major streaming services, as well as the videos for those tracks — “The Same Gutter” and “1974” — on YouTube.

Rick Moyer of Moyer Multi Media, filmed the two music videos on Grays Harbor, plus a third video for another song in Shelton. Moyer said Vanderhoof approached him “about a year ago about maybe being open to producing some music videos.”

“He called me out of the blue one day and asked if I’d be interested,” Moyer said. “I said ‘let me look at my schedule.’ And in the next breath I said ‘Sure! Are you kidding?’ Music is my passion and I love doing videos to bring it to life. I had always wanted to work with Kurdt on something like this and now my prayers were being answered.”

According to Moyer, the band decided to film the videos on the Harbor.

“The Same Gutter” was mostly filmed in Aberdeen’s Art Alley, The Tap Room and in the parking lot on the west side of the Side One Studios building. The cast included Jake Blood, Libby Carrico, Brandon Pauley, Aberdeen Police Officer Jason Capps, Phil Luce, Ron Harless, Matt Harless, Rosa Dzivbak, Chris Jensen and Dawn Jensen.

“The actors and extras really did great,” Moyer said. “The extras got paid a beer. … Our main actors got paid a small stipend. I was actually surprised they agreed since we were on a tight budget. We were even able to pay one of the APD officers an hour of overtime when he was off work to appear in ‘The Same Gutter.’”

Vanderhoof spoke positively about filming in Aberdeen.

“It was really nice to be in downtown Aberdeen, especially with all of us growing up there,” Vanderhoof said.

The production timing for the videos presented a challenge for the band. Moyer said the filming happened later than both he and Hall Aflame had planned.

“We shot them in October and it was just starting to get really cold,” Vanderhoof said. “There are times when I look at (the videos). I can see it in my face and I can see that we’re sitting there just trying to not like we’re freezing our butts off. But, it was really a lot of fun to be there. The band is from there, so we really wanted to do something great.”

The rest of the band features Scott Nutter on vocals, Brian Smith on bass and vocals and Bill Raymond on the drums. Smith is from Hoquiam, and Nutter is from Puyallup.

Shooting the videos in the west end of Aberdeen’s Art Alley was the right space for the videos, too.

“That alley was really perfect with all of the graffiti and everything,” Vanderhoof said. “It was just a whole lot of fun.”

Moyer said his wife, Amy Moyer, was a “huge help” in getting the filming locations set up and the props made. According to Rick Moyer, his production assistant Emma Bradford was “amazing and so very helpful.”

Moyer said Dani and Lee Bacon, the owners of the Side One Studios building were “great mentors.”

“(They helped with) the process of planning the shoots and helped with ideas to make the shoots smooth and creative,” Moyer said. “I’m so grateful for them providing our home base while we were filming. We even filmed a majority of the “1974” video in the old Goldberg’s recliner show room. It’s a mirrored room that looks like a disco. Perfect.”

Moyer said the Bacons’ experience helped.

“(They have tons of experience) in not only the entertainment arena, but practical lighting, and logistics, and the ideas they have are tremendous,” Moyer said. “I lucked out having them on my team.”

Shooting the videos took a lot of technical work.

“When you film a music video you play back the recorded song through speakers at the band and they sing along with it,” Moyer said. “In many cases it takes over 12 or 13 takes, plus close-ups. It’s an all-day affair.”

What helped Moyer is Hall Aflame was “very cooperative.”

“They were also open to suggestions and storylines in the creative process,” Moyer said. “My goal as the producer was to give them something they would love. We didn’t want it to be cheesy, but we didn’t want it to be too slick, either. I grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, so I felt I was a good match to the style of music they play.”

It only helped that Moyer believed in the music product he had to work with.

“I feel like the new album Amplifier by Hall Aflame is really good,” Moyer said. “It’s the kind of music you can cruise to and rock out to. (It’s) really down my alley, pardon the pun, since one of the videos was produced in downtown Aberdeen is the graffitied alleyway.”

Vanderhoof enjoyed all aspects of the project.

“The whole thing about this Hall Aflame project is it’s been a lot of fun since the beginning,” Vanderhoof said. “It wasn’t really intended to be something real. It was just something that Brian (Smith) and I wanted to document the songs that we had done. It just turned out so good that we decided to take it to the next level and then take it to the next level (again) and (then) take it to the next one. So now, with everything that’s going on, we’re like ‘OK, we’re gonna go be a band now.’”

Moyer was equally happy with the finished product.

“All in all, it was a very satisfying project that I was thrilled to be a part of,” Moyer said. “Big thanks to all the support of the Hall Aflame fans in Aberdeen, as well as the music scene people of Aberdeen and Grays Harbor.”

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.

Rick Moyer of Moyer Multi Media LLC. Scott Nutter, vocalist for Hall Aflame, rocks out during the filming of the band’s music video for “The Same Gutter.” The music video was filmed within the west side of Aberdeen’s Artists Alley.

Provided photo The album cover for Hall Aflame’s new album “Amplifire.” RatPak Records produced the album. Rick Moyer, of Moyer Multi Media LLC., filmed videos for “The Same Gutter” and “1974” right on the Harbor.

Amy Moyer of Moyer Multi Media LLC. Rick Moyer, right, films Brian Smith, on bass, and the rest of Hall Aflame inside the “old Goldberg’s recliner show room” inside the Side One Studios in order to make the video for the track “1974,” which will appear on the band’s new album Amplifire.