In the early 80s, Russ Hammock was actively involved in heavy metal bands, first as a drummer for BRAT, then Thunder. Born into a pioneer Pinellas County family, the first son of the late Leon Russell Hammock, Sr. and Roberta (Bobbie) Riddell Hammock was not attending or planning to attend any church. Enter an attractive, auburn-haired Unity minister, the Rev. Dr. Leddy Hammock, and the couple married on December 14, 1985. Five years later, on May 27, they welcomed a son, Levi Russell Lowell Hammock.
Today, Russ is Director of Operations at UCC, where he claims to do “nothing in front of a mic.” Yet, it is Russ, as lead audio engineer with the tech team who runs the sound that is integral to every Sunday morning service. He is also in charge of purchasing and maintenance and technical issues, audiovisual and computer related, at the church and at Peace Cottage, plus organizer of meetups, eNews and marketing, all contributing to longer hours at UCC than at home.
All this and the musical More: Right after graduating from Clearwater High School, Russ started forming bands. He had wanted to play drums since 4th grade, but lessons were delayed until he was 13. (The school band director decided he should play trumpet.) For 13 years, the bands were his life while working in the corner service station (where he met Leddy), plus the odd jobs that he and fellow band members were hired to do to earn funds for recording studio time.
Both bands in which Russ played had major label interest before they imploded. BRAT, courted by Atlantic and Chrysalis Records, fell apart just before Russ and Leddy’s marriage. Thunder, having attracted the attention of Polygram Records, collapsed in the early 90s. “The Seattle music scene took over the musical world by storm and left us hanging there,” Russ recalls. Both bands, however, continue to get requests from independent labels, and over the last 15 years, 500 copies of a collectable LP was produced of BRAT, titled Sword and Stone which sold out quickly and CDs of both bands were released by Retrospect Records. Russ and his band partners continue to field inquiries from fans around the world and independent record labels.
In time, Russ would bring his experience of marketing bands to a whole new level. Although his first musical love was heavy metal and his second, classic 70s funk, a growing interest in promoting singers with a positive message led to ownership of emPower Music and Arts, along with founder Richard Mekdeci, speaker, singer and award winning songwriter, and Sue Riley, long time music ministry director at UCC.
The passionate conviction of these leaders that music and the arts can make a positive impact on our world led to the creation of the Posi Music Festival 14 years ago. Now, it is a mega concert culminating in an awards show, featuring a collection of talented artists recognized nationally for outstanding Posi music and held annually in Tampa.
As his musical tastes have grown, so has his commitment to Unity. Growing up, Russ had some reverence for the Baptist church home of his parents, but “it did not ever really speak to me like Unity does,” he says. He could never understand the big But that always seemed to accompany the declaration that “God loves you.”
A football, hockey and NASCAR fan and frequent and appreciative Taco Bell customer, Russ, on an infrequent Sunday, substitutes as a drummer in the Unity band. He is also heavily involved in planning his and Leddy’s move to a new residence, his father’s former home (just 3 minutes away), where one day he plans the addition of a recording studio and, claiming that his skills are rusty, looks forward to “re-learning how to play drums.”
The rewards of Russ Hammock’s dedication to music and devotion to Unity transcend generations, brilliantly manifested in the accomplishments of son Levi, an honors graduate of the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance. A piano student of Sue Riley’s since he was 6, Levi – longtime lead guitarist at UCC – is now Sr. Box Office Manager at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and also music director at Unity of Pasadena, as well as a world traveler.