HERRIMAN, Utah, April 30, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Rocker and guitarist Gary Axesmith — yep, it’s a stage name — remembers growing up in the era when the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were standards on the radio.
And they were fine, just fine.
But one day, something different — more raw, fiery and electrifying — found its way onto the sleepy AM station on his radio.
It was Jimi Hendrix singing “Foxy Lady.”
“There’s kind of a feedback intro to it, and I can still remember hearing it,” Axesmith said. “And from then on, that was it.”
Axesmith became a rocker. His tastes expanded to include Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, “and all of the genre of music,” he said.
Axesmith brings his music and his band, Citizen Hypocrisy, to Redemption Bar & Grill on Friday for a concert of rock with an edge. He plays with bass player and band cofounder D.J. Pierno, and drummer Jaymin Mahler. Rust opens the show at 8:30 p.m.. Doors open at 8 p.m. Find your tickets here.
Citizen Hypocrisy plans original hard rock, but sometimes throws in a cover from Velvet Revolver or Saliva, among others, Axesmith said, “because people want to hear it or hear them, and it’s fun. We like to do it. But no, we’re not a cover band. We do originals.”
About a decade back, the band was working on a song tentatively titled “Cities of Hypocrisy,” and was also looking for a new band name.
“And one of the guys who were with us at the time goes, ‘Hey, Citizen Hypocrisy — that’s a cool band name,’ and it was born right there. We said, ‘OK, that’s unique.’ That’s, that’s how it happened.”
The previous band name? Them Changes.
“If you Google your band name and find there are other bands with that name, you want to avoid confusion,” Axesmith said. “There were other bands named that. We wanted something unique, so you’re not competing with anybody else.”
The band has been around, in various forms, since about 2009, and it has built a following of loyal fans.
“I think they have a fun time,” Axesmith said. “I know that sometimes people are impressed by the fact that there’s so much volume and so much going on with just a three piece. That is sort of a unique thing.”
Axesmith admits he and Pierno may be a tad older than some of the hard rockers on the scene.
“Some reaction can be where they see a couple old guys thinking, ‘Well, it’s like a backyard barbecue kind of thing. It’s going to be sort of that kind of a vibe.'”
Don’t be fooled.
“Once they get into the whole thing, it becomes this rock show, and they like it.”
Axesmith said there are no plans to retire. No rocking chairs waiting in the wings.
“We’ll be doing it as long as it’s fun. It’s full steam ahead. There’s really no plan to quit. It’s manifest. But as of right now, no, there is no plan to stop. We’ll go as long as we can, as long as people want to hear it.”
Citizen Hypocrisy plays Friday at Redemption Bar & Grill, a 21 and older club at 3517 W. Maradona Drive, Herriman. Rust opens the show.
The entertainment venue is in the basement, with a sports bar on the main floor, and a tiki bar above. A full menu of entrees, appetizers, desserts and drinks is available.
For tickets to the Citizen Hypocrisy show on Saturday, again, click here.
To read about Cash’d Out, playing Redemption tonight (May 1), click here.
Redemption Bar & Grill is a proud sponsor of Gephardt Daily and supporter of independent local journalism in Utah.
