About

The weekend edition of HardDrive with Lou Brutus launched on the 4^th of July in 1996. Its weeknight companion program HardDrive XL with Lou Brutus hit the air in February of 2007. The shows have consistently defined and shaped the world of new Rock music. It was HardDrive which first introduced the nation to artists like Slipknot, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Papa Roach, AVATAR, Halestorm, Godsmack, and countless others. As the HardDrive Radio brand prepares to celebrate its 30^th anniversary, it does so with the richest legacy in the history of Rock radio.

Lou Brutus, the self-proclaimed Sonic Warrior and Professional Music Fan, has been one of the most respected music radio hosts of the last four decades.

Through his decades of national syndication and successful work in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Providence, he is an instantly recognized voice to radio listeners across the U.S.

He was named The Best Nationally Syndicated DJ in America by his peers at the Radio Contraband Rock Radio Awards in Las Vegas five-times, the only winner in the award’s history. He is a ten-time nominee as Major Market Personality of the Year in the Billboard Airplay Monitor Awards and has received numerous other accolades. Both Lou and the show were inducted into the Rock Radio Hall of Fame in 2017.  Publications such as Rolling Stone, USA Today and Entertainment Weekly have sung the praises of his work. His takes on pop culture and music have been quoted by the New York Times, Yahoo News, E! Online, and other outlets.

Lou is considered to be one of the finest interviewers in music media. His deep knowledge has made him a favorite of artists like Metallica, Slipknot, Disturbed, The Smashing Pumpkins, Avenged Sevenfold, Rush, Tool, A Perfect Circle, KISS, S.T.P., Stone Sour, Fleetwood Mac, and The Ramones.

In 2020 Rare Bird Books of Los Angeles published Lou’s first book SONIC WARROR: My Life as A Rock and Roll Reprobate – Tales of Sex, Drugs, and Vomiting at Inopportune Moments. It’s a collection of insane-but-true stories from his many years in the music world. It features a Foreword by Corey Taylor and original illustrations by Alan MacBain. It spent months at the top of the new book charts on Amazon. He has also voiced the audiobook version released by Recorded Books. 

In what little spare time he has, Lou is an accomplished photographer including on field for Major League Baseball.  His music photography has been used by Gibson Guitars, Washburn Guitars, Cheap Trick, Skillet, Stone Sour, Halestorm and many others. Images from Lou have graced magazine covers as well as having been used by National Geographic, Huffington Post, Getty Images, The Associated Press, BBC Science Focus, Zaikei News of Japan, The Global Times of China, aeroTelegraph of Germany, iHeart Media, Lighthouse Digest and others.

Brutus works around the clock, seven days a week, apparently needing very little sleep, subsisting on black coffee and loud music.

Radio veteran. Noise maker. Executive mischief manager.

For over 20 years, Randy Hawke has programmed Madison WI’s iconic WJJO, turning dials and heads with loud, unapologetic rock. He helped WAPL snag Rolling Stone’s “Station of the Year” back in the day, and cut his teeth in Milwaukee under Packers legend Willie Davis at WLUM. Raised on Rochester’s WCMF, Randy was practically bottle-fed power chords.

He’s the co-owner of BruteHawke Industries, the syndication beast behind HardDrive and HardDrive XL, alongside partner-in-rock Lou Brutus. And when he’s not doing that, he’s co-running MIXER, a patented loyalty tech company with chainsaw-wielding Jackyl frontman Jesse James Dupree.

Radio runs in his blood. Patents in his portfolio. And volume always at 11.