Annie Hardy

Early life Hardy was born in San Clemente, California, and James Kent Hardy. Her mother is a Catholic of Irish descent, and her father is of Jewish ancestry. Hardy has stated that she discovered her father's Jewish ancestry through a DNA test; her paternal grandmother was ethnically Ashkenazi Jewish, but religiously a born-again Christian. They began recording music together, including covers of Journey's "Who's Crying Now" and the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows."

According to Hardy, "One day I said, 'Hey dude, you know all my songs. Why don't you be my drummer?' He agreed." Giant Drag's first show was on June 4, 2003, at the Scene in Los Angeles, one month after they decided to be a band.

On January 25, 2005, Giant Drag released the EP Lemona on Wichita Recordings. This was followed on September 13, 2005, by their first full-length release, Hearts and Unicorns, on Kickball Records.

In 2007, Giant Drag covered Madonna's "Oh Father" for a charity/tribute Madonna album that benefited AIDS assistance efforts in Africa, titled Through the Wilderness.

The Swan Song EP was released on February 16, 2010. Also in 2010, Giant Drag's cover of "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak was used in a commercial for Nip/Tuck on the FX Network. Giant Drag originals have been featured on television shows including The L-Word, Jericho and the movie A Love Song for Bobby Long starring Scarlett Johansson and John Travolta.

In 2013, the band released their second studio album, Waking Up Is Hard to Do. Commenting on the album, Hardy said: "On Hearts and Unicorns everything was a complete mystery to me. I put zero thought into writing songs – I was like, "oh, this is just how they come out. They're beamed to me from a spaceship and they come out finished and then I add a cat solo". Now I'm aware that I have some control over the situation and I put a little more thought into if I was a listener how I'd like to hear it, I guess."

In 2020, while Hardy was quarantined for COVID-19 restrictions in London prior to shooting the horror film Dashcam, in which she starred, she recorded material for Giant Drag's studio album at The Libertines' recording studio, The Albion Rooms, alongside another secret project. The material was recorded with Jamie Reynolds, formerly of the English rock group Klaxons.

In June 2022, Giant Drag, featuring Hardy and drummer Collin Deatherage, released the track "Devil Inside", which had previously been recorded for their EP Band Car; the track was featured as a promotional single for Dashcam.

Film and television In February 2010, she made her screen debut I'm Here, a short film directed by Spike Jonze. In October 2011, she made a musical appearance on the 2011 Halloween episode of Pretty Little Liars. In 2017, Hardy appeared as herself in a supporting role in The Icarus Line Must Die, a semi-fictionalized biographical film about Joe Cardamone, the singer of the band The Icarus Line. Hardy portrays a semi-fictionalized version of herself in the film, starring as a musician who livestreams herself during a nighttime road trip in England, where she encounters a series of terrifying events. The project was developed by Savage, an acquaintance of Hardy's; he proposed the idea based on a series of livestream videos Hardy had uploaded to YouTube while driving in Los Angeles, titled Band Car, in which she works out song ideas before the viewers. The film received mixed reviews; most viewers praised its scariness and visual format, but felt that Hardy's character failed to carry the film and even undermined it by being too grating and unlikeable.

Collaborations Hardy provided guest vocals on the song "Pink Cellphone" from the 2006 Deftones album Saturday Night Wrist. On April 26, 2007, Hardy performed the song "Just Like Honey" onstage with The Jesus and Mary Chain for their reunion show the day before Coachella.

Hardy contributed vocals to The Icarus Line's 2010 record Wildlife and performed a number of the band's live appearances on organ. She also appeared at the debut live performance of Crosses (featuring Deftones singer and guitarist Chino Moreno) in Pomona, California, performing the Giant Drag track "Swan Song".

Other works Hardy frequently co-hosted the Get The Fuck Up (GTFU) radio show with Jeremy Weiss and Aaron Farley, beginning in 2009.

Hardy released her debut solo album, Rules, on April 7, 2017.

Influences Hardy has named various rock and punk bands as influences, including The Beatles, Babes in Toyland, Hole, The Misfits, the Descendents, and Danzig.

Personal life In December 2008, Hardy revealed that she had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She was prescribed the opioid drug Norco to treat her pain, which resulted in a decade-long addiction to the substance. Hardy stated that at one point, she was taking approximately 60 tablets of the drug per day. Hardy's Adderall abuse eventually progressed to an addiction to methamphetamine. Silvio died at the age of 17 days of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

Discography

Giant Drag Lemona (2004) Hearts and Unicorns (2005) Swan Song (2009) Waking Up Is Hard to Do (2013) Band Car (2014) The Albion Rooms (2022)

Solo Rules (2017) Saves (2020) Cross Bearer EP (2024)

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2010 I'm Here Annie Short film 2022 Dashcam Annie