What to do in Oklahoma on Sept. 20, 2011: Hear Hanson play a hometown show at Cain’s Ballroom
Today’s featured event:
TULSA – Hear Tulsa sibling trio Hanson play a hometown show at 8 tonight at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main. The opener will be Meiko. Doors will open at 7 p.m.
For more information, go to www.cainsballroom.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
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Video: Hanson covers Weezer’s “Troublemaker”
Between Monday’s Labor Day holiday and my two-day jaunt to Dallas to check out Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen’s new film “The Way,” I totally missed that Tulsa trio Hanson turned in a nifty cover of Weezer’s 2006 hit “Troublemaker” for this week’s installment of Billboard.com’s Mashup Mondays.
“Weezer’s an amazing band. … What I’ve always admired is the fact that they really have an identifiable thing going, which is sort-of-pop songs — but heavy,” singer/musician Taylor Hanson told Billboard.com. “‘Troublemaker’ is such a cool attitude-ridden track.”
Although the Hanson brothers are best known for their 1997 smash “MMMBop,” they continue to make great music and build a faithful fan following. Hanson’s latest album, “Shout It Out,” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart and made my top 10 list for 2010. The group is on a world tour that will include a hometown show Sept. 20 at Cain’s Ballroom, along with dates in South America and Europe. In addition, the band made a cameo in Katy Perry’s music video “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).” (Perry has her own Tulsa show coming up on Sept. 17 at the BOK Center.)
But you can’t please everybody, and “MMMBop” recently was listed as the No. 6 worst song of the ’90s in a Rolling Stone readers’ poll, although the mag is nice enough to note that, “Many see Hanson as a one-hit wonder band, but their fan base has remained incredibly loyal and they continue to play big shows.” Oh, well, haters gonna hate, as the saying goes, especially when you’re searching for a scapegoat for the ’90s teen-pop revival that brought us N’Sync, Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls.
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Wednesday Video Spotlight: Hanson talks growing with their fans, family-band relations, favorite movies and more
Hanson performed at England’s V Festival 2011 over the weekend, and the Tulsa sibling trio sat down backstage for a few interviews.
Isaac, Zac and Taylor chatted with various reporters about their favorite movies and musicians, memorable onstage and wardrobe mishaps, their bouncy 2010 album “Shout It Out” (which made my top 10 of ’10) and the way many of their fans have grown up with them since their “MMMBop” days.
Perhaps it was the recent news that British singer Liam Gallagher of Oasis is suing his estranged brother and former bandmate, Noel, but many of the reporters quizzed the Hansons about how they get along as a band of brothers and if they’ve ever had any epic family meltdowns. From the sounds of these interviews, it seems that the affable Oklahoma brothers still have strong family ties after nearly two decades of making music together.
Hanson will play a hometown show on their “Musical Ride Tour” Sept. 20 at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main. For more information, go to www.cainsballroom.com.
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Isaac Hanson criticizes Kings of Leon, documentary director Stephen Mitchell confident KOL will work out issues after tour cancellation
Kings of Leon
In a potential battle of family bands with Oklahoma ties, Isaac Hanson of Tulsa-based brother trio Hanson has taken Kings of Leon to task for letting down their fans.
As previously reported, Kings of Leon on Aug. 1 canceled their entire U.S. tour after frontman Caleb Followill left the stage halfway through a disastrous July 29 Dallas show during which he complained of the heat and problems with his voice. The band – brothers Caleb (vocals, guitar), Nathan (drums, vocals) and Jared (bass) Followill and first cousin Matthew Followill (lead guitar) – is set to resume touring Sept. 28 in Canada.
Although the official announcement cited Caleb Followill’s “vocal issues and exhaustion,” Jared Followill indicated there might be more to the cancellation, and Isaac Hanson told
Isaac Hanson
WENN he believes that there are underlying attitude issues:
“I have a hard time with musicians who act like p–cks because it just makes me mad. I just sit there and I go, ‘You know what, dude, no matter whether you’re in a band just surviving or you’re in a bus playing stadiums, one way or another you’re still among the rare breed of people that are actually getting paid to do it.’
“If you’re actually making a living doing it, man, pinch yourself every day, because it goes if you don’t love it… and people will eventually get pissed off.
“And I’m gonna call somebody out on it – the Kings of Leon guys are running some risks. They’re irritating people; you can’t do that too much. Eventually the bad boy image affects fans’ willingness to show up. Their fans will get bummed out.
“Everybody has their demons, everyone has their challenges… I’m a bit of a hothead in certain circumstances, but you gotta temper it because your fans are there and they’ve paid good money to see a show, and you gotta bring it. I don’t wash my dirty laundry in public, I do my dirty laundry backstage… I have flipped the bird at a few people that deserved it and told them to go ‘f’ themselves.”
On the night after the band’s Dallas disaster, Jared Followill posted on Twitter @youngfollowill, “I love our fans so much. I know you guys aren’t stupid. I can’t lie. There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade.”
Isaac Hanson told WENN that if the Kings can’t sort out their problems, they could become an ill-fated family band on par with Oasis:
“They got that too and it hurt them ultimately, because it made it hard for people to have a lot of fun at their shows – because they were worried that Noel (Gallagher) was gonna get pissed off (and walk off)… But I don’t think that they (Oasis) necessarily didn’t finish shows.”
Stephen Mitchell (The Oklahoman Archives)
But Stephen Mitchell, director of the KOL documentary “Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon,” told MTV News that while he hasn’t spoken to the band since they scrapped their tour, he’s not worried about the band’s future:
“It’s a fabric of the band, the roots of the band, they’re family, and I think that’s a reason that they’ve been able to find a common ground to stick together and make five albums over, what, eight-plus years?” he said. “That’s really hard to do. There’s not many bands making two albums, let alone five, during that time … and I’m not a band spokesperson, I can’t speak for them, they make the great music, but I believe in them and I think the family side of it will be the same reason we end up seeing more great shows and hearing more great albums from them in the future.”
Even Jared Followill’s Twitter implications don’t have Mitchell fretting about his musical pals, the filmmaker told MTV News:
“I think some of the draw to these guys is that they are brothers and cousins; there’s a magnetism to that. … They say anything and everything to each other, and it is how they sort of work things out internally; they’re very vocal. And I had to learn a long time ago that they’re not yelling at each other, they’re just communicating, and it’s loud. And sometimes the stuff they say to each other … you’ve got to have some thick skin to be walking around with those guys.”
Brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill spent their childhood traveling the Bible Belt between Oklahoma and Tennessee with their itinerant Pentecostal preacher father, Leon. Despite their strict upbringing, they formed the rock band Kings of Leon in 1999 with their cousin, Matthew Followill.
Caleb and Jared were both born in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., while Nathan and Matthew were born in Oklahoma City. The band is now based in Tennessee, but the group received in spring the Rising Star Award from the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
Their unusual upbringing and rise to musical stardom is the subject of the new documentary “Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon,” which premiered at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival and opened Oklahoma City’s deadCenter Film Festival. The rock doc will premiere at 9 p.m. Sunday on Showtime and air repeatedly through the end of August on Showtime, Showtime Showcase and Sho 2.
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Hanson among headliners for Aug. 27-28 Sunset Junction Street Fair in Los Angeles
Hanson
Tulsa trio Hanson will be among the headlining performers at the Aug. 27-28 Sunset Junction Street Fair in Los Angeles, along with Butthole Surfers, Butch Walker, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Bobby Womack, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The two-day festival takes place in L.A.’s trendy Silver Lake neighborhood and was founded in 2001. This year’s event will feature six stages and more than 100 acts, including DJ sets by Peaches and Lil Jon.
The fair annually attracts an array of national and local indie acts, according to the entertainment trade publication. Past performers include Sonic Youth, Guided By Voices, Silversun Pickups, Greg Dulli, Beachwood Sparks, Rilo Kiley, and, last summer, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros and Fitz and The Tantrums.
For more information, go to www.sunsetjunction.org.
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Video: Hanson makes a cameo in Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” video
Tulsa sibling trio Hanson makes an appearance in Katy Perry’s new music video, “Last Friday Night.”
The throwback video also features Rebecca Black, Darren Criss, Kevin McHale, Kenny G, Debbie Gibson and Corey Feldman, along with Perry herself.
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Video: Hanson sings National Anthem at OKC Thunder playoff game
The Oklahoma City Thunder may have gotten off to a poor start Saturday in their Western Conference Finals playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks, but the evening itself actually began rather auspiciously.
As you can see in this YouTube video, Tulsa brother trio Hanson gave a great performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to tipoff. You gotta love those strong harmonies.
Until the Thunder made a fourth-quarter rally that unfortunately fell a few points short, Hanson’s rendition of The National Anthem was the highlight of Game 3 for OKC fans.
The Thunder and Mavs resume their grudge match in a pivotal Game 4 at 8 tonight at the Oklahoma City Arena. (For those who don’t have tickets, the game is airing on ESPN, or go to www.theokcarena.com to learn about game day festivities going on outside the arena.)
Edmond teen music sensation Greyson Chance will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” before tonight’s game.
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Video: Hanson performs on “Dancing with the Stars” Monday, again tonight
Tulsa-based sibling trio Hanson performed Monday night on “Dancing with the Stars” during the reality TV show’s “Guilty Pleasures Week.”
The Hanson brothers performed their massive 1997 hit “MMMBop” while the professional dancers swirled and twirled around them. They also served as the house band on the show.
The band is set return to the show at 7 tonight to perform “Give a Little,” a single from their 2010 album “Shout It Out.” “Dnacing with the Stars” airs on ABC (KOCO-5 in Oklahoma City).
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Videos: Hanson releases new single “Give a Little,” with remixes by Questlove and RAC, to raise money for Japanese relief
Tulsa pop-rock trio Hanson released today their new single “Give A Little,” featuring remixes by Questlove of The Roots and RAC, with accompanying remixed music videos, on iTunes. The band is building momentum with performances this month Thursday on “Conan,” who invited the band to perform with him last spring at his live Tulsa show, and this month on “Jimmy Fallon Live,” where The Roots are the house band, as well as a nearly sold-out five-night concert series in London.
Like many, the sibling trio was overwhelmed by the news of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan last month. In response, the band turned its focus to the worthy cause, announcing that they are donating the proceeds from “Give A Little” to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund for the month of April.
In addition the band is at the helm of “SXSW4JAPAN,” an immense music project that started March 11 in Austin, Texas, during the South By Southwest music festival. The flagship event, a 12-hour live telecast to galvanize support for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, was pulled together in less than 48 hours, recruiting 40 artists performing more than 60 songs, and was viewed by people in 149 countries.
Taylor Hanson says in a news release, “In special instances music has the ability to inspire genuine action toward a worthy cause at a time of great need. We are proud to be a part of the immense collection of artists contributing to ‘SXSW4JAPAN,’ and thrilled that ‘Give A Little’ has a chance to live up to it’s title and inspire people to give what they can to help those in Japan still struggling in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.”
In the short period of the initial campaign, which was started at the SXSW Interactive Event with the original launch of www.SXSW4Japan.org, online donations have topped $100,000, plus a much larger amount that was directed straight to the American Red Cross via their national text donation number.
In response to the ongoing need for aid in Japan, the live-streaming event is being re-broadcast today as a follow up to the original event, with additional contributions by top artists and with partnership from AOL.com and Myspace.com all helping to further the outreach to music fans to donate to the relief effort.
Music from the “SXSW4JAPAN” telecast has been compiled to create a robust benefit album of the same name with more than 45 songs, which is available at Amazon.com now, with all proceeds also going to the American Red Cross. The streaming event and album features guest appearances and exclusive performances from a wide array of artists including Hanson, John “JoJo” Hermann of Widespread Panic, North Mississippi Allstars, The Boxer Rebellion, The Hours, Michael Stipe, Ben Folds, An Horse, Natasha Bedingfield, Ozomatli, Alpha Rev, Anna Nalick, Charlie Mars, Cary Brothers, Michelle Branch, Bowling For Soup, Rooney, Amanda Palmer, Andrew WK, Taylor Locke And The Roughs, Jimmy Gnecco, Imani Coppola, Tracy Bonham and many more.
In addition, Hanson has teamed up with Soundcloud to launch the “Give a Little” remix challenge, according to AOL/Popeater.com. Anyone can register on Soundcloud to get access to the song and submit their mix to the band.
“The idea with the remix challenge is to open up our music to other talented producers’ and mixers’ styles, and hopefully create a platform to connect our music to theirs and draw attention to their craft,” Taylor tells Popeater. Submissions will be voted on by the public, and the best remixes will join Questlove and RAC on the upcoming U.K. digital single release of “Give a Little.”
“‘Give A Little’ is about rhythm and movement, so from the beginning we wanted to get remixes of the songs,” Taylor tells Popeater. “We asked Questlove and RAC to give the song their flavor, and they both expertly reinvented it without losing the song. We cut the vids together just as a way to make a visual for the amazing mixes.”
To enter the remix challenge, click here.
Check out the videos to Hanson’s album version of “Give a Little,” which is from the trio’s 2010 record “Shout It Out,” along with the Questlove and RAC remixes, here, and if you like what you see and hear, please buy them on iTunes since it’s for such an amazingly worthy cause. Don’t just listen or watch for free; take action to help our fellow man in Japan.
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Hanson to perform tonight on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”
Tulsa pop-rock band Hanson will be the musical guest tonight on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” which starts at 10:35 p.m. on NBC (K-FOR 4 in Oklahoma City). The group will perform a song off their 2010 album “Shout It Out,” which was one of my favorites of the past year.
The sibling trio released this the video to “Give a Little,” one of the tracks from “Shout It Out.” The video debuted at No. 1 on VH1′s Top 20 Countdown.
To check out the video to “Give a Little,” click here.
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