Interview: The Hanson Brothers on Punk Rauch & Robots

Posted by RiffYou On March 19, 2014 0 Comment

Bands mostly go on tour for the following reasons: to support a new album; to celebrate an anniversary; to cash in on the reunion circuit; to pay bills; and see their fans. While BC-based punk act The Hanson Brothers surely look forward to seeing their crowd of constituents, they’re heading across Canada this time around in the name of…beer.

“We’ve sold out to the beer industry!” Exclaims a jovial Johnny Hanson (aka: John Wright of NoMeansNo fame) while in conversation with Riffyou.com.

Let’s explain.

Hanson in his non-alter ego life is more than a musician: he’s also been a brewmaster for decades. Recently, he was approached by the Le Trou du Diable brewery in Shawinigan, QC, to create an original batch of beer. What came out of this experience was Johnny Hanson’s Punk Rauch, a Bavarian smoked beer, followed by a request for The Hanson Brothers to reunite for a series of in-brewery performances to promote the new stein filler.

As it stands, the band of Hansons – Robbie, Tommy, ‘Some Guy,’ and Johnny – will begin a 20-date Canadian tour that sets sail on March 26 in Ottawa, before wrapping on April 20.

“Certainly with Canada, I’m not particularly interested in driving over that lake head anymore,” responds Hanson when asked about if the feeling of touring changes with age. “I’ve done that drive so many times now, and as much as we try and try to make Thunder Bay a tour stop, it just isn’t,” (laughs).

“In a sense, age does start to take its toll, in that you get bored of doing certain things that you put up with when you’re younger.”

When it comes to new music from The Hanson Brothers, don’t hold your breath. Their last studio album My Game emerged in 2002, followed in 2008 by the It’s a Living live offering. However, Hanson hasn’t totally abandoned writing new material – it’ll just be used elsewhere.

NoMeansNo, the seminal prog-punk band that he co-founded with his brother Rob, is by no means over with, but writing Ramones-style hockey songs as fellas – that celebrate the minor hockey league spirit of cult sports film Slapshot – will likely only happen if Hanson’s new metal project flops.

And by metal, we mean metal.

Hanson explains that he has been enlisted by Compressorhead to write original songs for the band. Here’s the catch: the band is actually metal…as in 100% robot.

“Right now I am writing an album for a band of robots – literally,” confirms Hanson. “They are robots, from Berlin, who play real instruments. [The creators] are NoMeansNo and Hanson Brothers fans and they built these robots…but they are not musicians. At the moment, they just play covers.

“They want [the robots] to play punk rock songs. When I listened back to the songs I wrote, they could’ve [filled up] a new Hanson Brothers album. Let’s put it this way – if this doesn’t work out, we’ll have a new Hanson Brothers album,” he adds with a laugh.

For Hanson, it is endeavours like these that keep life fresh for him. This is abundantly apparent when the discussion turns to taking a breath from a serious band like NoMeansNo to have a little more fun, and to remain interested in what’s surrounding him.

“The Hanson Brothers was a relief,” relays Hanson. “What often happens with a band is that it becomes your life, and then the music starts to reflect that. It’s hard for musicians to artistically keep themselves away from the band…so that they’re writing about something and remaining inspired.

“[At times] I’ve been tired of playing NoMeansNo songs, but you don’t want to become tired and bored with what you’re doing, because it’ll show,” he continues. “You need a way to stay away from that, and we were always conscious to make sure we had time away from that band. Having The Hanson Brothers as a backup band is perfect – it’s a whole new part of the act.”

-Adam Grant

Tour Dates:
03.26.14 Ottawa, ON Mavericks
03.27.14 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace
03.28.14 London, ON Call the Office
03.29.14 Kitchener/Waterloo, ON Starlite
03.30.14 Hamilton, ON Club Absinthe
03.31.14 Vankleek Hill, ON Windsor Tavern
04.01.14 Quebec City, QC L’agite
04.02.14 Shawinigan, QC Salon Wabasso
04.03.14 Joliette, QC Balthazar
04.04.14 Sorel, QC Pub O’Callaghan
04.05.14 Sherbrooke, QC Woodstock Bar
04.06.14 Montreal, QC Il Motore
04.10.14 Vancouver, BC Cobalt
04.11.14 Nanaimo, BC The Cambie
04.12.14 Victoria, BC Logan’s Pub
04.15.14 Banff, AB Wild Bill’s
04.16.14 Calgary, AB Commonwealth
04.18.14 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room
04.19.14 Coaldale, AB Sidelines
04.20.14 Nelson, BC Kootenay Co-op Radio