Papermag (photos at source)
Since 2010, I’ve tried to keep up a pretty regular update of the goings on in HANSON-land through my Papermag photo diaries, but, wow, here we are crossing into the fall months of 2012, and we’ve got a lot of catching up to do! There have been activities of all sorts and I have yet to share any of it with the crew at Paper all year.
2012 was always meant to be a bit quieter on the U.S. front, as we carved out a bit of time to rest the tired bones (after two years of non-stop touring supporting the Shout It Out album) and set out to work on our sixth studio record (due in 2013).
Before we could really call it quits on the Shout It Out Tour we still had several places to visit between writing and planning for next year (the Philippines, Canada, Australia and various U.S. one-off shows) and I had the camera(s) on my hip for each stop.
The year began with our first proper tour all the way across Canada, in the middle of winter. Joining us for the tour was a then-relatively unknown artist named Carly Rae Jepsen, who has since conquered the pop charts worldwide with her infectious hit “Call Me Maybe.” We had a great time with Carly and we got to see a lot of incredible fans all over Canada. Despite the cold temps, which stayed below zero for much of the tour, we got to see the natural icy beauty of the vast country. Besides the varied shots of tour life on the road, I caught some great candid moments in Canada, including a group of guys playing an impromptu ice hockey game on a frozen lake (yes that happened). We met some of the nicest people in the world along the way (no, really, we’ve considered many candidates and believe that Canada may have the nicest people in the world. Sorry everybody else, 10 points for Canada).
Between tours, I popped into SXSW for a short visit as a photo-nerd/bystander and hung out with new and old friends at the music fest. Among the pics are my good bud Charlie Mars, and old friends and new acquaintances Tennessee Thomas, Cara Delavigne and Zoe Kravitz. I spent the last morning with Esquire music critic and radio host Andy Langer of KGSR and played guest photographer for his morning broadcast, catching an in-studio set from the one and only Keane.
In March we made our way to the far east, visiting the Philippines. Our time in the lovely country was quick and, as usual, we kept a tight schedule making the most of every day. Immediately after arriving in Manila, and still delirious from an epic flight, we made a stop on the biggest late-night TV show in the country, Bandila. Everywhere we visited we were greeted by our amazing fans. In Cebu, we were greeted by a full band loaded in the back of an open-air truck bed, complete with marching drums, trumpets, and tuba. We all smiled at the magnificent and bizarre event happening around us. We loved seeing the beautiful country, and looked forward to stopping by one of its many picturesque beaches. But the most lasting memories from our time on the road are the ones made by our fans, from the eruption of excitement from the crowds to the gracious greetings we got everywhere we went.
Trying to capture an entire year in one blog is a daunting task, so stay tuned for Part 2 of my year-in-review, in which we return back home to Tulsa and then head all the way down-under to Australia.
Enjoy,
Taylor H