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HNET Newsletter Oct 7, 2016
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How Young Singers Deal with Getting Old
Hanson, 1997. Photo: Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Justin Bieber was 16 and set to perform before 17,000 people at 2010’s New York State Fair when he caught a cold — an especially troubling turn of events given that testosterone was then ravaging his high register. “If Justin’s voice was a two-story house,” says Jan Smith, the Atlanta vocal coach who guided Bieber through the crisis, “he could get near where the top steps should’ve been, but they were missing.”
Bieber postponed that state-fair show and, according to Smith, received a steroid shot to guard against any further inflammation. A cracking voice wasn’t much of a problem. Even though his speaking voice had deepened, Bieber was still able to sing effectively in higher registers. Over time he maintained an appealing, chirpy timbre even as his singing voice seemed to drop, much like Michael Jackson did in his transition from Motown child to Off the Wall man. (“The color of the voices change, so they sound lower,” Smith explains about these singers’ abilities to weather puberty’s changes, “but from a pitch perspective, they’re not.”) If only every star could manage puberty quite so seamlessly. Frankie Lymon, the 13-year-old soprano behind 1956’s “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” saw his life and career bottom out after his voice dropped; he died of a heroin overdose at 25. Cody Simpson, the Australian teen who has opened for Bieber, developed a deeper voice and watched his fan base shift. A changed voice is also a problem for the star’s backing musicians. “When the singer says, ‘We have to adjust the key,’ every instrument and backing singer has to change keys, too,” says Dave Stroud, a vocal coach who has worked with Simpson, Bieber, and One Direction.
All teen singers, not just boys, undergo the Change: “Girls go through it, too, but not as dramatically,” Stroud says. Unlike poor Lymon, today’s pubescent pop stars can use Auto-Tune and other forms of electronic pitch correction. That goes for onstage, too. The state of the music business dictates that stars make their big money on the road, so in-concert pitch correction is crucial, despite many singers’ reluctance. (Stroud calls it “the least favorite tool, because it’s the least authentic.”)
Even in the pre–Pro Tools era, producers used studio trickery to mask maturing voices. Taylor Hanson had sung an early version of Hanson’s 1997 smash “MMMBop” in a bright, exciting key, but the then-14-year-old’s voice cracked while rerecording the song for the band’s major-label debut. After many failed takes, producers slowed down the recording tape, then sped it up later to raise his pitch. “That high voice was going away,” says Steve Greenberg, the music executive who discovered the band. “Taylor never sang it in that key again.”
*This article appears in the October 3, 2016, issue of New York Magazine.
Throwback Thursday: Musical Ride Tour
5 years ago, Hanson embarked on the “Musical Ride Tour” which had setlists that included 1 of their 5 studio albums in its entirety performed. The album to be played each night was voted on by fans at Hanson.net. This tour was also special because there were screen printed posters made for each show in a limited edition of 25 for each show.
Let’s celebrate the Musical Ride Tour by completing the database!
The following shows from the tour need ticket stub images added:
Seattle
Portland
The following shows need images of the limited edition posters added
(Some shows did not have posters. If any of the listed shows did not, please let us know!)
Boulder
Houston
Chicago #1
Grand Rapids
Northampton
The following shows need setlists added or completed:
Hanson Brothers Beer Upcoming Events
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Tuesday Trivia
Isaac likes “I Want To Take You Higher” for the “Boom lacka lacka” parts.
When the guys were up early for the Today Show, where did Zac tease he was trying to be first in line for?
News Roundup: Christmas Edition
As you probably know, Hanson is currently in the studio with Mark Hudson working on their 2nd Christmas album with the working title “Wintery Mix”. It will not be released until next year as part of the celebration of Snowed In turning 20 years old.
Several news outlets have picked up on the story that Hanson is working on the album and links to those articles can be found here:
Mmm Bop! Hanson will be releasing a Christmas album – Digital Spy
Hanson is releasing a new Christmas album and we are so ready for it – Yahoo Style
Hanson working on a new Christmas album – Fox 23
Hanson is working on a brand new Christmas album – Brit + Co
And 13 Christmas Songs That Only ’90s Kids Love features a song from Snowed In at #4 on their list:
4. Hanson — “Everybody Knows The Claus”
From Snowed In, an album which my family probably remembers as torturing them with incessantly repeated plays throughout the Christmas of ’97, Hanson’s “Everybody Knows The Claus” feels like a song that you already knew long before they sang it, except it’s actually one of their own original compositions, which is pretty impressive. Listen back and relive that massive crush you once held for Taylor Hanson.
HNET Newsletter Sep 30, 2016
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Hanson working on new Christmas album, EP coming soon
Taylor, Isaac and Zac Hanson pose for a photo in their downtown Tulsa studio on May 16, 2016. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World file
It’s been a busy few months in Hanson’s downtown Tulsa studio.
The band has been busy working to release their latest EP, “Play,” which will be released at hanson.net on Oct. 10. And last week, the band announced in a blog they were working on a new Christmas album. It will be their first since 1997’s “Snowed In” Christmas album.
“We are now up to our ears in music preparation and pre-production for a new Christmas album,” the brothers posted on their website. They added that it was strange to be working with so much Christmas music in late September, when high temperatures in “the sometimes spirit-crushing sunburn factory we inhabit here” were still in the 80s and 90s.
The song list now sits at 20, and that includes original holiday tracks. The title right now for the new album is “Wintery Mix.” A planned release date was not yet announced.
Hanson has been active on their website this summer, giving fans a sneak peek at the work behind their latest album, “Play.” It’s the first wide-release (not including fan club releases) since “Anthem” in 2013.
Next year marks the 25th anniversary of their breakout hit album “Middle of Nowhere,” and Hanson plans to mark the occasion with a world tour, new music and more beer from Hanson Brothers Brewing.
More information about the new music is at hanson.net.
Development authority apparently giving Hanson group low-interest loan for Brady District development
The Hanson brothers, Taylor, Zac and Isaac, apparently are involved in the redevelopment of a Brady Arts District building, proposed to include a brewery, studio, retail and office space, according to Tulsa Development Authority documents. Tulsa World file
The Hanson brothers are apparently involved in the redevelopment of a Brady Arts District building, proposed to include a brewery, studio, retail and office space, according to Tulsa Development Authority documents.
The deal involves multiple privacy stipulations, binding the authority from immediately sharing details of the project despite the use of public funds, according to documents on the authority’s website.
In a redevelopment agreement, the TDA agreed in August to give a low-interest $2 million loan to Mayfield LLC, the listed developer, to go toward purchase of the LA King building property, 320 N. Boston Ave.
A resolution approving the agreement was signed Aug. 4, according to TDA documents.
O.C. Walker, executive director of the TDA, said the development agreement is with Mayfield LLC.
“In essence, what we’re talking about doing is a $2 million loan over six years with 2.5 percent interest,” Walker said. “It’s a really low-interest loan to facilitate development.”
Walker said the details of the project came out of proposals previously heard by the authority, but he directed further questions to Walker Hanson, father of the trio of musical brothers.
The redevelopment agreement stipulates that Walker Hanson is the contact for any inquiries regarding the development.
The group put out a statement in response to questions about the development Thursday.
“We have always been invested in Tulsa, and it continues to be our goal to bring attention and commerce to the city,” the statement says. “We’re excited to further our development efforts. Next year is Hanson’s 25th anniversary, and we look forward to a world tour, releasing new music, and the continued expansion of our beer business.”
Walker Hanson did not return requests for comment, and a person who answered the phone at his provided number said he had no further comment.
An unsigned redevelopment agreement available on the TDA website, apparently the document referenced in an approved August resolution adopting the agreement, has several privacy clauses.
According to the agreement document, TDA is barred from disclosing any information from the developer’s proposal to third parties.
“TDA shall … not disclose any such information to any third party without developer’s prior written consent,” according to the document. “In the event the TDA becomes legally compelled … pursuant to the requirements of the Oklahoma Open Records Act … TDA agrees that prior to such disclosure it will provide the developer with advance written notice and a copy of the documents and information relevant to such legal action so that the developer may seek a protective order … to protect its interests.”
The redevelopment agreement, attached to the approved resolution, references the proposal “presented by the developer to the TDA on March 10, 2016 and March 24, 2016.”
Walker declined to discuss when the proposals were made, offering that the project has “been on several agendas. There’s a good chance it will be on the Oct. 6 agenda,” the date of the group’s next monthly meeting.
However, neither the city’s website nor the development authority’s website lists agendas or minutes for March 10 or March 24.
Walker did not respond to follow-up calls or an email Wednesday afternoon requesting information about the nature of the referenced proposal meetings or whether a quorum of authority members was present. Without a properly posted agenda, a quorum of a board, commission or authority, such as the Tulsa Development Authority, cannot legally meet to discuss public business under the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act.