Jeff Hanson
Jeff Hanson | |
---|---|
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
Died | June 5, 2009 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | (aged 31)
Genres | Alternative rock, indie rock, indie pop, acoustic |
Occupations | Singer-songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist |
Instruments | Guitar, vocals, piano |
Years active | 2000–2009 |
Labels | Kill Rock Stars |
Website | www |
Jeff Hanson (March 3, 1978 – June 5, 2009) was a singer-songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist,[1][2][3] whose voice was described in a 2005 Paste review as an "angelic falsetto, a cross between Alison Krauss and Art Garfunkel that is often (understandably) mistaken for a female contralto".
Hanson's vocal style is sometimes compared to Elliott Smith's.[4][2][5]
Early life
Hanson was born in
"I grew up in a musical house. My parents were big music fans. And luckily for me, they were fans of really good 1960s bands like the Beatles and the Stones and the Kinks and the Who and all those bands that had such an influence, that just hit me hard at a really young age. All this really good music. You know, 26 years later, I'm still listening to it all and still liking it very much. Saturday night at my house, when I was a kid, would be record night. It would be my dad picking out all these records, and we would play them until... well, until bedtime. And that was, like, every Saturday night. So music was just such a big part of me growing up."
He started learning guitar at the age of four years and was involved in musical theatre at 10, then shortly afterwards joined a boy's choir for 3 years.
Career
He began a solo career in 2003 and was the first artist to be signed to Kill Rock Stars Records after sending in an unsolicited demo tape.[7] He released three albums for the label, Son in 2003 and Jeff Hanson in 2005 recorded at Presto! Recording Studios with AJ Mogis and Mike Mogis.[2] His third album titled Madam Owl was released on August 19, 2008.
The song "Hiding Behind the Moon" was used in the episode 6 of the first season of the TV series Nip/Tuck.
A previously unpublished song "Daylight" appeared on the compilation The Sound the Hare Heard in 2006.[8]
Personal life and death
In 2005 Hanson married Megan Anzelc, credited on his album Son with piano and electric piano, as well as on his album Jeff Hanson with accordion, keyboards and piano.[2][9] They divorced in 2008.[10]
Hanson was found dead by his parents on June 5, 2009, in his
Discography
- 1995 Chewed Smooth Center (as part of the band M.I.J.)
- 1996 300 Miles (7") (as part of the band M.I.J.)
- 1999 M.I.J. (EP) (as part of the band M.I.J.)
- 2000 Radio Goodnight (as part of the band M.I.J.)
- 2003 Devil in the Woods (EP) (Limited edition of 777 copies. Exclusive to Devil in the Woods Magazine issue 5.3.)
- 2003 Son
- 2005 Jeff Hanson
- 2008 Madam Owl
References
- ^ a b c Son CD – Kill Rock Stars Press Release no 388 Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Jeff Hanson: Haunting Songs, interview by Jane Kelly. Archived March 2, 2005, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ Jeff Hanson on Allmusic.com. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ Review of "Jeff Hanson" album by Michael Pollock. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ Review of "Madame Owl" on Allmusic.com. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ a b Artist's bio on Amazon.co.uk Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ R.I.P. Jeff Hanson by Amy Phillips – pitchfork.com Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ Various Artists – The Sound the Hare Heard – Kill Rock Stars Press Release no 449 Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ Jeff Hanson on Discogs. discogs. Archived April 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- ^ a b c "St. Paul singer-songwriter Jeff Hanson, 31, found dead". Archived May 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
- ^ "Singer Jeff Hanson died from 'mixed drug toxicity'". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- ^ “Remembering Jeff Hanson” The Current. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
External links
- Official website
- Factsheet for Hanson from the Kill Rock Stars website, with MP3 recordings and videos
- Biography written by Kenyon Hopkin of Allmusic
- Profile on MySpace
- February 2005 interview with Pulse of the Twin Cities (also available here)
- Jeff Hanson on NPR Music
- April 2009 interview with David Wolinsky