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 Kimmel 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.
-BAM
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