TULSA — Tulsa pop and soul band Hanson may not be a first guess when it comes to performers influenced by folk music icon and Oklahoma native Woody Guthrie.
Brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson of Tulsa pop-soul band Hanson will perform March 10 at the tribute concert for Woody Guthrie. Photo provided.
But the trio's lead singer, Taylor Hanson, believes the band is what it is today because of the legacy Guthrie laid out long before he and his brothers were born.
“We're Oklahomans and Woody Guthrie is a major part of the fabric of music,” he said bluntly during a recent telephone interview. When asked to perform in Saturday's tribute concert by Guthrie's daughter, Nora, and the Grammy Museum, “It was a no-brainer, really.”
Hanson is more than a pop-rock juggernaut. The brothers, too, work outside of the “system” established by mainstream music, including their own 3CG Records. Just as Guthrie did.
Brothers Zac, Taylor and Isaac spend a lot of time working for basic human rights and needs. They walk the walk. Just like Guthrie.
They also know when civil disobedience is called for. Just like Guthrie.
Here's Tulsa World's exclusive Q&A with Tulsa's own Taylor Hanson about the influence of the Okemah native on Hanson, and the music world in general.
Q: How did you get involved with the centennial concert?
A: We've been aware for some time about the rumblings of a certain project surrounding his 100 years. Officially, Nora and her family and the Grammy Museum folks just reached out to us a few weeks ago.
Q: How did you discover Woody's music and history?
A: The one thing that's interesting about us, of course, is our musical heritage is much more rock 'n' roll, much more soul music ... but there's just such a respect for Woody Guthrie and what role he's played, not only in music but in pop culture — the way he's influenced so many artists.
And, probably like a lot of people in our generation, we kind of discovered his musical followers (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen) before we really understood how important he was.
We've kind of gone back and just been in awe of his legacy. It's infinite.
He's a great American character and a great American artist and worth celebrating.
Q: Do you guys have any ideas yet how the concert will work out for you guys?
A: It is all under wraps right now because we're trying to be as deferential as possible since they are trying to maintain so much excitement and suspense.
One thing I do know is we'll probably be performing with one of the other artists. We love doing that. It's kind of a way of showing the audience that there's a community, and I feel like Woody Guthrie would have had a lot of people playing together with him.
Read more: http://newsok.com/hanson-brings-pop-rock-to-woody-guthrie-celebration-saturday/article/3655210#ixzz1oZheB2l8
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