Interview with Ethan Hanna

Hey,

So here we are in the first of our Corona Isolation series of interviews. Belfast based Americana Folk hero Ethan Hanna sat down with us to answer the questions you've been dying to ask, and by sat down I mean virtually. Although I was sitting when I wrote the questions and I guess he was sitting when he answered them so its not a lie..

We played a show together at the Old Crows 'Party at the Port' in the Atlantic in Portrush, we had an absolute blast. That was the first time I had actually got to see Ethan live. I have to say live the songs take on a whole other life, so after you listen to the record and once this whole debacle blows over I urge everyone to go check him/them out.

Given we share some members in Paper Tigers with Ethan Hanna band it only made sense that Ethan was the first interview out of the gate!

Enjoy!


Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar and start writing songs?

I was always into music, from what I can remember. Just whatever Dad was playing in the car mostly, or when he was working out in the garage, he'd always have music blaring. I think all of the Zeppelin and Hendrix I heard then must have sparked an interest in guitar, and then I started listening to Gun n Roses and I think that must have been around the time I decided I wanted to play.

Actually writing songs and thinking about lyrics came a whole lot later. Leonard Cohen, The National, and Pink Floyd were some of the many acts that made me pay attention to the words, and all of a sudden that aspect of songwriting became really important. I knew how meaningful some of these people's words became to me, especially in harder, presumably sleepless, times, and I started writing my own with the hopeful thinking that maybe someday they'd comfort someone else in the same way.

What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first record you ever bought and why?

Ah, jeez. You're about to see two very different sides here. Feel free to judge! In no particular order, the ones that I remember are: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Paramore…

The first album I bought with my own money was American Idiot. I haven't listened to Green Day in forever, but I stand by it being a great record. Before that I was just listening to whatever classic rock was already in the house, and what I could get on Kerrang or Scuzz…

You released Welcome to the Batlands in 2018 which is such a great record, so many great songs. Can you talk about making the record, the song writing process, lyrically what you cover in those songs and did it achieve what you set out to achieve?

Thanks so much! WTTB was a really long project start to finish. There were 2 or 3 attempts to make it myself, before I finally enlisted the help of Michael Mormecha at Millbank Studios. I had had the songs written for such a long time, and a pretty solid idea of what I wanted everything to sound like, that by the time we got into the studio it turned itself into a really fun, relaxed process where we could share ideas and try out different things on the fly. In the end we wound up sort of Frankenstein-ing together the Dark Americana for Insomniacs that I had written, with some of the genius Mike brings to apparently any instrument. I think we made something special, even if it's just a modest album that gets a few thousand plays in its time.

Lyrically it touches on a few things: There's a lot about Family and the question of how to honour your family and the people who shaped you while you become yourself, whenever you've grown up and moved out. There's a lot about Home, and I treated that slightly separate to family in this because I think that 'Home' is a certain feeling that we can attach to more than just a place or people. I think it's an amalgamation of many things, and it's not something that you just miss or return to. I think it's something you carry with you and tend to as you go. If I figure out a better way to explain that, I'll let you know. Hopefully the album does the talking on that one. Lastly there are the lyrics you'd expect from any Springsteen/Gaslight Anthem enthusiast; cars, girls, beer, and of course not being able to sleep.

It's hard to say if WTTB achieved what I set out to achieve, because I'm not overly sure what it was I was aiming for, but I think I'm going to say yes. I made an album I'm truly proud of, and I feel comfortable knowing that I made it as honest as I could. It's a great bonus to know that people liked it, and still continue to… which I suppose is what any musician is looking for. It blows me away to see that a (small) following of people all over the world still listen to it. I'm truly more thankful for that than I can express.

Are there any plans to record more material? How might that differ from the debut?

Indeed there are. More than people would expect at this stage I'd imagine, given my tendency to take my time. Without going into too much detail; all the songs are written, ready to be recorded, the name's ready, the artworks ready… So yeah, readers, please stand by and I will have some news soon.

This material will definitely be different from WTTB. More optimistic, more sure of itself… I can't wait to share it.

Given that you are in fact Ethan Hanna, it’s your name on the flag so to speak, do you feel any additional pressure than if it was presented under a band monicker? 

In a weird way I feel less pressure. Music creation has always been a really introverted thing for me. I can be shy around sharing ideas, and wary that I don't have what it takes skill-wise to be an equally involved part of a whole band. This way I know it's all on me, and having that knowledge makes sure that I'm certain of what I'm doing and saying in regard to any project I'm working on. Of course it means that progress can be slow, but I hope the end result outweighs that.

The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?

It's incredible, isn't it? I can't remember a time when the scenes seemed so active. We've played a few shows in the South, but sadly I haven't managed to get to know too many southern acts just yet. The scene in the North is really strong currently and there are some acts that deserve far more recognition.
I've been saying it for ages; John Andrews is one of the best singer/songwriters in the scene and his full band live shows are incredible. Paper Tigers are absolutely blazing onto the scene with just one single, Sonja Sleator has just shared a video to a great unreleased song, and the first single Dr. Zoot put out was unreal. Pascalwillnotsurvivethis, Lapse, Malojian, Aeons, and Don Maple, and Reevah are also some local favourites right now.

And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.

As a High Fidelity fan, I should be far more prepared for this question. This is off the top of my head.

Darkness On The Edge Of Town - Bruce Springsteen
Radio K.A.O.S - Roger Waters
Science Fiction OR The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me - Brand New (wouldn't be in the vein of Rob Gordon if I didn't have some sort of exception).
Elsie - The Horrible Crowes
I Forget Where We Were - Ben Howard



You can check Ethan Hanna out here:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ipEn1Gdanpvt649tfJyj5
https://www.facebook.com/EthanHannaOfficial/
Insta: @ethanhanna