Going The Same way – Tracing Footsteps.
Each month until June 2017 we will share fan stories from around the world to celebrate Hanson’s remarkable career and Fan Community.
We have invited fans from five continents, to share their experiences and they tell us in their own words, how they have traced footsteps on a journey with Hanson and their music.
This month we share Robyn’s Story.
Where are you from and how did you become a Hanson fan?
Cape Town, South Africa. Pretty much 1997. I was a huge Roxette fan, but I saw them as being produced in a way they hadn’t before, in 1998. So Hanson basically took over the mantle. I had the five CDs everyone had back then, and one day at the radio station I worked at, my CD wallet was stolen… so I had to find all those CDs again. One day, I was wondering if Hanson was still around, and then Underneath came out.
What drew you to Hanson and what keeps you coming back for more?
I actually don’t know. It’s just genuine music. They are just genuine Rock N Roll in an industry saturated by dance beat remixes etc.
What are your favourite Hanson songs?
A Minute Without You was my favourite song until The Walk was released and Watch Over Me. Since then, Make It Out Alive, and my two favourite Hanson songs, Lost Without You and Already Home, came out. In terms of member EP songs, it’s Leave A Light On.
Do you have any special memories as a Hanson fan?
I felt alone for a long time as a Fanson. When I was on UCT Radio, I would start my shows with Hanson, and even do three-hour Hanson specials. In September (I think) 2002, I was listening to Phil Wright’s radio show feature “Bands Looking For Muso’s – Muso’s Looking For Bands” one Sunday night at twenty to eleven, and Chantal put an ad on that evening wanting to form a band. Because she was in Cape Town, I phoned her and we met up. She lived three kilometers away. When I asked what music she was in to she said Hanson! Interestingly, from 1997 to 1999 we lived six blocks from each other.
When I was on campus radio, I would start every show with a Hanson song and, being stuck doing early morning shows for 2005 and 2006, I sometimes did three hour Hanson specials, targeting mainly an international audience online.
Do you have any special memories of Hanson’s music?
When I was on UCT Radio we were able to play whatever we wanted, so I did many three-hour Hanson specials. Yes, they were at hours like 1.00 am, but it was prime time for the rest of the world. It was awesome talking on HNET and taking requests etc. When Hanson came here in April 2006, it was impossible to get an interview with them on radio because I didn’t have their contact number.
I met Chantal in 2002 when she placed an ad on the radio wanting to form a band. I had met Genevieve in 2000, but it was only when she came back here in 2009 to host Take The Walk, that I found out that she is a Hanson fan. Take The Walk was an awesome thing to experience. The Cape Town walk had the best attendance of all 5 in South Africa in 2009.
Hanson finally gave us something when they put Cape Town on the Hansonopoly board and It was great when they answered my question in a live stream in 2014, regarding when they would be coming to South Africa
What is unique about being a Hanson Fan in South Africa?
One thinks that one is the only Hanson fan and it was a miracle of fate that Chantal and I met in 2002. With the Anthem tour, other Fansons in South Africa started poking their heads out… Melanie, Jayde, Fiona — also, being THE goto people (I include Chantal in that we) in South Africa when it comes to Hanson, gives one a bit of power 🙂
How has Hanson music inspired you?
In 2011, when my ex left me, I was talking about a related thing in the forums (thread “How do I go about telling her?”) and it is only through that thread that I met a certain Brazilian Fanson, without whom I wouldn’t know a word of Portuguese, which is now my second language.
How do you express your interest and passion for Hanson Music?
When I was on campus radio, I would start every show with a Hanson song, and did Hanson specials too. The coolest thing was communicating with people on HNET in the forums, asking them what songs they wanted, while they were listening online. From 2011 to 2015, Chantal and I would do monthly Hanson Street Team events. Anyone was invited, and through it, three people signed up publicly on HNET. But people stopped coming – because one moved back to the US; one got a girlfriend; one just came once; interestingly, there is still one that would come to things (she came to our Hansonopoly day even though it was my birthday).
What words most sum up Hanson for you?
Inspiring, enduring,
What Hanson album would you take to a desert Island?
Underneath… chances are I’d still be able to listen online to things, but in terms of a physical copy it would be Underneath, because of the grown up but yet raw edge to their music; the album that set them apart and showed the music that is representative of them.
If you could choose how to spend a day with Hanson, what would you do?
Interview them on radio, getting into their minds and asking questions that no one else has ever thought of asking (might still happen)
What would you like to thank Hanson for in particular?
For providing the connection that has kept Chantal and I connected. Even though we didn’t see each other for a few years, we are best friends in the world now.
Many thanks to Robyn for sharing his story with us.
