Jeff Hanson
If you must be misinformed, the man would prefer you think he's a woman.
Over his lengthy career, St. Paul singer-songwriter Jeff Hanson has had two misconceptions dogging him: Many wrongly assume he’s one of the Hanson brothers based on his name, while others wrongly assume he’s a woman based on his delicate falsetto. Still, none of that’s stopped Hanson from crafting aching, elegant folk songs in the singer-songwriter vein as a solo musician over three albums since 2000. His third release, the long-awaited and recently released Madam Owl, doesn’t differ much sonically from its predecessors, but adds flourishes from a variety of new instruments. While on tour for Madam Owl, Hanson spoke to Decider about his new album, putting out a hypothetical metal record, and which misconception he wishes people would subscribe to. Hanson's hometown CD-release show for Madam Owl is Nov. 7 at the Turf Club with Jeremy Messersmith and Peter Adams.
Decider: The press release for Madam Owl quotes you as saying, “I want this to be a Jeff Hanson record.” What does that entail?
Jeff Hanson: [Laughs.] I just feel that in this line of work you get put in with a lot of other people and a lot of other names are mentioned when people listen to your music. Whether it’s my voice or it’s my songs, I really feel like it’s my own record, and I feel that, to me, it’s just a complete Jeff Hanson record. I feel like that if you listen to it—not that I don’t have my own influences or anything—but I really feel like as far as developing my own style, it’s a pretty personal record for me, whether it seems like it or not. It definitely feels more personal than the previous two, that’s for sure.
D: In other interviews you’ve mentioned not going to shows. Is that a badge of honor for you, or more a reaction to how clique-ish music can be?
JH: It’s just because I’m a big nerd. I sit at home with my wife and our favorite thing to do is take the dogs for a walk, go out to dinner, and rent a movie. I can write a song, but I don’t know how to talk to someone about it and make it out to be super-cool to someone else. I put my music out there because it’s important to me and it’s what I do, but I don’t expect anything. I don’t feel like anything is owed to me. Wherever it goes from here, we’ll see.
D: Everything on Madam Owl is acoustic except for the electric bass on “The Hills.” Why was that the exception?
JH: I just think that it was more [of a] driving song. That song seems a little more intense to me.
D: Did you want everything to be as acoustic as possible?
JH: I did. When I went into writing this record I was thinking it was going to be acoustic. That’s how it started. So these songs were written so bare and stark, but once I went into the studio it just started heading in that direction. A lot of things are just spur of the moment. Like on the first song, “Night,” we really were just going to have a standard drumbeat for that. Then out of nowhere, [producer] Rob [Bartleson] mentioned maybe we do just two floor toms instead of a normal drum sound.
D: It sort of sounds like metal drums almost.
JH: Yeah, yeah. We were like, “Let’s almost make it like double-bass sound-y.” Stuff like that made this record really interesting for me to make, too. On the previous records we just didn’t have time to do that kind of stuff. So I think with this record we took our time and thought our way through each song a little bit more. I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I guess I could have come out with a record just totally out of left field.
D: What would that be?
JH: I have a real strong sense of melody in my songwriting, and that always seems to come out. I don’t know how that translates into death metal. You know how great that would be, though? If my next record was just straight-up fucking hard-ass rock? [Laughs.]
D: What would you call it?
JH: What Happens In Mom’s Basement Stays In Mom’s Basement. I’d probably be on the cover on the hood of a Camaro. I’d have a mustache. All my tours would be sponsored by some energy drink.
D: Which do you prefer: For people to assume you’re a woman or to assume you’re one of the Hanson brothers?
JH: Now, which Hanson brother? You don’t want to be that older brother that was like 29 when his brothers were 14. You don’t want to be standing there in that situation. I would definitely say a woman.
"If Only I Knew," from Madam Owl:
