In a business that has no permanent rules one thing being a musician and an entertainment business entrepreneur has always promised is long days and interesting scenery. Yes it offers a lot more detail and many fulfilling experiences during those long days, but the perks come with a punch card permanently clocked in.
For a year that has been dedicated to the planning of a new album release in 2013 (which is underway) and focusing on looking back at 20 years of music (our band turned 20 this year) we still found a way to cover a lot of ground, from the Far East to the Great North. In this collection of words and pictures I am going to take the chance that you do not mind a lot of skylines, shapes and long shadows, as I feel particularly inclined to share those abstract moments in this look back at another busy year.
You see, between the great concerts (and we have had some incredible ones from Manila to Melbourne to the Vancouver bay this year), my eye is always drawn to the shapes and shadows and nondescript side streets that feel somehow familiar no matter how far away you go.
Throughout this first 10 months of 2012 we have had one constant theme, which has been to leave space for inspiration for the coming album. The idea of 'leaving space' seems an irony when you consider that this year we made it all across Canada, the Philippines, Australia and quite a few one off concerts here in the US, but it makes more sense if you realise that it is the first year since 2006 that we have not done an extensive US tour. With the idea of space for creative thinking, pondering what's next, and letting the musical wheels turn, I pulled together this smattering of ocular engagement.
In Canada we did our first full national tour in the depth of this last winter (snow covering nearly every inch), in the US we made random stops throughout the spring and summer and gathered together fans for our annual fan club gathering (called HANSON Day) and we celebrated the start of our 20th year as a band... yeah, we're all getting old. In the Philippines we brought our first tour to the country since 2004, with an incredible reception from fans everywhere we went, and to wrap up our Shout It Out world tour we returned to Australia with an extensive tour from coast to coast.
I hope you like the view.
Enjoy