Originally started as a way to unwind from the prog-punk of the legendary Nomeansno, The Hanson Brothers side project could now be the key to get the on-and-off-again Nomeansno back into the studio. Currently on a Canadian tour as a cross-marketing campaign for singer (and Nomeansno drummer) John Wright’s new Punk Rauch beer, being released by Quebec’s Trou du Diable brewery, The Hanson Brothers combine punk rock, beer and hockey into a unique blend of Ramones-inspired tomfoolery. Meanwhile, Nomeansno are on a hiatus.
“It’s definitely a different dynamic than Nomeansno. We keep saying we’re not going to do many more Hansons projects, and this tour came about almost entirely because of John’s involvement with the brewery,” says Holliston (a.k.a. Tommy Hanson). “Doing these Hanson Brothers dates is actually really beneficial to Nomeansno because everyone is back together and talking about music. It’s really been good and everybody’s excited again. Originally, the Hanson Brothers were sort of designed to get away from the musical scriptures of Nomeansno, but now it’s bringing us back the other direction.”
An avid home brewer, Wright has filmed how-to videos on making beer in his Johnny Hanson character. The current tour will include tastings of his Bavarian-styled smoked beer.
“I don’t care much at all for smoked beer, but this one’s a bit milder and the finish isn’t quite as long or overpowering, so I really like it,” says Holliston about Wright’s beer.
The Hanson Brothers formed way back in 1984 by Wright and his brother Rob (who plays bass and sings in Nomeansno) as way to celebrate one of their favourite movies, Slapshot, and their favourite sport, hockey. They released two pop-punk albums in the ‘90s, but not without some confusion with other Hanson-named bands. Most notably, the cutesy boy-band Hanson, whose underage fans once showed up to the punk band’s Cleveland dive bar gig.
“It was in a part of town in Cleveland where people don’t always walk the streets after 9 pm. It was really sad because these two girls, who must have been 14 and somehow got into the bar, were so excited, then so incredibly disappointed,” chuckles Holliston. “And since then I’ve heard that the Hansons have also come up with their own craft beer, which is a whole new territory for confusion. Maybe those girls, who are now in their ‘30s, will come into a liquor store looking for the Hanson beer and find Johnny Hanson’s Punk Rauch beer instead.”
The Hanson Brothers
Saturday, April 12
Logan’s Pub, $12-$15
loganspub.com