E. 239: Stacy Hanson | Musician

Amy Gabay 00:06
We chatted with Stacey Hanson, a local musician who has been part of many bands in the area, including the Merry Weathers, Red Sky Warning to most recently the Lake Effect. We chat influences, his new project Broken Wrist Records, and what is next for this musician. You can find more conversations, food reviews, live music and events on our website, lacrosselocal.com. I’m Amy.

Brent Hanifl 00:30
I’m Brent.

Amy Gabay 00:31
And this is La Crosse Local.

Stacy Hanson 01:02
I was born in La Crosse and grew up in Sparta. Far back as I can remember, I remember growing up and my parents, they had, you know one of those big unsold record players with the I think it had a track capability, too. So there was a bunch of records laying around. And you know, I just remember listening to that growing up and just kind of I was always into it. And I remember singing along and always wanting to be a singer. And I guess when I was younger, in my teens I started skateboarding and that, you know, music, punk rock and hip hop was always kind of a big part of that scene. I kind of got into like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, then a little bit later, Pearl Jam. And I guess I just always loved music, I didn’t really pick up a guitar until I was 19 or so. And then a buddy of mine, who was a pretty good guitar player, showed me a few chords. And then I really just kind of started learning, teaching myself how to play at that point,

Brent Hanifl 02:11
Kind of going over your sort of catalog of different bands, you know, everything from you know, the Merry Weathers to Red Sky Warning, which I’ve seen play at Pearl Street Brewery a number of years ago, to most recently, I think your collaboration, the Lake Effect with Andy Hughes. Those are kind of different acts, what are some of some of the, you know, the musicians or bands that influenced you?

Stacy Hanson 02:33
Yeah, they are quite different, I guess, Red Sky Warning is a little more, you know, electric, alternative rock. And I would say that band was pretty heavily influenced by, you know, Pearl Jam, and Patti and Neil Young and I’m a huge Tom Petty fan. And, you know, he’s kind of all over the place to, you know, some country sound and stuff at times to just rock and roll. And I think Merry Weathers was kind of another outlet just for, you know, kind of the more Folk Americana stuff that I like, and I really just, I love all kinds of music. And I find when I’m in the writing process, I think a lot of that comes out too, because I don’t I try not to just kind of stay in one lane, I guess. I guess I don’t try it just whatever comes out comes out. And you know, it has been kind of all over the place. And the new project with Andy is kind of a result of that, where, you know, we just when COVID happened, you know, we were always kind of pulled in different directions prior to that. And we, you know, we’d always been friends for a long time, but never really sat down or had the opportunity to sit down and kind of discuss the songwriters that we loved. And I think that’s kind of where the Lake Effect was born. We just kind of found some common ground and songwriting and that project is kind of just just the two of us for now, and just got to working on two part harmonies and just then make it more about the songs I guess.

Brent Hanifl 04:18
You mentioned the Lake Effect, but also you guys have kind of partnered on this Broken Wrist Records. And I believe it was one of your first sort of endeavors was a recent show up at Leo and Leona’s. How did that project start?

Stacy Hanson 04:32
So we got together last winter. We had rented a cabin and just kind of with the intent to get away and do some writing and, you know, we just kind of, we love the collaborative aspect of it. And I guess kind of the whole idea of the big picture is to kind of use that as a platform to help us promote and book shows. And you know, when we get some recording stuff done with the Lake Effect, you know, we can kind of put it all under this one roof, I guess do well and try to get it out there a little bit better and help other up and coming bands out with promotion books, some other, you know bigger shows around the area with some of the people that we like a lot. So I guess that’s kind of where the idea came from.

Brent Hanifl 05:30
Yeah, it seemed like you guys kind of came out swinging with the Tommy Prine show. How did that go for you?

Stacy Hanson 05:36
It was incredible. I love that room. I don’t know if you’ve been to a show there at all. But, of course, just such a great sounding room. The audience that night was just incredible. I mean, you could literally hear a pin drop at times. And so I think they, the audience was very attentive, and it went off great. We ended up selling out the show, you know, everybody just had a great time. And we’d like to do some more stuff like that. Because I think, you know, just the whatever ten to two bar gig I think is dead for a lot of people. And I mean, after things kind of shut down, I think Andy and I both kind of realized how tired and burnt out we were from this run and so much and you know, now we just kind of want to focus on quality over quantity and pick the right shows and see where it goes.

Brent Hanifl 06:35
You know, you did reference COVID of course. And if you haven’t been paying attention, it’s really kind of changed everybody’s life the past 18 months. How was that process for you? It sounds like it’s been a creative sort of outlet in some ways that spurred some new, you know, activities like the Lake Effect, Broken Wrist Records, you know, did it affect your songwriting recording or just day to day life? How was it for you?

Stacy Hanson 06:57
Yeah, it changed a lot. Prior to things shutting down, Merry Weathers that had booked out, I don’t know, six months worth of shows. And we were both to do the White Wall Sessions in South Dakota, and we’re kind of trying to branch out west a little bit further. And then, you know, obviously, that kind of just stalled, dissolved in. And then I kind of found myself just not really knowing what to do with myself. And I think that’s kind of when Andy and I started leaning on each other a little bit more. And, you know, we were able to get together and do some stuff that way. We wrote a few tunes, with the Lake Effects, working on recording some demos and get in the studio here. And hopefully we’ll have something in probably realistically, the late summer, fall maybe. As far as like my own writing and recording projects. I really haven’t written much of anything of I think I’ve wrote two songs. In the last year, I guess I just kind of found myself getting pulled in other directions. You know, my wife and I are working on this new hot sauce company that we partnered with Hawkweed Hound’s Tongue of Osseo. My buddy Brian, he was also a musician and so kind of trying to get that off the ground. And you know, haven’t really been, normally when I write I would sit down with my guitar and you know, kind of fumble around until something came out. I guess I just haven’t been doing that a whole lot this last year. So I guess it has changed my day to day stuff quite a bit.

Brent Hanifl 08:38
You know, you kind of reference kind of what’s next for you? You know, it sounds like you’re branching off into hot sauce, which I think is always a good avenue to go down. But what are you excited for for the next year or two? Is there anything that’s out there music or otherwise your pretty pumped for?

Stacy Hanson 08:52
Yeah, I’m excited about this endeavor with Broken Wrist Records. You know, Andy and I are kind of laying the groundwork for some shows in the spring to get some pretty big ideas. I guess whether they’ll come to fruition or not, I guess is another thing. But you know, we want to do another show. And in March, I think up at Leo and Leona’s in the next couple of months. We’re doing one Sunday a month out at Footjoy Farm Brewing in Melvina and there we played there twice now. They got great beer and pizza and Jebs got a cool thing going on out there so its just been a good vibe for us. And you know, I think what we’re gonna to do, I don’t think we’re going to book a whole lot more than that in this area. I think that’ll kind of be our one local show a month and then just kind of work towards doing some more stuff in the spring. I think.

Brent Hanifl 09:47
If people want to find out more, what’s the best avenue to go for?

Stacy Hanson 09:51
Ah, let’s see. I say probably look us up on Facebook. Broken Wrist Record’s page is on there now. You can find the Lake Effect on there. I’ve been a little less active on my personal Facebook page lately but hopefully with the hot sauce thing you can get some more information on that as we unveil it. Other than that, that’s about all I got.

Amy Gabay 10:22
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