Tulsa World Article on AT/Hanson(sorta)
JBTNHN1514
Twin Bill
Hanson's sell-out tour is Admiral Twin's windfall
By Thomas Conner
World Entertainment Writer
A small gaggle of nervous kids approached the members of Admiral Twin last
month on the streets of Seattle. They had obviously screwed up a great deal of
courage to approach the Tulsa band, and they were wide-eyed with awe.
"Are you in a band?" one of the girls asked cautiously.
The Admiral Twin fellows said yes, puffing with a little internal pride.
The girls were particularly focused on bass player Mark Carr, his bushy
locks and constantly furrowed expression.
"You're Eddie Vedder?" they asked him.
Oh well.
There are worse things that can happen to a rock band on the road than being
mistaken for Pearl Jam.
It's and understandable error, too. Pearl Jam was playing in Seattle the
same night Tulsa's pop-rock kings Admiral Twin once again opened for Hanson in
the Emerald City. Admiral Twin is the *other* Tulsa band on the Albertane Tour
- Hanson's oddly named summer trek across the continent - and they might be
having more fun than even the much-ballyhooed brothers.
"We're on a national tour playing for sold-out arenas. Yeah, I guess we're
having a good time," drummer Jarrod Gollihare said before the band's July 8
show in Tulsa.
The fun continues - as does the development of future business prospects.
Numerous record label scouts have seen the show at various stops, many
specifically to check out Admiral Twin. A rep from Mojo Records (Cherry
Poppin' Daddies, ect.) was hanging out with the band in Tulsa, and scouts from
Mercury - Hanson's label - were on hand for the sold-out show at the Hollywood
Bowl.
The band, however, is tight-lipped about any deals going down.
"We can just say for now that stuff is happening. We'll have some news at
the end of the tour," said the band's instrumental everyman and songwriter,
Brad Becker, in an interview this week from the tour's second stop in Detroit.
In the meantime, these Tulsa players - Becker, Gollihare, Carr and guitarist
John Russell - are high on the excitement of this incredible oppurtunity. Just
last spring, Admiral Twin would have surrendered a digit or two to play before
sold-out crowds of nearly 25,000 people as they did at Washington D.C.'s Nissan
Pavilion. After their sound check at the Mabee Center last month, they were
remarking how small the 8,000-capacity venue was.
How quickly they forget. <~~~Note-I'm so sick of this little comment that
this particular
writer also made about Hanson...
Granted, these giant venues are not selling out on the strength of Admiral
Twin's presence on the ticket. That's the bittersweet dilemma of every opening
act. But the Hanson tour is a different animal for an opening band, Admiral
Twin has discovered.
"For a lot of kids in this audience,this is their first rock show ever,"
Becker said. "They're all having a good time regardless. They're not jaded.
They're open to anything they hear, and we just feed it to them."
Surprisingly, the band isn't totally anonymous to these first-ever huge
out-of-Tulsa crowds. Several audiences have been sprinkled with Admiral Twin
banners amidst the ocean of poster-sized declarations of devotion to Hanson.
Some crowds - as the band chronicles in its tour diary(see related
story...which is just excerts from Admiral Twin's news page at their website so
I won't type it...it's a lot longer than this article.) - have even chanted
Admiral Twin's name.
That's not the only feedback they get from new fans, though, Becker said.
We're been getting a ton of e-mail daily from the road. "In the last month
or so, we've gotten 2,000 e-mails. The Internet is where a lot of this
started. First, some people posted on the Hanson newsgroup (don't we feel
special=) that we were going to be on the tour. Then Hanson linked to our web
page from their official page. That got the word out to Internet-savvy Hanson
people. Then once we started playing shows, it turned it loose. We get 30 to
40 messages a day from people saying they showed up expecting to throw food at
the opening band but wound up loving us. They say, 'You guys aren't anything
like Hanson, but we loved you.' "
Aye, it's that disparity in sound that's the rub. Admiral Twin took on that
name after seven years as the Mellowdramatic Wallflowers; thechange was part of
the band's effort to distance itself from an undeserved but nonetheless dogging
image as a kiddie band. The group's power pop is suited ideally for a college
radio audience.
So why did they turn around a month after the makeover and accept the offer
- from the Hansons themselves - to be on this tour with demographics split
above and below that college radio crowd? The short answer is another
question: who in their right mind would turn down an opening gig for a group
fresh from earning numbers as the No. 1 act in the world?
"We're not a weird niche group. We're a pop-rock group. We've got a
broaderappeal than a punk-ska band or a weird art group. This is a portion of
our target audience - the low age bracket and their parents - and it's a great
chance for us. After this tour, we hope to do some colleges," Becker said.
The end=) Ok so it's not exactly a Hansonish post but still...if you want to
know how AT is doin'...there ya go. Sorry for any typos, puntuation errors,
ect. I was watching tv and reading the article while typing it. There's a
picture of Mark Carr and the related story at www.tulsaworld.com Sorry if this
article was already posted=)
-Brittani
MariposaL1
>Maybe this has already been posted but...I'm bored so oh well...
>
>
Thanks, Britttani! Is this just too cool or what? :-)
Marci
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.
Chica1998
Aaah! Guys! Come to Notre Dame! You know I'll be there!
--Jacki--
------------------------------------
"I understand they're very
good at relieving tensions...
and furnishing comic relief."
------------------------------------
fri...@sympatico.ca
>
> >"After this tour, we hope to do some colleges," Becker said.
>
Come to Mohawk!
(knows that Jonnie is about to laugh her head off)
DAVE
EO
--
***Entertainment Online Update*** A blockbuster-less summer? Read all
about it in the upcoming issue of EO! *** To get your free subscription
to EO e-mail fri...@sympatico.ca *** Visit the EO homepage
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/6370
Robert Lindner
files or videos or pics they could send me to use on my new Hanson website.
If you can help me, please email me at sail...@hotmail.com .
Thanks,
Heather
Someone
>
> Chica1998 wrote:
> >
> > >"After this tour, we hope to do some colleges," Becker said.
> >
>
> Come to Mohawk!
> (knows that Jonnie is about to laugh her head off)
>
> DAVE
...and here it comes.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah guys, play the ARNIE!!!!!
--jonnie <--nearly died from secondhand smoke in the Arnie but still
hangs out there...forgive her, she's slow
*IA FLUMPER* *ATINS* *ATTSBS* *Guardian of Zac's Giggle*
WOOHOO ISAAC! ::FLUMP!!::
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"We run the karaoke machine actually." --Isaac
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Brush your teeth little kiddies, it's good
for you." -- Taylor
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"It's hard to run with these long toes..." --Zac
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
fri...@sympatico.ca
>
> fri...@sympatico.ca wrote:
> >
> > Chica1998 wrote:
> > >
> > > >"After this tour, we hope to do some colleges," Becker said.
> > >
> >
> > Come to Mohawk!
> > (knows that Jonnie is about to laugh her head off)
> >
> > DAVE
>
> ...and here it comes.
> BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> Yeah guys, play the ARNIE!!!!!
>
> --jonnie <--nearly died from secondhand smoke in the Arnie but still
> hangs out there...forgive her, she's slow
That's what that place is called? Now why would they name a bar after
Schwarzenegger?
On second thought...don't play there AT, you can come to my house and we
will hold a backyard concert. But then again, my backyard will be
trashed.
AT, I live near a park. You can play there, then I can walk to the
concert, and Jonnie can walk too...maybe she'll be celebrating her
birthday that night and be visiting Kelseys (inside joke, just ignore it
and don't ask questions).
Someone
>
> That's what that place is called? Now why would they name a bar after
> Schwarzenegger?
Hey, why would they name the whole darn college after a crazy
hairstyle? Don't ask me, I just go there.
>
> AT, I live near a park. You can play there, then I can walk to the
> concert, and Jonnie can walk too...
Excuse me! Do you think I'm incredibly fit or something? Methinks
not. I'll be bussing it. Call me lazy.
>maybe she'll be celebrating her
> birthday that night and be visiting Kelseys (inside joke, just ignore it
> and don't ask questions).
ROTFLMAO!!!
Yeah, I hear the parking lot is quite comfy.
--jonnie <--still laughing at that and is wondering if it will be *her*
on the pavement this Saturday night