Lars Hanson – Drums / Acoustic Guitar
A native of Eau Claire, WI, Lars comes from very musical family and first became interested in drumming at the
age of 4, guided by his father, who was also a drummer. Starting with a homemade practice pad and a knowledge of the 13 basic
rudiments, Lars was soon old enough to join the Eau Claire Boys Drum and Bugle Corps, where he spent the next six years as
a member of their drum line. All the way through high school, Lars was also active in all the music groups available, including
Jazz ensemble, concert band, orchestra, where he played tympani and pit percussion and the marching band. He graduated in
1974 and was honored with the Music Department’s “Outstanding Performer Award”
Upon graduation,
Lars spent a summer touring with a road company of the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”. He was
also cutting his teeth on rock and roll and country, performing in various Eau Claire bands such as Squeeze, Swamp Angel and
Paul Rabbit’s Tongue Band. Tongue which featured another well known Milwaukee area musician, Joey Lucchesi, who was
to be a key part of Lars’s musical circle for the next 35 years.
After relocating to the Milwaukee
area in 1976 and then touring for the next two years with Joey and Paul, Lars and Joey had the opportunity to audition and
be selected for one of the Midwest’s premier rock and roll acts, Bad Boy. In 1977, Bad Boy was signed to the United
Artists Record label, who released two albums, which both appeared in the Billboard and Record World Top 100. The next three
years would be a blur of recording and national touring, appearing at such notable places such as Hollywood’s Starwood
Club and the Whiskey A-Go-Go. During that period, Lars also had the experience of opening up for many name acts.
In
1981, Lars and Joey formed a very popular power pop quartet called The Rage. They toured extensively and opened and headlined
with many other popular acts of the day such as the Pretenders, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Bramlett, the Motels, the Records,
Huey Lewis and the News, Cheap Trick and others. Later in 1981, which was the inaugural year off the WAMI (WI Area Music Association),
The Rage was honored with the “Best Single Award” for a co-written song by Lars and Joey “Be My Love (Tonight)”
During this period, The Rage was also featured on several compilation albums such as “Best of Fantasy”, WLUP Radio
Chicago’s “Best of the LOOP” and others.
In 1984, Lars relocated to the Carmel, CA to
pursue a career in Marketing and Public Relations and during that time, also became a licensed pilot. He continued to perform
freelance with several rock and blues groups in the San Francisco and central coast areas of California. After the devastating
San Francisco earthquake in 1989, Lars decided “You can’t dress for an earthquake” and came back to Wisconsin.
A gig with a great rockabilly band called the King Comets soon followed. The twang of rockabilly is a favorite of Lar’s,
along with the sounds of classic country. During this period, Lars decided to pursue his interest in guitar, with a focus
on fingerstyle and bluegrass styles. During this time, Lars appeared on several recordings as a drummer, with popular area
acts like High Risk and the Chris Martinez Band.
In 1992, Seeing the time was right for that, Lars formed
a very popular local country band, Blue Mesa. They appeared for the next four years at every country dance hall in the Midwest.
In 1996, after being contacted by the original members of Bad Boy, they went into the studio to record two new tracks as an
addition to a “Best of Bad Boy” compilation. The results were so strong that the quartet decided to regroup. Several
years of playing together again ensued. Lars also worked on a side project with Bad Boy leader, Steve Grimm and Pretty Grimm.
It is during this time that Lars first met current Young Southern members, Rick Forkes and Tommy Greywolf. Lars, Rick and
Tommy would later perform on stage and in the studio for projects such as the Michael Bryceton Group, Yadda Yadda and ex Cheap
Trick and Bad Boy singer Xeno’s N o Strings Attached acoustic trio, also featuring Rachel Trapp, now of Siren.
Lars reputation as a solid drummer also garnered him introductions and slots in the popular southern rock band,
the Sociables and Whiskey Highway. After 35+ years of performing professionally, Lars is looking forward to “sangin’
and twangin” with Tim Castle and Young Southern!!
Equipment:
Lars endorses ddrums,
Paiste Cymbals, Martin guitars and Marshall Acoustic Amps
