Q & A with The Hangers
Posted by Jonathan on February 19 2012, at 11:19 Print
What’s the history of The Hangers?
The Hangers started out as a typical high school band when three of the current band members got together to perform for a Christmas show. Without knowing it, we founded what would become one of Montreal’s own Party Bands. With styles ranging from punk to ska in the early years, we really discovered our sound upon the arrival of Pat Gagnon 5 years ago. With the idea of spreading our energetic funk / Ska / rock music and high paced party vibe show, we assaulted the underground ska music scene by working with punkmeup.com, the Montreal Ska Society and Stomp Records. Our ‘punch in the face’ set really made a name for ourselves as we were invited in 2009 to open up the premiere night of the first annual Montreal Ska Festival and were named ‘Revelation of the Festival’. Two months later we launched our debut album ‘Half The Fun’ to a sold out crowd at Savoy Du Métropolis, which was self-produced by guitarist Pat Gagnon. Following the launch we toured across Quebec and Ontario promoting the new album, which led to the band encountering Mitch ‘King Kong’ Girio who would turn out to have a great influence on the sound of our band.
In the summer of 2010 we started pre-production of our second album with King Kong which was recorded in Montreal and Toronto in January 2011. Just before the release of ‘Get Your Ticket’ in May 2011, we went on a cross Canada tour for the first time playing a total of 16 shows in 23 days. Since then, we started writing more material and are preparing for our biggest show yet, the Festival Montréal En Lumière which will be held on friday February 24th.
Tell us more about your show on February 24th at Le National.
The show at Le National is part of the Montreal En Lumiere festival and is said to be THE party night of the festival. It’s part of the Soirée Caliente!, which is guaranteed to make you forget how cold it is outside. The line-up is sure to leave you wanting more as it starts with The Thundermonks, followed by The Hangers and ends with Colectivo. Once again, we invited The Thundermonks straight down from Toronto to deliver some ska wrapped hip-hop. Those youngsters musical wiz are not new in town since we’ve invited them to play in Montreal more than a couple of times and every time they deliver what is an bad ass set. Then we (The Hangers) hit the stage with a set that will make you wanna jump around and let loose with everyone in the venue. Finally, Colectivo will be sure to come in and go for the kill with their 11 members lineup and worldbeat music that will have you dancing and sweating the night away. By the time the show is done, everyone will believe we are in the summertime!
What’s in store for The Hangers in 2012?
After releasing our first two albums in the span of 18 months, 2012 will be a year of shows, which is good news for everyone! It started last weekend with our first show of the year in Boucherville, now every weekend has one or two performances booked and we cant wait to do what we do best, rock out! All the shows will get us ready for our second cross Canada tour in May. Working with new allies on the west coast, we’re hoping to reach out to new audiences and to be able to create a hype around THE Montreal Party Band. The band is also planning a little getaway to play in France at the end of the summer. After all the hard work we put in the music and the shows for the past few years, we’re allowed to offer ourselves a little vacation…while doing what we do best!.
What’s your favorite venue to play in Montreal?
I think its safe to say that our favorite venue is Café Campus on Prince-Arthur. All our shows in Montreal are played at Petit Campus and we always have a great time with the staff and techs there. We even launched our 2nd album there, on the second floor, THE Café Campus. All the staff there is really nice to work with and the techs do an amazing job. The sound is great on and offstage and everyone, from the musicians to the crowd, always leave with the feeling of the best night ever.
Who are some of your favorite Montreal artists?
We’ve shared the stage with many Montreal artists, but let’s say that we never have more fun than when Danny Rebel & the KGB is on the lineup. We all come from the West-Island and started to play shows together early on so we all go nuts onstage.
Where can people find out more about The Hangers and buy your music?
You can find out everything you want to know about The Hangers on the net. Starting with our website (www.thehangers.tv), then our facebook page and even Twitter accounts. Our YouTube channel has more than 60 videos going from live performances to videos and even our early Hangers.TV season 1 and 2. All our music is available on itunes and ready to download live!