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Say What with Sister Hazel |
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Written by NICK POWILLS
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Saturday, 02 July 2005 |
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It's always fun to chat it up with someone who is really in love with what they do. And, I mean really love it. Not just in love with the money, or the girls, but in love with the dream.
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Sister Hazel
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7:45 p.m. July 2
Crystal Lake Gala
Crystal Lake, Ill.
$17
Did you know?
• Sister Hazel has been around for over 10 years
• Founders of the Rock Boat and the Rock Slope, two highly-noted music events
• Self-titled first album will be re-released July 12
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I sound corny, I know. But, Mark Trojanowski and his bandmates in Sister Hazel do things right – for the dream and the love. Even when the cash started rolling in a bit, they still got out there, toured hard and rocked the house.
I can appreciate that.
And, I appreciate that they love Chicago – which is nice, especially since they are willing to play area festivals, including the Crystal Lake Gala. Good band, great times. Rock on!
Hey Mark, how's life my friend? Where you be chillin' right now?
What's up Nick? I am in Atlanta right now where I live.
Sweet.
Yeah, I have been here since '01 and have really enjoyed it.
That's awesome. It is probably a good city to be a rockstar without being too famous.
Yeah, well, it definitely has a good cultural art scene – from music to other forms of art. It is definitely a good city to live and a good city to live in and be somewhat normal.
You're coming to Chicago. Not like you didn't already know that. But, how stoked are you to be in the Windy City?
Well, it's kind of been a second home for us ever since we broke onto the national scene in '96. We have played there multiple times a year, each year, for the last eight years. And, we have pretty much stayed at the House of Blues for all these years just because the people there are so good to the band.
And, sometimes you even do several nights there.
Yeah. It's just been a great place for us. We have had a ton of support with the Mix (101.9) radio station in Chicago and have done a lot of festivals there. It is really a second home for us.
So, you guys get to spend a little time here when you come to Chi-town.
Oh yeah. We definitely have gotten to go to all different parts of the city. If we are on tour, playing the House of Blues for a couple of nights, a couple of us will try to make it out to a game at Wrigley, or go to Navy Pier, or the aquarium. We have definitely seen a lot to really take in the city. But, I haven't been there since they took down the old newspaper building for Trump yet (laughs).
(Laughs) Once the new one is built, I am sure all your riches will be able to support you living there.
(Laughs) Yeah, right.
Maybe you would have to sell a few more albums to get to that level.
Yeah, maybe so (laughs).
I am sure it's a little different playing in Chicago, where you guys have a huge following, but what would you say your level of fame is at right now?
I think, you know, one thing that we have done is we have always been a touring band and a touring band first. And, we have always toured whether or not we had a record out because we always felt like our fans were our connection. A lot of bands will go make an album, tour and then disappear for a few years. We are not like that.
Yeah, you guys are definitely always on tour.
Exactly. Part of our success is that we are touring 125 shows a year. But, we have always been sort of a faceless band. Even when we had gold or platinum records, we were not all over VH1 or MTV and have never done Letterman or Leno. We have always been working our way up.
So, is the level of fame more now?
Well, we are doing more unique things. Like we have all our songs on ITunes and we are all over digital radio and XM, knowing that the college kids are getting their music from those sources. You know, even putting music out there for free and hoping they would go out and buy it, has helped us stay connected and current. That has always been a focus for us.
And, you methods seem to be working.
Yeah, I think by getting those younger fans and keeping our other fans we are really growing our fan base, and continuing to grow as a band.
You guys will always be a band that will have to work for their fans.
Yeah, we know that our fans mean everything to us. They allow us to do what we want to do. Our fans are so important that we have started doing other events. Like, four years ago where we starting the first Rock Boat as an after tour party and we brought 750 fans on a cruise ship and that has sort of become this annual event that is now like the Warped Tour. We are now bringing on 20 different artists to take over a cruise ship and that's just based on fan support.
Seems like a great idea that will help you stay connected with your fans.
Exactly. This year we are doing two of them and the first has already sold out, so we know we have a good thing going right now. We are just building a great community.
When you play shows, like in Crystal Lake, where it's a festival, that doesn't hurt your guy's egos, right?
From a touring standpoint, there are all different types of shows out there. Summertime rolls around and we play a ton of festivals and fairs. Those shows, even thought they are not big ticket, people who won't normally go see a Sister Hazel show hear us and get hooked. We feel like if someone comes and sees 45 minutes of our show, they will be hooked on us forever.
That's basically how I got hooked.
Thanks, man. If you want to consistently grow your fan base, you have to do all sorts of events. That's why we love doing these too.
Well, good luck in Crystal Lake, my friend. Luckily, there aren't too many corn fields around to give you some crazy fan experiences.
(Laughs) Alright, man.
• Nick Powills can be reached at SayWhatPOWILLS@aol.com. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
Other Recent Articles by NICK POWILLS:Rodrigo y Gabriela Generate High Energy PerformanceLumino Looks Back at Lolla in Chicago... So FarPresidents Campaign For Another Musical RunMySpace Local Review - Flatfoot 56MySpace Local Review - Absentstar
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