Bryan Hansen Band Performs at "Out of the Woods" Aug. 23

A night of great music for a great cause is on tap with "Out of the Woods" on Friday, Aug. 23, at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway.

The co-production includes a performance by the Bryan Hansen Band, whose sophomore album, "Gas Money," is out this October. The show also features a performance by Jared Milian (UCPAC 2018 Vocal Icon Award winner) and cast members of the upcoming production of "Into the Woods," which will be performed Sept. 6-21.

Part of the proceeds of the Aug. 23 performance will benefit the non-profit organization Inroads to Opportunities. The Roselle-based 501(c)3 offers a social outlet, family support and employment options to adults and teens with disabilities. A second fundraiser at UCPAC is scheduled for April 2020.

For more info on the event, the Bryan Hansen Band and Inroads to Opportunities visit:

http://www.ucpac.org/events

https://bryanhansenband.com

http://www.inroadsto.org

For bandleader Bryan Hansen, the show is especially exciting and close to home: he's the director of marketing for Inroads to Opportunities. Fans of the Edison-based band will hear new tracks, from the trio's forthcoming effort, "Gas Money," including the singles "Smiling Dashboard Jesus" and "Diamonds."

"Gas Money" is a fantastic disc that blends rock, funk, soul, blues and jazz. There are plenty of hooks, and the interplay between singer-guitarist Hansen, bassist William Blakey and drummer Cwan Merritt is seamless yet loose, a feat accomplished only by a tight, confident group of excellent musicians.

Highlights include funk-infused, upbeat opening number, "Untitled #3," the infectious, hook-laden " Smiling Dashboard Jesus," the positivity of "Beautiful," the funk-jazz pop of "Diamonds," the delicate ballad, "Lilac" and the powerful "Waiting for Tomorrow."

The disc is dedicated to the band's late keyboard player, Hank Rosenthal, who died of a heroin overdose in September 2018. Hansen is dedicated to using his role as a musician to bring awareness to the opioid crisis.

For an in-depth story on Rosenthal's life and death, check out https://www.mycentraljersey.co...

We recently spoke to Bryan Hansen.

"Gas Money," which comes out in October, is fantastic. Tell us about it.

We feel very strongly and confident about these eight songs. We're taking this project very seriously. It's not only our strongest work but our dedication to our keyboardist Hank Rosenthal, who died of a heroin overdose. The record is called "Gas Money" because he did not drive so he would always ask us to pick him up for gigs and he would always give us gas money.

At our record release party (to be announced, check this site for updates) a percentage of the proceeds are going to be donated to the Rutgers Recovery House, which helps people that are struggling with this enormous opioid crisis that is ripping people from their families and friends. Every month we lose the equivalent of the number of people who died on 9/11 to the opioid crisis. Enough is enough.

The last conversation I had with Hank is I emailed him the preproduction tracks for the album. Two days later he passed away. He never got to hear any of these tracks. We went into this project with a fire because we really wanted it to be intense. The sound of the record is really, really big for a band that has only three members. I think when people hear this album they'll hear the energy and excitement we had while we were in the studio and that we really wanted to do something that was powerful.

Tell us about "Smiling Dashboard Jesus," the new single and video from the album.

It's a feel good song and it felt appropriate to release it in the summer. I wrote this song based upon a bass line that was really catchy, like an earworm. People are like, 'this song is stuck in my head, it's driving me crazy!'

The first single from the album, "Diamonds," features a music video that's a thriller/jewel heist film wrapped into 4 minutes.

The goal with "Diamonds" musically was to have my voice and my band sound like Prince and Stevie Wonder had a baby with Robin Thicke. It features my falsetto and the funkiness of the band. This is one of the songs that our bassist Will Blakey had and pre-produced and we sat at a kitchen table and I sang nonsense into my phone until we got the song. "Diamonds" is a love song and we wanted to make an epic video that put us into a new light with our audience base because we really felt strongly about the song. We can't stop playing it. We love it a lot.

How did The Bryan Hansen Band come together? You guys have a loose, improvisational feel. Does being a trio help achieve that sound?

The last record ("When You Stop Pulling Back") was the first project that I did with Will and Cwan. Previously I was a solo artist which was the record called "Brothers Among Wolves." Being a trio allows us to be really free with what we do. I know these guys musically like the back of my hand. Will and Cwan had been performing together for a decade before I met them. They were church musicians playing a huge variety of R&B, gospel, and funk. I had the serious fortune of being able to meet them and learn how to play with them and it just locked.

Who were your influences growing up?

I grew up with a very musical family. My dad played guitar and I grew up listening to a huge variety of music and it was always encouraged that I sing and play instruments. I loved Motown. My first rock album was Live's "Throwing Copper." My mother would listen to James Taylor and Phil Collins. I listened to a variety of music with serious texture, which is missing from pop music today. You have very basic songs, which are popular on the radio, and we've removed the texture of instrumentation from pop music, which I'm trying to recover.

Let's switch gears to Inroads to Opportunities. Tell us about the organization.

We are a vocational rehabilitation center for adults with disabilities located in Roselle. It's an amazing organization. We also have a cafe in Fanwood, the Railside Cafe. That's one of our business ventures in terms of helping people with disabilities joining the workforce. We work with 400 people per year in Union and Essex counties. We provide both vocational training onsite and at a variety of different job sites. Our ultimate goal is to work with a job coach who goes out in the community and have them work in integrated employment. We try to shatter the stigma behind hiring people with disabilities.

We're also wellness focused. We have 65 people with chronic illnesses who come here and do one-on-one counseling and group therapy. It's also a social outlet. We do a variety of dances and events throughout the year. This is their community.

How does working with Inroads to Opportunities inspire you as a musician?

I work with amazing people who are so happy to be a part of the community. I'm such a sensitive sap that it completely effects my music and my drive. The spirit of this organization is wrapped into every ounce of who I am.

What are the goals and ambitions for the Bryan Hansen Band moving forward?

What we're doing right now for the first time ever is working with a booking agent and public relations company and they're helping us to schedule a tour. We're looking into bands we can open up for, national acts. It's a huge push forward. We're trying to spread our wings in the next year in the hopes that we are not only able to grow our fan base but talk about our keyboard player and the opioid crisis and see what we can do to help at the end of the day.