Tour Memories (and occasional musings)

If you’re heading to Jamaica for the first time next week, you might be feeling a little apprehensive about this much-talked about Hanson event, which is now in its seventh year. So, as a semi-veteran (I have attended four BTTIs so far, 2015-18), I thought I’d share my Top 10 tips for a smooth and fun vacation at what some of us refer to as Hanson Summer Camp. #1 Give yourself a chance to acclimatise to the Caribbean sun: wear plenty of sunscreen and take some breaks in the shade. Looking like a lobster for the rest of the event sucks, and looking like a lobster in your picture with the band sucks even more. Don’t forget that sunscreen even if the sky is overcast: last year I ended up with sunburn one side of my body just from sitting at the swim-up bar drinking shots to keep warm in the dreadful weather. #2 It’s easy to get carried away when you first get to the all-inclusive but take it from me and pace yourself with the drinking: you don’t want to spend the e...

Reaching for the Sky Pt.2 The story continues: As the boy grew to a man He built tall ladders to ascend And those around him said with spite Risk of failure isn't worth the fight. [Full lyrics on Hansonstage] The song picks up from where Part 1 left off and tells us more about the boy, who is now striving against difficulties and fighting against all odds. This Time Around The general consensus is that the vocals were re-recorded for TTA - possibly due to the publishing rights still being owned by Def Jam. Isaac, in particular, sounds very much as ‘current’ Isaac as he belts out his verse. But vocals aside, I keep forgetting that there’s an orchestra playing - it’s very subtle in the intro and my brain just tunes out all the new stuff and fixates on the familiar: i.e. a track I’ve listened to a million times. As the orchestra kicks in properly halfway through, so does the horns section, and it sounds like everything was thrown in indiscriminately, favouring no...