Composer Kevin Hanlon’s Extraordinary Eclecticism - 📍Vancouver, WA

Kevin Hanlon's musical journey defies categorization. The composer, performer, and scholar has created work spanning classical orchestral pieces, rock anthems, jazz compositions, and civil rights tributes. Following his interests beat by beat, measure by measure, has resulted in a body of work of hundreds of individual compositions, each unique and splendid in its complexity.

🗺️ Visit him at Doubtingscholarsmusic.com 

👀 For videos and recordings of Kevin's music, visit the episode page.

🎉 This episode also celebrates:

• Touch of Class Chorale
• Brickhouse Irish Music Jam
• Jim Hansen Sculpture

🎶 Music in this episode by Kevin Hanlon.

Thank you to today's sponsor, Uhacz Photography!

⭐️  Thanks to our sponsor, Oregon ArtsWatch!

⭐️  Thanks to our sponsor, Gardner School of Arts & Sciences. Enrollment is open and financial aid is available!

Transcript

[00:00:00] Adriana: When I was in college, I took a course that I absolutely loved and think about all the time. It was a music history survey course taught by a professor named Martin Goldray. Marty had been the pianist for the Philip Glass Ensemble, and he was also a conductor and a composer himself, and is still one of the greatest teachers teaching these days.

And so when I had the opportunity to sit with my guest for today and learn a little bit more about music history, I jumped at the chance because when you get in the room with one of the greats, and by greats I mean great professors, there's nothing like it. My guest today is Kevin Hanlon. He is a composer, a teacher, a scholar, and somebody who has written music for the widest possible media.

He utilizes a broad, yet deeply executed variety of compositional approaches, and his music has been performed extensively in North America and Europe, and now extensively throughout Clark County. Kevin sat down with me and told me all about his development as a musician, how he got in the rooms with Linda Ronstadt and Wynton Marsalis, how he went from being a rock and roll musician to a PhD in music scholarship.

He also dug deep into some really cool things that I think you're going to enjoy a lot, including some Beatles songs, some Stravinsky, some Fantasia, and some contemporary [00:02:00] political anthem ballads. I think you're really going to enjoy today's conversation with composer and musician, Kevin Hanlon.

Welcome to I’m Into This Place, your deep dive into the local arts, culture, and heritage of Clark County. From fabulous new restaurants to quirky art installations to the historical sites you never even knew to look for, we’re inviting you along. Whether you're a Clark County connoisseur or just starting to get to know her, get ready to fall head over heels for this place we call home. I'm your host, Adriana Baer, and I'm into this place. Let's go.

Thank you, Kevin, for having me today. 

[00:02:50] Kevin: Thanks. Glad to be here. Glad that you're here. 

[00:02:53] Adriana: Yeah, we have already started this conversation and I had to stop and say, wait, wait, wait. We have to get on the mic.

Because you had started to tell me this incredible story about the origins of you as a musician, as a composer, as a teacher, as a scholar of music, and I think it's so interesting to talk to contemporary composers and musicians who have a broad scope of this, the kind of work that they make. And that's definitely you.

You have multiple styles that you work in. Your work is extremely diverse and varied, and we have some clips of it on the episode page. So if you wanna pause this episode, go listen to some clips and come back. You can find that link in the show notes right away. But Kevin, you're a surprise around every corner with your music, I find I listen to it and I think, “Oh my gosh. Where did this come from?”

I've got a classical piece here. I've got a rock and roll piece here. [00:04:00] I've got a civil rights anthem there. I've got a, a solo cello piece. I've got jazz, and I think so many times we think of composers or of musicians as being singular genre. Right? Beyonce is this, Taylor Swift is this, Beethoven is this.

But when you dig inside of those artists, you find, of course they're not one thing, but you really defy all categorization, at least I think so. Does that feel right to you?

[00:04:32] Kevin: Yeah, it's not unfair. The idea of being diverse and eclectic was never really done on purpose. But even as we were having this, uh, this initial discussion, where did it all start? I remember having an experience as a child. There was a painting show and the artist was. Painting, showing you how to paint a waterfall. It was not Bob Ross. I'm much older than that. But they were playing, uh, Smetana’s Die Moldau, which is part of a larger piece called Má Vlast, which means my homeland. I remember being hit by that as a kid, just going, that is amazing, and it's giving me feelings that it was serious. Was it sad? Was it poignant? I don't know, but I loved it. And then of course there was the onslaught of the British invasion at the age of 11, and that was extremely persuasive, in terms of how much excitement it generated, and also just the, you know, hearing male voices pitched high, which translates to intensity. [00:06:00] And so some of that excitement I think, was built into the tone of what they were doing, uh, besides just, you know, a loud beat. The Beatles music, if we refer to that specifically as a touchstone, they were already assimilating at a very, very early stage.

There's a tune of theirs. I Call Your Name. I call your name, though you are not there. You know, it's, it seems like a typical rock song. But then they have an instrumental break in the middle of it, and they change the groove a bit and it turns out that it's ska. They were playing at a time, uh, around that time they were playing in something called the Indra Club, and there was a Jamaican person and they heard a little bit of ska.

I mean, this is something that would become big in the seventies. You know, that people wouldn't know about that, but it's, they get on this shuffle, that's on purpose. They're assimilating. As somebody who also has, uh, worked as an academic, you're privileged, or responsible to do research into songs the way they're put together. And I found that for a particular analysis of She Loves You, that I could identify something like seven to nine different influences in one, two minute song. It's like a two minute song and you get the “woo” from Little Richard. 

[00:07:34] Adriana: Mm-hmm. 

[00:07:34] Kevin: And then you'd get the, uh, the dip on, Uh, “you think you lost your love? I saw her yesterday-yay”. That day-yey, dip on thing? Buddy Holly, taking that from Buddy Holly. Um, then “she loves you” and you got the boom boom. That is Boogie Woogie. That's a Boogie Woogie. You're going back to Albert Ammons and Pine Top Smith. The double guitar down dun dun kind of stuff. [00:08:00] And he plays, George plays this lick. That's Chuck Berry approach because Chuck Berry, uh, really, uh, innovated in doing the double guitar, uh, stops and that kind of thing. And it goes on like that.

It's, oh, also it was an advice song. They picked that up from the Motown girl groups. Right away they're making this, uh, beautiful Frankenstein's monster into She Loves You and She Loves You, has its own flow and, you know, all this wonderful stuff happens in it, and it all fits together, which is, maybe that's the craft is as you work on these diverse influences that you also um, hmm, you, you don't turn it into, uh, just a pastiche that you're able to, to bring this together. 

[00:08:52] Adriana: Of course at 11, you don't know any of this. You're just experience it. You're having an experience. And that leads you to start playing music yourself, joining some bands. And then you shared with me this really interesting moment a number of years later after you had been opening for Alice Cooper and being in a couple of very successful bands.

You're about 18, 19, and you see Fantasia. What happens there? 

[00:09:24] Kevin: Oh man. Okay. That isolated bassoon solo. 

[00:09:36] Adriana: Mm-hmm. 

[00:09:36] Kevin: And just going, what, what is that? What is that sound? 

[00:09:43] Adriana: Hmm. 

[00:09:43] Kevin: That is so amazing. And then of course what happens next is, is also magical in its own way. 

[00:09:49] Adriana: So you hear this Rite Of Spring piece? 

[00:09:53] Kevin: Yeah. 

[00:09:54] Adriana: That is a seminal moment for you because that leads you to leave the band you're currently [00:10:00] with.

[00:10:00] Kevin: Yeah. 

[00:10:00] Adriana: Who's about to cut a new album and go back out on tour and you say, I need to go study. I need to go study, period. I need to go learn all that I can. 

[00:10:12] Kevin: Yeah. 

[00:10:13] Adriana: And not to fast forward too dramatically, but you end up with three degrees, including a doctorate in composition. 

[00:10:20] Kevin: Mm-hmm. When I started formal education, as one can imagine, when you don't know quite how to read music, you're not ready to even enroll as a music major.

I took a class - Music for Non-Majors - and they had some ear training, and I could do it, you know, where they'd play a melody and then you'd write out what the melody was. When I knew that I could hear, that I could understand what I was hearing and could transcribe that onto, uh, paper that was very, very big.

That really, really, um, made me feel like, okay, I'm going to go into this. And I can remember especially starting that second year of study, a kind of joy at admitting that I knew nothing. You know, that that's how I felt like it was a very wonderful, clean moment where I don't know anything. Give it to me 

[00:11:16] Adriana: From that Music For Non-Majors course to being on stage in conversation with Linda Ronstadt, Wynton Marsalis, Philip Glass, you have had all of this career now as a music scholar, as a composition teacher, as a musician. Where do your ideas come from now, or the threads that are coming out in the pieces that you write? Because one of the things that is so surprising to me about listening to your body of work, is that I could categorize your body of work into dozens of different categories, quote unquote, of music. 

[00:11:58] Kevin: Mm. 

[00:11:58] Adriana: Just like you said, [00:12:00] in “She Loves Me”, there's at least six or seven influences you can point at. I feel like I could take 12 of your YouTube videos and put them in 12 different musical categories. Is there a thread that binds all of them together? 

[00:12:13] Kevin: So the thing that binds all of the work is that, when you get an idea going, you want to stay integral to the development, the world building within the boundaries of that piece. Whether it's a two minute song or a 45 minute piece for orchestra, find out what is integral to that particular piece, and then you, you stay with that. You work to, to tighten relationships within the composition. One of the things that you get as an academic, you really get to think about things and you get to think about what ideas you could share with others. You kind of go, what are my thoughts? What are my ideas? What are my criteria? 

[00:13:01] Adriana: Mm-hmm. 

[00:13:01] Kevin: So here's a criteria for writing a piece of music. It must be exactly what I want. It must surprise me. 

[00:13:09] Adriana: Ooh. It must be exactly what you want and it must surprise you. Okay. 

[00:13:14] Kevin: And that's a very interesting dance to do with every single piece. I have, what at times, I think might be almost a unified theory.

[00:13:23] Adriana: Hmm. 

[00:13:24] Kevin: And it goes like this: common practice, standard exception, and then there's something beyond that. But your typical music theory textbook will show you what a common practice is, and then they'll give you a standard exception. Now, how do you find “the something else” beyond that? This thing that I come to call “extraordinary extrapolation”.

You start with common practice. You understand the principles behind that common practice, you wanna learn those down to the bone. Why is that working? Common practice exists [00:14:00] for everything, but then there are standard exceptions, but the best of that work, the best of the standard exceptions. You would find that the internal operations often remain, but are, are transformed slightly.

[00:14:15] Adriana: Yes. 

[00:14:15] Kevin: All you gotta do then is look at those internal operations. Get thoughts from them. And then with patience and time, usually something wonderful, cool, unique, but it's grounded. 

[00:14:30] Adriana: Mm-hmm, Mm-hmm

[00:14:30] Kevin:. It's grounded. It did. It didn't just come from anywhere. 

[00:14:34] Adriana: I think that's so interesting that starting with this core tenant, okay, this is what this is, how do we push it, and then how do we push it again?

And then we ask again, can it be pushed again? And so you might end up with something that sounds like, quite a derivation, but really it is, as you say, grounded and rooted in the original idea. 

[00:14:57] Kevin: Mm-hmm. 

[00:14:58] Adriana: And I see that in your work, and I think that kind of intellectual curiosity and ear curiosity that you have has led you down some very interesting paths compositionally. 

[00:15:11] Kevin: Yeah. They're still happening. 

[00:15:12] Adriana: Yeah. And they're still happening. So thank you for that beautiful segue. So we've gone from Beatles to Stravinsky, back through Hendrix and Hayden. What is the curiosity that you have now? 

[00:15:25] Kevin: Well, there's a strong vein of composition that is a reaction to the culture and I, there are a lot of things about our current culture in this country that are, uh, very concerning. That automatically makes resonance. So, what I'm working on right now, it's gonna be an album that, uh, the working title on the album is “Good Trouble”. 

[00:15:50] Adriana: Mm-hmm. 

[00:15:51] Kevin: Because that's where it is. I mean, there's a bridge is a tribute to the memory of John Lewis and his efforts. And you [00:16:00] hope then that the energy, whatever energy that that song produces, then also communicates this is ongoing work. You know that his work isn't done. It's a tribute. So that's where you hope that you are getting something off your chest because you feel tremendous pressure as I do from this current culture we live in. 

[00:16:25] Adriana: Yeah,

[00:16:33] Kevin Music: “There is a bridge we’re bound to cross, knowing that trouble that stands in our way. Marching together arms interlocked there is a bridge we’re crossing today.”

[00:17:02] Adriana: Jumping in with a quick shout out for today's episode, sponsor Uhacz Photography. Sarah Uhacz offers professional headshots at accessible prices. So if you're a local business owner who wants your team to look great online or in print, then Uhacz photography is the place to go. Sarah understands what it's like to run a business.

She values your time working quickly and collaboratively, and she can meet you in her studio, your office, or even outside. If you mention I'm into this place, you'll get 20% off your next session, so make sure to check them out at uhaczphotographyllc.com or click the link in our show notes. Thank you so much to Sarah for sponsoring today's episode. It's businesses like yours who really make a difference to the arts and culture of Clark County. 

As we'll transition to the end here, I do have my favorite question that I always ask everybody, which is what place or [00:18:00] person or organization locally do you wanna give a shout out to? But before we do that, I just wanna remind everybody listening that our weekly newsletter is where we share even more about the amazing creative people and organizations in our community and give you a curated overview of upcoming events.

We also link to the episode page for that week's podcast where we post behind the scenes photos, and in this case, recordings and YouTube videos of Kevin's work. We have an article, and even special offers from our guests. So you can sign up for the newsletter by going to, I'm into this place.com, or you can just click the link in the show notes below.

If you like today's episode, please click that “follow” button on your podcast app and then share this episode with a friend. As we head towards Thanksgiving time, I wanna thank you for sharing your favorite episodes with your friends. This is how I can continue to grow and make this podcast happen. So Kevin, will you tell us what places or people or organizations you are really excited by these days? 

[00:19:05] Kevin: Ooh. Okay. Well, there's the, uh, Touch of Class Choir. They will perform a Christmas show coming up, look for them. Touch of Class Choir. You Google that, you'll find it. And then there's this traditional Irish music jam that occurs at the Brick House Sundays from seven to nine, and I tear my hands up real good, just slashing away at the guitar while all these other wonderful people play the tunes that they know apparently thousands of. And then one more would be Jim Hansen, the uh, 100-year-old sculptor who does amazing stuff. Yeah. 

[00:19:51] Adriana: Thank you so much. Those are great, great recommendations. We're going to link all three of those in the show notes. Kevin, this was [00:20:00] a wonderful conversation. Thank you for sharing your work with us. Thank you for taking the time to sit with me. And I really enjoyed it. 

[00:20:08] Kevin: My pleasure. Thanks. 

[00:20:11] Adriana: And now let's hear from you.

This is our Community Voices segment where you call in and let us know what arts, culture and heritage places or people are you really into these days. 

[00:20:23] Jack: Hey, check, check. My name's Jack Gonzales. Shout out Thirsty Sasquatch. Best pizza in the 360, baby. 

[00:20:29] Sarah: Hi, this is Sarah Arslanian, one half of the duo—Introducing the Machine. I'm known as Machine Sarah with um, Machine Eileen. She's not here actually, but she's Eileen Cowen. And we play, uh, the saddest songs you'll ever hear in your entire life, and you'll cry yourself to sleep. But we're also a lot of fun and come see us live. We love to have shenanigans not only on stage but throughout town. Keep your eyes open for us and your ears open and you can find our newest release Independence Day. On the Ronald Records label and, uh, find us on all of the socials at introducing the machine. Yeah. 

[00:22:03] Adriana: Wanna give a shout out to your favorite spot? Give us a call and leave a message or send us a voice note via email. All the details on how to do that are in the show notes. Or click on Community Voices on our website.

I’m Into This Place is produced and hosted by me, Adriana Baer. Editing by Chris Martin Studios. All the music you heard in this episode was composed by Kevin Hanlon. You can find out more about us, and him, at imintothisplace.com. See you out there. 

[00:21:49] Kevin Music: I ain't mad at you. Don't be mad at me. I ain't mad at you. Don't be mad at me. I ain't mad at [00:22:00] you. Don't be mad at me.