Hannah Thomas

Artist Information

Biography

Hannah Thomas has spent the last year in the car, from Akron, OH, to Greenwich Village in NYC, from Charlotte, NC to Oxford, MS, from Jacksonville, FL to Nashville, TN Hannah has been out there playing her music for anyone who will listen. And lots of people have been listening, and many of those folks chipped in to help Thomas make her first studio CD in 2 years.

Goodbye on Wasted Time calls on Hannah’s country roots and combines it with her many influences. You can hear traces of 90’s alternative, a dash of Indigo Girls and the roots influence of Bonnie Raitt.

The first thing you will notice is Thomas’ voice. Grammy winner Shawn Mullins has commented “No Auto-Tune needed on that voice.” Hannah sings songs with the passion of someone twice her years.

Goodbye on Wasted on Time features some of Atlanta’s best musicians, Jaron Pearlman on drums, Benjamin Ryan Williams on bass and Shim Gartner on guitar. Produced by Rob Gal and Jaron Pearlman, Goodbye is a culmination of the past year of songwriting.

“Fueled by my love of music, I got back to the roots of why I started writing, not working for commercial success, but writing about things that mattered to me.” Says Thomas.
Goodbye features 7 tracks, including rockers “Pacifier”, featuring Amy Ray (of Indigo Girls) on background vocals and the title track. It also knows when to slow things down with tracks like “22 Page Story” and “What If”
There is also one song written with a friend. “Church on Friday” came from a jam session before a show with Emily Kate Boyd (JoyScout, JetBlkJoy).

Goodbye on Wasted Time was released on February 2, with a show at Eddie Owen Presents at the Red Clay Theater in Duluth, GA.

“Roots music is probably the best way to describe her sound. It has vestiges of folk, rock, blues and country; listen carefully and you can hear hints of Zac Brown, the Indigo Girls, Bonnie Raitt, Ann Wilson and even Steven Tyler.” Chuck Yarborough - Cleveland Plain Dealer Music Critic
Summary:

- Winner of The GA Lottery All Access Music Search

-Performed during Halftime for The Atlanta Falcons vs. Green Bay Packers Game at The GA Dome.

-Opened For Major Acts Like Zac Brown, Don Dixon, Bree Sharp and Mother's Finest. As well as playing with Amy Ray, Michelle Malone, Antigone Rising and Sonia Leigh.

- Various TV appearances including Fox 5's Good Day Atlanta , Time Warner Charlotte's "The Naked Truth" songwriter series, "Dirty South TV", More at Midday in Nashville and NBC's 11 Alive Action News in Atlanta.

Instrumentation

Discography

Hannah Thomas "The Rest Is Yet To Come" (2009)

Hannah Thomas "The Acoustic Sessions" (2010)

"Making Racket In The Attic" - Live at Eddie's Attic (2011)

"Goodbye On Wasted Time" (2013)

Official Website

http://www.hannahthomasband.com

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Reverbnation

Audio

• That's What She Said
  Listen  
• Goodbye on Wasted Time (Edit)
  Listen  
• Church on Friday
  Listen  
• Pacifier (featuring Amy Ray)
  Listen  
• Watch Out for the Deer
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Best Local Singer/Songwriter of 2013 [+ Show ]
  

  Best Local Singer-Songwriter: Hannah Thomas At just 23, this young rocker (Shawn Mullins and Zac Br...Best Local Singer-Songwriter: Hannah Thomas
  At just 23, this young rocker (Shawn Mullins and Zac Brown Band are fans) has toured nationwide, performed during halftime at an Atlanta Falcons game and plans to release her fifth album ’70s rock and ’90s alternative-inspired tunes) later this year. Clearly, we’re all ears

• A 23 Year Old Girl Who Was Born With Music In Her Soul
  

  http://issuu.com/performermagazine/docs/1305_web/41

• Amy Ray of Indigo Girls says... [+ Show ]
  

  (Hannah has) "the soul of old country, and that will always be there, but she's also a die ...(Hannah has) "the soul of old country, and that will always be there, but she's also a die hard rocker with some punk thrown in the mix" - Amy Ray of Indigo Girls (Georgia Music Magazine - Spring 2013)

• 15 Minutes With Singer/Songwriter Hannah Thomas [+ Show ]
  

  Who would you say you are musically? Musically I'm the artist that falls between genres. I have...Who would you say you are musically?
  Musically I'm the artist that falls between genres. I have genuine love for music ever since can remember. Music is my world. Ultimately, I play for myself . It's also such a reward to see that people enjoy what I'm doing.
  
  I know musicians hate this question, but how would you classify your style of music that you are currently playing?
  Rockin' Americana. Not to be cliche, but it's a little bit country, a little bit rock'n'roll. Sometimes bluesy & soulful and sometimes 90's alternative or punk edge.
  
  Is there a style of music you DON'T like?
  Not really, I think there's something great to be found in all genres. I may not like everything in a particular genre, but there's always one artist or song that I find inspiring. I always say there are two kinds of music - Good and Bad Music. One day you'll find me listening to 70's Rock and the next Contemporary Jazz. I love music all around.
  
  Who would you say is your greatest musical influence?
  I don't know if I can limit that answer to just one artist. I grew up listening to The Judds and Tina Turner with my mom and Black Sabbath and Van Halen with my dad. Early on I was drawn to artists like Terri Clark and Garth Brooks. As I got older it was Indigo Girls and Tori Amos. I continue to be influenced every day so my influences are everywhere from Janis Joplin and Johnny Cash to Alice In Chains and Brandi Carlile.
  
  Your latest CD is "Goodbye on Wasted Time." What's the story behind the title?
  "Goodbye On Wasted Time" is a song on the album. Basically, the song embodies everything I've learned in the last couple years in the music business and in my personal life. It's really all about new beginnings and taking lessons learned and using them as a compass for everything here on out.
  
  I read that fans helped you make this album. How did that come to be?
  The fans have been asking for new album for quite some time. With touring and trying to introduce my music to new people I was having a hard time saving money to get into the studio, although the songs had been ready for quite some time. I heard about the Kickstarter approach and decided to give it a try. I was overwhelmed by the response and couldn't have made this album without the fans. So I owe a big thank you to them.
  
  If you could no longer play music what would you be/do?
  Probably a journalist or something in the marketing world.
  
  If you were independently wealthy you would...?
  Buy a tour bus and hit all the cities I haven't made it to yet with my band.
  
  What is your favorite memory of a show?
  It's a toss up between getting to sing a song during The Indigo Girls set in Jacksonville last month and having my fans get together and presenting me with a birthday/CD release cake at my CD Release Party in February.
  
  Do you have a crazy fan story?
  lol
  I guess that means "no comment?"
  
  Your favorite place to play and why?
  Other than Atlanta.. The Akron Civic Theater in Ohio. The people are a great, It's a beautiful venue, and the audience is always very responsive.
  
  What new music are you listening too these days?
  Kacey Musgraves. Her new album is something totally fresh in country in music. With lyrics daring to go there. Also, I'm anxiously awaiting the new Natalie Maines solo album.
  
  Favorite driving music?
  Billy Squire
  
  Name 3 Atlanta bands that you would take a friend to see?
  Indigo Girls/Amy Ray (Solo), Roxie Watson, Sugarland
  
  Name 3 Atlanta bands from the past that you wish were still playing?
  Jennifer Nettles Band, Three 5 Human, REM (does that count since they're an Athens band)
  
  Favorite chilhood Book?
  The Poky Little Puppy
  
  Favorite movie?
  Almost Famous
  
  Bucket list item that would surprise your friends?
  Nothing would surprise my friends...
  
  You're latest project is...
  I'm already writing for the new album. In talks of starting the recording process this summer.
  
  For more info on Hannah Thomas visit: www.hannahthomasband.com
  

• Hannah Thomas teams with Ann E. DeChant and Tiffany Shea for 'Girls with Guitars' [+ Show ]
  

  PREVIEW Girls With Guitars What: A triumvirate of up-and-coming female singer-songwriters --...
  PREVIEW
  
  Girls With Guitars
  
  What: A triumvirate of up-and-coming female singer-songwriters -- Anne E. DeChant, Hannah Thomas and Tiffany Shea -- performs in a cabaret-style setting.
  
  When: 8 p.m. Saturday
  
  Where: Akron Civic Theatre, 182 S. Main St.
  
  Openers: Local artists Crystal Alwine and Madison Cumins.
  
  Tickets: $20, available at the box of fice, online at akroncivic.com and by phone at 330-253-2488 or through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000.
  
  For guys, it's a cliche that's older than Floyd's place on the classic "Andy Griffith Show": Hang around the barber shop long enough, and you'll hear every story there is about life.
  
  Dudes, here's a shocker for you: Same thing is true at what our moms used to call the beauty parlor. Hannah Thomas, who is one of three artists on the "Girls With Guitars" show Saturday at the Akron Civic Theatre (the others are Cleveland native Anne E. DeChant and Tiffany Shea), knows that -- and used it to her advantage. It's why at 22, she's already writing songs that seem to come from someone much older.
  
  "My mom was a hairstylist," the Georgia native said, "and I grew up a lot in beauty salons. So I got to hear a lot of stories and meet a lot of people, mostly older than me. I found it interesting, and I started writing then.
  
  "People say I have an old soul," she said. "One friend who laughs at me says I was born 20."
  
  Young or not, her work has drawn the attention of many in Georgia, where she won the 2012 installment of the Georgia Lottery All Access Music Search, the state's variation of "American Idol." She beat out thousands of contestants in a state that is producing some of the best roots music in recent years.
  
  Roots music probably is the best way to describe her sound. It has vestiges of folk, rock, blues and country; listen carefully and you can hear hints of Zac Brown, the Indigo Girls, Bonnie Raitt, Ann Wilson and even Steven Tyler. And Thomas likes being that eclectic; it frees her to go wherever the music takes her.
  
  "It would be between pop and rock," she said when asked where, if she worked at the local record store, she'd stock her albums. "I kind of have an old-school way of thinking. I liked it when they play Janis Joplin and James Brown on the same station. I kind of wish we could get back to that."
  
  In the meantime, Thomas is doing what artists have done since the day of the lute-wielding troubadour: hitting the road. But she's also a product of the times, and is using social media to find new listeners.
  
  "I'm constantly touring," she said, "and social media has become a great outlet. You can reach so many people through the Internet. I'm continually surprised and excited to know that I have fans in Washington state, California, Ohio and New York City. I Tweet [@htmusic] and use Facebook."
  
  It doesn't hurt to have friends in high places, like the Indigo Girls' Amy Ray, who duets with Thomas on her new album, "Goodbye on Wasted Time," due out in February. The song is called "Pacifier."
  
  "I met Amy about a year ago through mutual friends," Thomas said. The two hooked up backstage at a Ray show in Columbus, where Thomas asked the fellow Georgian to be a part of the album.
  
  "As soon as I wrote it, I knew it sounded like an Amy song," Thomas said.
  
  The roots are even deeper. Benjamin Ryan Williams and Jaron Pearlman, who play bass and drums, respectively, for the Indigo Girls when they tour, fill the same roles in Thomas' road band.
  
  And presumably hang around the barber/beauty shop together.

• Belly Up to Hannah Thomas at Rhythm & Brews in Greer [+ Show ]
  

  If you’re about to hit 30 years old and you have three albums under your belt, founded your own reco...If you’re about to hit 30 years old and you have three albums under your belt, founded your own record label and opened for the likes of the Zac Brown Band and Mother’s Finest, it would be hard for anyone to say you haven’t achieved a great deal in a short amount of time. Luckily for Hannah Thomas, she’s done all that and more before her 24th birthday.
  
  This Georgia native is on a fast track. She talks of becoming jaded with Nashville’s insistence on genre classification as if she’s battled it for decades, but she doesn’t come off as a malcontent. Thomas is simply finding her way and her voice as efficiently as possible. Listeners and industry insiders may say she is too rock for country and vice versa, but Thomas already knows that’s a sign she’s headed in the right direction.
  
  “Nashville is a system and it doesn’t work for everybody,” Thomas said. “I just learned not to write for other people because those people just respond more when you’re honest.”
  
  Although Thomas is certainly spending her fair share of time in Music City, she has widened the scope of her touring significantly in the last two years. Thomas has a full band when she is in and around her home base of Atlanta, but she has spent the bulk of the last two years touring the East Coast and beyond.
  
  Thomas has come a long way in the studio since her 2009 debut, “The Rest is Yet to Come.” After an acoustic album, an EP and a live album, Thomas released “Goodbye on Wasted Time” at the end of 2012. Thomas intended to release her latest album as a set of country songs, but after a period of prolific writing, she shelved all the songs intended for “Goodbye on Wasted Time” and instead pursued an edgier, country/rock sound.
  
  “I had more things to say that were hard to say with country music,” Thomas said. “It felt right and real to draw more from my life experiences.”
  
  The album that emerged from Thomas’s sessions with Sugarland and Michelle Malone producer Rob Gal deftly combines country music with some unexpected sonic flourishes. Thomas describes “Watch Out for the Deer” as a “cowpunk” song that thrives on the driving force of punk music. “Pacifier” sums up her insistence on being an individual and features guest vocals from the Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray. Thomas released the album under her own 3Quarters Records. Cutting out the middle man was the next logical step for an artist who has spent most of her short career defying labels.
  
  “In the end it’s actually easier to take a do-it-yourself approach,” Thomas said. “If you just sit and wait for something it will always take longer.”
  
  Hannah Thomas will appear at Rhythm and Brews on Wednesday, March 13 at 8 p.m. Rhythm and Brews is located at 213 Trade Street in Greer.
  
  © 2013 Anderson Independent Mail. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

• Get To Know Hannah Thomas [+ Show ]
  

  Hannah Thomas has a style all her own that’s hard to define. Amy Ray, one-half of the Grammy winning...Hannah Thomas has a style all her own that’s hard to define. Amy Ray, one-half of the Grammy winning duo Indigo Girls, probably describes her best when she calls Thomas an “outlaw songwriter.” Touring the country since the age of 16 from Atlanta to NYC, and playing venues like Eddie’s Attic and The Bluebird Cafe, Thomas has shared the stage and opened for acts such as Michelle Malone, Amy Ray, Don Dixon & Marti Jones, Zac Brown, Antigone Rising, Jen Foster, Danielle Howle, Bree Sharp, and others. Coming up soon on February 2, 2013, she will release her latest album, “Goodbye On Wasted Time” at The Red Clay Theater in Duluth, GA with special guests Sonia Tetlow and Sarah Golden (from NBC’s The Voice) . Thomas took a few minutes out of her busy tour schedule to answer some questions for Butchieblog:
  
  Name: Hannah Thomas
  
  Occupation: Performing Singer/Songwriter
  
  My companion animals (names and personality traits): Jessie (German Shepherd/Chow Mix) “Hard To Get”
  
  The movie that best represents me right now: “The Runaways” always!
  
  Obviously, my favorite musical of all time is: Spice World. Does that count? lol
  
  The book that defined my childhood: Tori Amos “Piece By Piece.” I was a weird kid.
  
  Bucket list item that would surprise my friends: I’m not really sure anything I could say would surprise my friends.
  
  My favorite road trip so far in my life: Charlotte to NYC . It was my first time in The Big Apple. A long way from Covington, GA I tell ya!
  
  If I were independently wealthy I would: Probably build a home studio.
  
  My weirdest hobby: Ebay at 3am when I can’t sleep.
  
  My biggest fan: My Grandma
  
  My most favorite veg food or restaurant: Veggie Sausage at Radial
  
  The best music while cleaning house is: Patty Griffin, Tori Amos, or Garrison Starr
  
  I am most passionate about this cause: Women’s Rights
  
  If I could afford it, I would want a painting or photograph by: Marti Jones
  
  My (s)hero is: Too many to name… Any woman who dared to test the boundaries or pave the way for the rest of us.
  
  Most of my daydreams are about: Music
  
  My latest and most awesome project is: My new album “Goodbye On Wasted Time”
  
  To keep up with Thomas and her new CD release, follow her on Twitter, like her Facebook, and check out her website to buy merch and find out where she’s playing near you.

• GA All Access Music Search Winners
  

  Atlanta Metromix

• Hannah Thomas wins lottery search
  

  Hannah Thomas wins lottery search

Setlist

Acoustic or Full Band

Basic Requirements

Calendar