Hanz Erik and the Hims
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Hanz Erik and the Hims

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"HanZsolo Review, Feb. 11th 2004"

Hanz Erik knows that there’s more to a band than a catchy name. His group’s latest, Closet Pop, highlights a brand of pop rock that’s steeped in inescapable melody. Released in 2003, the masterfully produced Pop is chock full o’ the acoustic rock sound that catapulted Five-For Fighting and Jason Mraz to fame. It’s polished, bright and squeaky clean – it’s the kind of music that Cities 97 would love to get their hands on. Check out “The Endblock,” “Act” and the album’s fantastic artwork. Best for fans of: John Mayer, Dave Matthews, acoustic-rock, sunshine.
How to get I? Talk to Hanz at the Steak Knife, he plays there often on Wednesday Open Mic Night. If you’re vegan, check out the website at www.hanzsolo.com.
- The Wake Magazine


"HanZsolo Closet Pop"

All I can say is, I'm floored. Listening to this is like stepping on a piece of bubble gum---it grabs onto you and it just won't let go. Hanzsolo, AKA Hanz Erik, has produced THE underground pop album of the year, better yet---a timeless pop masterpiece if there ever was one. Honestly, the only problem I see is the dumb name, which George Lucas will probably put out of our misery if he ever gets wind of it. For now, ignore the name, trust me on this one!

Erik seems to get right down to business with the slippery rock groove Trying Not To Fall, but we soon find that this is only the warmup. By song two he simply kicks it into full gear with the incredible sugar pop of Cling To Me, an acoustic driver that is so catchy and cool that it can't help but stick in your head like superglue. From there, Erik gives us the tearjerking The Endblock, which sets up the slam dunk---the perfectly meandering and melancholy Matchbook, the type of song that Brian Wilson only wishes he could still write. Wow...

But, by far, the climax here is the clever pop of I Wish I Were Your Hair, with lyrics that simply dazzle: I wish I were your hair / I'd catch the breeze to kiss your cheek / I wish I were your sun streaked hair when you let me down / So that I could trace every line about your face / Your shoulders would be my resting place just let me down. I would go on, but I'm only wasting your time, when you should be busy buying this album.

MISH MASH Mandate: Pop Perfection
- Mish Mash Music Online


"Hear Now: HanZsolo"

Personnel: Hanz Erik, vocals, guitar, keyboards; Stein Malvey, guitar; Erik Naslund, bass; Ollie Bauer, drums.

Background: After tours of duty in mmf and the Brown Flamingos, Hanz Erik was ready to pursue a single vision — his own. In the process, he avoided that duel of wills that often takes place in a band: "Someone would want to sound like Tom Waits and someone else would want to sound like Bill Withers. That always bothered me. I mean, I have a lot of respect for that; it's just hard when everyone wants to go in different directions."

Thus HanZsolo's debut, "Closet Pop," is exactly what Erik wanted it to be — catchy acoustic rock with R&B flavorings. And while some of HanZsolo's music may bring to mind sensitive frat boy John Mayer, Erik says that's just a coincidence, despite the fact that he attended the Berklee College of Music at the same time as Mayer. "We didn't get along," Erik says. "I think it was because I was friends with his girlfriend. People have compared (our music), but I'm not a fan. He is a great guitar player, though."

Concept: What's the deal with that band name? "Well, I have a friend who is a really great digital artist, and he always comes up with great names," says Erik. "His advice was to stick with whatever seems as ridiculous as possible." Well, HanZsolo, your friend did come up with a doozy, but isn't it almost a little too ridiculous? "Well, after a year and a half, I am starting to wonder why I chose that name. I'm trying to figure out how to transition out of it."

The thing is, Erik has already built up some name recognition, playing on a regular basis in the Twin Cities and expanding out to St. Cloud, Duluth and Eau Claire. After performing the songs on "Closet Pop" live, Erik has found they've evolved from the record: "With the current lineup I have, the bassist is much better, and the guitarist is incredible. The songs are turning out to have a little more of an R&B edge than before."

Review: Attention, enterprising A&R reps: Sign this guy right now. While "Closet Pop" does seem a bit scattered at times — some of the songs date back seven years or more — Erik clearly has a knack for writing hypercommercial material that sounds a lot like, well, John Mayer. (Music nerds may also hear a striking vocal resemblance to Green Gartside of '80s pop minstrels Scritti Politti, particularly on the track "Turn Your Eyes to Mine.")

Erik knows how to work his acoustic guitar, bobbing it in and out of lighter-than-air songs that sound romantic, even if they're about meeting a wino on the bus ("Act") or after-bar booty calls ("Friends With Benefits"). There are thousands of college girls out there waiting to discover this, their next favorite record.
- Saint Paul Pioneer Press


"HanZsolo @ The Cabooze"

HanZsolo is a sweet walkin’, jive talkin’, one-man soul music machine —sort of. A quirky crossbreed of Jamiroquai and XTC, Hanz’s debut LP, the aptly titled Closet Pop, is guaranteed to have lovelorn listeners shaking their asses and wiping their tears simultaneously. Right off the bat with the intricately layered “Trying Not To Fall,” it’s established that the trio of Hanz Erik (vocals, guitars, keyboards galore), Corina Malbuarn (bass) and Ollie Bauer (drums) is composed of some damned inventive and precocious music makers. At times the sheer number of vocal melodies and keyboard parts gets a little overwhelming (to call Erik an emotive singer would be a serious understatement)—but it’s hard to fault a young band for being too ambitious on their debut. More sedate moments are also present, the solo acoustic “Matchbook” is particularly effective, and on the whole it looks as though the Twin Cities music scene has found the new soulful peripatetic pop combo it’s been desperately in need of.

With The Vestals and The Repeats. 8:30 p.m. $5. 21+. 917 Cedar Ave., Mpls.
By Rob Van Alstyne
- The Pulse


Discography

Closet Pop - 2004 (As HanZsolo)
Copay - 2006

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Bio

In early 2005 George Lucas and Ollie Bauer had finally had enough. Lucas sent a curt cease and desist letter to band leader Hanz Erik for trademark infringement and Bauer stepped down as the band’s drummer. All this in the midst of what was to be HanZsolo’s second release. Pausing for exactly one month of utter despair and angst, Hanz Erik realized the only way out was up. He enlisted drummer George Marich (12 rods), renamed the band, and booked studio time for the completion of the album. Eight months later the newly formed band, Hanz Erik and the Hims are debuting their CD. It represents two and a half years of Hanz’s writing and arrangements by Hanz Erik and the Hims. The album, entitled Copay has a decidedly different sound, leaning less on the singer-songwriter idiom and pushing more into electric pop-rock with classic soul flavorings.