Tulsa Trip '09

This was my 3rd trip to Tulsa in the last 4 yrs. It was short but def. sweet! The first trip was Thanksgiving ‘05. Ezra was 6 months old and I drove from Indiana through the night to witness the Electric Tour Finale. The 2nd trip was May 6th 2007 for the 10 year anniversary recording. (and yes I’m on that DVD too… I know I’m so famous) This time was another Hanson day celebration (Hanson day was May 6th 1997 when Governor Frank Keating of Tulsa declared it official “Hanson day” in the state of Oklahoma) we were sitting in on another acoustic ep recording for music for the next record that none of us had heard before. Most of the planet was represented there. I had the Brazilians in front of me. But I know the UK, Australia, Peru, Bermuda, Japan, Austria, Germany, Mexico and Italy were there too. I’m sure there were others but it was nice to see the planet come together for these guys we love so much.

So I had 3 hours of sleep when I flew into Tulsa, which the airport is on “Virgin Road” just thought I’d throw that out there. We had some rental car issues as my friend Gina who is 25 didn’t realize her license had expired. No worries, we used her card and my license so it all worked out. We went and grabbed some lunch and as I was waiting for my burger “Go” by Hanson came on which perked us up and had us singing. Tulsa is such an interesting city. It’s so Midwest, yet really artsy. There’s a vast range of people that live there. I got ready for the show and headed to “Ida Red Boutique” which is a Cain’s Ballroom rock n’ roll/gallery type place. They were playing the “Strong Enough to Break” Hanson documentary on the wall all day and had the guys 3 favorite candies and Dr. Peppers on sale in honor of Hanson day. Toms shoes were also discounted for Hanson.net members which I couldn’t have been happier about. My black and gray ones are falling apart and I found some blue and white tie-dye ones. If you don’t own a pair of Toms shoes you need to get on it, cuz they are the most comfy shoes in the world AND every pair you buy, a 2nd pair is given to a child in need. http://www.tomsshoes.com/

We headed over to the “Tulsa Little Theatre” which is a new venue for me. They’ve played a different place every time. I met up with one of the sweetest Hanson fans I know, Marianne from the UK. I love this girl she is always there to make me feel better when I’ve had a rotten day via facebook lol. I was 5th row back in theatre style seating, dead center, so I was happy. Since this was a recording we had to not make a sound during the songs and not clap after them til we got a thumbs up, which for Hanson fans is really really hard. But we did it. They needed us to echo and sing some stuff for the recording and do some clap tracks. I was glad to have helped lol, can’t wait to hear the CD! The guys came out and looked pretty good. Zac’s hair was in a ponytail with really tight black skinnys. Ike had the usual black shirt and tie with wavy hair, and Tay had to do the white tee, super skinnys with red suspenders. Complete with a full stache and facial scruff. I thought it was funny he switched the suspenders out for a green scarf for pictures lol. The new songs they played were amazing! The lyrics have just gotten more real, more mature and creative. The 3 part harmonies were used more and different kinds of piano’s, drums and boards were used. They played some older H.net member kit songs and were being themselves sharing some serious moments and cracking dirty jokes, ripping on each other and cussing out the record business as per usual, just being crazy. Sometimes I really think they have slowly lost their minds. They did a Q & A afterwards and Zac showed us his impression of his ideal 80’s hair metal band. You had to be there and we then did group photos. It was rushed and lame (I hate group photos, I have 3 but you will never see them) But I made eye contact with Tay for a sec and mouthed Hi to him and he smiled wide eyed at the insanity of the other fans and mouthed Hi, back. I grabbed Zac for a sec to say Hi and we talked about how this was a better performance since the boat wasn’t rocking and throwing us around. (Rock Boat shows were crazy) I pre-ordered the documentary and the acoustic CD I had just witnessed. Oh and I am happy to announce that the next tour (hopefully this fall) they will have toddler and kids sized merch! AND *drum roll please* a Hanson Tour Survival Kit, complete with Hanson backpacks, folding chair, thermos, flashlights and first aid kits!!!!!! God they know us so well! Now we just need Hanson shot glasses and flasks and I think I’d be set.

I then drove us 20 min north to Jenks to the “Laughing Wench Pub” and they had Hanson music blaring when I walked in and there were locals and Hanson fans there and no one minded that Hanson was playing. I’m just not used to this being accepted, it was so surreal! They had 5 dollar mmmbop shots and a special “Devil’s Nacho’s” (Zac Hanson song) just for us with H.net cards. We got back to the hotel at like midnight I think and crashed hard. I spent all day Sunday in airports and layovers through Dallas. There were 7 other Hanson fans on my departing Tulsa flight with me and we all had different Hanson shirts and Toms on, it was pretty funny as they all recognized me and we were all chatting it up across the aisles at each other. I had a minor drama in Dallas as I had dropped my phone on the Tulsa flight and realized it 5 min before that plane took off for Colorado Springs! I also was on the other side of the airport at that point too, but they did find it under my seat and I was able to pick it up at the desk over there. THANK GOD! My flight to Tampa was interesting, I had a ripped black guy carrying a huge trophy that he won at a modeling competition next to me, and 3 guys in a metal band that just got done touring Germany on the other side of me. Needless to say, we had a good time and they all knew about Hanson's new music and were cool about it surprisingly.

So I had a great time, I wish I could have stayed longer and gone to the art museum, but time just didn’t allow it. Hopefully next time. And I hope to see Colleen next time too as she didn’t make it :( So the journey continues… 12 years and 33 shows later, thousands of miles traveled and over 15 major cities camped out in. Many great friends have been made, CRAZY stories you would never believe and Hanson interviews, recordings/filmings and moments I wouldn’t trade for anything. See you on the next tour!

~Mirandatherapy@hanson.net "Miranda's therapy is Hanson"

Here are two short video's I took while there. One is at Ida Red, the other is my friend Marianne.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=57541530

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=57542936