Art & Life with Hans Olson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hans Olson.

Hans Olson, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I don’t know what might be considered “Unique” about my story. I’ve been playing music for a living since 1972. I played both solo and with a band over the years, but now I just play with a band once a year (on my birthday..) and all my other shows these days are solo. I’ve released many albums and toured the world for 35 years until I retired from the road in 2000. I’ve signed with a publishing company and they place a lot of my songs on TV shows and films. I still play a lot of local Arizona shows. I suppose what might make me unique could be that I play harmonica and guitar at the same time. The harmonica is my main instrument as opposed to many other folks who use the harmonica as a secondary instrument when the play guitar at the same time.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My art is performing live music and writing songs. I started playing music for money when I was 13 years old.
I hope my music will touch people like every other musician hopes their music will touch people.

What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
I’ve always been a reclusive solo sort of musician. I do jam with other musicians once in a while, but I prefer to play solo. I play a lot of benefit shows where many other performers play and it gives me a chance to hear other musicians and hang out with them a little. I never go to “open mic” nights, but that’s a great way to meet other musicians.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I play a regular gig in Apache Junction every Thursday night. (Handlebar Pub) I also play at many other places around Arizona at various times. I have a performance schedule on my website. People can support my work by coming to see me play and/or buying my music online.

Contact Info:

• Website:www.hansolson.net

Image Credit:
Lowell Hollars

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