H Hanson

My high school English teacher encouraged me to put one of my poems to music at age 16. I was listening to my hero songwriters of the day like Lennon and McCartney, Dylan, Brian Wilson, Joni Mitchel, Marvin Gaye and James Taylor. My passion was born. I lived in a spiritual ashram in my early twenties, meditating and finding my inner Self before finishing college and becoming a CPA of all things. I wrote songs that mirrored my experiences at the time without knowing anything of the skill of songwriting. The 80s were spent raising 4 kids and building a business and barely touching my guitar or writing songs. One day a close musician friend exclaimed to me after playing him an old song, “H, you are a musician and if you are not playing and writing every day then your life cannot be fulfilled.” I was stunned and realized the truth in his words.
I met Paul Reisler, a master teacher, in 1998 who mentored and guided me in the craft of songwriting. Many songs later I am living with my wife near Asheville NC writing and playing songs every day.
I love to write after my 5 AM meditation, pen to paper in my notebook. I was once told “a song is a story and a story is a song”. Everyone has stories about events that changed their lives and within those experiences there’s a song. I like to say that I’m remembering a song that already exists in the universe. Getting past the chatter in my mind, I pay attention to what’s coming through. I pick up my guitar only after I’ve written a verse or two, so that the music finds the story. Making my own emotional connection to the story, I allow the song to take shape and feel the amazing fun and flow of songwriting.