We’ve done quite a bit of coverage on Grouplove the past couple years, and by now the story of the band’s magical beginnings has been marveled at everywhere someone has come across this lovable and energetic group of people that seem to have met so serendipitously. Hannah Hooper, Christian Zucconi, Ryan Rabin, Andrew Wessen, and Sean Gadd all met at an art residency in Greece, where they forged a friendship and laid the musical groundwork for Grouplove. Recently I talked to both singer/keyboardist Hannah and drummer/producer Ryan about their journey so far, what Grouplove means to them, and also got the unabridged romantic version of how Hannah and Christian met.
Kelly Knapp: So, tell us the real story. How did you meet Christian?
Hannah Hooper: I was in New York painting in this little studio, and getting ready for a solo show, and the guy I shared the studio with, he’s a mutual friend of both me and Christian’s – I had never met Christian before – and he was like, ‘Hannah, you have to get out of your studio. You’re going crazy.’ I was kind of going crazy. I was working so much on this show that I lost track of friends, food, and life. I lost track of time. So he took me to this show that was Christian’s solo show. I walked in, and literally – and I am not someone who believes in love at first sight. I didn’t even know if I really believed in love, to be honest. But when I walked in, I just felt like there was a light around Christian, and I felt super faint, and was just watching him during the whole show, like dizzy. Then I tried to talk to him after the show, and it was like I couldn’t swallow. I thought I was going to pass out. And then we ended up hanging out that night, and it was honestly like I was dreaming. It was like, I can’t believe I’m talking to this guy, and how are we alone, hanging out, and having the best time. I did not want the night to end.
It was seriously just a few days later that I got the invite to Greece, and this sounds crazy, but I was like, you know what, I’m going to ask Christian if he wants to come with me, and he said yes. It was so surreal. I just felt like we really had this special connection, and I knew if I left New York, we would probably never see each other again, because that’s just how New York is. I got sucked into the moment of it. I thought I was going to have a heart attack calling him, and I was just like, ‘hey, this is Hannah, we hung out a few days ago…” We had been texting kind of, just a few times a day. And every time I got a text from him I thought I was going to faint. I was seriously like, ‘oh, crap! He just wrote me back!’ It was crazy. I would turn bright red. When he said yes to going to Greece, I started crying. I was like, ‘oh my god, we’re going to Greece together!’
KK: Well if that’s not material to start a band with, then I don’t know what is.
HH: Yeah…I was always the weirdo girl doing my own thing. I never fit in, so to have this happen to me, I didn’t want to wake up.
KK: Seems like the dream is still going, too.
HH: It is! It’s great. The train has not stopped. I still can’t believe it.
KK: Is the music you guys were making in Greece what ended up on your first record, or will we ever see some rare Crete demos?
Ryan Rabin: We didn’t really make music as Grouplove in Greece – that’s where we forged the friendship there that would eventually turn into the band. About a year later we made an EP, and still weren’t technically a band. We were just collaborating for fun. During that recording, everyone moved into my parents’ house with me to make songs, and that’s when we started to realize it was something special, and we should treat it nonchalant. Why not make it a career, and turn it into something.
KK: I recently went on a road trip with a friend who was moving from New York to Colorado, and I told her about this new band called Grouplove, that I was interviewing and getting into for the first time. She hadn’t heard of the band, so I described you as best I could. Then, as we’re driving through Omaha, NE and decide to see what’s on the radio in middle America, “Ways to Go” comes on.
HH: Whaaat that’s amazing!
KK: I know! I was like, “Holy shit! That’s them! Then we turned it way up and jammed out. What’s Grouplove turning up and jamming out on when they’re on the road?
HH: It’s kind of constantly changing, but recently I’m listening to Alt-J, and then a lot of Bjork, Neil Young…and also whatever band we just played a tour with, I pick up their album and listen to it, because I miss them I guess.
KK: What else do you find essential to keep you from dying of boredom when you’re on the road?
HH: Definitely some fun nights out are needed. Also I’ve been watching horrible TV shows lately. Not horrible, but you know when you a whole season and you end up watching five in a row, and you’re like, how did this happen?
KK: What are you watching right now?
HH: I’ve been watching Nashville. It’s about country western music in Nashville, and it’s just ridiculous. It’s a great show.
KK: Tell me about your new album – can expect a whole lot more love on this one?
HH: Yeah, it’s a really great album because we’re asking a whole lot more – the first album we were really new friends, exploring music together and just getting closer. Then after three years of touring and being inseparable, we went into the Hollywood Hills and immediately started recording the album Spreading Rumours. There’s an excitement from getting to know each other better, both musically and as friends, but then there’s also this underlying conversation that’s a little bit like, what are we doing, are we going to make it, is this ok? A little bit like of tension to it, because it’s like, wow, we’ve been together for three years, and haven’t seen our families very much, haven’t seen our friends because we’ve been touring so much. There’s a lot of energy on the album, but we’re asking some big questions.
KK: You guys have definitely been on a whirlwind, it seems like, the last several years.
HH: Yeah, it’s been crazy, but it’s really been all about the fans, everyone just following us and supporting us, everyone telling their friends. Like you telling your friend – that’s exactly what it’s about. I think it’s much more powerful to hear something word of mouth. The title Spreading Rumours is really about word of mouth, and going back to the original way music used to be spread.
KK: I think you guys communicate this kind of energy, and embody the philosophy of group love, so I think that catches on with everyone, and people are attracted to that.
HH: That’s what we wanted – Grouplove should be a big growing group of people. We want out our fans, when they’re at a show, to feel like that whole room is the Grouplove. When we are playing live, it’s not a performance, it’s really genuinely the happiest we are, when we’re up there sharing what we love.
KK: When you were little, what did you want to be growing up?
RR: I think I just wanted to be Michael Jackson. Instead I became a drummer.
KK: Hannah, were you always planning on being a painter?
HH: Yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted to be – I drew all over everything. That’s what I had always planned on doing, and I had been building up for a solo show before Greece. It’s kind of crazy now, that I’m at the opposite end of the art spectrum, in a really loud, social band, but that’s why it’s really important to stay open, because you never know what will happen.
KK: Do you still do art for the band?
HH: Yeah, I do all our band’s artwork – merch, covers, coasters, online drawings, anything you’ve seen that’s drawn or painted has been done by my hand. Being a visual artist actually makes so much more sense for me now. I’m making work the same way I always have with more purpose now, because I’m sharing it with so many people, and it’s connected to this group of friends.
KK: Everything sounds like total magic for you guys. You have to have normal problems sometimes too, right?
RR: Oh yeah, we experience all the normal things that happen when you’re with each other in close quarters for long periods of time – all the space and time issues you would expect. And recording and performing can sometimes be a painful process, but it’s worth it to us.
HH: For all the good things, there are obviously certain sacrifices we have to make. You always just have to be like, this is insane. We’re in a band, touring the world. We always go back to that.
KK: Through this whole crazy journey for you, what is the most important thing you’ve learned so far?
HH: I would say the most important thing is to just go with the flow. No matter how busy your schedule gets. We have a lot of obligations now, and I used to be someone who liked to have a schedule, like get a run in, put makeup on, take a shower. That doesn’t matter anymore. It’s really about staying in a good mood and being positive, and not worrying about that to-do list. Life keeps moving forward, so the happiest I can be is to be accepting – this is what we’re doing right now, and understanding it’s like a miracle, and just enjoying it. All those things that used to be so important to me, and I thought that’s what made me happy…they just have nothing to do with it.
KK: Do you have more plans after the Seesaw tour and new record release?
RR: Our first single “Ways to Go” only just recently came out, and the album’s out September 17, and we’re going to do the Seesaw Tour, and then we’re going to do something called the Campus Consciousness tour right after – that’s a college campus tour that sort of helps raise awareness for green alternatives to a lot of things we do every day, and ways that college students can reduce their carbon footprint. Then, in January we’re going to Australia to play the Big Day Out Festival, and then after that we’ll see. I can’t think about what after that too hard.
KK: Well, it definitely sounds like you guys are spreading the love.
RR: Spreading the rumours!
Photo By Pamela Littky
