From sound man to seasoned recording artist backed by a legendary country band, Troy Hanna has experienced many different sides of the music industry.

The Paradise native has recorded four albums of "outlaw country" music with several members of Willie Nelson's band.

On July 23, Hanna returned home to play a show as part of the Frederick Road Fridays free concert series in downtown Catonsville.

Hanna wore a wide-brimmed straw hat and sunglasses as he played into the hot and humid evening, calling out to familiar faces in the crowd.

His performance included cover songs and his own music, including "When You Were Here," a song Hanna said is his favorite of the ones he has written. The song is about the loss of friend and fellow musician, Rick Serfas.

"I lost a friend. That ain't all," Hanna sang. "And I lost yesterday when you were here."

Loss is a familiar theme in Hanna's music.

He said he wrote his first song, "You Are Gone," at age 23 after a childhood friend was killed in a motorcycle accident in the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.

Despite the heat, a large crowd turned out with folding chairs and coolers for the show.

"I love it," said Catonsville resident Kim Myers about Hanna's music. "It's kind of like old school rock with the blues."

Myers said she planned to buy Hanna's CD.

It's good dance music, she said. "It's fun to watch everybody dance."

Nearby, Catonsville resident Chris Cassell, 28, danced with a small group of people in front of the stage.

Cassell, who had seen Hanna perform before, said he loved "everything" about the music.

"I love country," he said.

Though he has been recording with Willie Nelson's band since 2005, Hanna played with drummer Dave Elliot, bass player Claude Arthur, harmonica player Asa Tibbs and lead guitarist Keith Grimes on Friday.

Hanna referred to Nelson's band members, Mickey Raphael, Bee Spears and Billy English, as the "nicest guys in the world" and said he is able to record and perform with "Willie's Boys" whenever Nelson isn't using them.

But Hanna wasn't always a front man, writing and performing his own songs.

Over the course of his career, he worked as a roadie and a caterer for some of music's biggest names before becoming a professional singer/songwriter.

Hanna became interested in music at a young age.

His parents would host regular jam sessions, where about 25 family friends would get together and play.

These early gatherings inspired Hanna to learn the guitar at age 13.

As a kid, Hanna liked to cover Bob Dylan and Neil Young songs.

"I like everything, from Frank Zappa to Willie Nelson," he said about the music that still influences him today.

As a teenager, Hanna landed a job carrying equipment for Billy Kemp and the Paradise Pickers.

After the band's sound man, Donnie Rubie, was killed when he fell from a parade float in 1979, 18-year-old Hanna found himself doing sound work for Kemp.

Hanna had worked with Rubie, a local store manager, as a kid.

"He was just a fun guy, a great guy," Hanna said.

Rubie had already begun teaching sound engineering to Hanna, so Hanna stepped in as a full-time roadie after his mentor's death. The job would take him on trips to bluegrass festivals and places like Green Bay, Wis. and Nashville, Tenn.

"I loved it," Hanna said about the traveling.

Hanna said he would watch the way Kemp handled people and learn from him.

When the band broke up and Kemp moved to Nashville, the 21-year-old Hanna decided to move to Arizona for the sunshine.

He had met members of Nelson's band while working for Kemp, so he attended one of Nelson's concerts in Arizona. Hanna landed a job with Homegrown Catering after filling in when one of the company's runners failed to show up for the concert.

About 10 months later, Hanna took to the road with the catering company, on tour with Night Ranger and Jefferson Starship.

During his 17-year career as a professional caterer, Hanna would spend up to 10 months a year on the road, touring with ZZ Top, The Who, Metallica, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, Waylon Jennings, the Eagles and Clint Black, as well as Nelson.

Hanna also found himself on the sets of movies like the 1986 film "Red Headed Stranger," which featured Nelson.

Catering a movie, he said, is not as glamorous as it sounds.

"It's just work, work, work," he said, adding that caterers are usually the first ones on the set and the last ones to leave.

When his daughter, Danielle, now 12, was born, Hanna gave up the road and moved to Texas to be close to her.

At his July 23 show, Hanna had his daughter in tow. Although she lives in Dallas and he currently lives in Pennsylvania, he said she spends two months of the summer with him.

"I love it," he said. "It's my favorite part of the summer when she comes in."

Hanna, who supports himself by working in construction, said he doesn't have any particular aspirations for his music career.

"I like to play music; that's the bottom line," he said.

He said he considers himself to be more of a songwriter than a performer. "I just take what comes down the road to me."

---

user comments (0)