Even if you don’t know Dangerous Hippies, you know Dangerous Hippies! Cody Hanson and Marshal Dutton are 2/5th of the multi-platinum group Hinder. The duo have written and produced dozens of rock, alt, country and indie projects. Now, they have a new project that was conceived in their basement in 2011: Dangerous Hippies.
Talking about Dangerous Hippies’ music, Marshal says “ We were having a blast making it and just kind of started forming these informal projects that we’d sometimes make a YouTube video for but our main focus always remained our original band”. That all changed this year! Despite their tour getting pushed back due to COVID, you can still stream their new track “1982” wherever you get your music!
We sat down with Cody to discuss life, “1982”, his favorite place to perform and what’s next for the new project!
LEG: The new project, Dangerous Hippies! How did you come up with the new name and how did you make the decision to start the project
CH: We’ve been writing for this project for several years now. I believe we started in 2011 when we were approached to replace a song by The Black Keys for a commercial. When we turned it in, everyone seemed to really like the vibe and since we had a lot of fun writing in that style, we decided to keep it going. We were originally going to use a different name, but while out on the Hinder tour, we were out and dinner one night and telling stories about different cities that we had visited. I was telling the story about a town in Montana (I couldn’t remember the name) that was “full of hippies, but not the cool hippies, they were…..dangerous hippies.” Our guitar tech said, “that would be a cool band name!” A few weeks later, we decided to release the first track and use the name, Dangerous Hippies.
LEG: The debut track “1982” is out there now. Can you tell us the inspiration behind it? How is the writing and music making process different when it’s just the two of you?
CH: The idea of the song really just came out of nowhere one day. I was driving down the road and hook, “1982,” popped into my head. I thought it would be cool to write it about a girl that was born in 1982. I mentioned it to Marshal several times, and when we finally sat down to start working on it, it just came to life. We both really liked pop culture from the 80’s. Everything seemed vibrant, fun and hopeful, so we thought it would be fun to write a fun summer song about a girl, but also as a reflection of the time period.
As far as the writing goes, the process really isn’t any different since we’re the main writers and producers for Hinder as well. The main difference is that we aren’t really tied to a specific formula. With Hinder, fans expect a certain sound or style. With Dangerous Hippies, we can throw all the rules out the window and just be creative.
LEG: What’s the one city that you see pop up on the tour schedule that you are still excited about and why?
CH: There are several cities across the country that are great for live music. If you haven’t heard of it already, The Machine Shop is a small, iconic rock bar in Flint, MI, that is a "must stop" on tour for every mid level band. It’s almost always packed and the crowds always have energy. The staff is totally professional and they have always treated us great.
LEG: The music business has changed a ton since Hinder was formed in 2001. With all of your experience, what advice would you give to a young band starting out today?
CH: Learn as may skills as you can. Obviously, songwriting is first, production is second, but learn skills beyond music. For example, if you can learn skills like graphic design and marketing, you can give yourselves a huge head start. The music business is full of disappointment, so you have to always manage your expectations, but the more that you can handle on your own, the better off you’ll be in the long run.
LEG: What do you do to relax and recharge when you’re not in the studio or normally on the road?
CH: I try to get to a beach whenever possible. Unfortunately, since we live in Oklahoma, that’s possible too often, so I spend a lot of time on the lake with my wife and my dogs. There is something about being on the water that seems to cleanse your soul a little.
LEG: Can you tell us about a personal or professional obstacle you’ve had to overcome that has made you stronger?
CH: Losing our first record deal was a game changer. It really made me have to re-think our approach to running our band and operation. It probably was a blessing in disguise to be honest, but now we run a lot leaner, but also smarter. It’s more work and responsibility, but if you want to do what you love for a living, you have to sacrifice.
LEG: What can fans expect from Dangerous Hippies in the second half of 2020 and beyond?
CH: We have a new single coming out late August. So we’re getting the plan ready for the video for that as well as kicking around the idea of a full-length album or possibly 2 EP’s. We haven’t made that decision yet. We have quite a bit of Dangerous Hippies music, so we have to figure out the best way to get it all out. Either way, it’s coming soon!
Watch for Dangerous Hippies new singe “Contagious Dangerous”
streaming everywhere August 21st!