Checking In With… Kevin Hanson of Huffamoose and The Fractals

In times of crisis, it’s more important than ever to check in on your friends and loved ones. Here at XPN, we’re Checking In With our extended musical family to see how they’re holding up during the Coronavirus quarantine…and what music has kept them grounded. Today, Dan Reed chats with Kevin Hanson of Huffamoose and The Fractals.

Kevin Hanson is a longtime singer-guitarist and songwriter in the Philly scene; his main event these days is The Fractals and he’s probably best known for his work in the 90s with the regional alternative band Huffamoose. Throughout the Coronavirus quarantine, Hanson has been working on a song a day and posting it to his Instagram page, sometimes getting his daughters Phoebe and Chloe to help out.

“I’m really trying to stick to the song a day throughout the lockdown,” he tells us via phone. “But it affords me time to finish songs I’ve been working on for The Fractals and other musical adventures.”

Below, listen to Kevin’s full Checking In chat with Dan Reed, and peruse his music picks.

Favorite Song Of All Time: “Another Star” by Stevie Wonder

“It’s a direct link to my DNA, the album to me goes right to the source of music for me. It brings back a flood of memories, there’s something so primal about it. I love the drums, the opening piano, and then Stevie’s voice flies through space on this track. It’s such a transcendent performance.”

Song That Raises Your Spirits: “Company” by Rickie Lee Jones

“It’s not really an uplifting song, but whenever I hear it esp if I’m down in the dumps or I got the blues, it takes me out of a funk. There’s something about Rickie Lee, I think she’s a magical performer, and her performance on this song is pretty unhinged. This song, even though it’s sad, is kind of a cathartic thing for me.”

Song You’re Most Proud of Working On: “Miss Kensington” by The Fractals

“This song came from a guitar riff. It’s in drop D tuning, I was going for kind of a low, grungey, guttural sound. I had so much fun playing the riff, I wanted to build a song around it.”