When NYS Music caught up with Mister F’s Scott Hannay earlier this year, we talked about what it’s like to sit-in with a band, the preparation (often none) and coordination that goes into a guest spot, and his goal of jamming out with Turkuaz.
Fast forward to the end of 2015 and Scott Hannay has sat in with over 50 bands, performed with Mister F in Colorado and stretched his music experience even further. Wrapping up 2015, NYSMusic followed up with Scott on the year he had and what lies ahead for him and Mister F.
Pete Mason: What have you learned over the course of the year, regarding guest appearances and overall musicianship?
Scott Hannay: It’s hard to properly put into a paragraph what I’ve learned from this year compared to other years, but I can certainly tell a marked difference in my own musicianship after this one. Throwing oneself into so many different styles and situations has a way of broadening horizons. I’ve gotten to shred Middle Eastern scales with Consider the Source, travel into outer space jamming with Formula 5, make a run on all the instruments (except drums) with The Werks, tickled keytar with After Funk and The Magic Beans, and those are just a small few of many. It’s been incredibly humbling. I’ve always said you can learn something from everyone, but I’ve been really, really spoiled with the ‘everyone’ that I get to learn from!
PM: What has the year in music been like, for both Mister F and yourself?
SH: This year has been exciting for a lot of reasons. We’ve had some very high-profile musicians play with us this year, and I have also gotten to play with many very incredible players. As a band, Mister F played over 150 shows this year throughout over 20 states, providing many opportunities for collaborations. We even found ourselves in Colorado for the first time, where I took my only night off to go play more music at a jam night in Boulder and got together with Jaden Carlson Band for a session. It’s been a very immersive year in terms of music for me, and will continue to be until 2016!
PM: So with how this year went, what do you set your sights on for sit-ins? That Turkuaz happened pretty fast after we last chatted…
SH: Turkuaz happened pretty quickly, yes – the day after the last article came out! We’re playing with Particle on January 1 at The Hollow. I’ve gotten to play with them before, and Steve Molitz has sat in with Mister F, so, who knows what will happen! We’ve got a string of official Umphrey’s afterparties coming up, too, so hopefully some of them can come out and throw down with us. Either way, 2016 is already looking great!
This video is from Buffalove, the night I played all three stages – the ‘hat trick’, if you will. Mister F played the 2nd stage, then I hopped up with PTF on the main stage after breaking down and packing up. Rick (from PTF) and I then traded keytar solos latenight with After Funk at the woods stage. Buffalove was recently tied with Disc Jam for best small festival in your NYS Music article – it was definitely one of the most memorable nights of my summer!
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