On February 15, 2011, James Bishop (Bish) and Chris Douch (Douch) began a journey of epic proportions: To get their favorite band, Hanson, to play at Bish's wedding on July 28th of this year. To succeed in this effort, they've made a video every day since they began (394 to be exact), asking Hanson to play the wedding and giving various reasons as to why they should do it. They're still going strong, and plan to continue down to the day of the wedding, or until they get an official answer from the band.
To get a better idea of what is going on behind the scenes of Hanson At My Wedding (HAMW), I got a hold of Douch to ask a few things that I (and likely other supporters) want to know.
It all went a little something like this:
D: Hey guys...I'm Danielle, from Oregon in the US and supporter of your effort :) I'm pretty excited to ask you a few questions and try to get a some more support for Hanson At My Wedding (HAMW) before the big day arrives!
CD: Danielle,
Thanks very much for sending these. Bish is on a training course today so I hope you don't mind but I've answered all the questions from the Douch POV. If you want some input from Bish, let me know. We generally just have Bish answer questions since he's the groom, but I thought this might be a good opportunity to get some of my thoughts out there. Hope that's cool with you?
(By the way Douch, it was great to mix it up and get your perspective, thanks!)
D: You've heard it time and again, but wow, you are impossibly persistent men! I wanted to commend you for that. As the guys from Hanson themselves said, if it were to be anyone else, this whole initiative might come off as creepy (considering you're making them movies every day for over a year now...), but you're light-hearted and humorous about it, so you've changed the game a bit I suppose. Actually, you kind of created the game, didn't you? This whole HAMW thing is a first, I do believe! At the very least, the first on this level. Like all of your fans, I very sincerely hope that you are able to get them to play the wedding, because let's be honest, how could Jennie ever get over that? The very fact that you're willing to go to these lengths to try to land them as the band to play the wedding is pretty incredible, Bish. Yes, I'm going ahead with that nickname so soon. It's what you use in your tweets and videos and such so I'm just going to carry on from there.
(This is before I knew Bish was gone, but roll with me here...)
While we're on the subject of names, let's start with my first question:
How DO you pronounce your name, Douch? I'm going to be honest and tell you I automatically called you what Mac did in his video retort (Mac's response), because I honestly didn't know it should be pronounced differently... so my apologies :S But please, enlighten me so I don't go around calling you a, well, you know.
CD: This is something that catches most people out. Say it like ouch or couch. There's no 'e' so I'm not really sure where the confusion comes from. You wouldn't say "let's go and sit on the couche". I think people just enjoy saying the word and look for every opportunity. It's something that I've grown up with and doesn't bother me. I guess I am a bit of douche so it’s fair enough.
D: Alright, let's get down to business. There are a lot of things I think many of us following the HAMW campaign have been wondering and I'm going to do my best to address those questions.
Before I delve into HAMW, however, I have to address the fact that you're both male Hanson fans, which is a rare breed indeed. I'm going to cover a few things that would be great to have your opinion on, based on the fact that you're guys and may bring something to the table that the majority of the fan base might not:
You told Tulsa World that you got into Hanson kind of by accident, by playing Underneath in the store you worked at just to be cheeky, and to your surprise, you fell in love with the music. What is it about Hanson that you feel sets them apart from other bands and why does that drive you to be the dedicated fans that you two are?
CD: For us, we just really love the music. They consistently come out with solid albums that never disappoint. We often feel if people weren't so hung up on who Hanson were and actually listen to who Hanson are now, they could be one of the biggest bands in the world. They have the talent. They also have the skill of making their music sound perfect live. Quite often bands can be a let down when you see them on stage because they don't give you what you're looking for, but Hanson always deliver. We've been at gigs that we couldn't afford to get into so stood by the back door and they still sounded great! Their songs are there for whatever mood you're in and you always come away feeling better. In terms of setting them apart, I think that due to their unique position as independent artists, they're constantly trying to stay fresh and keep their fans happy. Fans feel they can get close to the band through meet and greets, signings and private messages on the forums, which again helps them to stand out. All of this AND their constant charity work? What's not to love?
D: In the same article, Bish said that he converted Jennie into a Hanson fan with "Penny and Me." Is that her favorite Hanson song to date? What is yours- and why?
CD: ‘Penny and Me’ is a great intro song to the band and I think as a result, it sticks with people and is always looked upon fondly. I couldn't say my favourite. I'm a big fan of ‘Hey’ but after the recent tour I fell in love with ‘If Only’ and ‘Wish That I Was There’. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a bit of ‘Snowed In’ either.
CD: It's difficult to say, because I believe their music should have an equal appeal to both genders. I think a lot of girls grew up with the band and they've become a hugely important part of their lives. The music has been with them since they were kids so they feel a sense of loyalty towards the guys. It also probably has something to do with the boy's looks! We had a petition with us during the UK tour which include the question "what is your favourite thing about Hanson?" and let's just say a lot of people didn't say the music! It's a shame more guys won't give the band a chance. Outside a recent Manchester show, we spotted three men in the queue without girlfriends. We commented on how great it was to see three men alone at a Hanson show. One of them looked up and said "what...isn't this the line for Zola Jesus?" and walked off. One of our goals for the campaign is to introduce Hanson's music to more people and hopefully we can convince more men that it's okay to like them.
D:You've met all three of the brothers at this point, what was your opinion of the encounters that you have had with them?
CD: What really struck us was how down to earth they were. They're all roughly the same age as us and we felt like these were three normal guys that could easily fit into our friendship group. I think a lot of fans are (understandably) a bit star struck when they find themselves face-to-face with the band and end up just staring, not knowing what to say. We found that we could easily have a joke with them and they'd happily play along. I think they enjoyed our talks as much as we did. As you can see in our tour diary videos, we always got a great reaction when they spotted us in the crowd. It could have been a great opportunity for them to say "we're not playing. Stop doing this, you're wasting your time", but they didn't. Instead they bantered with us and kept the campaign going. Isaac even gave us a cheeky “Keep it up…you never know”. Couldn't say which was our favourite brother based on our meetings. They were all equally awesome to us in their own unique ways. If we were judging them totally based on who had the best hat, then Taylor would win. That man can make anything look cool.
D: Okay, now that those bases are covered, let's talk HAMW.
What initially sparked the interest of starting this huge undertaking?
CD: We've been Hanson fans for years now and our friendship was basically founded on their music. We would listen to Hanson on the way to the shop we worked in, all day over the store's sound system, on the way home, and then through the evening. We went from being unaware of the band's recent (and by recent, I mean Underneath) music, to completely obsessed overnight. When Bish met Jennie, he passed on his love for the group to her and almost straight away they had a joint favourite band. After their engagement, Bish was put in charge of the entertainment for the wedding and it was obvious that their first song would have to be a Hanson track. Jennie's favourite song is Penny and Me so the decision was easy. The two of us have always done things slightly different to normal people, so instead of just giving the track to a DJ or asking a cover band to learn it, we decided to pursue the real deal. We decided to get Hanson at Bish's Wedding. We tried the more normal route to begin with. Emails were sent to 3CG etc but we received no response. We couldn't offer much money but we did have a video camera and internet access. We're big supporters of social media and the opportunity it gives for normal people to speak directly to celebrities that they would normally never come into contact with. We knew that if we kept sending videos and messages, eventually it would get noticed. To our surprise, Zac picked up on it from day two of the campaign. Another aspect that was of interest to us, was the opportunity to pull something unimaginable off. To prove that nothing's impossible and that through hard work and dedication, you can achieve anything. A fan getting their favourite band to travel from another country to play at their wedding…for free? That's insane.
D: Did you expect the response you've received internationally?
CD: Not really. It was difficult to judge how people would react to us. It could have gone either way; I guess we're just lucky that people have generally been very supportive of the campaign. We have met and received messages from people who disagree with what we're doing and don't believe Hanson should play at the wedding. You're always going to get that. But the majority of people have been really taken by the idea and are getting involved to try and help make this happen. It's amazing that people all over the world are talking about what we're doing. A highlight was seeing Hanson interviewed about us on Brazilian television. It just shows how amazing the internet really is. People from all around send us messages, photos, poems etc in support of the campaign. We really couldn't do this without the support of everyone who watches the videos or gets in touch. We've hit some low points along the way, then we receive a random email from someone who just wants to say they love what we're doing and it picks us back up. If we had done this and no one caught wind of our efforts and it was just us sending daily videos without any feedback, we probably wouldn't have gone the distance.
D: How in the world is it possible that Jennie hasn't found out about this yet?! You're on HNet, twitter, in media articles, she's got to have some idea at this point, right?
CD: This is one of the most common questions that we're asked and very understandably so. Jennie isn't a big internet person. She checks her Facebook/email and looks at wedding stuff online. She doesn't go on forums, news sites or Twitter. We've stayed clear of local press and have kept this between a select group of family and friends. We're aware how easily this could leak out so are doing everything in our power to keep it secret. I've deleted Jennie off Facebook (she's also my boss so I told her it's to keep business and social life separate) so she can't see the fan page. Bish once had a radio interview and instigated an argument with Jennie so that she went to bed and he was able to call in unheard. Hopefully this will all pay off to see the look on her face when Hanson take to the stage on her special day.
D: If Hanson were to play at the wedding, what would you hope to be the song they played for the first dance?
CD: The goal is Penny and Me tweaked slightly into Jennie and Me.
D: If they were to come, which would presumably mean that Mac would also be present (based on his response), would you be willing to bust out a sweet keytar solo, as well?
CD: We love Mac. He's been great to us during the campaign. We've had some really long Twitter conversations and he's publicly supported the campaign on various occasions. Receiving that video message from him was another highlight. A Hanson brother singing about sleeping with Bish's fiancé? Amazing. Mac is welcome at the wedding and those sweet keytar solos will only make the day more magical. In an ideal world, Mac would be our best friend. We’d happily party with him.
D: Is it true that you're willing to pay for all three members of Hanson to fly out to play the wedding?
CD: Yep! Bish has said that he could stretch funds to pay for the band to fly over. They really have no excuse not to now. We'd happily have an unplugged Hanson show. We don't need all the fancy instruments, equipment and road team. We've seen footage of the band playing in an office with Zac drumming on a table or a bin or something like that and they sounded incredible.
D:What has been your family and friends' response to HAMW?
CD: Not that many people know about it. We've kept it quiet so there's a greater element of surprise at the wedding. People know what we're like though. They're used to us doing this kind of thing (we once went on a road trip where we only made left turns and another time traveled to New York to do an hour long comedy show with no previous experience) so those who are aware just see it as classic Bish and Douch. When we began, a lot of them asked us the same question “why?” Most people doubted that we would pull it off but as things have gone on, I think they're starting to believe. Some of our friends have also joined us outside gigs and helped to hold our banner and give out stickers. Family have been supportive too. My Mum watches every day and has become a bit of a Hanson fan as a result. Jennie’s Mum is also a dedicated viewer. I think Bish is already scoring big points with his Mother in Law to be.
D: Most importantly, why should Hanson play the wedding?
CD: As Taylor has said on various occasions, he's impressed by our dedication. We've done this every day for nearly 400 days and will continue all the way up to the 28th July 2012. We've put everything we can into this. Keeping this alive has been more difficult than you might imagine. It really has consumed our lives. Yes, we've met people that are "bigger fans" of the band (if you're judging fandom by the amount of debt they've built from attending Hanson shows and buying merchandise etc) but Bish is the first person to seriously ask this question. Obviously people have wanted it before but have dismissed the idea as impossible and haven't pursued it in the way that we have. I'd like the band to agree to play, not just for us but for everyone who has supported the campaign. I think a lot of people will be let down if they don't do this. We ideally would like to stream (or at least record) the show so everyone can feel a part of the event. They should play to show that dreams are worthwhile and you can make things happen if you don't give up. I also think they should come so we don't have to explain to Jennie that we've wasted 529 days of our lives!
D: Last but not least, tell the world a little about the both of you...
We KNOW you're The British Comedy Duo. But what does that entail? Do you do shows of some sort, or are you just two hilarious dudes that are friends?
CD: We've been a "comedy duo" for five years now. We always wanted to write for television but didn't want to just send in material with the hope that it somehow made its way to the top of the endless pile. Instead we decided to make YouTube videos to showcase our writing. These gained a bit of a following and we were able to attract a few big names like David Cross, Kristen Schaal and Andrew WK to appear in our sketches. We started doing live shows and performed on comedy nights around the UK as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and New York City. Through all this we had the opportunity to write for various TV shows in the UK. So far this has included BBC comedies, The Impressions Show and Watson & Oliver. We always try to play down our background and do not use HAMW to promote other work. We’ve had sketches and things come out but we do not mention these through the HAMW Facebook or Tumblr as we don’t want to be seen as using the campaign to advertise our work. We're aware that our comedy background has slightly hindered our campaign. People often see it and assume that HAMW is some kind of prank. This isn't the case at all. I think we've proved how serious we are now. If anyone is likely to end up being the butt of the joke, it's us. On the flip side of that, the comedy element has helped to keep the campaign entertaining and accessible to people who aren't dedicated Hanson fans. This is the kind of thing that could be creepy or weird; we like to think that by making this fun, we've stayed on the right side of freaky.
CD: I wouldn't call us besties, but I also wouldn't call us worsties. We have an odd relationship. At times it's business like but we also think of ourselves as parents with joint custody of a HAMW baby that we both have a responsibility to look after. We discuss its welfare and say things like "you do the video today and I'll do the weekend". Obviously everything we do is built on friendship; I mean I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't like the guy. As we've mentioned before, I'm not Bish's best man and he's not mine (I'm also getting married but I'm keeping things a bit more simple!) but we've known each other since 2004 and plan to continue hanging out and working on projects until way after HAMW is over. No idea what we're going to do next but I know it won't be "Get [CELEBRITY] at My [EVENT]". This is the kind of thing that can only ever be done once. After this (whether we pull it off or not) it won't be an option again. It'll be done. For that reason the argument that "if Hanson play at Bish's wedding, they'll have to play at everyone's" is complete rubbish.
D: What is the craziest or most memorable thing you have done as a comedy duo?
CD: Apart from sending Hanson daily videos for 529 days? A few stories come to mind. Sadly a lot of the more interesting ones involve famous people and we may get into trouble if we tell them! We've had some pretty crazy times, but we do actively look for opportunities for a good story. We've been in some horrible situations but always think "hey, at least this will be an incredible story". I think a lot of our best times together have occurred while traveling. We like getting to see different places and meeting new friends. We met a lot of great Fansons back in November while traveling behind Hanson on their UK tour.
D: Considering that is quite a list of questions, and I could honestly talk Hanson for days, I should stop myself here. You are both wonderful and I really enjoy your videos. Already on day 393! Here's to hoping for that magical "yes" sooner than later!
CD: So do we! It would be nice to go to bed without worrying if we've put up a video or not!
Thank you, Douch, for taking the time to answer my questions and fill us all in on all that is HAMW. I'm pulling for you all the way and look forward to hearing the response from Hanson for all of your hard work.
Congratulations to both you and Bish for your upcoming weddings!
Wishing you years of happiness ahead :)
Wishing you years of happiness ahead :)
Check out Bishop and Douch's HAMW sites: