What may be most impressive about the eponymous debut album from Scan Hopper is that it was mostly a solo work, the effort of Scott Hopkins before he assembled his current quintet. The album, released in 2009, is dense yet remains accessible, shifting from ominous psych and dark wave dominance that at times hearkens Can, to catchier and more jaggedly stripped punk bursts, and calmer, understated pop textures. Scan Hopper’s new album, employing the full band, is due for release later this summer, and you can get a taste of two tracks from the debut below. Scan Hopper skips into the Hole in the Wall this Thursday, January 21, with the Bubbles and Waldo Wittenmyer. And apparently if you mention Austin Sound, they will give you a hug, but we are not accountable for any possible litigation that may arise from this.
Profile: Scan Hopper
Year Formed:
2009
Members/Instruments played:
Scott Hopkins: Guitar and vocals
Carlyn Hudson: Bass and vocals
Brian Purington: Lead guitar
Jamina Creason: percussion, guitar, keyboard and vocals
Ryan Nelson: percussion, keyboard and vocals
Former Bands/Side Projects:
Members of the band are concurrently part of an experimental entity called Project S.N.A.R.E. Some have referred to it as “like Scan Hopper, but insane”. And since Scan Hopper is already pretty insane, all bets are off. Current discography is two sides of online-only “endless album” project, with two more on the way soon. They can be heard for free at http://www.youtube.com/ProjectSNARE. Some people have told me that they actually like this better than our main project.
Brian is also a member of local heroes My Education, and Ryan was their drummer many moons ago.
Albums:
CURRENT DISCOGRAPHY:
“Scan Hopper” (June 2009, Simplexity Records)
UPCOMING DISCOGRAPHY:
“Cerebral Bookends” (Summer 2010, Simplexity Records)
“Untitled Mainstream Breakthrough Third Album” (Fall 2011, popular indie label TBD)
“Untitled Overindulgent Double Album” (Summer 2013, faceless major label TBD)
“Untitled Streamlined Back-to-Basics Comeback Attempt” (Spring 2016, Simplexity Records)
“Untitled Depressing End-of-the-Line Album” (Winter 2020, out of print)
Influences:
Brian Eno, The Beatles, Wire, The Velvet Underground, Bowie’s “Berlin Trilogy”, The Beach Boys, Roxy Music, Sleater-Kinney, Syd Barrett, “Sebadoh III”, and anyone else that ever touched us with their music.
Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:
A friend told me that after he finished listening to the album he was “stunned stupid” and that his coworkers found him “crawling around in the air ducts” afterward.
This was exactly the response I was hoping for.
Favorite local bands:
Many Birthdays, The Gary, The Dry Season, Coma in Algiers, Silent Land Time Machine, Balmorhea, F.M. Campers, Woven Bones, and of course the (late) Tunahelpers. And many others, really.
Favorite local venue:
Carousel Lounge, Emo’s
Upcoming shows scheduled:
A free show at Hole in the Wall this week…Thursday, January 21st! Mention this Austin Sound article and get a free hug from the band member of your choice.
We are still working on lining up a mid-February show and beyond. SXSW ‘10 is also a possibility…if not, then a free day show perhaps. But we’re new and probably need an awesome booking agent. (Hint hint.)
Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see:
There are other shows besides ours? I’ll be damned. I guess I should look into that. Self-absorption has a price, obviously.
Some of your favorite albums from the past year:
I’m probably a bad person to ask…for instance, last March I bought the new U2 and “Bee Thousand” by Guided By Voices (1994) on the same day. The latter is the one I’ve kept returning to.
I have to confess I’ve mostly been listening to 70’s music all year. Bought quite a bit of Frank Zappa. I’m also coming down off a fruitful Kinks obsession (this is a phase with most Austin musicians, it seems). Currently I can’t get enough of pre-”Punch the Clock” Elvis Costello.
Many current releases, including highly-acclaimed ones, I find overloud and overcompressed. There’s a subtlety in older music that ultimately makes it more listenable in the long run. For this reason, I’d have to say that the most significant releases from the past year would be the Beatles remasters.
Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:
Roxy Music 1974
Austin Sound questions:
Who are some of your favorite “Misfits of Science” and why?
Well, not intelligent design scientists, even if they are (deservedly) misfits! The song is about how in a world ruled by superstition, the misfits are the ones who live by science and knowledge. There’s still a lot of pressure to conform to strange ideas based on fables written by ancient savages as opposed to obvious facts staring us in the face.
But my favorite from the failed 1980s TV show “Misfits of Science” was Johnny B, a rock star who could hurl lightning bolts from his fingers.
We at first thought that Scan Hopper was a person, but where did y’all come up with the name?
A few people know the true meaning of the name, and the rest can probably figure it out if they concentrate hard enough.
“ScanHopper” (one word) first appeared as an AOL screen name in 1999. It is still in use. In 2001, a house party solo show was performed by someone called simply “Scan” who released an 80-minute collection of home recordings the following year (not in stores). Then…nothing. Until 2009 when “Hopper” was added back to the name for the release of the self-titled solo debut (now in stores). Within months of its release, Scan Hopper stopped being solo project and became a full-blown five-piece band, beginning live performances soon thereafter. All band members are contributing to the next album in some fashion.
So Scan Hopper is both a person and an entity. Confusing, I know, but much better than the unwieldy alternate name of The Scott Hopkins (Solo and Five-Piece Band) Rock Project.
Song Introduction:
It’s hard to choose actually…but here are a couple of songs that seem to grab people on first listen: the aforementioned “Misfits of Science” and “Yoga School Dropout”. If you like those, there’s a good chance you’ll like the rest of the album, as there are no duds.
Sound Off:
wobbling towers built on fleeting flashes
captured in the midst of a million lost thoughts
born, residing and flourishing on the winding and unsteady line
between
chaos and order,
fear and laughter,
insanity and stability,
joy and depression,
peace and combat,
all held together by an embrace of structure that simultaneously
subverts
it
or, Austin’s answer to a question no one asked.
Mp3s from Scan Hopper:
Misfits of Science
Yoga School Dropout
Website:
Scan Hopper Home Page
