How does a band survive today that had their biggest hit over 10 years ago?
November 7th, 2007
That’s just one of the many questions I want to ask Ken Block, the lead singer for Sister Hazel at the upcoming WOMMA Summit in Vegas.
If you don’t know who Sister Hazel is maybe you’ll remember their hit in ‘97 “All for You.” Surprisingly Sister Hazel has had five top-30 singles and put out four albums of new material since the release of “All for You.”
My guess is that Ken will say “Hazelnuts.” I’m actually a Hazelnut, the Hazelnuts are Sister Hazel’s fan base. The self proclaimed Hazelnuts– follow the band with or without radio play. If the Hazelnuts Community and Sister Hazel just focused on the band and the music, I think it would have fizzled out years ago.
Sister Hazel reached into the Hazelnut Community and together the band and the Hazelnuts created a community of like-minded people. They share stories and the music, and giving.
Every year Sister Hazel does events for their charity “Lyrics for Life.” The seventh annual Rock Boat – a floating music festival founded by Sister Hazel was sold out in one day. Sister Hazel guitarist Ryan Newell says “Sister Hazel creates a bunch of events for people to feel the vibe of what it’s like to be in this community, we’re creating a lifestyle, and hopefully we’ll be the soundtrack for that lifestyle.”
Photo credit: Hazelnut Abel vanderBurgh
Other posts by Geno.
Stephen Denny says:
How about a brand whose top seller is a product that was launched 20 years ago and hasn’t seen one single modification since? And, even better, it’s in the technology industry? And whose customers absolutely refuse to even consider switching, changing, or often upgrading?
(Hint: it’s on your head. Plantronics and the venerable H51 Supra headset, the stylish choice of data center employees the world over).
November 7th, 2007 at 11:38 amGeno says:
Sounds like another winner. Thanks Stephen.
November 7th, 2007 at 1:53 pm