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Not to be confused with a similarly named North Carolina country-tinged power pop act led by Jeff Hart (formerly of Jeff Hart and the Ruins), the Hanks are a Los Angeles alternative rock quartet offering enjoyably lightweight, energetic pop audibly influenced by early-'80s acts like the Police, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, and the English Beat.
The idea for the Hanks germinated when singer, guitarist, and songwriter Josh Grondin and bassist Bryan Harris were in high school together in Oregon; the band's press kit claims the name was chosen during an Academy Awards telecast, as Tom Hanks was claiming a Best Actor trophy. An early Oregon-based version of the Hanks self-released a pair of EPs in the late '90s, but the group started in earnest when Grondin and Harris moved to Los Angeles after graduation. Adding keyboardist and trumpeter Philip Katz and drummer Shane Mayo, the Hanks released their full-length debut album, Your New Attraction, on their own Caffeine Teen label in 2005 before signing to the larger indie Cobra Records (distributed by the Polygram imprint Fontana Records) the following year. Cobra released a revised version of Your New Attraction, in new artwork, in the fall of 2006. ~ Stewart Mason