A genuine songwriter and performer to boot. Recently, Hannan
recorded his own song, ‘Society’ with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, which is featured
in Sean Penn’s film “Into the Wild”. “I Thought I Was You”, written by Jerry
and brother Sean Hannan also plays in “Into the Wild.” In 2003, after touring
internationally, Jerry recorded and released his second CD "Sounds Like a
Story". A new song "DaDaDa" from the CD was featured in the film
"The Pledge" (Jack Nicholson). He performed in Sam Shepard's play,
"The Late Henry Moss," at San
Francisco's Theatre on the Square (along with Sean
Penn, Nick Nolte, Cheech Marin and Woody Harrelson). He also appeared as a
raucous singer who offsets a romantic conversation between Harry Connick Jr and
Sarah Jessica Parker. in Sony Picture's "Life Without Dick".
Often described as "shades of Dylan, John Prine and Van Morrison...very Americana with a faint
Irish lilt", Hannan's songs (like those of Springsteen, Steve Earle and
Cat Stevens) speak of our everyday lives and the magic that we sometimes miss.
He's a storyteller who loves to stir the crowd. He has been called a “three
chord wizard,” with guitar, lyrics and harmonica, often funny, sardonic in a
good-natured way, dealing with issues like ecology, friendship, love, and what
he calls an backward society.
Raised on jigs and ballads in San Francisco's Irish community, Jerry Hannan grew
up listening to the music of his Irish-born parents (The Dubliners, The Clancy
Brothers), as well as Cat Stevens. As a youngster he took accordion lessons,
switching to guitar in high school and playing in rock 'n roll bands.
Hannan has just finished recording an “un-plugged” solo record in San Francisco which will
feature many new concoctions as well as a few re-interpretations of older
tracks.
