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Did you grow up in a musical family?

Drew – Actually, I think my sisters both sing better than I do. The funny thing is that I think I am the least musically talented out of my family. Mom played the piano and I sung with my Dad. We were always singing in a church.

Ken – My father has two degrees in music and is a phenomenal piano player and my brother is a drummer. My family had a condo at Crescent Beach so we were there almost every weekend and there was a very bohemian atmosphere. We had potluck dinners and sat around with all different instruments. I was mesmerized by the story tellers and old folk songs. I would experiment with different instruments and started on the violin but settled on the guitar as I could easily bring that down to the beach and impress my ….friends! Both grew up in Gainesville attending rival high schools. Ken went to Buchholz and Drew went to Gainesville High School. They had a ton of mutual friends but did not know each other back then. Both graduated from the University of Florida.

How did you get together?

Drew – I went to college and moved to Hawaii for a couple of years and came back. We met when I went to a tailgate party after a Florida football game in 1991. Ken was there was there and he started signing “A Peaceful Easy Feeling” and I just started singing the harmony with him and now here we are celebrating 20 years. Our first live show was on my birthday on March 21st at Cafe Calypso.

Did you play in any bands while in school?

Drew – I wasn’t in any bands during school.

Ken – Yes, from the time I was 12 years old. My first band was called Razors Edge, the second was Scorcher then Red Line but I wanted to play acoustically. Sister Hazel has melodies and lyrics we like and a lot of energy.

Who writes the music?

Drew –we have only recorded two songs that we did not have a hand in writing. Ken was the major song writer but the rest of us have now been writing more and more.

Ken – We started playing at local venues like The Landing, Napolitano’s, Lillian’s and Dan’s. We would play at any club and coffee house that would have us. We would play 5 to 6 times a week.

How did you get from being a local band to being super stars?

Ken – We were making a decent living playing locally but we believed in the song “ All for You” which I wrote in 1991 and put it in a CD for the Alachua Conservation Trust- hundreds of songs were submitted. “All for You” got picked and 7 years later it became a #1 hit. From the first time we got together as a band we knew our music really connected with people. We were then and are now big believers that you control what you can control. We were putting on good shows and taking care of our fans and by doing that we traveled in bigger and bigger markets like Orlando, Tampa, Valdosta, and Jacksonville. “All For You” and “Happy” were on a half dozen radio stations and were in the top 5 or #1 on their playlists. This was unheard of for a small band with no representation. We got a New York attorney that started shopping us around and then record labels took notice. “All for You” has always connected. They flew us up to NY and Universal looked like the best situation for us.

Drew – We we working hard and I was still going to school. We were sleeping on peoples floors and getting a hotel room if we were lucky enough to sell a t- shirt to pay for it. We were just trying to win the hearts of the fans one at a time.

When was the first time
you realized you made it?

Ken – We were in a Ryder van with all our gear in it. It had an old stereo with terrible sound. Casey Kasem, Americas Top 40 was belting it out and all of a sudden we heard our song. It was surreal that here we were on the radio but living in a Ryder truck. We are always in the bus and on the road. 4 out of 5 of us in the band are married, and 4 out of 5 of us have kids. The kids don’t travel with us as it’s important that they have a stable home life but they do fly out to visit us once in a while.

Drew – At first all the shows my kids saw were the local shows where Albert and Alberta, the Gator mascots would come to and my daughter thought the Albert and Alberta went to all our shows.

Ken – My son said I just realized that not everyone’s Dad get stopped for autographs.

Drew – I know that our wives sacrifice so much for our kids so that we can be on the road. We could not do this without them. Although they are out of town a lot they come home and do family things in the Gainesville area. Ken’s son and middle daughter love the Skate Station and Drew’s kids enjoy the jungle gym there. Ken and Drew used to go to the Skating Palace.

What advice do you have for others who want to be Rock Stars?

Ken – It’s recording the songs you love and turning 4 people that listen to your music into 8 people and so on. Work hard at your craft and create a good show that you are proud of.

How can fans get to meet and know you?

Ken – We started the Rock Boat 11 years ago to thank our fans and hang out together. It’s the largest floating music festival in the world. Now we bring out about 20 to 25 bands and about 2,500 fans. We bring out platinum bands and give other bands a chance to get to know their fans. The Hazel Nuts (as the fans are called) are great. People have even got married on the boat.

Drew – Fans get to see us at the meet and greets. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere.

What do you think of Tattoos
and the Rock-n-Roll persona?

Ken – None of us has tattoos. I would tell my kids to think about it before they do it. I would say there are things I would like to have had at 20 and then other things I would have wanted at 30. I think everyone has tattoos; they are not unique any more. We’ve had earrings and gone through that phase.

Drew – We have been together for 20 years and we have all helped each other through difficult times. We were on a slippery road for a while but got back on track. My advice on tattoos is not to do it, get a henna tattoo instead as it will go away and then you can do something new.

Ken – There is not a lot of bands out there that have been around as long as we have and honestly it is a business. We all have strong morals and ethics. We trust that we are all in this for the long haul. Sister Hazel is the mother ship and we all look after each other.

What’s your favorite brand of clothing?

Ken – MEK Jeans that I get from Buckle and I like Levis. If you find a brand that fits right you stick with it. Our bass player and our guitar player are far more fashion conscious than Drew and I.

Drew – I’m fashion challenged. My wife buys my clothes or I get clothes from Ken! When we are on tour a lot of places like in L.A. will give us clothes and it is fun. It’s funny how times change as now we are asking if they have clothes for our kids or our wives.

Favorite Restaurants

In Gainesville -Burritos Brothers, Leonardo’s 706, Sawamura, Satchel’s, 43rd Street Deli and Mac’s for burgers and the South Beach Grill, Nalu’s at the Surf Station and O’Steens in St Augustine.

What’s your favorite gadget?

Ken – My Apple computer is my favorite on the planet.

Drew – My wife hates the fact I am such a gadget guy. We are both Mac guys.

Your favorite sports?

Ken – Surfing, for sure! Water skiing.

Drew – Fishing, golf and surfing.

You can live anywhere in the world that you want so why Gainesville?

Ken –We love this town, are proud to be Gators and tell our audience every night that we are from Gainesville. We feel like we are ambassadors for Gainesville and …….we are close to the beach!

Drew – it’s as friendly a community as it gets. We have a great support system here for our families.

Ken and Drew are talented musicians and very smart businessmen also. They truly love what they do, they are family oriented and love their fans who have become an extended family.

Ken has a charity called ‘Lyrics for Life’ that is in memory of his younger brother who battled childhood cancer.

Ken and Drew are great role models for the Gator Nation and we hope they will be ‘Rockin’ on forever!