By Corrina Taylor
Director of Social Media
On a normal day after Madrigals practice, two students stand waiting for their rides home. They begin talking to each other, and the ice is broken.
Coppell High School 2012 graduates Hanuy Kim and Christian Van Hoose met during their junior year while they were in the Madrigals choir. It is here that their friendship formed and they begin to sing together.
“They were two peas in a pod – they were inseparable,” associate choir director Will McLean said. “They were silly and unfocused and did not realize their potential, but their personalities add to their own sound in a funny little way. It fits.”
In class they would sing with each other on a regular basis but did not pursue a band during their high school career. During lunch and free time they would sit in the choir hall and mess around on the piano and sing covers.
Unlike other musicians, both Kim and Van Hoose have a talent for hearing tones, which makes it easier for them to sing cover songs. Soon life got in the way and they did not see each other as much during their senior year, when they graduated Kim went to the University of North Texas and Van Hoose ventured to Brigham Young University in Idaho.
Though they talked occasionally on the phone, due to the distance between them they were unable to sing like they used to. That was until they were reunited in Coppell after taking time off of school.
“We have always been singing duets with each other, so we thought we might as well make YouTube videos,” Van Hoose said. “There is a 50 minute video where we come up with names for our band.”
The official creation of The Blanders was on Dec. 1. Since the formation of the band, the boys have performed covers of various songs on their YouTube channel, CoppellBounds. They even composed an original song, “Your World”, sung in Korean and written by Kim for his girlfriend.
“The video got a lot of views and we even had a Chinese girl that asked us if she could make a lyric video from ‘Your World’,” Kim said.
They write songs separately and then come together to compare notes and decide if they want to record a song or not. They plan on releasing an EP or CD soon.
The Blanders sang at the Korean Culture Exchange, an organization at the University of North Texas that promotes culture exchanges between American and Koreign foreign exchange students. Their performance this past month was to help promote Korean culture; they sang a song called Becoming Dust. It was the first time The Blanders officially performed live. The pair had sung in front of people before, such as at last year’s graduation, but not as a band.
For now both members are working and have not had a lot of time to follow a musical career. They are using their time to manage the business world of having a job along with their love for music and their band.
“They have the talent [to make it big], so it will be interesting to see if they do more original stuff and market themselves,” McLean said “If they have the right people hear them at the right time and do more unique things they will be good.”
The band is gaining popularity from its group of friends and students in Coppell. Students still enrolled at Coppell frequently listen to their songs, including senior Maggie Boreham.
“They are really awesome as people and the fact that they are in a band makes it even better,” Boreham said. “I am really proud of them and think they could be really successful so people should go listen to their YouTube channel and see for themselves,”
Though they do not frequently promote their social media they still have followers who are always interested in knowing when a new song is posted and if the band will be playing.
“My girlfriend told us our social media promoting skills sucked, if we did get really serious about The Blanders and want to get famous we will post more and be better at social media,” Kim said.
With the correct promotion and more original songs, the band has the potential to increase their popularity and go further. For The Blanders it is just a matter of putting themselves out there and using their originality to obtain the attention of viewers everywhere.
“We want to have a lifestyle where we make a living off of making music. We don’t have to live above everyone else and be famous,” Van Hoose said.
