Media Credit: Sarah Vasquez The Hanks perform at the Troubadour Saloon on 6th during SXSW.

I first came across The Hanks during South by Southwest in 2007. Drummer Shane Mayo skated over to me in confidence that I would like his band and had me listen to an MP3 player loaded with their then-released album, "Your New Attraction." He was right.

I was then handed a handwritten flyer with the upcoming shows they were playing that week and a complimentary comic strip. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see them play, but I did enjoy the CD I was given.

The Hanks, consisting of Mayo, singer Josh Grondin, bassist Bryan Harris, and keyboardist/horn player Philip Katz, formed in 2000, writing alternative rock songs that can be compared to ska due to Katz's trombone additions to the music.

Located in Los Angeles, these four members have been touring all over the nation promoting their albums, as well as releasing two music videos for their singles, "Once Again" and "Sometimes".

At this year's South by Southwest Festival, I ran into Mayo again. He wasn't skating this year, but he caught me at a stoplight and started the same pitch as the previous year. Yet, before he handed me the earphones, I amazed him by knowing who he and his band were before he could tell me. The impressed shock on his face, along with the band's standing next to him, made me chuckle. I was handed another flyer with their shows times and locations, and yet another comic strip about the band. One of the shows was later that night, so I cleared my schedule to see them this time around.

I made the mistake, though, of watching their live show before listening to their CD. The amount of energy presented in each medium is as different as night and day. The show was a morning jolt of caffeine, complete with intensity. The crowd ate up the melodic, emotive lines and sang along to their favorite The Hanks song. So, imagine my surprise (not disappointment) when I first popped in the CD and heard a more mellow, relaxed version of the songs.

This CD, called "Distance," was released just a couple of days prior to the festival and was produced by Lior Goldenberg (Rancid and MxPx). Compared to the previous full-length "Your New Attraction," "Distance" features a much cleaner and tighter performance from The Hanks. Although, as previously stated, it's not as energetic as their live show, the song structures and themes are very similar, nonetheless, to the previous CD. When playing them continuously, though, one can notice the overall quality of the production is a lot sharper and the band plays a lot cleaner.

The Hanks are still touring until next month, with some dates coming up in Texas. You can purchase "Distance" on their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/thehanks).

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