Unable to find bandmates willing to tolerate his overly meticulous character, an Oak Harbor man resorted to cloning himself.
In a hidden building behind Dreamline Cabinets on North Whidbey, a wall of 24 LED televisions towered over Don Hanson, a woodworker by day and a Swiss Army musician by night.
As he stood in the middle of the fog, his trusted twins appeared on the screens behind him. To his right, guitar and keyboard player Ricky Rockstar. In the middle, drummer Ricky Dicky. To his left, bassist Ricky Don.
Holding his electric guitar, Hanson knew he could count on these stylish fellows to keep up with him. After all, he’s had to record himself in front of a green screen up to 30 times to get each performance to be the way he likes it — “just right.”
One stroke on the strings and he transformed into his stage self, frontman Don Richards, conjuring a spectacle of lights, lasers and rock music.
“I make big shows,” Hanson said in an interview. “I don’t like making small shows.”
After performing a few big but private gigs, “Don and the Duplicates” invite community members of all ages to a show at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 3071 North Oak Harbor Road, past the black gate. Seats are limited, and attendees are welcome to make a donation upon entry.
From the moment he saw the Beatles play in front of a crowd of screaming girls 60 years ago, Hanson knew he wanted to be on a stage. Now, after many years of playing in different bands in the San Diego area and memorizing over 400 songs from the 1960s and 1970s, the 69-year-old dreams of dying on stage while touring various casinos with his latest ensemble.
In 1991, feeling sick of the fast-paced city life, a broke Hanson decided to start fresh in a new place. Instead of researching different options, he decided to let a dart and a map of the United States choose for him.
That dart happened to land on Oak Harbor, a place he had never heard of but loved right away.
The concept for Don and the Duplicates came to be after various efforts of forming a band on Whidbey, attempts that ended up with Hanson butting heads with other musicians. Six years ago, unwilling to give up on his passion for performing, he found the remedy in green screen technology after a friend introduced him to the basics.
Then, after winning $15,000 at Muckleshoot Casino, he bought 24 televisions.
“The people at Walmart thought I was nuts,” he recalled.
A musician since the age of 7, Hanson has been able to play different instruments in front of a camera, despite not having as much experience with the drums, the bass and the keyboard as he does with his voice and guitar. This effort has made him appreciate more all of the musicians he’s ever performed with, as he would choose particularly complex pieces to cover.
So far, he has recorded himself playing 40 songs and is preparing 90 more. Eventually, he plans to prepare all of the songs he’s ever learned. His repertoire includes the Beatles and Rush (his all-time favorites), Carole King, Linda Rondstadt, Pink Floyd, Marvin Gaye and more.
His audio engineer and longtime friend, Robin Neil Plummer, called him “a virtual jukebox.”
Fifty-two years ago, Hanson was in desperate need of a ride to a show he was scheduled to perform in as a member of Lust. Plummer, a stranger with no musical experience, stepped up to help.
That encounter introduced Plummer to buttons, knobs and the joys of audio engineering. For three years, he worked as Lust’s soundman before studying to become a pro.
Hanson and Plummer parted ways when the Doobie Brothers, whom Lust had opened a show for, offered Plummer a job. After decades without contact, Hanson finally found his number and persuaded him to join him on Whidbey.
“He knows how to make clean-sounding music better than anyone I know,” Hanson said.
Plummer has in fact worked on many Broadway productions, doing sound for 96 performances of “The Lion King,” 105 performances of “Wicked” and other popular shows like “Phantom of the Opera” and “Shrek the Musical.”
Back in the 1990s, he said, four out of 10 songs on the radio were recorded by him.
Even after working for many big name performers, Plummer found that Hanson is the most talented man he’s ever met.
“He’s a world-class performer, and I’ve known that since 1972,” he said.
Devin Rice, a 26-year-old computer wizard, is the mind behind the show’s special effects. He met Hanson about six years ago, when the musician was looking for someone who could help him with technology.
Now, whatever Hanson envisions, Rice can recreate with lights and laser beams, though synching lights to the beat of a song can take time — up to a week for complex songs, he said.
“These lights are sometimes timed so close together that you can’t move your hand fast enough to turn it on if it were on a physical lightboard,” he said.
Together, Hanson, Plummer and Rice bring one of the most memorable gigs in the most unexpected place.
“It’s my playground,” Hanson said. “It’s where I go for refuge.”
For more information, updates and photos, visit Don and the Duplicates on Facebook.
(Photo by Luisa Loi) At left, special effects technician Devin Rice and soundman Robin Plummer make the magic happen from behind the scenes.
Photo by Luisa Loi
(Photo by Luisa Loi) Don Hanson performs “Alone Again Or” by Love, as a woman in a red dress wildly dances in the background.
(Photo by Luisa Loi) Don Hanson, in art “Don Richards,” leads fellow bandmates Ricky Rockstar (keyboard), Ricky Dicky (drums) and Ricky Don (bass).
Photo by Luisa Loi
(Photo by Luisa Loi) At left, frontman Don Hanson and drummer Ricky Dicky. “Don and the Duplicates” performed various songs for a News-Times reporter, including “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye and “Love to Love” by UFO.
