Growing up in San Francisco as the son of of Palestinian and Filipino immigrants and the first American in his family, Hanni El Khatib he became obsessed with classic Americana and pop culture of the 1950s and 60s. The multi-instrumentalist serves as singer, songwriter & producer for his one-man band (live he is joined by a drummer) that is part blues, part garage rock, part soul, part folk & part doo whop. As the creative director for HUF and lifelong skater, El Khatib professes to a love for well-crafted objects: classsic cars, cans pomade and stiletto switchblades. This craftsmanship carries over into his music, where El Khatib is inspired and informed by the specificity of a guitar tone or the fuzziness of an amp sound . His background in DIY and skate culture manifests as a desire to “keep mistakes in” and make things “as raw as possible.” Merging primitive rock sounds with punk aesthetics, El Khatib toes lines between all genres and ends up firmly in his own. He joined us for our 5GB series before his show tonight at The Earl.
What’s the first gig you ever attended?
Neil Young in golden gate park in SF. I was still a kid, but I knew I was witnessing something awesome.
What is the best gig that you ever played/performed?
The show we played last night.
What is the best gig you have ever seen?
Danzig in New York City.
Gig you would most like to play?
Anywhere in South America
What would be the lineup for your dream gig?
T-Rex, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield & Nirvana.
Catch Hanni El Khatib Today May 3 at The Earl
