Fifteen years have flown by for fairly prolific hard rockers Hinder, and though the band’s getting a breather while waiting on the rescheduled dates to perform all of “Extreme Behavior,” its given the guys a chance to look back on that multi-platinum debut project responsible for chart-blazers such as “Lips Of An Angel” and “Better Than Me.”

It’s also afforded co-founding drummer Cody Hanson and front man Marshal Dutton an opportunity to fully flesh out the new duo Dangerous Hippies, which is an entirely original alternative animal outside of their standard night jobs.

Chicago Concert Reviews tracked down Hanson to hear about his juggling act, everyone’s eventual return to the road (including The Forge in Joliet on September 21), plus some Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe-sized encounters.

What’s changed and also stayed the same about your views surrounding “Extreme Behavior” in the 15 years since it was released?

Cody Hanson: I think the songs have withstood the test of time. However, I wouldn’t mind hearing some modern production and/or mixing done to it. When we recorded that album, we did our best to do it the “old school” way. It would be fun to hear those songs “reimagined” someday.  

Once you’re able to start back up with the tour, what will be the show’s format? 
 
Hanson: Since we will be celebrating the 15-year anniversary of “Extreme Behavior,” the focus will be on that album. We plan to play it in its entirety and then sprinkle a few other favorites in as well. 

Can you flashback to the original outing and recall the concerts you played in Chicago?

Hanson: I believe that the first time that we played in Chicago, we played a tiny dump. I doubt it’s still there. We opened for a Tool tribute band and the promoter informed us that we weren’t worth the $50 and case of beer that he paid us. After drinking that case of beer and a ton of Vodka, I’m sure he was right. We do, however, have really fond memories of playing the House of Blues there. That’s a really great venue! 

Was opening for Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe as awesome and crazy as it sounds or not quite what you pictured? 

Hanson: To be honest, it wasn’t what you would imagine. With bands of their statures, there are a lot of rules in place. With Aerosmith, we were able to do one meet and greet with the band and that was it. With Mötley Crüe, it started off very strict. Our bus quickly became the party spot for everyone on the tour, their band excluded, so it didn’t take too long for them to figure out that we were good guys that just wanted to have a good time. Once the rules relaxed a bit, it ended up being a really fun tour. 
 
Hinder has a unique perspective of making a major splash with sales during the CD era but also keeping the momentum going through streaming and YouTube. How much effort did you put into making that transition or did it just happen naturally? 

Hanson: I really feel like we could have done a better job with the transition. We never really have out a ton of effort or focus into our streaming numbers. While we’ve continued to do well in that area, I feel like we pushed back against it a little more than we should have in the beginning. Even to this day, it feels a little foreign to focus on streaming numbers as a gauge of success over sales. 

Besides this season of looking back, what does the group have on the horizon? 

Hanson: That’s really our focus at this point. I know that we’ll continue to play shows, but at this point, we haven’t really discussed what comes next. 

When did the idea to start Dangerous Hippies come about?

Hanson: Around 2013, we caught word of someone looking to replace a Black Keys song for a commercial, so we wrote a song that was in that vein. Once we sent it around to the team, everyone seemed to really dig it. Since we had such a great time writing it, we decided to keep going. Over time, the sound and style kept evolving. I think we just decided that since we had so many songs sitting on a hard drive in the studio, that it was time to let people hear them. 

How did a couple of children from the 1980s arrive at such a ‘70s sounding name?

Hanson: The project originally had a different name. While we were out on a Hinder tour, we were sitting at dinner and discussing some different and interesting towns that we had played over the years. I mentioned a place in Montana that had a very interesting vibe. During the conversation, I think I said something along the lines of “it was full of hippies. But not like normal hippies. They were dangerous hippies.” Our good friend and guitar tech said, “that would be an awesome band name!” So a few weeks later, about two weeks before we released our first track “Whoa,” we decided to change the name to Dangerous Hippies. 

What would you say to Hinder fans wondering how familiar or fresh Dangerous Hippies might sound?

Hanson: I would say to expect the unexpected. The great thing about Dangerous Hippies is that there are no rules. We’re having a blast with the fact that we’re able to incorporate so many of our influences, regardless of genre, into these songs. 

Are you going to keep the projects completely separate or will there be some overlap, such as opening up for yourselves?

Hanson: I don’t think that we could ever do both sets in one night. I leave everything out on the stage when we do a Hinder show. I don’t think that there’s any way that I could find the energy to do both. Also, I’m not sure how well the two projects would overlap. The styles are pretty different and that will become more apparent as we release more music. 

How are you maintaining a sense of community during this unprecedented season?

Hanson: Social media has been both good and bad for that. For my creative friends, it’s been fun to see and hear what they’ve been coming up with during their “down time.” On the flip side, it’s been tough to watch some of the people that I love be careless or share nonsense that could be harmful to others.

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For additional information on Hinder and Dangerous Hippies, visit HinderMusic.com and Facebook.com/DangerousHippiesOfficial.