Hobart Ocean

The Band’s Roots as Pop-Punk Band Vanattica

From 2006 to 2012, Travis Leonard, Steven Hopkins, and Jaron Lancaster found local and regional success as the DIY pop-punk band Vanattica in the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois area. Leonard had been attending UC Santa Barbara and transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to compete on the school’s track team. Vanattica toured several times and participated in a Warped Tour.

In 2012, the three musicians moved to Los Angeles, where Leonard worked as an actor and model and Hopkins and Lancaster got day jobs while performing at clubs, including The Viper Room and Amplify. Leonard appeared on CMT’s “Sweet Home Alabama”. The three did an acoustic DIY tour up the West Coast. Seeking to expand beyond their all-acoustic sound, they put up a flyer at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, where drummer Hagstrom attended after moving to Los Angeles from a small town in Sweden.

Hagstrom was the first of six players who auditioned for the band via YouTube videos. He joined one of their rehearsal sessions in North Hollywood and was hired for the band’s show at Busby’s. He then joined as a full-time. Hagstrom would later leave the band to get married to Amanda Hagstrom. As Vanattica continued performing, Leonard began writing in an alt-pop style he thought might work for a side project. Having traveled to Australia and New Zealand, and having earned a Bachelor’s in Geography and an M.S. in Medical Geography, he came up with a new name for the band. Hobart Ocean is named for the capital of Australia’s island state of Tasmania. “It’s literally the end of the earth – sort of like a small town in Illinois,” Leonard stated. His band mates agreed to change the style and concept of the band.

Emergence as Hobart Ocean and Performances at Universal CityWalk

Leonard was on a date at Universal CityWalk, a shopping and entertainment district in Universal City, California, when he saw a crowd gathered around a female singer performing an acoustic set. He asked the performer how she scored the gig and later went online to apply, sending a demo CD, bio and website link. Two weeks later, Leonard received an email from NBC Universal inviting Hobart Ocean to audition.

Kevin Lindsey and Stewart Irel, executives with NBC Universal asked the band to perform three songs to play outside on a Wednesday afternoon. They liked what they heard and Hobart Ocean played a total of ten songs. The band had a successful test show in December 2013 and started 2014 performing six to eight shows per month, playing for 5,000-10,000 people per night over four hours. Lindsey and Irel told them they beat out 150 other acts to secure the slot. Hobart Ocean’s original set list mixed original songs and covers of various bands, including Jimmy Eat World and OneRepublic. The band also opened on CityWalk’s Five Towers Stage for Heffron Drive.

“Another Heartbreak” and 2014 Fall Tour Dates with Aaron Carter

Hobart Ocean released its first single “Another Heartbreak” in the fall of 2014. The track was written and recorded with a basic living room studio setup when Leonard, Lancaster and Hopkins were living together in a condo in Tarzana, California. They later brought the fully produced demo they created to a producer for mixing at a studio in Hollywood. While continuing to perform at Universal CityWalk, they performed four dates in November 2014 with American pop musician Aaron Carter on Aaron Carter's Wonderful World Tour. In October 2014, Hobart Ocean performed a series of shows at high schools throughout Southern California.

Travis Leonard’s Yeo's Promotional Campaign

In Fall 2014, Leonard headlined a U.S. based promotional campaign for Yeo’s, a globally renowned multi-national corporation and drink manufacturer based in Singapore and Malaysia. Leonard’s image was prominently featured on the company’s drinks in stores across North America and Asia, as well as on the U.S. Facebook page they launched in May as part of their New Look campaign to build awareness of their beverage products in the United States. The singer was also the spokesperson for ‘’’The Moment is Yeo’s’’’ contest, which allowed contestants to enter monthly by submitting a photo of themselves drinking a Yeo’s beverage product. In June 2014, Tourism Malaysia launched a sweepstakes in partnership with Yeo’s featuring a Grand Prize Trip to Malaysia; the contest ran through October 31. Leonard was featured in the only commercial produced for Travel to Malaysia 2014 with Yeo’s campaign.

Hobart Ocean 2016 Taipei Concert

Tickets for an upcoming concert by American pop rock band Hobart Ocean at the Eslite Performance Hall in Taipei, Taiwan was announce sold out through KKTIX on June 9, 2016. This is the band's first visit to the island and their June 10 concert's 364 seats were immediately sold out. The event's organizer, Wanda Music Inc., chose to only market the event directly to fans through the band's social media via their Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram.

Current members

Former members