Dolly Magazine March 2000 (Australia)
On their last Oz visit, Hanson had six policemen get them through a crowd of screaming girls. This time, they'd better bring 10! With a new hit single and an album in April, Hanson are revved up for their return- and told Sara Graham all about it.
Sara: Australia went off last time you were here. What's your best memory?
Isaac : When we were in Melbourne, we did a show that was originally planned on being an in-store performance, but it ended up being a performance for about 25,000 people in the parking lot! How could you forget that one? We were looking at this place going, "Wow! if we fill this area we will be doing great. They must be expecting a lot of people". Turns out the area they had barricaded, for maybe 8-10,000 people, it just overflowed like crazy. You couldn't see the end of the people! And the airport was full of people! It's insane how many people were there. We walked out of the gate and there were thousands of people waiting for us. And they had six policemen who surrounded us and our dad and our security guy and our manager, and we made this circle just to get through the crowd. It was insane.
Zac : It was really cool. We were there during Australia's Winter. In Tulsa right now, there's a foot of snow- I love cold weather.
Sara: You guys should have waited a few months.
Zac: Exactly, I agree! But we didn't get to Australia when we toured last time. So, it'll be lot's of fun when we do. I know from at least the last album we had a lot of fans down there, and we never got to spend as much time as we would have liked to. This time we'll kick some butt in Australia!
Sara: Do you get to go out and have fun?
Isaac: We flew out of Sydney Harbour on seaplanes to a nearby beach. That was fun.
Sara: Do you guys have girlfriends at the moment?
Zac: No, nobody has a girlfriend now.
Sara: You'll have to find yourselves Aussie chicks!
Zac: The problem is we work too much. If any of us had an Australian girl, We'd never see her! We already have a problem of not getting down to Australia enough, and you've got your girlfriend down there and that would be very bad!
Sara: What have you been doing since you were in Australia last, and the whole MMMBop thing?
Taylor: Once we finished touring in 98, we took a break, because we had just be on the go! go! go! for two years. When we got home we had a chance to relax and see our friends, which was very nice. Just being home was a treat in itself at that point!
Isaac: We have the friends that we've had for most of our lives still. So, we spent plenty of time with our old buddies. Sara: Was there a point during your break when you wanted to put the music away for awhile?
Isaac: I don't think out music ever goes away, it just might be more or less work in the sense that music is both my job and my hobby. It's this weird thing going on where sometimes it can be a pain, but at other times it's the most fun you'll every have.
Sara: Have you been home in Tulsa this whole time?
Isaac: A good part of the time we were, but when we went to make the new CD, This Time Around, we were in LA. We spent three months recording and, but were in LA for five.
Sara: Is live in Tulsa different for you now?
Isaac: No, it's pretty much the same, not much different at all. It's home.
Sara: Was it refreshing having the fan craze die down for awhile?
Taylor: Yeah, it's still something that hasn't gone away totally, but it's nice for it to die down. We can do things we wouldn't have done at other points, when everything was at the pinnacle of its craziness.
Isaac: It's definitely died down. Now we're just looking forward to the opportunity to get the music out there again.
Sara: Do you still get mobbed in the street?
Taylor: There are situations like that still. Or you'll be somewhere that you think, 'Oh no, I'm never gonna get recognized here' and then 10 people will walk up to you. They'll say, "Can I have your autograph? My sister's in your fan club" and you think to yourself, 'Wait, I'm this guy from Oklahoma who was in a band, and all of a sudden people all around the world care or know who I am." That's still weird.
Sara: But that must be the best feeling in the world?
Taylor: The thing with the fan thing is, it's the best and the worst. It's great that people recognize and acknowledge you. But it's the times when you don't want to be recognized, when you're with friends and you go "Okay, please don't, I hope nothing happens." And then it does. So its both the best and the worst, the whole recognition thing.
Sara: Have you ever sent out a decoy?
Taylor: We have. Or sent a car this way or that way to distract people.
Sara: Have you ever had a conversation with someone who had no idea who you were?
Isaac: Umm... not particularly. I think there have been a couple of people here or there who didn't. But often, we'll meet people who'll go. "Wait a second, aren't you from that band? Oh yeah, MMMbop , yeah". I've been surprised how many people do recognize us. It's just a very odd thing.
Sara: It would be cool to meet someone that doesn't know you and ask if they know Hanson!
Isaac: Well, we have conversations with people who don't particularly care. They'll say, 'I think you suck, but I'm willing to talk to you.'. And we get responses like, for example, this photographer's assistant we worked with. We were doing a photo shoot and put in the new album because we needed some music to listen to. The assistant after about three songs goes, "Who is this? This is really good." He walked up to me and said, "What band is this?" and I said "That's us". He goes, "No way, you are totally joking, this is totally different". And we thought, it's totally different if the only thing you know is MMMBop. If you know Middle of Nowhere very well, it's not much of a jump musically.
Sara: Did you celebrate when the CD was finished?
Zac: No. Actually, we didn't party at all while we made the album. We don't party. We're workaholics. We'd get to the studio and work a 12-hour day, then go home and sleep. Then we'd do it all again the next day.
Sara: But what about after gigs?
Zac: We celebrated the end of our last tour with paintball. We took the whole crew paintballing and that was really fun.
Sara: Well, you'll just have to do that here
Zac: Yeah, exactly! I agree with that.
Sara: Is there a song on the new CD that's a fave?
Taylor: All the songs mean certain things to us. There's a song, Bridges of Stone, which actually isn't on the album. but we'll put it on a soundtrack or something. It's about divorce, with the person going, "Is it my fault? What went wrong?". It says you've got to move on with your life. There is a point where you can't do anything more- it's done and you have to get over it.
Zac: Mine is Run Away Run. Everyone says it sounds like a Cars tune. It turned out great.
Isaac: I don't have a favourite.
Sara: Where do you get the subject matter for songs?
Taylor: It's anything. It could be something we've heard about or we've seen or experienced. But it's all based on things that we've been around. It could have been something a friend has experienced, and that reflection on us is what we write about. Or we're writing a song about what we think they're feeling. Songs are like poetry with music- you see something, reflect on it, put it to music, then all of a sudden it's a song.
Isaac: People ask us all the time how we write songs, but there's not just one way. It'll happen in all kinds of different ways. It will happen when we're playing together, when we're jamming. Or in the middle of the night when one of us decides to get up and play the guitar or keyboard or something.
Sara: Does that drive your mother crazy?
Isaac: Not too badly! Everybody's used to it. Normally we play before we go to bed.
Sara: Does spending all your time in a recording studio drive you crazy after awhile?
Zac: It makes us a little crazy, but we make these boards which are 12 cm squares, and whenever I finish drums on a song or Ike finishes guitars or whatever, we fill it in with weird art. We would take Polaroid boxes and rip them in half and then cover them in glitter and put stickers all over them. It's cool.
Sara: What did you do with them when you finished?
Zac: Framed them and stuck them all in the hallway somewhere in the house.
Sara: Do you ever get sick of playing MMMBop?
Isaac: No, not at all. We played it a bunch, but it's been awhile now. Everybody loves it, so you go out there and play it. We do different versions, just to break it up a bit.
Sara: What do you think of this wave of boy bands that don't play their own instruments?
Zac: The cool thing about music is that there are all different kinds. That's just one of the kinds. You have to appreciate things for what they are. I don't particularly enjoy that music, I'm more into rock'n'roll. But obviously, there are a lot of people out there who like the rhythm, pop and boy band thing, so I can't bash it.
Sara: Does it bother you that sometimes you 're grouped in with bands like that?
Zac: That happens. I think is obvious that it's really a different kind of music, even from our last album, that was real poppy. There's still a big difference between the music.
Sara: Do you ever feel a song is too personal to bring to the other guys?
Taylor: There are particular songs like that, where I was like, "Oh, I don't want to release it because it feels like it loses its specialness". If you start a song, and it's really personal, you just never say anything and people just believe or think its about whatever they think it's about. You hope that people are able to connect with it because it means something to them. Maybe it will help someone or connect with them and they'll go, "I've felt that way before", or "I want to feel that way."
Sara: Does it bother you when people interpret your songs differently to how you wrote them?
Taylor: It happens all the time. The single This Time Around is a very serious song about breaking free of oppression and fighting for what you believe in. It's literally about war. We had all these ideas about the video and about the treatment of the video, and just about everyone else had interpreted it as something totally different. You think to yourself, "Wait, how could you interpret it as something else?" But that's constantly happening. And that's what's cool about it - people interpret a song however they want to. It's just what it means to them.
Sara: Who was the most ambitious in making the new album, This Time Around?
Zac: I don't know. We all trade off. Sometimes one guy is completely goofy, and the next minute, it's somebody else.
Sara: How much of the musical style of the last album, will we hear on the new one?
Isaac: A lot of people have responded and said, "Whoa, it's different." I would definitely say it's pop rock music. It's still in the same genre. I just think it's a little more rock'n'roll.
Hanson fans' shriek show pulsates Monroeville Mall Sunday, February 27, 2000
By Laura Pace, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Screaming as if their corneas were being pierced by shrimp forks, thousands of adolescent girls lined up for hours to catch a glimpse of Hanson, the three-brother rock band from Tulsa, Okla.
The band was at the Monroeville Mall yesterday to help raise money during the B94 radio/Adecco Children's Miracle Network radio-thon stationed there. The minute Hanson appeared at 11:45 a.m., the previously demure girls began blocking and tackling like linebackers for a chance to get an autograph or handshake from the teen-age musicians.
"I'm never washing my hand again. Smell it! That's Ike!" squealed Amy Reider, 17, of Maytown, York County, after Isaac Hanson slipped her a handshake. She and three camera-wielding friends arrived at the mall at 4 a.m. yesterday after a 4 1/2-hour drive to get a perfect perch beside the stage. Fans reportedly came from as far as Seattle, Buffalo, Connecticut and Canada. "I don't know where these people are coming from," said a wide-eyed Keith Clark, B94's director of operations/programming. "We expected about 750 people. We had no idea this many people would show up."
Hanson played Twister with radio disc jockeys on the mall stage as clusters of fans leaned over the upper deck rails and thousands more crammed into the hallway in front of Lazarus. They waved balloons, flowers and signs, bedecked in T-shirts, buttons and pins, their faces brandishing permanent marker tattoos of band members' names. Camera flashes lit the mall, and some people stood tiptoe with video cameras attached to the ends of their outstretched arms. The crowd gave waves of banshee shrieks. Hanson brothers Isaac, 19, and Taylor, 16, both in black leather jackets and jeans, and Zac, 14, in a T-shirt and cargo pants, alternately waved and smiled.
But about 30 minutes into the appearance as the band left the stage to sign autographs at a nearby table, the crowd grew impatient and started shoving harder, pressing the 35 mall security guards and radio station employees into action.
"If I wasn't holding that table back, them Hanson kids would've got crushed," said a guard.
The enthusiasm soon took its toll. With a triage in the front of Lazarus, dozens of sobbing, crimson-faced fans sat on the floor between the no-iron Dockers and the Amalfi golf shirts, huffing oxygen from masks and taking relaxation cues from Monroeville Fire Department paramedics. Despite the hyperventilation, the weeping and the groans, no one was seriously hurt. "It was little girls looking at these guys and fainting because the guys looked at them," said Rick Little, general manager of Monroeville Mall. Through her tears, Allison Stitt, 15, of Salisbury, Lehigh County, professed her love for the band as she recovered from passing out, probably from the sheer excitement and heat generated by the crowd, said registered nurse Natalie Shoop, who stopped to assist paramedics.
"Sarah, I passed out! Don't ever leave me!" Stitt yelled as her friends walked by. "Ohmigod, Amber collapsed!" another called to her friends. "I couldn't stand the smell of people," someone said. Sharon Capone of Murrysville was at the mall to pick up her 14-year-old daughter who had been there since 4 a.m. Capone remembered the days of her youth when she swooned over "the Beatles and the Monkees. But that'll say how old I am by that, huh?"
Although she never met her heroes, she got to meet Hanson on her way in the mall. "They said 'Hi. How're you doing?' and shook our hands," she said with a little more excitement than expected. Security guards got an earful from some frustrated teens and their parents who were upset that the kids were jostling them. "They were just pushing and now I can't meet [Hanson]," a teen bawled. "You tell the Hansons that they owe me," one mom bellowed. The band, surprised by the large turnout and enthusiasm, ducked out of the building in a shroud of guards at 12:40 p.m. to sobs from teens with unshaken hands. But those who had autographs were buried in tears of joy, with a story to tell their friends at school tomorrow. Hanson's newest record, due out in June, may be released early if fan demand in other cities is as big as it was in Pittsburgh yesterday, said Ken Lane, senior vice president of promotion with the band's record label, Island. The Hanson appearance earned about $13,000 for the Children's Institute and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, including $1,000 from the band member themselves. Fans gave donations to get autographs and jockeyed for the autographed Twister board at an online auction. Although Monroeville Mall has seen its share of soap opera stars, Little couldn't think of any event that has generated such a buzz. "Most of the kids were pretty good," he said with a laugh. "We didn't lose any of our guards."
MMMBop? Not Exactly... - Knight News - December 5, 2001
By Traci
Okay, wipe that smirk off your face. I know what you're thinking - "Hanson? Those squeaky-voiced, long hair-ed girls the sang 'MmmBop'?". Well, three years, several octaves, and a couple of haircuts later, Hanson has a new album that throws any misconceptions and possible insults packing. From the psychadelic sixties-rock tinged "You Never Know" to the melancholy "A Song To Sing" (a ballad most easily akin to John Lennon's masterpiece "Let It Be"), "This Time Around" is an incredible CD with ebbs and flows Britney and *Nsync couldn't manage with a team of songwriters two-hundred strong.
This modern day masterpiece touches on topics everyone can relate to - romantic betrayal, standing up for your beliefs in spite of adversity, social uncertainty, and all that's in-between. While the entire album is worth listening to, there are several stand outs. "If Only", a single this past summer, is a sweet and hopeful number peppered with turn-table scratching (provided by Beck's DJ Swamp) and a fiery harmonica (from John Popper of Blues Traveler). The uplifting "Runaway Run" has an unexpected eighties feel with the catchiest chorus of the CD and an incredible bridge.
"Dying to be Alive" serves as an effective reminder that you only live once, delivered by the three brothers and a gospel choir (which sounds unlikely, but it works - TRUST ME). "In The City", the hardest rock song on the album, tells a story of deceit and suspicion, driven by a solid lead guitar reminiscent of the Rolling Stones - Taylor sings an urgent and soulful lead, as is the case on most of the album. "You Never Know" urges the listener to not believe everything you hear; the title track "This Time Around" (featuring a solo by blues guitar prodigy Jonny Lang) has a jaw-dropping chorus and powerful text which recognizes the unsung heroes of the world; "Save Me", although heavy on cliches, is one of the most emotional and genuine songs you'd ever be able to find.
If you'd like to give the new Hanson a test spin, do yourself a favor and pick up "This Time Around". Or, if you'd like to hear some of the songs before heading to the stores, you can listen to song clips on hansonline.com, CDNow.com, and islanddefjam.com's Hanson page. The band is also due to release a live video in January recorded at the historic Fillmore West, who has hosted musical greats the likes of the Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and countless others. Can we spell c-r-e-d-i-b-i-l-i-t-y?
Just pretend "MmmBop" doesn't exist. Put your preconcieved notions aside and check out "This Time Around".
Thanks to: Knight News
Members of pop group Hanson have grown - Journal Inquirer - December 5, 2001
By Alan Sculley
--Friday November 3, 2000--
It can be said that Hanson is responsible for the teen pop trend that has taken over the music charts during the past three years, beginning with the Spice Girls and accelerating through the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears N'Sync and Christina Aguilera.
After all, Hanson were on the scene first, three fresh-faced boys from Tulsa,Okla., who came along in 1997 and saw their debut album blast its way to 8 million in sales behind the ultra-catchy single "MMMBop."
Now three years later, the brothers Hanson, Isaac, 19, Taylor, 17 and Zac,14, are back with a new CD, "This Time Around." But as Taylor noted in a recent interview, they aren't sure if they deserve the credit (some might consider the blame) for turning teen pop into the chart-topping monster trend it's become.
"Well, I'm sorry if we did. I apologize," Taylor said, joking. "To be honest, musically as a band, I would challenge anybody to listen to the new record and listen to the Backstreet Boys and compare those actually at all. So musically I would say it's almost, it's like I don't really get that. And in a lot of ways, for people to still compare the band in that category is odd.
"But really in a lot of ways it is sort of true when you think about the timing of it," Taylor said of Hanson's role in the teen pop trend. "When 'Middle Of Nowhere' came out that was a lot more poppy than anything else out there. And it did, all of a sudden after that it (music trends) changed. The kind of music (that's popular) has changed a lot. Before that it was Pearl Jam and Nirvana. So as much as we really don't feel a part of that or really at all a connection to any of that music, it is pop music that we're doing. We're not singing about shooting people. I think in some ways it's sort of true. That is what has happened. The gates have been opened to different music. But we definitely, musically don't have any connection to it at all."
"This Time Around" provides plenty of musical evidence to back up Taylor Hanson's contention that his group has little in common with today's teen pop titans.
The pop sense that defined "Middle Of Nowhere" has returned, particularly on catchy tempo tunes like "If Only" and "Runaway Run"and as well as the ballad "Save Me." But the stylistic reach of Hanson has broadened and their sound has toughened up. The rocking "You Never Know", "Can't Stop" and "Dying to be alive" have all a strong element of soul,while "This Time Around" is a brisk track with a rootsy heartland rock edge. "In The City," which features a harmonica solo by Blues Traveler's John Popper, brings a strong element of blues and a bit of hip hop to Hanson's sound.
And yes, unlike vocal groups like the Backstreet boys and N'Sync , Hanson are the band in the truest sense. The Three brothers wrote all the music on "This Time Around" and have co-produced the CD. They have also grown into compentent musicians, with Isaac handling guitar, Taylor playing keyboards, and Zac playing drums. The brothers have also grown up in a literal sense. Their voices have deepened, and Zac, a baby faced pre-teen when the group first came on the scene, Has sprouted to 5-foot-9 inches and looks much closer in age to his older brothers.
Musical contrasts noted, Isaac doesn't view "This Time Around" as a major department from "Middle Of Nowhere"
"A lot of people have said it's more mature and it's more rock and things like that. And that is true," Isaac said. "I think it is in a lot of ways, some of the subject matter is a little more mature and i guess the style is a little bit more rock, so in that instance, it might be considered more mature. But acutally there are a lot of similarities to the last two records, I think more so than differences."
The group's desire to develop musically was reflected in their approach to making "This Time Around." The group first hooked up with former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek to produce the new CD. Ocasek, whose own music both solo and with the Cars have blended catchy pop with avant-garde elements, seemed sure to bring out new dimensions in Hanson's sound. But after somg initial recording, Hanson decided the record wasn't jelling and choose to start over with the producer who worked on "Middle Of Nowhere," Stephen Lironi.
"Whenever you go to work with somebody, it's always an experiment, if you're a writer a player,anybody," Taylor said. "It's like let's experiment with this and you never know if it's going to work out and come together for sure.
"With Ric, it was just one of those things where it just wasn't right for this record. We walked away with a friend and with somebody who is a very wonderful person and musician.
"I think we all just kind of knew it wasn't right for the record. But really what did it, it kind of foucused our energy and we kind of said 'Now we really know (where to go).' We've done this, we've gone these places, we've experimented. And then we said 'OK, we're going to work with Steve Lironi again.
"But it was a great thing in the end," Taylor said. "We walked away making a record we felt really, really good about. So I think every project, you kind of have to be put to the test a little bit. I think that was part of the process that had happened."
The finished version of "This Time Around" has enought musical substance to redefine Hanson's image. It easily could connect with an older audience, while still appealing to the teen fans who first embraced Hanson.
So far, though, the CD has failed to catch on the way "Middle Of Nowhere" did. Taylor seems to be taking the more modest response to the new CD in stride.
"There are a million different reasons why it wasn't as sucessful," he said. "There's definitely a way people see Hanson from the first record and there's a little of that bias. Like 'Oh, they're young, they're this.' And it's hard for people to see past that sometimes. But it's like every record you put out, you go out there, you cross your fingers and can't predict or know or force anything to happen good or bad really, in the big plane of things.
"But I think that's just kind of part of it. You can't change it. We feel incerdibly proud of the record and wouldn't have done anything different.
"We really are very excited about where we're going and whatever the next step is and all the things ahead. I think you always hope to have more and more people hear the record. That's still your hope. You still hope people gravitate toward it and they can really discover what Hanson is about."
Thanks to: Journal Inquirer
Hanson: From boys to men - Cincinatti Post - November 2000
By Compiled from Post news services
--10-12-00--
Hanson's 1997 debut album 'Middle of Nowhere' racked up sales in excess of 8 million worldwide, and earned them three Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year. 'MMMBop,' the infectious single that introduced the band to the world, went No. 1 in 27 countries.
Rolling Stone magazine named 'Middle of Nowhere' one of the "Essential Albums" of the decade. As Spin magazine said, "Hanson (is) perhaps the only band in recent history beloved by both hormonally crazed 12-year-olds and their Motown loving parents, by both Tiger Beat and the New York Times."
After building up so much momentum, what could Hanson possibly do for an encore? For brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac, the answer was obvious: Push your musical boundaries farther. So although 'This Time Around' retains the undeniably catchy melodies and exuberant singing that distinguished 1997's multi-platinum 'Middle of Nowhere,' it also finds the boys exploring new sonic avenues -- all without compromising their polish or charm.
"Our songwriting and musical style have developed in a lot of ways," says senior sibling Isaac. "The guitar sound is heavier in points than before. But there are also more soft moments, more piano - and keyboard -driven material than on the last record. There's been an overall evolution within the band."
For a prime example of the strides Hanson has made in the past three years, check out the rousing 'This Time Around.'
"We just felt that song best represented where the music was going, and the genre we want to be associated with," says Taylor. "It's a little more rock 'n' roll, the chord structure is more complex." It also ended up providing the perfect title for their sophomore studio outing.
The record comes blazing out of the gate with "You Never Know," a slice of organic funk that recalls War's "Low Rider." A dozen diverse numbers follow, featuring such notable guests as Beck cohort DJ Swamp and John Popper (of Blues Traveler). Guitar prodigy Jonny Lang lends a hand on three tracks, including 'This Time Around.' "He's an amazing, virtuoso player... and a really cool guy, too," says Zac.
Other standouts include the moody 'Love Song,' and 'In The City,' a propulsive testament to the trio's refined storytelling skills.
"That song is basically about a wife or a girlfriend who's having an affair," says Taylor. "She keeps running off, and you're left asking 'What's going on in the city'? Not exactly an experience we've had," he admits.
'Dying to Be Alive' augments its inspirational message about living life to the fullest with backing vocals from a gospel choir led by Rose Stone (Sly & the Family Stone).
According to Taylor, the band's diversified sound and songwriting technique reflects that their individual roles are always changing.
"Sometimes you're the one who's tired and goofing off, or you're the one saying 'Now it's time to get down to business.' The fact that everybody plays off of each other makes the whole thing work."
And being related seems to help, as Isaac insists their tight-knit family foundation has encouraged the trio to stay grounded throughout their dizzying ascent. "We have a good relationship with each other, so we don't mind telling one another 'You're acting out of line.'"
As for making music at such a young age, the band isn't necessarily surprised, "Look at all the original rock and rollers," Zac says. "Elvis Presley was barely as old as Isaac when he cut his first sides for Sun... teen-agers and rock 'n' and roll go together!"
But their appeal is universal. "If someone likes our music, whether they're 1 year old or 93, that's awesome," adds the drummer.
"Getting to make the music, and having a good time doing it, is the most important thing to us," Isaac says, a fact some folks overlooked in their haste to label Hanson teen sensations in the past.
But killjoys seeking to dismiss a set of chart-topping, long-haired blond siblings as just another flash-in-the-pan may have to change their stories.
Hanson gone too long this last time around? - Philadelphia Inquirer - October 24, 2000
By Tom Moon - INQUIRER MUSIC CRITIC
--Thursday, September 14, 2000--
'Teens who bought the trio's big 1997 debut album grew up and moved on. But don't write off the band just yet.'
In the weeks leading to the May 9 release of Hanson's This Time Around, the recording industry assessed the trio's elaborate marketing campaign with a mixture of respect and skepticism. Every detail needed to repeat the success of the brothers' 1997 smash Middle of Nowhere appeared to be in place.
There were Hanson cover stories in several teen magazines and prominent features in others. Radio stations were running myriad contests. TV appearances were slotted on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Late Show With David Letterman, MTV's Total Request Live, and CNN's Showbiz Today.
Would it be enough to recapture Hanson's former fans, or were they lost forever, lured away by 'N Sync, Britney Spears, and countless other youth acts? Competition for the teen dollar is a lot fiercer now than when the brothers released their five-million-selling debut. Industry observers agreed: This would be a battle.
This Time Around's first week in stores went well. Hanson, which will perform a sold-out show Saturday at the Tower Theater, entered in the top 20. And critics hailed the record as an evolutionary leap for the Midwestern siblings, who are generally credited with starting the current teen-pop trend.
Then This Time Around took an abrupt nosedive. Suddenly, Isaac, Taylor and Zac, now 19, 17, and 14 years old, became painfully high-profile teen superstar underachievers. Their CD has fallen off Billboard's Top 200 album chart and has failed to reach sales of one million.
What happened? Hanson, its management and label refuse to comment. But many in the industry say the group's story serves as a cautionary tale for artists targeting the youth audience.
"They were gone too long," says Matt Netter, editor in chief of the monthlies Teen Celebrity and Backstage Pass, and author of two books on Hanson. "Between the release of the debut and this album, there was about a three-year gap. . . . The whole fever about them died down a bit."
In that period, the 10- to 13-year-olds who bought Middle of Nowhere got older and moved on to the more hormonally charged music of the Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera and others, many of whom have released not one but two albums since Hanson sold out the First Union Center in 1998.
When the siblings did return - following a stopgap live set, Christmas album and early-works collection - their dramatic musical evolution confused what faithful were left. Trading the giddy bubblegum of "MMMBop" for energetic evocations of '60s rock and soul, they were suddenly too hip for the room. "The record was a little too mature for . . . the junior high school crowd," Netter says.
Former Mercury Records executive Steve Greenberg, who discovered Hanson and executive-produced Middle of Nowhere, agrees. Though he likes the new disc, he believes it was a risk for the group to transform so radically so quickly.
The Hansons, like all teenagers, "want to be adults," says Greenberg, who recently founded the independent label S Curve. They "made a great record that showed a lot of maturity, had great songs . . . and was too adult for the ['tween demographic] that liked them in the first place."
If you think that makes the new Hanson a good fit for older teens, think again. Many girls now 13 to 16 years old remember swooning at the sight of the brothers' smooth, feminine faces and would rather die than have friends think they still like them that way.
Those girls are "at a different stage in life," explains Barbara Coulon, vice president of trends for the market research firm Youth Intelligence. "They're into different things and looking for different role models."
Not only do they like the other teen-targeted acts, which tend to exude more sexuality than the wholesome Hansons, but they're actually curious about edgier artists such as Eminem and Kid Rock: "The bad-boy music is definitely paralleling this pop thing."
Coulon says that in the current music market, teen listeners hold few long-term loyalties. "Tastes are changing fast. With the Internet, trends are turning over really quickly."
In truth, Hanson's music may now be better suited to college-age music-buyers. "[But] nobody in their 20s wants to be caught buying a Hanson record," snaps Netter of Celebrity Teen.
"You go to an 'N Sync show," says Marian Newsome, music director at Philadelphia's Q102 (WIOQ-FM, 102.1), "and you'll see girls in their late teens. I remember seeing a sign that said '30-Year-Olds Love You, Too.' You won't catch those people at a Hanson show: That band is branded as your little sister's favorite group."
Newsome says she likes the new record's title song, which was released as a single and has sold more than 500,000 copies. Its video turned up on Total Request Live - which she admits surprised her - but few stations added the song.
It's that bubblegum baggage again, she says: "Radio programmers didn't want to touch [the song] because they're so afraid of turning off the audience." She explains that one of Q102's targets is women in their early 20s, a finicky group that will "maybe let the Backstreet Boys slide, but don't want to hear Hanson."
Where does this backlash leave the earnest brothers, who spent their time away from the spotlight improving their playing and refining their songcraft? While some say the best remedy might be for them to go solo, others, including Jeremy Helligar, entertainment editor of Teen People, believe that the group would be smart just to ride out this phase.
"Sales are misleading. It's very possible Hanson will have a career. There have been artists in the history of rock who came out with a huge record, and their subsequent records didn't do as well. .. . . It might be unfair to expect [Hanson] to live up to a massive first record."
He makes a prediction others echo, that it's too early to write off the group: "We'll be hearing from them over the years. Don't think they're going away."
Greenberg, the guy who gave the trio its big break, believes that Hanson's talent should not be underestimated.
"Taylor Hanson has the best voice of his generation," he states flatly. "He could be one of those artists like Michael Jackson, who made great records as a kid and went on to make important records as an adult. On a musical level, he has the potential for that kind of career trajectory. . . . His greatest work still lies ahead of him."
Hanson: Beyond 'MMMbop' - Herald-Tribune Review - October 24, 2000
By Steve Heisler
--August 18th, 2000--
Taylor Hanson chuckled at the reception his band's vehicle received in the tiny Texas outpost of Ozona.
As the 17-year-old spoke from a pay phone, he seemed amused that the restaurant at which the band had stopped had never seen a tour bus.
Three years ago, that bus might as well have been the trio of fresh-faced, keenly harmonizing brothers, and Ozona the whole pop music landscape. In a post-grunge, where-do-we-focus-teen-agers'-attention-now epoch, Hanson provided a spirited answer.
And no one had seen anything like it.
But even as the brothers "MMMbopped" their way to youthful stardom, they did so with a focus more on the substance of original songwriting and vocals than on image.
That Hanson fairly or unfairly opened the door for slicker, gel-haired boy bands like 'N Sync and The Backstreet Boys is irrelevant.
"It's really hard to find a connection to all those bands," Taylor said. "I think the reason we get that comparison is we have a similar fan base, and that's really the only connection. If anyone takes five minutes to step inside and listen to the show or an album, it's truly obvious what Hanson represents."
From its outset, the trio of brothers Taylor, Zach, and Isaac has symbolized skilled songwriting and a blending of vocals in a universe of feel-good pop-rock sounds.
Hanson's ascent was buyed by "MMMbop," the catchy ditty that helped the group earn three Grammy nominations. That single's acceptance propelled its first CD, "Middle of Nowhere," to the tops of the Billboard charts.
In the three years since, Hanson has grown not only older but more mature in its approach to songwriting. The result of that time out of the spotlight, the sophomore CD "This Time Around," bears the influence of a band that is eager to take some chances - and largely succeed - in expanding its sound with a harder rock edge.
That shift is evident in the high-energy title cut and on "Runaway Run," with John Popper dropping in and lending his own harmonica histrionics.
"It's really a natural evolution," Taylor said. "As a player, you improve and as a writer, you experiment more and more; you continue to use more complex and simpler chords."
Those chord progressions and the band's reliance on hard guitar sounds that offset some sweet piano interludes illustrate Hanson's long-term vision. This is clearly a band that has come in terms with its earliest rocketlike success and has settled in for the long haul.
Zach, the youngest at 14, is sure of that.
"It (the CD) has a pop-rock feel, more of a funky feel," he said. "We're just showing the evolution. Whether people see it or not, we're gonna be around a long time doing music."
The band members' changing image - exchewing the baggy pants and flowing tresses that made them so popular to every gushing 15-year-old in '97 - to a more conservative bent is amusing to Zach.
"It's obviously sometimes slightly annoying and you're like music, music, and they are like haircuts and girlfriends."
The music, in powerful ballads like "In the City" and the inspirational "Dying to Be Alive," stands out on its own merits.
There's no longer any wondering about Hanson's youthful initial foray and whether it can be sustained. This trio from Tulsa has the self-confidence and the refined songwriting and chops to pull it off.
"We just happen to be young," Taylor said. "People say 'Why did you guys start so early?' and I could say 'Well, I'm going to wait until I'm 25' and nobody will look at us. It's there and it will always be there; it's an awesome thing. You just don't have to hit people over the head with it."
Copyright Herald - Tribune - Sarasota, FL
An Older, Wiser Hanson - San Francisco Examiner - August 15, 2000
By Jane Ganahl - Examiner Staff
-- Wednesday August 16, 2000
Hanson — the trio of brothers Isaac, 19, Taylor, 17, and Zac, 14 — may not invoke the same degree of hysteria today that it did in 1997, when the group's major-label debut, Middle of Nowhere, featuring the chart-topping "MMMBop," was released. But beneath their celebrated blond locks, these three boys still have firm heads on their shoulders. Which is perhaps more than can be said for the enthusiastic young girls who still greet them — albeit in diminished numbers — at concerts. According to Zac, no amount of screaming teens is going to overinflate their egos, "because you realize that if it weren't you, it would be some other band, like the Backstreet Boys. Or whatever other band is popular at the time."
Hanson's success helped jumpstart today's craze for teen artists, but aside from their ages, Zac sees little in common between his band and the 'N Syncs and Britneys of the world. "I keep wondering why we're even put in the same category as those bands," he confesses. "Hanson writes their own songs, plays their own instruments, don't dance — boy bands are just the opposite."
Taylor concurs that Hanson is completely in charge of its own destiny, and every aspect of its music. "Everything we do is us, whether it's approving a photo or writing something on our Web site. We meet with producers ourselves.
"You can't let it get too far away from you."
So there was never any pressure to ditch the instruments and learn a bunch of fancy dance steps?
"Shut up!" shouts Zac. "We would not have let ourselves go that way. Our label was really supportive in letting us decide for ourselves which direction to go in. They never tried to make us do another Middle of Nowhere or 'MMMBop.'"
To date, the trio's latest album, This Time Around, has sold just over 300,000 copies in the United States, versus the almost 4 million for Middle of Nowhere. But the men of Hanson say the band is in it for the long haul, regardless.
"We're musicians," concludes Taylor. "Why would we stop playing and writing? Someone asked me once how to get into music. I thought that was funny, because it isn't something you choose to do, it really has to be something you have to do. It has to be a passion, something that drives you, like being a writer.
"It's not like in 20 years I'm going to decide to be a politician. We'll keep playing, even if we're doing it in a bar in Des Moines, Iowa."
Catching Up with Hanson - Erie Times-News - Warner Theater - November 21, 2000
By Erie Times-News
--October 17, 2000--
'I guess, in 25 years,' Zac Hanson says, 'we won't be [considered] a boy group anymore.' The pop group plays Sunday at the Warner Theatre.
For once, Zachary Hanson was on the other side of awe. In June, he and brothers Isaac and Taylor not only attended the 31st annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Manhattan but performed, too.
Everywhere they turned, they saw musical heroes. Paul McCartney. James Taylor. Brian Wilson. Carole King. James Brown. Neil Diamond. The Eagles' Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Curtis Mayfield.
"It's hard to think of any more experiences in my life to this point where I felt that completely star struck and kind of in awe," said 15-year-old Zachary, during a phone interview from Detroit. "I've stood in front of 100,000 screaming fans and seen a lot of things you wouldn't expect to see. And that was more stunning. To be standing and singing 'Stand By Me,' one of my all-time favorites, with Ben E. King, James Brown, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Aaron Neville, and Carole King -- you're just going, 'Oh, my God! What's going on!' That was just really, really cool."
But the capper for Zac came afterward when Carole King sauntered over and complimented Hanson on its earlier performance of the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows."
"That was icing on the cake, that took it over the top," said Zachary. "That made me glad we're doing what we're doing."
Honest charm can turn the world, and Hanson has it in mmm-major-league abundance. The Tulsa brothers -- who play the Warner on Sunday -- grew up on a diet high in classic rock, pop, Motown, R&B, and absorbed it all. They reflect that heritage not only in their infectious, harmony-laden originals but in concerts, where they'll toss in favorites like "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin or Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me."
Taylor, 17, said he and his brothers picked up on pop music by rifling through their folks' Time-Life collections of hits and singing along to tunes.
"There was some divine reason for us to get that music. It wasn't like our parents were hippies," said Taylor. "They had the records, and we picked them up. Our parents were both musical, but really we were just driven. There was some innate musicality between the three of us. There was this one tape from 1958 we'd heard, and we began to sing around the house. Before we knew it, we were performing.
"It was self-perpetuated," Taylor added. "The next thing, before we knew it, we were writing. It just kind of happened. More and more, we began to realize how serious we were about it."
'BOOMERANG," A SELF-PRODUCED CD, sold well in the Tulsa area, but it wasn't until Hanson signed with Mercury and released "Middle of Nowhere" they went somewhere, then everywhere. Fueled by "MMMBop," the inescapable, unshakable first single, Hanson shot to stardom in 1997. The CD wound up selling more than eight million copies, while the band played before President Clinton, on "Saturday Night Live," and to thousands of screaming teenyboppers who liked their cute looks as much as their pop hooks.
In their wake, teen-pop idols followed like herds of marathoners: Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, 98 Degrees. But are those bands built for the long haul? They spend as much time dancing as singing; they don't play instruments. Hanson remains a rock band at heart. Isaac plays guitar, Taylor plays keyboards, and Zac drums. They write their tunes, too, one reason critics like them, too.
Yet, they still get stuck with the boy-band label.
"Everyone gets puts into a box," said Zac. "That's just something everyone has to deal with, whether you're a young group or a teen idol or an old group or over the hill. You're all thrown into your own little box. The only thing you can do is to just keep doing the music you feel and [the music] that represents the band.
"I guess, in 25 years," he added, "we won't be [considered] a boy group anymore."
'MIDDLE OF NOWHERE'S" STRATOspheric sales set up high expectations for "This Time Around," their official studio follow-up (a live CD and Christmas one were released in the interim).
"There is that pressure [to equal the first one]," acknowledged Isaac, the oldest of the trio, at age 20. "Everyone wants you to, and you want to. But it comes down to the toss of the dice. You make the best record you possibly can and put your heart and soul into it, you take constructive criticism when needed, and you go for it. I feel we did make a very good record."
"This Time Around" rocks a little harder and features some gospel-style vocals on a few cuts. Jonny Lang, John Popper, and Rose Stone (from Sly & the Family Stone) make guest appearances. But while MTV's "Total Request Live" featured the first single "If Only," Top 40 radio -- so receptive to "MMMBop" -- has stayed away. The result: Disappointing sales.
Isaac said Hanson's not panicking.
"I'm confident in the music we made. I think there'll be a lot more records to come."
The band's also playing mid-sized venues, not arenas. But they've filled them with fans, who toss everything from roses to stuffed animals to underwear on stage.
"I've also gotten pelted in the face with a couple of dollars' worth of change before, which really hurts," said Isaac. "Like half a dozen quarters in the face, bam, pow."
The screams persist. Isaac said they use ear monitors, so they can hear their own music. "I really feel lucky to have fans who are that enthusiastic."
Zac said he's equally lucky to be in a band with his brothers. They keep each other in line, they prevent egos from ballooning.
"I like to say we're all smart enough to know not to fight, that if someone has a broken hand you can't play," said Zac. "It definitely helps having people you trust and you enjoy their company a lot. Having friends around is really what it is."
"Not to sound too corny and Partridge Family-ish," Zac added, "but we really get along very well."
Hanson heartthrobs rock Palace... - Louisville Courier - Palace Theater - November 17, 2000
By DAVID WALTON © The Courier-Journal
-Reviewed Oct. 13, 2000 -
They seemed to be in the "Middle of Nowhere" in 1997 with the release of their debut album, which included the catchy tune "MMMBop" that helped launch America's current teen pop explosion.
But "This Time Around," the Hanson brothers -- Zachary, Taylor and Isaac -- have proved they mean serious music on their second go around.
In July, the Oklahoma-reared trio kicked off a three-month tour to promote their latest album, landing them on stage at the historic Louisville Palace last night.
More than a thousand screaming preteen and teen fans couldn't get enough of the blond singing heartthrobs as they chanted "Hanson . . . Hanson . . . Hanson" during the show.
Backed by three supporting musicians (on guitar, bass and keyboards), the brothers squeezed in over 20 songs during the 100-minute set.
They showed off their new style of maturity in the first set with six songs, including "Thinking of You" and "Where's the Love" from their freshman album.
What a difference in sound three years can make. The Midwestern brothers surprised fans not only with their instrumental talents but also their new, grown-up voices. They've definitely come a long way since their bubble gum pop days as they proved last night.
The youngest Hanson, drummer Zac, spent most of the evening on a special-built platform with a base that changed colors through the concert. Tay and Ike, as they are called by fans, stood on oriental rugs as they played their instruments.
During the second set, the boys -- now positioned closer to the audience -- showed off their heartwarming harmonies with four more songs, including the vintage Motown hit "Money (That's What I Want)."
Taylor, by far the best-looking and most popular of the threesome, worked the crowd with artistic form. Whether he jumped up and down or waved his arms, the fans followed his lead every time and reacted to his every word.
"Whew, you guys don't mess around, do ya?" he said over the ear-piercing screams.
After their second break, the crowd wanted more and they got it. Two of the group's biggest hits: "This Time Around," from their latest album, and the song that started it all "MMMBop."
The last time Hanson visited Louisville was in June when it performed at the annual WDJX Birthday Bash. Not many people know it but bad weather forced the group to forgo it's flight and charter a bus into town, arriving only minutes before it was to take center stage.
Hanson is obviously devoted to its Louisville fans as they proved once again last night with their pop and roll show.
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