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Melissa (USA)
When I was about 13 I decided to redecorate my room. The current wallpaper was pink with dolls so obviously it was time. I didn’t even ask my mom to help but rewallpapered the entire room myself. I thought it was fantastic and my best friend agreed. Then my mother came home. She definitely did not approve. Did you know that walls covered in posters of Zac Hanson is not appropriate wallpaper? Yeah, coulda fooled me too. Needless to say, I was a bit obsessed back in the day. I liked Taylor & Zac best. Zac because drummers are super cool and Taylor—well, I think that’s just self explanatory. I could tell you their favorite toothpaste (Aquafresh), favorite shampoo (Herbal Essence), that Isaac loved the color green and that the bonus bit on White Christmas on the “Snowed In” album is about the cutest thing ever. Like I said, obsession was the right word and yes, I still remember all those details without looking them up. I remember the Hanson days fondly. And then I got hit with the real world, discovered The Clash followed by Stiff Little Fingers and Hanson got lost somewhere in the punk takeover of my musical soul.
I sat down to write this article though and realized I’d been missing out. I may have lost touch with Hanson but they didn’t stop making great music. In fact their newest album is expected to be pure pop in its best form. But to truly understand the appeal of Hanson, I think you’ll have to start at the beginning. This isn’t a biography article. Portrait’s done that before. Instead, I’d like to try and explain the appeal of Hanson and just how much they’ve influenced the current pop world. Hanson isn’t the first pop band to have girls go crazy for them. The Beatles covered that one in the 60s. That’s the trick though. See, in the 60s it was The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones that made young girls faint and crowds go wild. Then the 70s came along and brought punk music to the forefront. Punk in its original form was about an attitude, a culture a way of life. You didn’t obsess over the band, you obsessed over the message they were preaching. The 80s were all over the place. Most hit songs came from well established bands or one hit wonders. Those who did gain fame in the 80s specifically tended to be female (Madonna) and don’t inspire the same fan reactions. Towards the end of the 80s/beginning of the 90s, grunge had taken over. The days of freaking out over a band and wanting to know all the details on their lives seemed a thing of the past.
Then Hanson happened. May 6th, 1997, an album named “Middle of Nowhere” was released. “MMMBop” was the #5 single that year just behind No Doubt & Elton John. Hanson mania had officially swept the globe. Hanson brought something unique to the table. They were pop music for starters. Pop at its purest is about loving music. There can be a message but there doesn’t have to be like punk. Pop artists aren’t technical snobs as tends to be the case with jazz. Pop appreciates the beauty of music as it is. Hanson got that concept. Their music was fun, energetic, and addicting. So addicting in fact that fans didn’t just know every lyric to their favorite songs. We wanted to know every detail we could about Hanson. It began a renewed obsession with celebrity culture, one that carries to this day. All the frenzy over the Jonas Brothers, McFly, and Justin Bieber has just continued from those days. And so fans learned about a band called Hanson. A group of 3 brothers, Isaac, Taylor, and Zac. The boys hailed from Tulsa, Oklahoma and claimed family, faith, music and fans as the most important things in their lives. We learned their favorite snacks (Zac loves marshmallows), what artists they most admired (50s rock ‘n roll such as Chuck Berry and Otis Redding), exactly where the inspiration for “Man from Milwaukee” came from (just what it sounds like, the boys car broke down in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Zac came up with a song about an alien encounter), and so much more.
Over the years, Hanson has proved that those original values haven’t changed. Its impressive considering so few people can be untainted by fame. Yet 14 years later, Hanson will still put the same things at top priority. There have been sacrifices though. When Taylor married Natalie Bryant at age 19 fans and critics panned it as a publicity stunt, stating that because she was 4 months pregnant and the boys wanted to maintain their wholesome image, they had to get married. The family countered that the two had always planned to get married and the baby had no impact on that decision. Nearly 8 years and 4 children later, it would seem there should have been a little more faith in the couple. When Zac got married to Kate Tucker in 2006 and Isaac to Nicole Dufresne later that same year, the world seemed to realize that the Hanson brothers weren’t all committing publicity stunts but instead were normal people who fall in love and get married. With 7 children between them, its clearly a happy family group but one that involves obvious sacrifice by the brothers when touring. “I have an amazing wife, and she gets it and handles all the craziness. And you just try to make the time you got really cool. When you're there, you're totally present, and you just bounce back and forth,” said Taylor in an interview. Having a strong support system to come home too clearly helps the boys. That relative normalcy compared to most rockstars is yet another thing to love (and emulate) about Hanson.
As many fans know (and those who read our earlier Hanson articles) the band has had numerous problems with recording labels. For those who don’t know, let me catch you up in a nutshell. The boys struggled to be heard by label execs because they were too young to play in clubs and often didn’t get signed because of their youth (the days of marketing Disney Channel stars hadn’t happened yet). When they finally were signed to a six album deal, the record label sold out during the recording of the band’s 2nd album and was ran by a rap label. Needless to say, the rap label executives didn’t get Hanson’s sound and the next album was a flop in comparison to other albums. The boys fought to be released from their contract and succeeded. The 3rd album, “Underneath” hit #1 as an independent album proving that despite their youth, Hanson knows music.
Today the boys are still focused on music and fans. They completed their latest album, “Shout it Out” (it releases on June 8, 2010 and you can preorder it at the end of the article). They joined Hellogoodbye for a headlining tour that gained them a number of new fans and increased awareness for the band. Taylor, like another brother in a band, ventured out on a solo project, teaming up with members of Smashing Pumpkins & Cheap Trick to form the band “Tinted Windows”. Like the aforementioned Jonas Brother, Taylor’s band also won critical praise for its sound and talent. At the end of April, Hanson played a five concert series at Gramercy Theater in New York. The first night was a complete concert of “Middle of Nowhere”, 2nd night, “This Time Around”, 3rd night “Underneath”, 4th night “The Walk”, and the final night of the “Five for Five” concert series will be the unveiling of “Shout it Out”. Talk about a great way for fans new and old to hear their favorite songs from any album.
Its clear that Hanson remains inspirational. From demonstrating a commitment to fans and to music, they’ve proven to be a quality band. The brothers continued their charity efforts as well in 2008 by starting a “Walk Around the World Tour” that worked at fighting poverty in Africa. The band’s relevance and popularity is evident as well considering the “Five for Five” concert series is sold out for every night. They hold homage to their influences too in the “Thinkin' Bout Something” video by reenacting the Ray Charles “Shake a Tail Feather” scene and start dancing in the streets. The new album promises to have the similar catchy tunes and just plain fun sound of “Middle of Nowhere” while showing off the brothers’ growth over the last 13 years. If the first single is any indication, its time to renew the Hanson obsession.
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