Ike, Tay, Zac... those names sound familiar? Well they should. I think just about everyone knows who you are talking about if the word "MMMBop" pops up in a sentence. But do you really know the three brothers from Tulsa?
Hanson consists of three brothers: Isaac [21], Taylor [18], and Zac [16]. These three talented brothers are from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They come from a very big and talented family. Along with their supporting father and mother, they have four other younger brothers and sisters: Avery, Jessica, Mackenzie, and Zoe.
Hanson began singing in their garage. They moved around different countries because of their dad's job. They couldn't sing too much material, but they did have tapes of oldies bands. They listened to these repeatedly, and began practicing their own voices. In Tulsa, they started practicing and writing songs. Some of which, are off of their old/new album, Three-Car Garage. The brothers and their family discovered they had talent. Even though, none of the boy's voices started changing yet, they still knew they had great voices.
They started singing in and around Tulsa. They even played for bars that had an age limit, so they had to sing ouside. That was okay though; more people decided to go outside and hear them. Then their lucky break came. One day, they miraculously found a music manager. They asked to sing in front of him. After hearing them, the man saw they had talent and they would be going places. Boy was he right.
Hanson continued to sing and soon got two independent records made- Boomerang and MMMBop. All three brothers took piano lessons earlier and were musically inclined, so why not have them play instruments also? That is exactly what everyone thought. The next thing you know, Isaac had a guitar, Taylor on keyboard, and young Zac on drums. It has been that way ever since, although you may sometimes see or hear Issac behind a piano once or twice on some of the songs.
Now that Hanson had voices and instruments, they decided to really reach all the way, and they did. From one of their independent records, MMMBop, came a song they wrote called MMMBop. This was their chart-topping single that made them big. After performing in so many small town places, they were finally signed to really go places out of state, and even out of the country. Soon MMMBop became the biggest hit on the radio, and soon on MTV and VH-1, as the boys made their first video. Along with that, they had signed a new record with Mercury Records, called Middle of Nowhere.
They began going on small tours to places like Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York. Then they started touring other countries, such as Canada, Indonesia, Japan, and England. The boys were completely blown away as how they became the biggest family rock group since the Jackson-5.
While MMMBop had still been number one on just about every countdown and chart list, Hanson made another video from one of their songs on Middle of Nowhere, Where's the Love. This video also hit the charts and countdowns. So why stop making videos now, when they have other great songs on Middle of Nowhere? Hanson soon came out with their next video, which showed the soft side of them, I Will Come to You.
Everyone did begin to wonder what would happen when the boy's voices began to change. Isaac's voice had already changed during the making of Boomerang, which didn't effect anything. It was during the making of the MMMBop video that middle brother, Taylor's, did start to change. That didn't seem to affect much either, except for the fans. They still loved Taylor's voice anyway it sounds.
Not only were the Hanson brothers turning into the next band of the year, but they were also the newest heart-throbs to girls everywhere. Along with the blond hair, brown and blue eyes, Issac, Taylor, and Zac are very outgoing and have great senses of humor. You will always see one of them crack a joke at any of their interviews. Hanson has been on countless world-wide interviews and shows, such as Regis & Kathie Lee, The Rosie 'O Donnell Show, Saturday Night Live, Oprah, CNN, and tons more. They have also turned up on many magazines, as in articles and also on the covers, such as Seventeen.
During all of their success, Hanson has shown that they have amazing talent. It was proven as they appeared on award shows, like The Grammy's, The MTV Music Awards, The MTV Movie Awards, The MTV Europe Awards, and the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards. They have won more than three awards on most of those, including best song: MMMBop.
During the December of 1997, Hanson wanted to show their Christmas spirit by putting out another Mercury Record's album, Snowed In. This album features old Christmas tunes, and new ones that the boys have written many Christmas' ago.
Hanson has also finished another video, also from Middle of Nowhere, called Weird. This video was famously directed by Gus Van San. The boys wanted something different for this video and Gus knew exactly where their idea was heading. Weird gets a lot of compliments from the great affects in the video, such as the "under water-in a subway" scene, and the "circular-no gravity" room. You'll just have to see the video to believe it.
Hanson has also created an "old school" video, River, which is really interesting because it shows clippings of them from an earlier time. River is an oldie, but goodie from Three-Car Garage.
Hanson finished their '98 Albertane Tour safely and graciously. Everyone enjoyed their show who went and I think Ike, Taylor, and Zac had a great time on the road. Not long after their tour, Hanson "did it again" by amazing us with another great album, This Time Around. This album had a different rock sound to it that many Hanson fans were glad to listen to. This Time Around featured guest artists, like Johnny Lang and John Popper, plus others. Two more chart-topping videos came from this record also, This Time Around and If Only.
Hanson is currently working on their next album "2X", which is scheduled to be released sometime in 2002. I can't wait!! Hanson is a great band that is hard-working and very talented. I wish them the best of luck and continue to make wonderful music.