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This Is From A Paper Called The Weekender From My Hometown Wilkes Barre Pa
Mmmm...BOP! This time around Hanson brothers are all about rockin'
It's not really about being brothers muses Zac Hanson.
It's about three guys loving music, he explains.
He's talking about those pop phenoms known as Hanson. "We always tell people we could have been three guys who randomly met and joined a band together," the drummer adds.
Mmmm...BOP! This time around Hanson brothers are all about rockin'
By REX RUTKOSKI
Weekender Correspondent
It's not really about being brothers muses Zac Hanson.
It's about three guys loving music, he explains.
He's talking about those pop phenoms known as Hanson. "We always tell people we could have been three guys who randomly met and joined a band together," the drummer adds.
"The band is just about enjoyment of music," adds brother Taylor, 17. And they are back again to show how deep that affinity goes, he suggests.
"I think the biggest group of people to this day think of us as the three young blond kids singing MMMBop (their single that went number one in 27 countries three years ago)," he says. "Anybody who digs deep at all and hears the new record, and the rest of the last record, will understand what we are doing and what we are about. Every day we see so many people of every age group talking about the music and complementing it, and the industry people acknowledging it and the reviews are positive. It's stunning."
Not unlike Hanson's major label debut in 1997 with Middle Of Nowhere, an album that sold eight million copies, earning three Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year.
Hanson will perform Sept. 18 at the FM Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre. Tickets are $28.50 and are still available by calling the Kirby Center box office and all Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone call 570.693.4100 or 215.336.2000.
The sibling trio from the Midwest now offers their second album, This Time Around, which includes guesting by guitar wizard Jonny Lang on three tracks, Blues Traveler's John Popper and Beck's cohort DJ Swamp. Rose Stone, formerly of Sly & the family Stone, leads a gospel choir on Dying to Be Alive.
"We weren't even sure if it would work with Jonny Lang and John Popper, All we knew was we wanted those guys to come in. We said, 'Let's get them in here.' It worked really well," Zac, 14, says.
Each album is very personal, says Taylor. "Making the best record possible is really the only goal," he says. "I do want to surprise people, blow some guy's mind who didn't think Hanson could do this, catch someone's ear and have them go 'Wow! That's a great song!' But, in the end, you just really want to feel really proud of it and be able to say, 'This is the best album I could have made.' You want to walk away with that feeling, regardless of how many copies it sells."
Taylor says what the group is about is a musical journey. It's really not that different this time out, he says.
"You're always working hard, doing your thing, trying to get out there," he says. "Your perspective on life is a little different since you've done all the photo sessions, the interviews, the travel. You kind of get into a groove a little bit."
Hanson probably has a better perspective on it now, he says. "A lot of die-hard fans who've really stuck around, the serious fans who travel around to see show after show, they've grown up and changed. Some are freshmen in college. Their perspective is different. They are three years older. They change the same way we have."
Each record is a time capsule of where Hanson is at the point of recording, Taylor says. "I want to always keep in mind focusing on making the best record we possibly can make and feel completely proud of. Then it's no holds barred. We're ready to go out with it."
Zac says he doesn't feel pressure to equal or top the success of their first album. "I don't feel pressure in that sense," he says. "Obviously we want it to be as successful as possible, as all bands do. You don't want to be a failure. I'm very happy with the album we have out now."
It's just a matter of making sure people know Hanson has a new album out, he says. "After that, there's nothing we can do about it," he says.
Hopefully, Taylor says, the trio is at the beginning of their career. "You can never predict what will happen, what will go right or wrong, all those variables. As far as music, we will be doing music for ourselves as long as we possibly can, for the rest of our lives.
"The question is can we keep the drive and interest it takes to keep doing it (at a major league level). I'm excited to let people see the continual evolution of the band, and let people know what we are really about. And all things come out of that: we are about the music."
When a new musician asks for advice, Taylor tells them, "You have to have to do music. You have to have to be an artist. It's there. It's part of who I am and who we all are. That's what drives us. It's passion and expression, a part of who you are.
"It can never be about how famous you're going to be, or how many people scream your name. In the end, it's left to you to do something you really enjoy. It's a need, not just a want."
Zac says he's not even sure why Hanson's music has been able to touch people of all ages. "We're just writing things we feel and think about. It's just coming straight from us," he says. "At a certain point there are only so many things you can write about: love, hate, existence, just being there. At a certain point you're connecting with something someone else is feeling."
Music appeals to everyone on some level, he says. "That is why music is such a large part of everything that anyone does. Everybody listens to music, whether in some other language or not."
He puts it another way: "The world would really suck if there wasn't music. There is almost always music everywhere."
The strength of Hanson's music, he says, is the fact that three guys write, sing and play. "We do everything. In some bands you have a lead vocalist and no one else does anything. The others just kind of go along for the ride. We all are involved in everything we do: the videos, the records, the album covers, everything."
Certainly that's much more satisfying, he says.
"I can't see how bands do it any other way. Everything's a representation of the band and we all want to be as involved as much as possible."
What would he tell someone to expect who has never seen Hanson play live?
Zac: "Don't expect anything and you'll be really surprised. A lot of people go to our concerts not knowing what to expect because of our younger fan base. People almost expect us to come out and dance and do something like that. This is a full-blown band situation. That's what it is. We are all about rocking."
"Whether some people think we are going to be gone in five years or whatever it is, I will let them see for themselves in 20 years when we're still rocking."
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