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Huddling with Hanson
8/7/98 (USAToday) |
The No. 1 fan of the teen trio Hanson is 19, older than any of the brothers themselves.
He is not, as he emphasizes on the home video he sent to MTV, "a screaming girl."
In 36 manic hours last week, Aaron Antonali, a stocky college student from Pleasant Hill, Calif., flew to Chicago to interview the group, caught their concert with a bunch of screaming girls, and returned home the next morning.
"I'm in a state of mind I've never experienced before," he said, about halfway through the trip. "I never imagined... That's a lie. I HAVE imagined this, but I never believed it would happen."
Which is exactly the effect MTV is hoping for with its new show FANatic, sort of a "Make A Wish"-style adventure, except that the beneficiaries don't suffer life-threatening illnesses. In each episode, a chosen fan is whisked to another city to interview their idol, or idols, and MTV documents it. Antonali's experience will air on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET/PT).
Since FANatic began airing in July, No. 1 fans have met 34 musicians and 20 other celebrities. Sometimes, there are unexpected bonuses. The hard-rocking Korn invited its fan to sing backup on the group's next album. Hootie & the Blowfish let their fan take a solo onstage while they accompanied.
So when MTV announced on its Web site that it was looking for Hanson's biggest fan, Antonali called the network immediately to tell them that:
He wears one of his two Hanson T-shirts every day -- and does a lot of laundry.
He asked for all Hanson-related Christmas presents.
He shouts "Hanson rocks!" at everyone he thinks isn't a fan.
He tried to get the letters MMMBOP on his license plate (already taken).
"It's not a hormonal thing for him at all," says Annette Pierce, 19, his best friend, who vouched for Antonali's Hanson obsession to MTV. "He respects their music."
But the thing that really put him over the top was this Hanson moment: About a year ago, his sister's two sons were "taken away from her and given to my mom, because my sister had a problem" with drugs.
One night, to console the boys, Antonali sang Hanson's
I Will Come to
You. (When you have no light to guide you / And no one to walk beside you / I will come to you / Oh, I will come to you.) The next night, they asked him to sing it again. He sang it to them every night thereafter. "Hanson really helped my family through a rough time," he says.
Pierce broke the good news to Antonali on a Thursday evening. By 11:30 p.m., he was on a plane to Chicago.
Just after 1 p.m. the next day, the last leg of the journey begins. Antonali and Pierce, who's also invited, get into the black limousine that will take them from their Chicago hotel to the New World Music Theatre, where Hanson is performing.
What happens next looks like a mini-MTV video scene itself: Pierce gets in the car. Antonali gets in. Then he gets in again, and again, as a cameraman inside the car tapes and re-tapes his entrance.
How do you feel, director Mike Nichols asks. "I'm full of nerves and nervous energy," Antonali says, "but also full of excitement. I'm on my way to meet Hanson, and that's all I have to say about it."
Of course, he has plenty more to say. "I love their brilliant ear for music," he says. "Their harmonies are so perfectly pitched, and the message is so clear and deep."
The limo rolls through the gate to the loading area, and three blond, pre-adolescent girls shriek and run after it. Antonali watches and says, "I hope I find out these are just regular guys."
Everyone waits in the lounge, a low-ceilinged, depressing room with one window that overlooks the back of the stage. Hours go by, and Pierce falls asleep.
Antonali looks out the window. Suddenly, he says, "Um, they're here."
Pierce jumps up. "Can they see us?" she asks. They could, but they don't look.
Onstage, Hanson does a sound check. Pierce leaves to listen, and the MTV crews go to set up equipment for the interview. Alone, Antonali sings to distract himself, making up his own lyrics to Hanson tunes.
Finally, a camera crew leads Antonali out of the room and down the aisles to meet the group. He has decided that on this day, a Hanson T-shirt is too much: He wears a plaid button-front shirt. Zachary Hanson sees him, leaps over a seat railing, and runs down the aisle, yelling, "We love you, Aaron!"
Antonali is flattered and flustered. He says he is nervous and thanks the group for the interview.
"No, thank YOU for honoring US," Zachary, 12, says.
"We're fans of you for being fans of us," Taylor, 15, says.
"You're doing great so far," Isaac, 17, says.
They are like the nicest sons any parent could ask for: attentive, modest, polite and fun.
What was their most embarrassing moment onstage? Antonali asks.
When the power failed one time, Isaac says, and the keyboards and guitars went dead. Of course, Zac adds, the girls were screaming so loud, nobody in the theater noticed.
What city would they most like to live in? "We'll come stay at your house," Zac says.
How have they changed since their last album?
"You mean, besides the mutated body parts and extra arms we try to hide under our clothes?" Isaac jokes.
There are more questions, and Antonali tells them about singing to his nephews. The interview is over.
Afterward, Antonali says, "They were all just so nice. My worst fear was that they wouldn't like me, but I think they did. They're the bomb. They're great."
During the concert, Hanson dedicates a song to "Aaron, who came all the way from California to see us."
Two days later, back home, Antonali says he can't remember a single thing about the interview. But "it was the greatest experience of my life," he says.
-- Kevin V. Johnson
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