April 27, 2000 "Hanson Grows Up"
If you like to see the original, you can at Seventeen Online.
Honestly, do you ever get sick of each other?
Together: Yeah, sometimes. But not a lot.
Taylor: When we get tense about stuff, it's usually music-related. There are times that we don't get along, but that's just like everyone.
Do you ever get mobbed?
Isaac: Lately, it's been pretty reasonable. We always get it when we go to movie theaters.
Together: Uhh, sometimes. Yeah.
Zac: The advantage and disadvantage to the music thing is that people recognize us.
What do you think about the current boy bands?
Taylor: Personally -- and I think I speak for all of us -- I'm not a really big fan of that kind of music.
Zac: Yeah, I'm more into rock 'n' roll, rather than rhythm-pop.
Taylor: But those guys are really working hard and they do a great job at what they do. They can dance. When we first started, we did some of that before we were playing instruments, and it's hard!
Are you afraid that because you are boys in a band, you'll be lumped into that category?
Taylor: Yeah, people do lump us into a category. It's mostly because of our audience; we have a lot of young girl fans. We're not ashamed of that by any means. Our fans are amazing.
Isaac: As far as musically, we also have nothing in common with Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys. We have more in common with Jonny Lang and John Popper (and they play on the record).
Isaac: We hardly even noticed it. I think what is really significant is that our voices are different. That's part of what it makes it a drastic change.
Zac: The songwriting has changed, too. There are more sophisticated chords.
Isaac: People always ask us to describe our music. It's still a pop song, but it's also rock 'n' roll.
Do you all collaborate on every song?
Isaac: It really depends. Rarely is there ever a song that everybody's not involved in. Especially because we're all in the same house, if someone is humming it...
Taylor: Yeah, someone will start writing a song and then someone will hear them and start singing it.
What kind of music do you guys listen to?
Taylor: Anything with 'Crow' in it.... Black Crowes, Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow. Beck, Ben Folds Five, Lenny Kravitz, Jonny Lang. The music in between what is really popular right now. There's Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Hole and then there's Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. We like the stuff in the middle.
Does that make you nervous? You're a rock 'n' roll band.
Taylor: It's fun to see what happens. We can't do anything about it because that's the music that we write. People can take it or leave it. It's part of us.
Okay, let's talk girls....
Isaac: No girlfriend. I was dating a girl for a while, but it didn't work out.
Isaac: Four years, but it was off and on. She wasn't really my girlfriend, but we'd go out on dates. I didn't want to call her my girlfriend because then people would start calling her.
Isaac: Yeah, Tay and I will talk about stuff. Zac and I will talk about stuff. We definitely respect each other's opinion about those kind of things.
Zac: It's more like we'll say: 'Dude, she's a weirdo,' or 'Dude, she's hot!'
Do you have girlfriends?
Zac: No, I do not. Taylor: No. It's weird 'cause we are never in one place all the time. And then there's the fame thing: 'Does she really like you that much?'
Does it ever bum you out that you're on the road all the time and can't form a lasting relationship?
Isaac: Yeah, it bums me out a little bit. But it's one of those things that if you find the right girl, it's going to be pretty awesome.
Zac: It doesn't bum me out.
Zac: A girl who likes paintball.
Isaac: Yeah, that would be cool.
Do you feel like you've grown up in the spotlight, or have you managed to do it on your own?
Taylor: Actually we've more normal than most normal people. We keep it pretty regular. We're not extravagant at all. We don't buy Porsches or anything like that. We help keep each other grounded and normal.
By: Dina Sansing
Funny how times change. It was just 1997 that "Mmmbop" was blowing up the charts, Hanson mania was in full force -- and the backlash against the blond, baby-faced brothers three was almost as vociferous as their loyal fans. But then along came a new wave of boy bands (and we're not mentioning any names) whose pre-programmed choreography and instruments-free synth sounds made Hanson sound like hard rock. Now, as the brothers resurface after three years of recording and mauturing, the question on loyal fans' minds is how they'll fit into the rapidly shifting pop landscape. We spent a day on California's Catalina Island with Ike, Taylor, and Zac Hanson and got the dirt on their new disc, This Time Around, for the June seventeen. But since we didn't have room to give you all the details of our convo in print, here the brothers explain how their sound has evolved, what they think about the new crop of teen popsters, and why fame hasn't changed them.
Do you ever get sick of it?
The new album is a lot different from what you've done in the past. What caused the change? 
Isaac: It's kind of weird because the tables have turned. When we were more pop, there was more rock 'n' roll. Now that we're more rock 'n' roll, there's more pop.
What was your longest relationship? 
Do you give each other advice about girls? 
What's your ultimate date?
Photos: Sean Murphy