JPM: Do you guys get this a lot? Do sometimes people who are gonna meet you get a little nervous and don't speak too much?

Tay: We we try to make it work just natural. We're just...we're normal people.

~Radio Disney "Music Lesson with Hanson" Transcript, June 22, 1999

JPM: Now guys, the ladies have been a little bit quiet today.

Zippy: I think they're just nervous because you guys are cute. I mean you're, you're giant celebrities. Can you say anything to help...

Zac: [Interrupts Zippy and says...] Not as big as you guys are.

[Everyone laughs]

JPM: Yeah! I appreciate that, dude, but you don't know how untrue that is. Can you say anything to kind of maybe put them at ease?

Zac: Well, we're bad teachers.

Tay: Yeah exactly! We're bad teachers.

~Radio Disney "Music Lesson with Hanson" Transcript, June 22, 1999

Amanda9 says: What do you feel when you see your fans from different countries singing yours songs if they don't speak English?

Isaac : Well it's very very cool. We would have never imagined that we had fans around the world. We would have never had any idea. We're constantly amazed.

~MSN Chat Transcript, June 17, 2000

Down Asks: Are you guys satisfied with the current direction of your music?, any plans to delve into a bit of the harder rock side or acoustic type material? and how much of the music do you guys write yourself?

Isaac : We wrote everything on this record ourselves and it pretty much has been that way since the beginning. The same with this record, we wrote the whole record. We wouldn't really be able to tell you where the next record will go, music is always evolving and things will always change. Also yes, we're satisfied with the current record.

~MSN Chat Transcript, June 17, 2000

LiquidSunshine Asks: Hey guys, I'm Pat from Germany. I was just wondering as songwriters, do you listen to bands like Matchbox 20? And what songwriters do you look up to?

Zac : You look up to great artists from songs you enjoy. Obviously the Beatles and other rockers that did amazing songs. As a song writer you listen to all kinds and it effects you in ways you don't realize. In a subconscious way you incorporate that sound in some way in your music.

~MSN Chat, June 17, 2000

dragonfly Asks: Everyone is talking about how you guys have changed. Do you think you have changed in a drastic way?

Taylor : Well I mean we definitely have changed, if we didn't change something would be wrong. The music and we have evolved. It's not a drastic thing, it's just grown and changed. Hopefully we'll keep growing, and improving and you will keep enjoying it.

~MSN Chat, June 17, 2000

IfOnlyHitzChick Asks: What was the last "Hanson does stupid stuff" thing you guys all did together?

Isaac: I don't know, we acted like ourselves?

~MSN Chat, June 17, 2000

blink6 Asks: I was wondering if you Hanson brothers have bonded more as brothers being in a group together or are you still as close as you have always been?

Taylor : We've always been really close, we've spent a lot of time around each other. In many ways being in the band has been benificial for our relationship. I guess it could go both ways, but our relationship has always been really good. And more and more from being in a band.

~MSN Chat, June 17, 2000

LittlePrettayITZ Asks: Hey Guys, I would like to know what a song to sing is about... I love that song and I know what I interpret it as but what do feel that the song means?~Allyson~15~NJ

Isaac : The song is about a lot of things. One of the points made in the song is talking about someone who is so down and out, kind of lost in their own depression, that they're not willing to admit they they are depressed and lost. The other part of the song is talking about that sometimes people need something to turn to. They need a friend or a song to turn to to get through some emotion they are feeling.

~MSN Chat, June 17, 2000

iznogood2 says: Hi guys! I'm Cyrielle from Geneva, Switzerland !! How are you ? Ok, here's my question : I think, Nietzche said "without music life would be a mistake" do you agree ?

Taylor : Thanks for chatting with us. I'm not sure the world would be a mistake without music, but I think it's a big part of the world now. I know it's a big part of my life and I hope it will always be there, I hope that never changes.

~MSN Chat Transcript, June 17, 2000

skip_13_99 asks: What would you guys do if you were meeting a fan and they fainted?

Zac: We'd just be dumbfounded and not know what to do.

~Yahoo Chat, October 29, 1999

During this show, the band showed the maturity and evolution that has taken place since it first hit the scene in 1997. The sheer quality of the songwriting should be enough to get them respect. Many still consider them bubble gum pop, but those people haven't really taken a close enough look. Look for these guys to be around for the long term. Tastes change but talent tends to survive.

~West Island Suburban: Montreal Review, September 23, 2000

The show demonstrated that lead singer Taylor, 17, is truly emerging as the charismatic leader of the band on stage. He showed he has star quality, a great voice, - and he plays a mean keyboard.

~West Island Suburban: Montreal Review, September 23, 2000

CaliforniaGirlJuly15_98 asks: what makes a concert good for you guys as far as the crowd goes.... like the volume or energy? what?

Isaac: Well any crowd is good enough for me. As long as we get the opportunity to play for people and they're having fun, that's the best part. As long as they're having fun, that's what is important.

~Yahoo Chat, October 29, 1999

broccoli_binks asks: Taylor,if u had to do a duet with some female singer,who would it be?

Taylor: Someone we met who is an amazing singer is Rose Stone from Sly and the Family Stone. She conducted the choir and did some ad lib singing. But if there was one person, I'd probably pick Aretha Franklin. She rules all soul singing.

~Yahoo Chat Transcript, October 29, 1999

What else are we supposed to do? We write, we play, we sing - that's why we're a band.

~Taylor, Starpolish, August 2001

You are beautiful In every single way

~"Beautiful", Christina Aguilera

We're like the old-timers now.

~Isaac, Starpolish, August 2001

ISAAC: I think that the main issue that's held us together is, number one, our relationship with each other, but also...

TAYLOR: Common sense.

ISAAC: Common sense, but also we have a really good relationship with the rest of our family. And I think that's kept us in check, in that they've kind of . they maintain being our family, and we maintain being brothers and band mates and then it all kind of balances itself out, in a sense. I think we never really cared about being world-famous rock star something-or-others -- I think it always sounds funny.

ZAC: We're not rock stars

ISAAC: We're really just guys in a band.

~Starpolish, August 2001

Its a very different prespective, and you're thinking as an artist, as a creator going, "Oh I really want to do this or that" you're constantly fighting the machine that wants to just cookie cutter out as fast as they can possible make it happen so they can make the next buck. And you know, Isaac was talking about the tre(nd).... I mean, it's just. This is a business of followers, I mean, this is not a business of innovators. The industry is an industry of chase the trend as fast as you can. It's those few, the artist and creators and the few excutives who had a passion for music are the ones that go, BAM, slap you in the face, heres the next trend, and the rest of them follow it again. They keep chasing it like chickens with their heads cut off. Cause they don't know what their doing. But all the know how to do is sell product. They know how to supply and demand. That's what this industry is. And so you as an artist are constantly fighting having to please that and not just rock the boat and some difficult artistic character. But go like, there's an actual passion, there's an art that is the only reason anybody really cares because thats what audiences are responding too. At least on our end hopefully.

~Taylor, VH1BubblegumBabylon, VH1.com

It's hard because, personally, I see our song...I think Napster could have been a really cool thing, a really amazing thing to be able to go on the Internet and find almost anything you want, and that's really cool. In fact, that should be the future of the Internet, of being able to go and find this - it's so cool for some 17-year-old kid who has no idea about Led Zeppelin to be able to find everything they've ever done. And there should be a small fee you pay to get that.

~Taylor, Starpolish, 2001

It has to be about you musically and what you're trying to.what you're going for in the first place. We were never in it for the girls, we were never in it for the money -- we were in it 'cause we couldn't help it.

~Isaac, Starpolish, August 2001

ISAAC: The reason that you get guys like we worked with -- Matthew Sweet, we wrote a song with him.

TAYLOR: And Ric Ocasek..

ISAAC: Or all these different people, is that when you actually get in the room with these people (snaps fingers), like that there's no ego involved, there's no nothing, because you're musicians and you instantly connect on that level. And everybody realizes that. There's no question like.

TAYLOR: Like a camera sitting there, or some person from Bop magazine, saying, "Oh my god, your hair," or "What toothbrush do you use," or comparing you. or Rolling Stone saying you can't possibly be with Ric Ocasek 'cause he's cool and you're not. Because you're sitting there and he goes, "Oh, I heard your record and I liked it," and we say, "We heard your record and we liked it." And if it worked, then it worked, and that's what it comes down to. You sit in a room and just do it.

~Starpolish, August 2001

We try and use the Internet as much as possible, just because it's an easy way to communicate with masses of people instantly, essentially. ... But it's hard to sit down and do everything you want to do.

~Zac, Starpolish, 2001

Yeah, there are huge misconceptions about Hanson, massive. It's so funny that so many people know the band, but have so many misconceptions about it. And so it's always just like, "I'm glad you know who I am, but do you know who I am, do you know what the band is about?

~Taylor, Starpolish, August 2001

Have I the right to kiss you? You know I'll always miss you I've loved you from the very start

Have I the right to touch you? If I could you'd see how much you Send those shivers running down my spine.

~"Have I The Right?", The Honeycombs

ZAC: We never had a problem with.

TAYLOR: Credibility. in the industry.

ZAC: From the first record to now.

ISAAC: The reviews have always been very, very good.

ZAC: The reviews have been good, besides the fact if they don't like the record. I think that's only been a wrong public. people who didn't give it a chance to even listen to the music...

ISAAC: OK - here's the easy one, though, for like a young guy who's my age -- he goes, "Oh man, they got long hair and they look like girls." Oh, that took a lot of thought.

ZAC: Or, "They must be gay. three guys, they spend a lot of time together." (everyone laughs)

~Starpolish, August 2001

We couldn't help but just being a band. It was one of those things we tripped over..

~Isaac, Starpolish, August 2001

You know, on the first record we did a couple of co-writes, and we'd never really done that before, it was kind of like, "Why would we need to co-write with someone?" But you're right -- it was always just the three of us writing songs. There are struggles in co-writing and a lot of people don't ever do it because its kind of a pain, like, "Well, there are personality issues." But when it is cool it's really cool, and when you find someone you mesh with, it really works, and it should just be like as if it were these two guys. The only difference is, the three of us know each other really well, and we deal with each other in a way that's comfortable because we know what's going to come out. If you get a co-writing situation where you go, "Wow, Barenaked Ladies" or "Matthew Sweet," who are people we've worked with, "Let's see what happens." And if you connect in the right way, then it's great, and it is a different thing. More than anything it's just about learning to work with people and get around personality issues, and trying to just get through to the music.

~Taylor, Starpolish, August 2001

Photo by Leigh.

And actually, I'm kind of for that, really, the recording of live stuff. I think that's cool. I actually wish that Napster existed purely for the trading of live tapes. Because I think that's kind of cool, because another...it's just a different medium.

~Zac, Starpolish, 2001

Thanks a lot to Christy Lee for today's picture!

Actually, I think we've always had . early on we met up with several really, really smart people and kept ourselves from doing really stupid things. And I think we got really good advice from several different people.attorneys who saved us from deals that would have killed us. Honestly, the music industry is one of the worst businesses in the world as far as. (looking at camera) "Hi everybody, I'm in the music industry"-- and anybody in the industry knows it. And the reason is because the people who are in it, the people that originated it, it's a creative thing, so what happens is it just gets raped. As long as the bands do what the bands are supposed to do, and they realize that there's those other guys who are making money off of them, and they just remember that it's about the music, and the fans and the shows and the passion that comes out of it, and that they're not stupid enough to get screwed, then they'll be OK.

~Taylor, Starpolish, August 2001

Photo by Felipe.