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Hanson Brothers Take a Shot at Formula I Brothers Hanson perform, race virtual cars at Toronto event

Car tunes Hanson brothers Taylor, Zac and Isaac placed first, second and third, respectively, in their second attempt to beat out five fans on the simulated Formula I racing game, Indy 500, at Playdium Toronto, on May 19. The brothers also did a live interview and performance that was webcast on HMV.com. The private event -- for 600 contest winners, including ten grand prize recipients who got to race against the brothers over two Indy 500 games -- was held at the massive three-tiered entertainment complex loaded with over 260 state-of-the-art attractions. As they waited for Hanson to appear, some fans paid their own way to try out the games. Most of the kids, however, patiently positioned themselves in every conceivable site line. Meanwhile, music video footage cut for the singles from the band's new album, This Time Around, played on a giant screen. When the multi-platinum Tulsa group arrived, the screams were so loud from the pre-pubescent females that their radio interview was barely audible in-house. Shortly afterwards, the brothers launched into a four-song performance that included "You Never Know" and "If Only," the lead two tracks from This Time Around. Drummer Zac, fourteen, guitarist Isaac, nineteen, and keyboardist Taylor, seventeen, (augmented by a bassist, keyboard player and second guitarist) were in fine form, although the sound was muffled amid bad acoustics and, yes, the screams. The kids waved their hands in the air on command; some jumped excitedly and sang along. Three girls waved red roses but couldn't figure out a way to toss them up to the objects of their affection. Finally, the trio shifted to the Indy 500 area, where fellow teen-pop singer Billy Crawford posed for some pictures with fans until the race began and attention was re-focused on Hanson. In the first competition none of the Hanson siblings managed to take first place, though Taylor took the second race. "It was fun. We've done that kind of thing several times," said Taylor afterwards. "Your butt is vibrating and you're like, 'Woh, this is weir-rr-rr-d." KAREN BLISS (May 23, 2000)

Hanson, Brian McKnight to Perform at Songwriters HoF Dinner Brian Wilson to be covered by Hanson at Songwriters Hall of Fame

They get around. Hanson and Brian McKnight are among the first wave of performers tapped for the thirty-first annual Songwriter's Hall of Fame Induction Awards and Dinner, to be held June 15 at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York City. The sibling trio have been tapped to perform a medley of Beach Boys songs to honor inductee Brian Wilson. McKnight will offer up covers to honor the late Curtis Mayfield.

These boys have a lot to answer for, don't they? Before Ike, Taylor and Zachary came along to melt every barrette in America, the radio was a very different place. Three years after "MMMBop," we've got boy bands up the yeah, masterminded by an Orlandinavian conspiracy of Dr. Evils who hide in their labs and ask the musical question, "Why settle for trillions when we could make . . . billions?" Even at its most automatic, the teen-pop La Machine can crank out great singles like the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" or LFO's "Summer Girls." But as sure as Michael J. Fox played Alex P. Keaton, none of these groups has the style, imagination or musicality of Hanson. Like a blond three-headed hydra, Hanson loom over the competition, making all other teen idols sound like Gerber-sucking clowns. And they've already made more good albums than the Bay City Rollers, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, Tony DeFranco and the DeFranco Family, and Kristy and Jimmy McNichol combined! Fortunately, Hanson took their time making a follow-up to the debut Middle of Nowhere, and they didn't spend their vacation buying matching white suits, dance lessons or wind machines. Instead, they matured into a bang-up rock & roll band, singing and playing the high-energy gems on This Time Around with a surprisingly adult confidence. Teen-pop acts usually fall on their faces when they try to get taken seriously; count yourself lucky if you can't remember the Jackson 5's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or the Osmonds' "He Ain't Heavy . . . He's My Brother." But Hanson's style of maturity is old-fashioned classic rock, which they attack with the zest of kids taking their first cruise down the strip in the old man's vintage Mustang. Without the Dust Brothers helping at the controls, This Time Around has more rock and less funk than Middle of Nowhere, showing off Hanson's deepened harmonies, their expanding instrumental prowess and Taylor's increasingly sexy, bluesy growl. Hey, when it's time to change, it's time to change. Nothing on This Time Around has the super-sugar-crisp rush of "MMMBop," but singles like that roll around only once in any band's career; the Jackson 5 never topped "I Want You Back," either. The sound still includes scratching and dance beats, but there's more emphasis on raging guitar hooks, making Hanson sound like the Black Crowes with a tighter sense of structure and a friskier set of hormones. The big ballad "This Time Around" has a Stax-style uplift, and the closing piano meditation, "A Song to Sing," has a genuinely grown-up air of melancholy. But the real chalupa-droppers here are the fast ones, especially "You Never Know," "If Only" and the amazing "Runaway Run," where Taylor hits soulful high notes that could make a grown woman blush. If I'm not mistaken, these kids have been spending quality time with Exile on Main Street, maybe even Sticky Fingers, and you can hear a new Stones-y punch in their riffs -- there's fever in the funk house now. Some of This Time Around doesn't work: Power ballads like "Love Song" and "Save Me" are so professional they're downright bland, as if the boys feel obligated to keep their personalities in check. But truth be told, Hanson's duds are easier on the stomach than 'N Sync's best efforts. Even the overstated message song "Sure About It" moves along a graceful hand-clap beat and crafty guitar hooks. The lyrics take an alarming turn toward social relevance -- "cocaine load" rhymes with "trench coat," uh-oh -- but Hanson manage to sound thoughtful, intelligent and compassionate when they struggle to make sense of the outside world, just as they did in "MMMBop." On This Time Around, Hanson leave the rest of the teen pack eating their Oklahoma dust, pulling out so far ahead that the boy-band dudes won't be able to look each other in the eye anymore. In the words of the Bay City Rollers, they rock it up, roll it up, do it all and have a ball. The Hanson brothers play exactly what they want to play, making records that they themselves might actually want to listen to, and it shows. (RS 841)
ROB SHEFFIELD

Hanson kicks some major *NSNYC and BSB butt, Topanga's loyal fans save her from obscurity, and Carson Daly is definitely MTV's most requested VJ. Think that's bogus? Vote now and change it!

Hansons Psyched to Be Beach Boys Hanson brothers elated over meeting Brian Wilson

Hanson brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zachary will be among the youngest guests present at the 31st Annual Songwriter's Hall of Fame Induction Awards at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers on Thursday, but they don't mind. "We're kind of like freaks for a lot of that old stuff," middle sibling Taylor said. Scheduled to appear at the event to perform a medley of Beach Boys songs to honor inductee Brian Wilson, Hanson barely could contain, let alone articulate, their enthusiasm about getting to meet their pop music idol. "So they're like, 'Do you want to do [this]?' and we're like, 'You don't even need to ask,'" youngest brother Zachary said. "It's like, we're doing it." "Pet Sounds [the Beach Boys' 1966 album] is such a landmark in music," said Taylor. "The things he began with on that album are so amazing -- as a musician, his vocal arrangements. That inspired the Beatles to do Sgt. Peppers. It's such an honor." The Beach Boys-Beatles connection was partly on the Hanson boys' collective mind since they were told Paul McCartney would be the slated surprise guest to present the award to Wilson. "He's going to introduce us, supposedly," eldest brother Isaac said. A publicist for the event, however, could not confirm McCartney's appearance. "I don't know where that [rumor] came from," the spokesperson said. "We would know if that was the case." The prospect of meeting McCartney aside, Hanson were obviously delighted to share in Wilson's moment of glory. "To be on stage and do his songs in front of a lot of musical elders, who wouldn't be looking forward to it?" Isaac asked. "I'm going to get him to sign my Pet Sounds CD." Tickets for the event, previously priced at $700, have been reduced to $300 a pop, and are available at (212) 794-2773. JENNIFER VINEYARD
(June 15, 2000)

Songwriters Hall of Fame

(A Hanson review)
June 15, 2000
By: Alanna Slepitsky, and Kimberly Kaplan

It was still light outside when we came to the Sheraton Hotel for the 31st Annual Induction Ceremony and Awards Dinner, where Hanson would be performing. We were excited, who wouldn't be? As we made our way up to the Cocktail Reception, past numerous fans who were waiting at the hotel in hopes of catching a glance of Hanson, we were ready. In the cocktail reception, which was held before the show began, we found ourselves surrounded by fancy, rich, famous people. We were so out of place because it seemed as if we were the youngest guests. But that didn't stop us from ordering ... coke. (We don't drink...we're innocent. ). So, 10 minutes passed, 20 went by, and finally they were letting everyone into the infamous Imperial Ballroom where we were seated to our table (Table: 66). We were eagerly waiting for others to sit at our table, and thankfully, we were "blessed" with pretty interesting and kind people. For one, we were sitting next to two brothers who coordinated the Hall of Fame magazine (which were later to be our saviors). We sat next to a songwriter, and other great people. Who knew we would be surrounded by such "connections"? As salad was served along with some other rare delicacies as an appetizer, we got into a conversation with the two brothers who were in their 60's if not more. We told them we were here mostly for Hanson, and even asked us if we were guests of Hanson. We laughed and thought to ourselves, how great THAT would have been (it turned out 2 others were lucky enough to have that luck). Even so, they were surprised to see how dedicated their fans were. After about 10 minutes...our goal was accomplished. One of the brothers pulled from his pocket a seating chart and lead us as a surprise to Hansons' table which was #9 and all the way in front of the stage. We were nervous, yet very eager to finally meet Hanson again. This time around, we were in for a surprise.

We both walked over to Hanson's table, and realized they were sitting next to M2M. (Seating arrangement: Mr. Hanson, Christopher Sabec, Zac, Marion -The brunette M2M-, Taylor, Marit -The blonde M2M-, Isaac - and Brian Mcknights' family.) We courteously made our way to the boys and introduced ourselves. All 3 shook our hand with little "Hi nice to see you again" remarks from all 3. "Hey nice to meet you....Wait! we've met before! how are you?!", Taylor asked Alanna. (Happy that Tay actually remembered her she forgot to answer Taylor - woops) - "What are you guys doing here?", Isaac asked us , we simply answered with 5 words "We're here for you guys." The look on everyone's' faces were shocking. Christopher Sabec was the most surprised, and thanked us for coming and supporting the guys. We talked to them about how honored they must have been. As we spoke with Hanson, we felt a little weird completely ignoring M2M, so Kim asked them simply, "Aren't you the girls from M2M?" Zac, simply laughed and said, "They ARE M2M" and did a little thing with his hands to emphasize. Then, Kim, being the dork she is, told M2M that she had just been listening to one of their songs, and then told Hanson that she had been listening to their CD as well. Zac, being the most talkative one, asked Kim if she had been listening to Brian McKnight's before that, jokingly. She told him she hadn't but then he pointed out to us that he was sitting at the table. Then Kim started going over to him and he started laughing and saying, "It's a joke!" (Through-out this whole thing Alanna was just standing next to Zac just listening in on everything). After that it was picture time! Everyone cuddled in and smiled happily for Alannas' camera which was held by that nice brother from our table (yay)! 10 minutes went by and we didn't want to keep Hanson on hold from their salads and "dates" so we went back to our seats still not believing that we met Hanson this quick! The lights flickered and the Ceremony began, and it was amazing! The surprise guest got us all. It was Paul Mcartney - who would have known? Wow. That was an honor to be watching him from such a short distance. Hanson must've been peeing in their pants from excitement!

Here and there we would sneak to the front to see Hanson for just a little bit. But nothing was nicer than seeing Hanson perform "God Only Knows" (No not the Kid Rock song...it was the Beach Boy song duh). Isaac and Taylor shared lead solos. Zac didn't have a solo, but he did sing a few "God Only Knows" verses alone towards the end. Taylor was amazing on the grand piano, and Isaac was showing off guitar solos here and there. As for Zac...well he was playing on a very small drum set. It looked as if he grew up in it. Which was funny. But, yes, he was great as well. The performance ended, and we all went back to our seats. Hanson didn't get a full standing ovation, but a lot of people were talking about their performance afterwards. "They were amazing. They really did grow up!" were the main remarks.

At the very end of the show, Hanson got on stage with other guests, including, Paul McCartney, James Brown, Carole King, and many others. The stage filled with musics' history, came together and sang "Kansas City" and "Stand By Me." It was amazing and we saw Hanson sharing words with Paul McCartney. Zac looked the happiest, seeing he was the first to approach Mr. McCartney. They must have been in awe, they were in the reverse situations now- they were the fans!

All 3 were clapping and trying to sing along to the songs, but were always interupted by different people on stage who were obviously congratulating them on their wonderful performance. Too bad Billy Joel had to leave early from the show (yes he too was one of the presenters at the show!) - so we aren't sure if Hanson got to meet him or not, but we're sure some how they got to him that evening.

Around 9:30pm dinner was finally served! We hurried with our food and went closer to see what Hanson was doing yet again. Isaac and Taylor were talking to 3 fans (Kori, Nikki, and Chelsea) as Zac was (as we would like to call it) pimping out M2M. The brunette (Marion) and the blonde (Marit) seemed bored, so Zac tried to create small talk with both. He'd run from one girl to the other trying to get them to talk, but it seemed like they weren't really up for small talk. All they did was nod. Now, before everyone starts jumping to conclusions, and creating rumors that aren't true at all we would like to settle everything now. After all, WE were the first to tell all the fans downstairs that Hanson were sitting with M2M - if it wasn't for the people inside, no one would have known or thought about it. Now, as we know/heard Chris Sabec thought it would be a nice gift for M2M if they went to dinner with Hanson, because they are Hanson fans, so he invited them. Hanson met M2M before, but this was their second time actually meeting and hanging out. Rumors are spreading about M2M being Hansons' dates (There are tons of rumors about who was with who which we won't get into), but if this was true, don't you think they would be touchy touchy and seem more "alive" together? They, if anything, are just friends. If anything ever becomes more than a friendship, then let it be. Hanson should be happy, no? If people want to rant about M2M and Hanson let them. Eventually, everyone will get over it, and will just move on. If people choose to stress over this, then it is there problem. I think it's silly. Hanson are teenage guys. They have hormones, and yes, guys do like girls. So, no matter what anyone may feel for Hanson, they can never stop Hanson from going out with girls, going on dates with girls, or even having a girlfriend. Sooner or later people will have to face the truth. Aren't we all in it for the music? Why is it so important for fans to know Hanson's dating status? As long as the music is alive, and still there, I think we all should be worry-free :) Here's a good tip for all Hanson fans: Believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see.

Well, anyway...when the dinner was over we went out of the ballroom to see Hanson leave, and they did within 5 minutes or so. Isaac was by Marits' side, and Taylor was chattering with Marion. Nothing to go crazy about. Zac was just wandering around half awake (He almost got on the escalator instead of walking straight where everyone else was going). After that, we both went downstairs and sighed from relief and headed outside. It was dark ... night time. Not the same as when we came in. What a night. We'll truly treasure it. Not only for Hanson, but to have been at such a sterling event. As we parted at the Sheraton we knew it was an evening we'd never forget-everyone deserves a day like ours.