Wednesday, August 26, 1998
By Ed Masley, Post-Gazette Pop Music Critic
They're not your average Tiger Beat crush. They cut their teeth on Time-Life compilations of hits from the '60s ("As seen on TV"). They've offset their love of traditional rock 'n' roll with an open embrace of the latest in '90s cool, recording with Beck's production team, the Dust Brothers.
Those who hate them write them off as this year's New Kids on the Block. And yet, they've never shown the waistband on a single pair of undies.
They're Hanson - brothers Isaac, 17, Taylor, 15, and Zac, 12.
And for once, it's more than just the little girls who understand.
Their breakthrough single, "MMMBop," topped a whole new breed of chart in February, edging out The Verve and Chumbawamba in the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll. When 441 critics agree with a few million starry-eyed girls, you know there's something going on.
But Taylor Hanson, the dreamiest of the brothers, does his best to keep the adulation in perspective.
"Yeah, we had some great responses to the record," he says. "And how could you not be blown away by all the things that have happened - even if you were bashed by every critic - just being able to travel around the world and have some fans? So I think it's very cool when a critic says, 'They really don't suck, you know?' "
Even at 15, Taylor can see where a person might be tempted to view the trio with a certain amount of skepticism.
"You totally understand why someone would say, you know, 'Look at those guys. They're young. Do they really play? Do they really write?' "
It's part of the reason they chose to re-release some early recordings from back home in Tulsa as "3 Car Garage: The Indie Recordings '95-'96."
How's that for indie credibility?
Taylor says he's heard the jokes, like: "What are they gonna release next, the prenatal years?"
He laughs.
"But I think the record is kind of for the people who just didn't get what Hanson was," he says. "It's kind of like this is what we were doing before anybody knew who Hanson was at all, and it was just us in a garage playing our songs. So it's definitely very independent."
He changes direction, remembering the fans.
"But most of all," he says, "it's for the fans who are die-hard, the fans who just really want to hear that evolution."
An early recording of "MMMBop" allows you to hear what the Dust Brothers brought to the turntable. Even without all the scratching and funny noises, the hook that powered "Middle of Nowhere" to worldwide sales of more than 9 million is there in all its innocuous glory.
They chose the Dust Brothers after checking out their work with Beck and the Beastie Boys.
"We figured well, you know, let's give this a try," says Taylor. "To some people, it seemed like a pretty weird mix, but they're just guys, like, goofing off and playing around with things. And I think that's kind of what makes them unique. They're just in the house messin' with sounds."
Because they came along exactly when they did with a single as giddy as "MMMBop," Hanson may have inadvertently ushered in the new positivism currently sweeping the grunge out of popular music.
Does Taylor see the group as a cure for Eddie Vedder's teen-angst blues?
"I don't think there is a cure for teen angst," he says, "because angst is part of life. But I think when you wanna rock out, when you've got friends over, when you have a party, you turn on music that makes you feel good. You crank up 'Born To Be Wild' or 'Cecilia,' something that makes you feel good. That's what music should be."
Did this kid cut his teeth on the Time-Life collection or what?
Because the carefree groove to the single on everyone's mind (regardless of whether or not they like it) is, quite frankly, as easy as 1-2-3, they've also been forced to endure their share of Jackson Five comparisons.
And that's just fine with Isaac, the elder statesman of the group at 17.
"The Jackson Five were excellent," he says. "If we have as long of a career as they did and have great songs like they did and continue to have the opportunity to do our music, then hey, we'll take the comparison. I mean, that would obviously be any band's dream, to be able to do it like they did for so long and be so successful."
The brothers are in a New York studio editing video footage for a full-length concert video as we speak.
The next big project after the tour is the much-anticipated follow-up to "Middle of Nowhere."
Asked if the brothers are feeling the pressure to crank out a sequel to "MMMBop," Taylor takes it all a bit too philosophically.
"I think if it all stops now, we would be happy with how it's been," he says. "I mean, it's been so awesome. We've gotten to do more than so many other bands that have been working their butts off for years. We've gotten a great opportunity. I mean, we get to go around playing music. What could be better?"
Isaac, who handles the bulk of the writing, says they've already come up with "a lot of songs that we feel pretty good about as far as, you know, the new record and things like that."
And the shadow of "MMMBop"?
"We're not really thinking about that," Isaac says (and whether you choose to believe him is your call). "MMMBop is its own song and it captures a moment in Hanson's history, I guess. But I don't think we have any pressure to have a song like 'MMMBop.' I mean, there's gonna be new songs and hopefully, people will enjoy them - hopefully, as much as MMMBop."
One thing fans should know is that Taylor, the dreamier third of the teen sensation critics love to coddle, may be looking to make a full-on indie credibility play.
And these are Taylor's words, not mine: "I think even when we did 'Middle of Nowhere,' we thought, 'This is pretty poppy, this is pretty slick.' "
The band's first major tour since "MMMBop" hit is making a stop at the Civic Arena tomorrow, promising tunes from "Middle of Nowhere" and "3 Car Garage," while introducing fans to just the sort of rock 'n' roll you'd find on a Time-Life compilation - "Good Lovin'," "Gimme Some Lovin'," "Shake a Tail Feather," "Money."
While this is their first big tour as multi-platinum heartthrobs, the boys are no strangers to facing an audience.
Long before signing to Mercury Records, the trio played "wherever any band plays shows," says Taylor. "We couldn't get into clubs, so we wouldn't play there. But you'd play festivals, you'd play banquets, you'd sit outside a restaurant and sing. Just like any band, you'd try and try to get out there, just try to be heard. I think wherever you could possibly be heard by somebody who might pay for your next gig, where someone else might see you."
He's still a few years shy of getting into clubs without a fake I.D., but even Taylor knows he isn't getting any younger.
Is he worried that the public may forget how much it loves him when he gets to be as old as Danny Partridge?
"When you look back at bands who were young and grew up, I think the music evolves and they gain fans," he says. "And what you hope for is that your fans will evolve as you evolve. Their musical tastes will change and they'll kind of go with you. If you lose some fans, you'll gain others. But still, you can't count on that. You just have to keep doing it. We're not worried about it. You just do the same thing you've always done."
And maybe branch out into acting?
There's a rumor going around that somebody offered the brothers a role in a film adaptation of "My Three Sons."
Isaac - or as a Hollywood weasel would say, the Robbie to Taylor's Chip and little Zac's Ernie - hems and haws around the subject.
"You know, people offer you all kinds of stuff," he says, "and I think they actually did."
He pauses.
"Yeah. But that was not something we're interested in. Acting. I mean, I guess if the right opportunity showed itself, we might. But as far as movies go and things like that, I think we're more interested in the other side of it, not actually being on camera, but the directing, the writing, things like that."
After all, at 17, he's already got more Tiger Beat covers to his name than Quentin Tarantino, Woody Allen, the Coens and Scorsese combined.
Is there anything Isaac feels they're missing out on, being famous and all?
"Um, no," he laughs. "There's nothing that I feel I missed out on. There's stuff that I didn't have to experience. There's plenty of aspects about school that apparently everyone goes, 'Oh that's normal to have to deal with that.' But frankly, high school can be a total nightmare. There are all kinds of bad stuff that goes on that plenty of my friends go, 'Man, I could definitely not have to deal with that and I'd be fine with it.' "
And being famous certainly has its advantages.
Just the other night, it gained them backstage access at H.O.R.D.E. And the next thing they knew, they were on stage with Blues Traveler leading the hippies through "MMMBop."
As Isaac reports, "John Popper was all, like, 'Dude, we've got a big favor to ask. Will you come on stage and play a song with us?' "
So even hippies know the song?
"They were like, 'Dude, we pretty much know it but how exactly is the rhythm on the guitar goin'?' And I mean, they're excellent musicians. It wasn't like it took them more than two seconds to catch on, but it was great. And actually, John Popper played a really awesome harmonica solo in the middle of the song."