"One example is when we were on a bus about two and half weeks ago. It was three in the morning and me and Tay were sitting across from each other and Zac was in front and we were playing this one song. It was basically finished and we had written the bridge but there was something not quite right about it. I actually had a chord progression from a different song that I was trying to work on and I accidentally played it at that time and Tay said, "Hey, wait a minute, play that over this!" And it completely changed the bridge. And we were all like, Whoa, that's it, that really works. And it's those moments that you're always excited for. Those are the moments that songwriters and musicians live for."
~Isaac, Abercrombie & Fitch Quarterly, Christmas 2000
Thanks to Christina for bringing this quote to our attention!
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March Site of the Month: Bright and Beautiful
Bright and Beautiful is a most entertaining, interesting Hanson site, run by webmaster Laura. If you have never visited Bright and Beautiful, you are in for a real treat when you go. From the smart, sophisticated, sharp-witted essays, to the thoughful, insightful fiction, every single page will be well worth the time you spend there. With nearly every update we find ourselves saying, "Hey, yeah.....this is exactly what I was thinking". Go see what we're talking about for yourselves. Visit Bright and Beautiful at http://riveronline.net/bab/. We guarantee you will be intrigued enough to keep going back, time after time!
~TLS & TC
"That was cool, jamming with Bob. Really cool."
~Zac, on playing at the Wetlands with Bob Weir, "Hanson Grows Up On Second Album", article by Geoff Boucher for News-Record.com, August 31, 2000
These boys slug it out, sweat it up and really can deliver the musical goods.
~"Hanson Brothers Entertain With Real Musical Talent", Wilkes-Barre review by Al Choman for Times-Shamrock News, September 19, 2000
"It could be relatively dangerous," he said. "I'd be real worried about coming out (without) a shirt on. Or a wedgie."
~Isaac, on crowd-surfing, Kansas City Star, October 19, 2000
"Well, I�d probably be a dork because I didn�t want to be around any idiots who think they are cool. Dorks are generally cool; they�re just misunderstood."
~Zac, "Hanson and Why They�re Not A Boy Band", by Shannon McCarthy, for Real Detroit Weekly, September 14, 2000
A sea of hands swayed as the boys conducted the choir from behind their instruments.
~"Hanson Brothers Entertain With Real Musical Talent", Wilkes-Barre review by Al Choman for Times-Shamrock News, September 19, 2000
Oldest bro Isaac looked like quite the guitar hero with his burgundy leather pants, stylish shag haircut, and orthodontia-free smile, proving that he is, at age 19, finally past his long, painful, drawn-out "awkward stage."
~Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, concert review by Lyndsey Parker for Launch, August 15, 2000
The band befriended Popper after meeting at a Blues Traveler show and agreeing to go on stage and join the band on "MMMBop." Zac recalls, "That was a lot of fun, just mainly to see the audience reaction. It was half 'I'm excited' and half 'I'm drunk and don't know who's on stage.'"
~"MMMFlop CD Doesn't Faze Hanson", by Ed Masley for the Post-Gazette.com, September 24, 2000
Wonder if that is a Blow Pop? ;o)
It is apparent that the band's melodic structure and attention to harmony changes means more to them than some producer screaming about wardrobes or store appearances. Hanson appears to be about way more substance than that.
~"Hanson Brothers Entertain With Real Musical Talent", Wilkes-Barre review by Al Choman for Times-Shamrock News, September 19, 2000
Check out the information below for an interesting Hanson fan concept:
The HFD (the Hanson Fan Directory)
Hosted by the already extraordinary cloudwoven.com, The Hanson Fan Directory is a fresh, unique idea designed to bring together the smatterings of Hanson fans spread out across the globe. With easy to access information, registration, and the bonus of sleek design and wording, the HFD is becoming one of the fastest growing groupings of Hansonites on the 'Net; it even gets as technical as associating people with counties, making local get togethers a more realistic possibility. Run and hosted by Lika, the Hanson Fan Directory manages to weave music, wit, and kindred spirits together in one place -- a base camp for every kind of fan. Even the closet ones. ;)
The HFD. It's not just the answer. It's the really good, full-sentence, completely answered answer. ;}
Come visit us at Cloudwoven.com!
How have other bands and artists treated you?
I: We've had people like Lenny Kravitz walk up to us and say, "Hey, I really love your record." And we're thinking, whoa, Lenny Kravitz knows who we are and he likes our music. That was really cool. Actually, we've been embraced by many of our musical peers.
~Jump magazine, June/July, 2000
"We are all pretty level-headed. Nobody's going to go out and do something really stupid. Tay and Isaac aren't overly protective; they don't suffer the older-brother syndrome. But if you really want to get general, I'm the spastic, Isaac's the funny one and Tay is just somewhere in the middle."
~Zac, 'Second Time Around', by Dan Aquilante, NYPost.com, September 8, 2000
Unlike many pop posers who sing and choreograph to a script, Hanson has a fresh, spontaneous approach to performing live. The brothers are more polish than prepackaged pop. They are performers of some substance who are determined to do things their own way, and that alone makes them worthwhile.
~"Hanson Brothers Entertain With Real Musical Talent", Wilkes-Barre review by Al Choman for Times-Shamrock News, September 19, 2000
Hanson sits head and shoulders above the crop of teen pop sensations that followed them, playing catchy, if derivative, power pop rather than sappy synthesizer mush.
~"Hanson May Have Peaked, But Still Mmmbop", by John Young for post-gazette.com, September 26, 2000
I want a real man
I said a real man
I need a real man
Ain't messin' with no toy
I don't need no baby boy
~"Real Man", Bonnie Raitt, Nick of Time
Happy 18th Birthday to our man, Taylor. ;o) ~TC & TLS
With a sophomore record, This Time Around, that actually manages to shake a little ass ? albeit in a wholesome and catchy fashion ? and lessons learned from guest stars like Blues Traveler's John Popper and Johnny Lang, Hanson is looking to prove themselves something a bit more than just another boyband..."
~John Napier, "Portrait of Hanson", for Nuvo.net
"The first time you make a record, people are a little skeptical--in our case anyway. Because we're young guys, they're going, 'Young guys. They really play? They really write? They're really involved? That's hard to believe.' Then when you make a second record and you are as much if not more involved, they kind of go, 'Oh wow. They really are doing it.' I think what is more important for us is just the music in general, and continuing to make music that people enjoy, and getting to do it on a large scale."
~Isaac, Artistdirect.com, October 3, 2000
"Coming out with your first big record and having it be successful makes you go, 'Dang, wassup?'. It was amazing. We got to travel all over the world and see our fans. That was cool."
~Zac, "Hanson: The All American Boys", by Jennifer Maerz
Seen at a Hanson concert in Toronto:
"Train--$174.12; Hotel Room--$225; Balcony Seats--$106; seeing Hanson--Priceless."
~"Hanson Hysteria Still Alive", Jane Stevenson, Toronto Sun, September 30, 2000
"It's really just a rock show; it's music and there's lots of energy. You're getting the crowd to get up off their butts and move around-although that's not very hard, because I don't think they've ever sat down."
~Isaac, "This Time Around, Hanson is Seeking Respect, by David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, October 6, 2000
"I'm never very scared of fans. Some fans are too overzealous and it's scared me slightly but I've never been scared to the point of, 'There's a fan, man! They're coming to get me, man!'"
~Zac, TeenStar, 10/19/00
Photo courtesy of Marica and Kimberly
TZ : Here's a good one, Have you guys ever gone skinny dipping?
IKE: Have we ever...(bursts out laughing)
TAY: (sits back with hands up smiles) I decline from answering that.
ZAC: (raises hands in the air) you know what? I PLEAD THE FIFTH!!!
IKE: (still laughing) I plead the fifth.
TeenZone.com, January 2001
"We are songwriters and musicians, and we've never falsified who we are or been anything other than that. When it all comes down to it, our love for music and for what we do, and our pure need to play, that is hopefully what shows."
~Isaac, "Blond Ambition", Wendy Case for the Detroit News
Thanks for the pic, Shirley!
"As far as me being the cute one, if they knew me they wouldn't say that. I'm about the opposite of that in the band."
~Zac, "Portrait of Hanson" by Jeff Napier, Indianapolis, October 2000
Thanks for the collage, Marica!
"Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson: three names that are enough to provoke screams of delight from pubescent girls and sneers of derision from "serious" music fans. Both responses are primarily based on the Hansons' Oklahoman milk-fed good looks rather than their abilities as musicians. But it's my bet that -- unlike the naysayers -- the girls who want to know the colour of Zac's toothbrush are also listening intently to Hanson's blue-eyed-soul-laden pop songs. I also bet that those same girls will grow up to be young women who understand that 'N Sync and the Backstreets -- whose showy vocal tricks attempt to hide the fact that they have no songs -- don't stand the test of time, while Hanson stand solid on the pop continuum. It's also pretty likely that those young fans will check out Revolver and Pet Sounds because their idols cite them as favourites. It all sounds like the start of a serious pop life to me."
eye.net, 9-28-00
"Popularity is important only in the sense of selling records. That's what gives you the opportunity to make more records and tour. Popularity in the sense of people going, 'Oh wow, you're so great', and freaking out? That's not what it's about."
~Isaac, "This Time Around, Hanson is Seeking Respect, by David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, October 6, 2000
"I play a little bit of keyboard, but very badly. I need to work on my keyboard."
~Zac, Making the Video, TTA
"Though Hanson concerts typically don't have the hype surrounding them that many modern artists do, their show is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser. The absence of fancy pyrotechnics, matching costumes, or crazy dance steps makes their concerts a refreshing change from most modern music trends. If Hanson continues in the musical direction that they are headed, not only will their concerts live on in memory, but their music will be cherished for decades to come."
~"Hanson Rocks the House in T.O.!", By David Friend, Toronto
Q: Do you ever regret becoming famous because of privacy issues?
Isaac: The reason you're doing it is you get to play the music, you get to write, you get to perform. All those things are so fun, and you just kind of have to accept it. You're not going to stop doing music, or you're not going to stop doing what you love, your life's passion, because people recognize you on the street.
~"Atlanta Girls Get to Hang With Hanson", Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thanks so much for today's picture, Cristi!
"Generally song writing is a natural process, something pops into your head. When a song comes into your head, I don't think anyone knows how it happens. That's sort of the magic of songwriting."
~Zac, msn chat, 6/17/00
"We don't care if it didn't sell gazillions of records, we still like it. Why? Because Taylor, Ike and Zac revealed deeper, darker personalities in this transitional album as they make their way to manhood. One, not only have their voices gotten better, their material has been steered away from the sunny teen pop realm of MmmBop. Two, they intended to rock as semi-adult musicians and that they did, on tracks like In The City and If Only which cram in rousing guitars and thwacking Latin percussion. Three, their self-concious maturity has resulted in hardened sentiments and a smooth, well-crafted record. Four, it's easy not to confuse with the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync."
~Galaxie, January 2001
On the other hand, Hanson's sparkling new "Smile" is a revelation � a dense, passionate epic sure to delight fans of "MMMBop" and Phil Spector alike. Give the lads some more time to grow up; they're clearly onto a good thing.
~excerpt from a review of the "Music From Malcolm in the Middle" cd, by Gil Kaufman, for VH1.com
Thanks Abbey!
