NEW YORK POST: BOYS TO MENSCHEN
hanson: boys to menschen
By LISA ROBINSON
IF teenybopper sensations Hanson walk away with the best new artist Grammy
on Feb. 25, will the much-whispered-about best new artist jinx go along with it?
After all, Milli Vanilli, Men At Work, Arrested Development and Sade are just a
few who won the newcomer Grammy then broke up, or were never heard from
again.
Well, Hanson - brothers Isaac 17, Taylor 14, and Zac, 12 - show no sign of
faltering. The brothers, who live a squeaky clean lifestyle with their large family
outside of Tulsa, Okla., are the hearthrobs of screaming teenage girls
everywhere.
They had the biggest single of 1997 with the catchy "MMMBop," which reigned
at No. 1 on the charts for eight weeks. Their 9 million-selling debut album "Middle
of Nowhere" yielded two additional Top Six singles. Their Christmas album sold 2
million, and the boys are currently the subject of three books on the best-seller
charts. In addition, they're nominated for two other Grammys (record of the year
and best pop performance by a group), and they're performing on the show.
Lisa Robinson: For boys who grew up listening to old rock 'n' roll and R&B, are
you comfortable with putting out pure pop music?
Isaac Hanson: I would never label us as anything. We do the music that we do,
and we were influenced by '50s and '60s rock 'n' roll. But as a musician and a
songwriter, you constantly evolve and change as time goes on. Your style may
vary a little bit here or there, but it'll constantly be you.
LR: How have you avoided the usual rock star pitfalls?
IH: Well, I don't know what the usual pitfalls are exactly, and I don't know why
people would fall into them. To be honest, it's all about the fans and the fact that
they enjoy the music. If you don't give them that respect, then you can lose track
of what it's all about. You have to just go out and say, "I'm going to do my best
even though sometimes I may be bummed and wish I was doing something
else." This is hard work, but in the end, we really enjoy what we're doing.
LR: Since you can write a catchy song like "MMMBop" yourselves, why did you
need to write with other songwriters on your album?
IH: We wrote four of the 13 songs on our own, and we thought it would be a good
opportunity to try something else out. We'd never done it before and we thought,
oh, what the heck, we had a really good collaborative relationship with all of
those writers and I think you get a different feel, a different opinion on things.
LR: Do you have any time for personal life, for girlfriends?
IH: I would definitely say we have time for a personal life. This is part of our
personal life, this is what we enjoy doing. We do have time for girlfriends, but at
the same time, not really, because they probably would not enjoy the schedule
that we keep.
LR: Do you get sick of screaming girls at the shows?
IH: Our fans definitely scream, and it can be very, very loud, but I've actually been
amazed that they really do listen. They know the songs, and they sing along,
and I think it's just the coolest thing that we've ever experienced in our lives. It's a
humbling experience.
LR (to Zac): Did you play the drums on the album? How much of the sound of the
record was enhanced by computers and production?
Zac Hanson: I did play the drums, but they definitely did something with the
instruments; that's why you have a producer. Also, you want other ideas, like
new creative ways to play the drums or guitar, putting them through a Wurlitzer
or something.
LR: What keeps you all sane?
Zac: I go to a mental hospital every couple of weeks, and they do a checkup.
LR: At what point did you guys realize you were good-looking?
Zac: I'm not good-looking, we use someone else for photo shoots. It's not really
me.
LR (to Taylor): Do you ever get sick of "MMMBop"?
Taylor: I would hate to think I'd ever get sick of seeing it on MTV or anything, it's
pretty awesome. The whole experience has been sort of wow. You kind of can't
believe that one day you're watching Jay Leno, the next day you're on it.
LR: You have such a squeaky-clean image; no drugs, no sex. How have you
avoided all that and not come off as corny?
Taylor: I think everybody just has their own style. We didn't say, "OK, now we're
going to go and make squeaky clean, all-American music that people won't be
offended by." We've been making music together and writing songs all our lives,
and that's just the music that came out.
Email: kad84167@home.com
