Denise Barnard
"THE SCREAM SQUAD!"
screams Zac Hanson, thumping his head with his hand. See, we've just suggested what Hanson might call the legion of female fans in their hometown of Tulsa, Okla.
"We do have groupies," Isaac (call him Ike) admits.
"It's weird,"adds Taylor. "We kinda laugh about it, but its cool to have people respond to you."
Well, they'd better get use to it! We expect Hanson's fan base to burgeon big-time, now that Middle of Mowhere (Mercury) has just come out. These three bros have got it going on-all in the genes, they swear. "Our parents are pretty musical, and Ike wrote his first song in third grade," Taylor points out.
"A week after we got out instruments we proformed as a band."
"Of corse, we weren't very good!" says Zac.
"Lets just say we've grown since then," adds Ike.
Understandment! Hanson's slick but real sound is pure feel good music-peppy and pretty, with plenty of spirt-lifting harmony. "There's enough hard stuff in life, plenty of stuff to get down about," says Ike. "For us music is a way to get away from things." Hmmm, we'd love a little getaway with these guys!
Teen Magazine
Hanson Appears at Jam Against Hunger, Bloomington, MN
The Concert I saw TODAY was called Jam Against Hunger. It was free but we
were asked to bring non-perishable food items for donation. The concert was
open to all ages and was well attended. The donations were successful due
solely to Hanson. The only other acts were a local comedian (who was
practically booed off stage) and local band (which was fairly decent) which
both preceded Hanson. So primarily the audience was teenage girls and their
parents (if their parents came at all, there were few adults) and we were all
there for one thing: Hanson. The concert was in an overflow parking lot
across the street from the Mall Of America, after the concert I asked several
security guards how many people attened and was given a range of 7,500-10,000
people.
The entire day was hysterical. I arrived at the temporary amplitheater at
around 8:30 am (Hanson didn't play until 8:00 pm) there were only about ten
other people already there. Throughout the day as more people came, we had
the expected arguments over line positions and budging, but when the gates
were about to be opened at 5:30 pm, it went crazy. I was at the front of the
gate with my face practically buried in the chain-link fence. Girls all
around me were screaming and crying as they watched Hanson through binoculars
as they gave a private concert/tune up to the lucky people who received
back-stage passes. We were all crushed against the gate and ten guards stood
on the other side warning us that people caught running would be held back.
By this time, Hanson had left the stage, and the gates were finally opened.
I ran faster than I ever imagined possible and managed to save an entire row
in the front center section for the rest of my party. After everyone was
settled, I counted we were in the fourth row. Everything was fine for now.
After sitting through Shawn Emery (the juggler/comedian) and The Dixie
Cannibals (the local band) the crowd was very anxious and chanting, "We Want
Hanson!!" Finally the band jumped out of the far corner of the stage and
hopped their way to the microphones. I have never seen so many girls
screaming, crying, jumping, and fainting at once. They stood in front of
three mikes in a row, and played "Madeline" with just a guitar and a
tambourine. Then, using a voice changing megaphone hanging from Zac's neck,
they sang "Man from Milwaukee." It was excellently performed. Then Hanson
stood back and took a good look at the crowd before going to their other
instruments. They were clearly surpised by the numbers of people as they
smiled at eachother in awe.
Isaac was definately using this to their
advantage once they were in their positions. He continuosly excited the
crowd by asking us to scream louder, asked how many of us had the album, and
other requests. All during this, Taylor was grinning in disbelief at all the
frantic girls in the stands. Then he got into it also and started to jump up
and down and wave his arms back and forth. Zac watched his brothers from
behind his drums like the only half sane one. Isaac said, "We have one more
question: WHERE'S THE LOVE?!?!" and they played "Where's the Love." As they
played some music, which I have never heard nor did I recognize, as they
introduced the bass player, another keyboardist, and the coordinator. Then
they put down their instruments and picked up three huge black beach balls
and tossed them into the audience and encouraged them to pass it around.
They stepped back to their instruments and played "Thinking of You," then "A
Minute Without You." Isaac once again took charge and told us how great of
an audience we were, and that they would be back for their third concert here
during their upcoming tour. Then he sadly said "We're gonna sing another
song, but unfortunately it will be the last." And all the girls cried
"NO!!!!!" as they looked over us apologetically. Then they played "MMMBop."
You could tell how excited they were to play for so many people as they
jumped up and down and "high-fived" eachother off the stage. Then they ran
back to the center of the stage, held hands and bowed a couple of times
before exiting for good.
The perfomance was beyond words. Despite their flaws during their Oddville
appearance, they proved that they could play VERY well live. They not only
have immense musical talent, but impeccable personalities. I am grateful for
their kindness to help the relief fund as well.
IT WAS GREAT!!!!!!!!
Chandra Akkari, age 16
If you have any articals on Hanson, please send them to me. Thanx!
Email: mmmbop4@hotmail.com