Hanson sheds `1-hit-wonder' title
BY JAE-HA KIM STAFF REPORTER

To hear 12-year-old Zac tell it, the right film for Hanson's movie debut wouldn't be about Hanson at all. It would be about cheese.

``You know, we'd have some Parmesan, American, Cheddar,'' he says.``Maybe some Brie.''

And then his giggles give him away. Just a little joke now. OK, boys,stop playing with the media.

A year after their deliciously poppy major label debut, ``Middle of Nowhere,'' hit record stores, with 13 million albums sold worldwide, the three golden boys are set for the New World Music Theatre on Friday, as part of their first full-length tour. The most amazing thing about the brothers from Oklahoma, who are already veterans of ``Saturday Night Live'' and ``The Late Show,'' is that they seem to be what they appear--and more.

Isaac, Taylor and Zac not only write most of their own material, sing their own songs and play their own instruments, but they also are confident, grounded and just-so-darned polite. Best of all, they seem to have a sense of humor about this fame thing.

Consider their recent ``appearance'' on MTV's claymation ``Celebrity Deathmatch'' with the Spice Girls and Marilyn Manson, for instance.

``We ripped Baby Spice in half and then got killed [by Marilyn Manson],'' says Zac, the drummer. ``We thought that was really funny, but, of course,our fans didn't.''

What? No tears? No prima donna histrionics? Apparently not.

Even with their videos in heavy rotation on MTV, starring roles in their own ABC special and an ad appearance avec milk mustaches, being ``grounded'' has a refreshing meaning for these young heartthrobs.

``It's OK if people make fun of us because we're young or whatever,'' says 15-year-old Taylor, the keyboardist and lead vocalist. ``Howard Stern makes fun of our music, but it's cool because he makes fun of everyone. We enjoy making music and performing together, but we have a sense of humor about all of it, too. You can't take it all too seriously.''

He sounds so mature. What's that all about?

In the footsteps of the critically panned New Kids on the Block and the eventually freaky and troubled Jackson Five gang, cynics aren't quite sure what to make of Hanson.

``A lot of people didn't really get what Hanson is,'' Taylor says. ``We're just three guys singing, writing, playing and doing our own thing. Some people thought we were put together and weren't quite sure how we worked. Hanson definitely is a part of who we are. It's just so much fun to be doing this.''

Their screaming pre-teen fans eventually will grow up and and possibly grow out of their Hanson phase. But the group has potential for staying power. The kids can really play and, in Taylor, the group has a powerful, charismatic singer blessed with angelic good looks.

``Middle of Nowhere'' was a critical success--a feat that has eluded its teen idol predecessors. Hanson was a three-time Grammy nominee for best new artist, record of the year and pop group performance. The No. 1 hit single ``MMMBop'' was voted best song of 1997 in the Village Voice poll of rock critics.

And New York Times rock critic Neil Strauss wrote of the group, ``A music fan's first urge may be to dismiss Hanson. But the music tells another story. Not only is `MMMBop' infectious, uplifting and emotionally charged, but so is just about every song on its new album. ... And the talent seems to come from the Hanson brothers themselves.''

Hanson has it all over the Spice Girls. Unlike the English phenoms who were put together with the precision of Frankenstein by a savvy manager looking to invent a girl group of the moment, Hanson had a more organic approach: They were born to play together.

Hanson was dismissed by many as a one-hit wonder, but they've surprised the music industry with their staying power. Granted, 14 months does not a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee make, but the boys think they have a surprise or two for skeptics.

While their record may be just a little over a year old, ``We've been writing songs and playing together for most of our lives,'' says Isaac, the guitarist. The elder statesman at 17, he will be a high school senior this fall. ``We made our group debut six years ago at [an arts festival in Tulsa, Okla.]. So we didn't just come out of nowhere. We just didn't get known until a year ago.'' That's an understatement. Hanson is everywhere. The band's popularity even has resulted in the major-label release of ``3 Car Garage,'' a collection of songs the boys recorded in 1995 and '96 on an indie label.

They've been the subject of a handful of books and cover stories in every teen mag on the planet. There was an MTV documentary as well as the ``Storytellers'' series on VH1--a cable music station that was created to suit the adult tastes of music fans older than MTV viewers.

And don't forget appearances on more than their fair share of talk shows--from ``Oprah'' to ``Regis & Kathie Lee'' to ``Rosie.'' They've performed so often on ``The Tonight Show'' that host Jay Leno joked earlier this month that he keeps a growth chart of the boys.

It was during a break from taping their most recent Leno appearance two weeks ago that the Tulsa, Okla.-based brothers phoned for this interview. So what's next, boys?

``There really hasn't been a movie that we wanted to do,'' Zac says inhis most serious voice. ``We definitely have gotten offers, but there hasn't been the right one yet.''

They already turned down an offer to star in the film version of the old television series ``My Three Sons.'' And the brothers are in no hurry to have a ``Spice World'' on their resumes. They're waiting for ``A Hard Day's Night'' of their own.

``We're really just concentrating on our music at the moment,'' Isaac says. ``If something arises that we really feel good about, we would love the opportunity [to be in a film]. But that's not really a goal of ours. We're musicians and want to just continue to get better and better as time goes on.''

They'll have some time for that on this tour, on which they're joined by their entire family. This is another facet of the Hanson legend.

Reared as evangelical Christians, the Hansons don't stop with Zac. Besides parents Walker and Diana, the Hanson posse includes Jessica, 9; Avery, 7; Mackenzie, 5, and Zoe, 6 months old. Isaac hinted there could more bands in the family's future.

All the children (except Zoe) are home-schooled by Diana, who keeps a tight reign on their curriculum.

``We weren't home-schooled all our lives,'' Isaac says. ``We went to school for a while. But then our parents decided that the best education for us would be to teach us themselves. It has worked out well. We study literature and history together and then get split up for math and science.''

Hanson appears to live the fun it projects in its bright, sunny lyrics. Even Zac, who has earned a reputation as the bad seed of the group--thanks to his rambunctious outbursts to the press (``You're weird!'')--is surprisingly composed. Asked whether it was more exciting meeting President Clinton or Cindy Crawford, Zac diplomatically says, ``I don't know. The president is the president, but Cindy Crawford is very cool and is awesome to meet. But he's the president! He's like the second most powerful man in the world.''

The first being ... ?

``Um, I have no idea,'' he says. ``Wait, me!''

The boys while away time on tour playing video games, in-line skating and writing songs for their followup album, which they'll begin working on after the tour ends this summer. And then?

``We're not thinking too much past then at the moment,'' Isaac says.``It has been awesome to be on tour. It's always been our dream to get the opportunity to do a real, hour-and-45-minute show. Now that we're doing it night after night, it's really excellent.

``Being in Hanson has allowed us to do so many things and meet so many cool people. When we went to Europe, all my girlfriends were like, `You'd better take me with you or I won't talk to you anymore.'' ''

Whoa. Girlfriends? Start spilling the beans, mister.

``Girls who are friends, I should say,'' Isaac corrects. ``I don't have a girlfriend. None of us do. We don't have the time.''