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GetMusic Interview @ SXSW
*Thanks to Tiffany for captures*
(February 2001)

Part One: SXSW -- Tay and Isaac explain their history with this annual music industry event

Taylor- Last time we were here was 7 years ago and that was when we met our manager. And it's kind of funny because SXSW really takes credit for that whole thing, because, actually in alot of ways it really was because of that... we both happened to be in the same place. So it really is a SXSW success story I guess. But we met our manager and then we were just walking around singing for people.

GetMusic- What was the story?

Taylor -Well, the story was, we weren't necessarily supposed to be here. We weren't a band or something that was being focused on or anything.

Isaac - We didn't have a showcase or anything like that, we were just walking around. In fact...

Getmusic - You guys didn't get rejected?

Taylor Oh no, we didn't even go there, we just went down to meet people and just say, Hi we're a band.. we want you to listen to our music, so we just walked up to people and sang. We just randomly...

Isaac- Are you interested in hearing our music? Here we'll sing for you...

Taylor- And we would just sing for people. And some people went (makes weird face) okay, you know and other people listened and other people didn't and Christopher Sabec, our manager, was one of those people that listened and then...

Isaac - He was kind of intrigued by it and we kind of kept in contact with him. And about a year later, then he signed on as our manager. The funny thing was, at the time he was not considering being a manager, he was really just an attorney. And so, it was after that he really got into the whole managerial role and that has turned out to be a really good thing for us.

Part Two: Hanson Is Looking for a Drummer?

Isaac- Hey everyone out there on internet ::laughs::

Taylor - Hello to everybody watching

Isaac -Hello

Taylor - I'm Taylor, this is Isaac

Isaac - Yes, I am Isaac

Taylor - And we are part of Hanson

Isaac - Part of Hanson... two thirds of Hanson

Getmusic - So, where is the rest of Hanson?

Taylor - Umm the rest of Hanson.. is right here in my heart. (with weepy voice and touching chest) ::laughs: no, umm Zac...

Isaac - Zac actually passed away recently ::laughs::

Taylor- Yeah, we're actually searching for him, if you've seen Zac, please call this number. (while Isaac and Taylor are talking a pic of Zac is floating around lol)

Isaac - ..please let us know

Taylor - Umm we're just

Isaac - Actually he ran off with a really gorgeous, exotic woman and we havn't seen him...it's tough

Taylor ..we could use a drummer, if you guys know anybody..

Isaac - So, if you know any drummers out there, if you feel like auditioning for a band we are holding open auditions until we find him again and then when we find him..

Taylor - ..you're fired.

Isaac -... you're out of the band, but..

Taylor- Or if you find the exotic woman.. either one

Isaac - Yeah, because the band might be over then anyways

Taylor- Zac is.. we're just here at SXSW for a couple of days, Zac isn't with us and uh..

Isaac - he decided he had better things to do (said with a british accent)

Taylor - ::laughs:: and we just decided to come down, we're working on our record right now and we decided, why don't we come down and check out some bands, be around, hang out.

Part Three: An Update on the New CD

Isaac We're kind of in the writing stages, final stages of song writing. We're finishing up songs right now. We've tracked a couple of songs already. Um worked with a guy named Bob Marlette... whose kind of known for more heavy stuff, but he really has a very good musical ear and has had a lot of experience with you know, just playing on other people's records , even in songwriting for a lot of different people. He's worked with people like Tracy Chapman, and Wilson Phillips and he's done some playing and stuff like that on their records. So, we just really connected on a musical level and it just, it made sense and we like said, let's try it out. So, things have turned out really well with that and we'll just continue to do other things. I think it's very possible that we will probably produce a good part of the record ourselves and then you know... who knows..we'll just cross our fingers and see.

Taylor Yeah, we're beginning basically to really record. So, we've finished some writing. We did some writing with Matthew Sweet who you were talking about, and some other really cool people. And then we just kind of go, well, we got a song here.. we got a song there. And we kind of... It's actually pretty fast, because we just got off tour of the last record, in November, middle of November. We just had a lot of songs and we kind of said look, we really want to get a record out a lot faster because there was a big space between the first record and the second record and we just kind of feel really energized about where we are as a band and the songs that are coming out and kind of... We just sort of want people to see Hanson at this stage right now because we're just really pumped about what we're coming up with.

Part Four: Collaborations on the New CD

Isaac - It's just a constant growth. It's still very much kind of you know, just rock n roll, pop/rock music.

Taylor - It's not lighter music.. it's not lighter. It's more just.. your writing changes. I mean, I don't know.. for a lot of people that aren't familiar with the last record. I mean, that was a lot more, you know "rock n roll", I guess. I think there is a sense of the way we've approached production and kind of the spacing and the simplicity of it. I think we really want to capture something we didn't get before. Oh, you know, I want people to be able to hear each part distinctly and I want it... that sense of kind of just organic- band vibe. And then also the way that we are writing songs, I dont know, just the flavor of the songs is a little bit different.

Getmusic Is that flavor like...maybe defined more like..

Taylor It's umm more like, I actually think its moving more towards bands like, Matthew Sweet, the Raspberries, Jayhawks, that kind of stuff, which is kind of like the power-pop thing. Which is, a lot of people outside the industry don't really understand that term, but for anybody that is, you know, they identify that. And it was a nat... it was a totally, you know, unnatural... not unnatural, but it was just an accident. And as we slowly started listening to that stuff- we met Matthew and we started listening to his music and we worked with Ric Ocasek and I think it just kind of, that influences started to come out, just out of the seams, its bursting everywhere. We wrote... the New Radicals, Greg Alexander, we just wrote a song with him, we're probably going to write some stuff with Ben Folds. Um you know, those kind of things. And there's other things which are much more impromptu, which I won't talk about because if they do or don't happen.. you never know. For instance, on the last record, when John Popper and Jonny Lang came in, those were very just... we met those guys, we all got along and we...and they just kind of came in. So, you never know. That's what... those are the kind of things that can very easily happen on this record

Getmusic - And Matthew, would that be...

Taylor - We'd love to have him..

Getmusic -...an in depth collaborative thing or do you imagine him on this record?

Taylor - Well, we wrote a song with him...

Isaac - Yeah, we wrote a song with Matthew, yeah

Taylor - For instance, it could be we just wrote the song with him or we may even have him come play if he's in to that. It's all just about, You know.. okay is he into it, does he want to come do it?

Part Five: Misconceptions of Hanson

Taylor The only way to reinforce who you are, if there are misconceptions, is to put out more music and to have people hit with another record, hit with another record, hit with another two and have the face of the band and the face of the image of the band to be in people's mind.

Getmusic-Like going from "Mmmbop" to like the Jayhawks per say?

Taylor - Yeah, but you know what? It's not...that's the thing. That stuff is like... not that much, I mean, It's always been... Our influences have always been like the old classic rock stuff. That's always been the way we write songs, but I think... You know, it's easier for people to see... Okay, now... Oh.. they're eighteen and twenty you know, and their going to bars or whatever...their.. now we can make.. now we can really give'em respect or whatever.

Isaac - Which is kind of ironic. I've said this several times. I mean, I have friends that are in bands and things like that of similiar age, and it's kind of funny because in the pop genre of things, it is really hard for people to really respect a pop band for just being a pop band. You know, It's like, I don't have to have some particulary gruff voice, or you know, be anything but just a pop band and somebody should hopefully be able to kind of say, okay, well they write good songs and I appreciate that. But most of the time its really, really hard. Because especially in the pop genre, you're always kind of defending yourself. It's like... No really, I am a musician!, I really do do this. Yeah, this really does come out of me. I just sit around and I play music and this is what comes and this is what I feel and it doesn't make any more or less authentic necessarily, so.. you know.

Taylor - The Beatles, The Stones.... they were great bands.... pop bands.