POP GOES THE HANSONS

by Fred Shuster, Los Angeles Daily News

Those "MMMBoppers" are finally taking it to the streets. A year after Hanson's breakthrough hit, Ike, Zac, and Tay have embarked on a major world tour. And gals, the towheaded cuties insist they don't have girlfriends.

If you're a preteen, you already know their origins as a harmony act, the trio sang at local community events and dances while soaking up series of Time - Life '50's and '60's pop compilation bought by their father, Walker. At first aping the Jackson 5 and the Beach Boys, the trio started to pen their own songs. After cutting a few demos, the boys performed at the annual South by Southwest convention in Austin, Texas.

When a connected attorney shopped the demo, Mercury Records bit, and Hanson was placed under the wing of several top producers, including the Dust Brothers & Steve Lironi.

Then came MMMBOP, followed by WHERE"S THE LOVE, I WILL COME TO YOU, WEIRD, and other smasheroos. The band's debut album, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, sold more than 5 million copies.

That disc was followed by the trio's Christmas Album, SNOWED IN, and then recently issued 3 CAR GARAGE: THE INDIE RECORDINGS ( 1995 - '96 ), a collection of early material.

Hanson guitarist Isaac, 17; keyboardist Taylor, 15; drummer Zachary, 12 played Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl. We talked to the young bros from their home in Tulsa.

Q: How has life changed since you've become famous?
Tay: It's changed a lot. Walking down the street, we're recognized and that can be insane. But friends, good friends, are still good friends. But there's people you didn't know before that now try to become your friends. You know, the second cousin you didn't know you had.

Q: How will your music change in the future?
Ike: How does any band evolve? We'll have new songs, and we'll be producing more. It's hard to explain exactly. Certain things will change slightly, but it will always be Hanson and similar to what you know.

Q: Was there a game plan for success?
Zac: We didn't even think about anything like that. We started writing our own songs. We just did it.

Q: It's been said you helped revitalize the pop industry in terms of sales and radio airplay, Do you feel any pressure because of that?
Tay: A band is a band, and we're lucky to have this opportunity. It's about playing music and having fun doing it. We're lucky to connect with a lot of people.

Q: How's finally being on the road?
Ike: It's been excellent. This is something we've wanted to do all year. Now that we're on tour, it's amazing. We've been performing for a long time, but with such large audiences, it's a very, very, cool thing.

Q: Do you ever miss home?
Zac: Sometimes you do miss things at home or your friends. It's not like we're taking our motorcycles with us.

Q: You've been all over the world. What are some favorite places?
Tay: Sydney, Australia, is just a beautiful city. And all throughout Europe there are cool places. Italy is cool, London is great. It all depends on the day.

Q: How about favourite countries for food?
Tay: Italy wins hands down for that, awesome food. That's the best place to grab something to eat, besides your hometown.

Q: What music do you listen to?
Ike: We listen to everything from Bob Dylan to Massive Attack. We're into hard - core rock, r&b. There's so much different stuff to be inspired by. Those things may be incorporated in the next record because the band will be more involved in production.

Q: What does it mean to be so well - known?
Zac: We get to do more stuff. We're basically the same people, but we're not at home much. We live in hotel rooms, but that's not all bad. Friends treat us the same. There's the ones that think it's weird. It's not like they treat us different.

Q: Why is Hanson so popular right now?
Tay: Sometimes I think it's being in the right place at the right time. A lot of different groups and different sounds evolve, go away and come back. It was a good time release our music, and it's been awesome to have people respond to it. Sometimes, you just slap yourself and try to think how it all happened.

Q: Gus Van Sant ( Good Will Hunting, Drugstore Cowboy ) directed your last video, WEIRD. How did you choose him?
Ike: He actually called our manager and said that he was interested. We hadn't found anyone we really felt worked, and so we called him. He was incredibly easy to work with. Gus can be very soft - spoken and then very firm about what he's thinking. With this video, we were more involved than any of the earlier ones. It was a great working enviroment.

Q: What do you think of the Spice Girls?
Zac: They're working their butts off and doing a good job at what they'redoing.

Q: Do nasty reviews bother you?
Tay: We've gotten both good and bad from critics. It depends on where you are and who you're talking to. To be nominated for Grammy's was like, Wow. That was our peers saying it was a good song. But a fan is a fan, and a critic is just another person. So we take it as who's out there buying the records.