andPOP
Sep 23, 2005 |
Posted on 9/23/05 at 12:38 AM ET
Written By: Adam Gonshor
(andPOP) - Tired of the politics attached to being part of a major label, Hanson started its own label and released an independent album, Underneath, in April of 2004.
Before the album's release, the three brothers proclaimed that if this became a success, other artists would approach them in envy, hoping to find out how they thrived without being part of a major.
Almost a year and a half later, they are immensely satisfied. The album debuted at number one on the independent charts and 25 on Billboard, and has allowed them to tour across the world, something they hadn't done in almost four years, since their previous release.
"It's really an invigorating and inspiring process for us," Isaac Hanson tells andPOP.
The success is also a relief. If one of their major label releases flopped, it would be at the expense of the record company. With Underneath, Isaac, Zac and Taylor Hanson invested their own money.
"When you're taking a risk of forming a record company and promoting it yourself, it's obviously an immense risk," says Isaac. "You need a long term plan, not just a short term plan. Even if Underneath didn't do as well as it had done, it would just be one brick in a giant wall of bricks, in the sense that you're not just relying on one thing. You're relying on multiple things to build a future. For us, the plan not only includes more records from us but working with other bands and helping them to start careers."
That next release will be in the form of a live album, The Best of Hanson: Live & Electric, scheduled for release October 11.
All their hits -- from Mmmbop to Penny & Men -- are included in live form, as well as such covers as Radiohead's Optimistic and U2's In A Little While. They perform their earlier hits, like the Grammy-winning Mmmbop, with different and more mature interpretations.
"Although it is a new interpretation, it is very positively familiar also," says Isaac, 24. "It's the same band. You'll hear the familiarities."
The band is also gearing up for a five-week tour starting October 18 in Atlanta. Before performing, they'll visit universities, and present a documentary they created, "Strong Enough to Break," which details why they took the indie-route. They'll also speak to students about the music business.
"We're going to be talking about the record industry, what fans can do to get more involved," he says. In the documentary, "you see the antagonist and protagonist elements to that [major label] relationship. You see in part where artists can be overly zealous and where the record company is trying to hold on to the creative process, when in reality they should be letting the artists do their job."
They plan to release their next studio album in 2006, and Isaac says don't expect more of the same.
"I think people are going to get a sense of almost a live dynamic to this next record because although there are plenty of mellow songs that will be on the record, I think you're going to feel that spontaneity that I hear in old Aretha Franklin and rock and roll records where you hear the room," he explains. "That’s the primary goal for us, just making sure that that's captured to its full extent."
And after that, they'll get back into the studio and do it all again.
"There may be plenty of other things that we do, working with other bands, that will be expansions of who this band is, but I think Hanson as a threesome will be releasing music for 20 years."
