It was almost exactly four years ago when the brothers Hanson last visited Northeastern Pa.

Still red-hot off the success of their 1997 album "Middle of Nowhere," Isaac, Taylor, and Zac were playing the FM Kirby Center to support their sophomore record.
"Middle of Nowhere" sold eight million copies, and god dammnit if we weren't still hearing "MmmBop" twice an afternoon, like it or not. (And the case could be made that had the Spice Girls "If You Wannabe" not happened, Hanson might still be considered the most annoying band of the past decade).

In the minutes before they'd take the stage, the three young pups, still years from the legal right to buy their tour manager a drink, were chilling backstage with a large female contingent. They were preaching (between photo opps) the joys in classic rock, bands they admired (and applied) to their song writing.

Jimi. Aretha. Michael. Otis. Sly. Even AC/DC.

They knew their rock, and accepting the fact that these kids ... these oft-perceived annoying little brats ... were actually cool ... that was a sticky pill to swallow.

The evening of unexpected pleasantry continued, as they didn't just play their own instruments, they rocked the Kirby like few bands ever have. Their second song wasn't just a cover of Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic," it was a respectable version. From kids.

On that night, the Hanson practice of converting the non-believers continued, as did the "MmmBop" nightmare. (It really isn't that "MmmBop" was a bad song, it's just that nobody knew what the hell it meant, despite the fact that the average radio listener has probably had roughly 50 billion chances to figure it out by now).

So it's 2000, they're moving millions of records, earning Grammy recognition, and selling out shows across the world. Rolling Stone even listed "Nowhere" as one of the essential albums of the '90s. Yet before you can ask "Where's the Love," it's 2004, and we're wondering (with only an inkling of real concern) what became of these pop monsters?

Did they implode? Did the cracking of their voices ruin their hits? Did Dennis Leary get his wish? Did they really find drummer Zac "curled up in a hooker's vagina?" Credit card in hand?

Actually, Leary wasn't far off. The 18-year-old does indeed roll in a pimped-out 1982 Econoline van, which he openly calls his "shaggin' wagon."

But it appears, after all this time, we've been feeling the aftershocks of Hanson's success.

Michelle Branch got signed after opening for Hanson. Avril Lavigne cited the brothers as having a major influence on her multi-platinum record. And according to the band, they enabled the success of the new wave of singer/songwriters, namely John Mayer and Jason Mraz.

Meanwhile, back in Tulsa, the boys were reloading for another run at world domination. They told their record company to shove it (leave it to a major label to all but kill a band that went platinum) and invested in themselves. They built a studio, started their own label (3CG Records) and recorded 80 songs for their next album, "Underneath," which they then released independently this summer.

Now 23, 20, and 18 years old, respectively, Isaac, Taylor, and Zac are on the road again, selling out shows in 10 minutes - again.

They'll return to NEPA this Tuesday, Aug. 24 when they play the Scranton Cultural Center.

Catching up with Isaac, it's refreshing to see that after four years of obscurity (by Hanson standards), he and the band are still as excited - and talented - as ever.

Hi Isaac. Hey, I'm so sorry I'm late with this. I didn't know and it's not like me and I just want to apologize ...




Dude, no rockstar who's worth his salt calls me on time. You want me to call you a nerd?
(laughs) No, I hope we aren't nerds. But cool.




So where have you been these past few years?
A lot of what we've been up to was recording, and that was immediately after we made the decision not to return to the record company. The best place we could be as artists was control of our content in a direct sense - owning the albums we make and growing and changing with the times. It's a unique place in history and a tender time. Nobody knows where things are going, but the fans aren't going away, and neither is the Internet. Whatever combination of these things winds up making sense, I want to be able to adapt and being independent allows us to do that.




And creatively?
It gives us more flexibility. People might think we didn't have control before. We did. But now there's a certain load that's been taken off, and some new stuff added. I'm excited about where we are now and being on the road night after night. I feel so lucky to do what I do. We're in a really good place now.




I read that you stand to make like $6 per disc sold.
There's a lot of potential upside. A lot more per unit. But in the U.S., we're taking on the full brunt of promotion and marketing so we won't see any positive dollars for a while. But it's much better than doing things the old way.




In the '90s, you guys spawned that whole boy band movement, and I'm sorry but I don't think I can forgive you for that. What's next?
Yeah (laughs). Didn't see that coming. Every artist crosses his fingers and hopes that they can change the world. As the expression goes, if you shoot for the stars, you just might hit the moon. But if you aim for the trees, you might not get off the ground. We keep our aspirations high. We hope we can gain more attention for independent music. You know, 25 percent of all record sales are independent artists, yet radio is playing five percent or less.




That's sad.
Yeah, and we're saying, "Look, we're a mainstream band. We've had success. Here's our record." Indie is not necessarily what you think it is. It can be a genre as much as a decision as how you release a record. We've always been very indie. Everything we've ever done has always been directed by us. To our gain or to our folly, we've always been 100 percent involved, from newsletters to picking our next single. What's important is to grow awareness of independent music and rekindle some of the enjoyment music had - a more visceral response to music. Music on a social level has diminished in its significance in everyday life compared to 20 years ago.




Well, listening to your new CD, I would have never thought it was Hanson. It's very different.
Thank you. Every artist goes through different phases. This is a more somber moment for us. It's one of our more mellow records we've ever done. There are moments of introspection and mid-tempo yearnings, shall we say. The process of making Underneath was really long. We wrote 70-80 songs and recorded 50. It was very difficult to decide where to go with the final product. But we're confident in this, and I look forward to exposing people to the other sides of who we are.




So what's it like playing "MmmBop" today?
It's very similar to what it was like back in the day. It's not that different. Except when you're 16 years old and your drummer is 11, people think it's a novelty. Now we're 23 and 18, so it's a little bit different. If people actually listened to Middle of Nowhere, they'd be truly surprised by the music and style of the album. It's very much more of an R&B-based record than they think.




You guys have always let that influence come through.
Rock and roll is what it's all about. It's Chuck Berry, Otis Redding, so many others, and we hope that translates into what we do. People always say they give us credit for writing our songs and playing our instruments. Well, I don't give a shit. The question is whether I'm good at it or not. A lot of people play and write. I mean, I appreciate the fact that they're trying to say something positive, but at the end of