By Jennifer Circosta, FCLC ‘06
Contributing Writer


On Oct. 24, I interviewed Zac Hanson, the youngest of the three brothers who make up the band Hanson. It has been 3 years since the band’s last studio album, and now they are back, with an acoustic tour, EP and a new studio album set for a spring release. Hanson discussed their upcoming show at Carnegie Hall, how the internet affects the music industry, and even how they got down and "Dirrty" on tour this summer. Calling from Georgia one of his few days off, the following is from our chat:

The Observer: You guys have been out of the limelight for about three years. What have you been up to?

Well, we’ve really just been making this record; obviously we started our label so that takes time, and then just making the right record, choosing the right songs and compiling the right record.

How many songs did you record for the record, and how did you choose the eight that went on the EP?

Well, let me just make sure you know that there are two records: there’s an EP which is an acoustic record…and that’s sort of special for the fans. It’s only on the website. And then the real record; it’s 14 songs and it’s fully-electric. There are strings and horns and harmonicas, full drums and electric guitars. Choosing the songs for the record was definitely the hardest part because we recorded about 80; not all of those were done in a studio, with full-blown production. With three songwriters, there are different styles that come into different songs. Like we’ll write a song, and it sounds kind of funny, but we may write one song that sounds kinda country and another song that sounds kinda R&B and then another song that’s sort of just rock, and different sides of the band come in. You want to choose material that you want to represent the band with.

Well, I had the chance to catch the acoustic tour this summer and I noticed that your sound did change. How would you describe it?

The new music is probably the most vulnerable-sounding record we’ve done yet. We’re trying to show some sides of the band that haven’t been established in the last two records. When we went in to make this album, with a lot of the songs, there was a feeling of wanting to make production simpler. For example, a lot of great Chili Peppers music, the way they speak with four instruments is very powerful. It’s just trying to simplify things a little bit with the production of the record.

How did you guys decide to cover Christina Aguilera’s "Dirrty"?

Do you know the band Travis? Ok, well they did a version of "Hit me baby one more time" that I thought was amazing. And that was sort of the inspiration to be like "Wow! How cool would it be to do something like that?!" We just thought it would be really funny to put a melody in it and play a piece of it. It’s just about having fun and that is a perfect example of what I was saying that there’s so much freedom in playing acoustically.

Seeing how the rest of your acoustic tour was played in smaller venues, how did playing at Carnegie Hall come about? It’s so much bigger!

Well, when you think of acoustic venues, and you think of great music venues, Carnegie Hall is always at the top of every list. And Carnegie Hall was designed for playing acoustically. And it was just, "Wow, this is the most prestigious acoustic venue possibly in the world, definitely in the country, you know, wouldn’t it be amazing to get to play here?!" I don’t know if you’ve been inside Carnegie Hall. It’s just, you stand on the stage, you play a note on the keyboard, the way it resonates, the way that place is designed, all the greats have been there; it’s just the coolest place to play. What’s the thing about how to get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice? And it’s just one of the places you put on as list of goals as a musician for your whole career.

Do you guys have anything special planned for the show?

I don’t want to say anything. We try to throw some new twists in there, with every show, we change the ordering, we do a different show every night, so we’ll just try to have a lot of fun with it. And the venue itself will just make it amazing!

After the Carnegie Hall show, the tour is done. What will you guys then do? Go back to the studio? Promo? Rest?

Well, we’re talking about taking the tour to Japan and Austria, something like that. It’s getting near the holidays, so there will probably be a break pretty soon; but you know, this is just the beginning of what we’ll be doing. We’re going to come back and do a full-blown tour, with a full band and everything like electric guitars and do that. And then the real promotion of the record will start, more national press, more shows….

Do you ever get nostalgic and listen to your old albums?

Well, yeah!!! It’s just like looking at a photo album. You come back after a while and you pick up the photo album and it’s like, "There’s me then." It’s fun. That Christmas record we did, I still love listening to that record every Christmas. And then with the last couple records, it’s a fun experience to see where you have been, knowing the music you’re doing now, looking at where you’re going.

Yeah, your progression. So, I work for my college’s newspaper. Do you have any plans to go to college in the future?

You know, that’s a question that’s been asked… there are no plans at the moment, for any of us because you know, when you go to college, I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what they want to do and who they’re going to be with their life. And just from a very young age, I’ve already known and been able to be pursuing that through music. I mean, the band started when I was 6-years-old, and it’s been together for 12 years. I’d love to go to college to do things like art, to learn new crafts, but it would never be for the purpose of getting a degree because I’m doing music, I’m pursuing music, and that is what I want to do with my life.


from The Observer: The Student Voice of Fordham College at Lincoln Center