I know what you're thinking -- "Whatever happened to Hanson?"

In 1997, the band of brothers was all over MTV singing "MMMBop" with their underage blond heads. Hanson never had a hit like that again, but other young musicians from that era did: Britney Spears, 'N Sync, the Backstreet Boys.

Hanson is back on tour with a new album, and is playing the House of Blues on Saturday. Guitarist Isaac Hanson is 23, keyboardist Taylor is 21, and drummer Zach is 18.

So, what was it like for Isaac to watch Britney and pals, who hired professional songwriters, buy longer runs of commercial success?

"People have tried to make comparisons. I think the only similarity is we all try and write songs with hooks," he says. "Oh, wait. Actually, I'm sorry, they don't write songs.

"Here's the thing. I'm doing what I do for the right reasons. I love the music that I make. We have amazing fans. We've sold over 100,000 records so far, and we're an independent label. And we're getting ready to go into the next single. We've got a lot of plans, a lot of things coming in the next year, and so on and so forth."

The Hansons get along well and share the same tastes, but they do fight.

"Zach, Tay and I have all thrown fists at each other at times, oh yeah. Generally, I end up being the one thrown against the wall, because Zach is the drummer. He's stronger than me. He's used to hitting stuff. He plays with tree trunks, and he's got stout arms."

Isaac says each of them can be stereotyped by the instrument he plays.

"Zach is a little bit more of the guy who might blow stuff up, kind of like Keith Moon, just kick things over and be nuts. Me -- I'm a little more flaky. And Tay's a little more scientific."

The band played 50 acoustic concerts last year. This year, the brothers are doing a tour that's "constant energy, and guitar-driven, you know, rock."

"What we do every night is we change out the set list as much as we can to make sure that (fans can) go home and tell their friends they experienced something unique and cool. They can say, `Oh yeah, I was there that one time they played that song and they never played it again.' "

Fans are generally in the band's age range, he says, but "there are some younger."

Their voices have changed, he says. "Obviously, the vocals have evolved."

Zach has had a girlfriend for two years. Taylor is married with a kid. Isaac might bring his girlfriend to Vegas.

"Touring on the road -- it's not that much different than it was before," he says. "Taylor being married and so on, that does evolve the dynamic on the road. But it's pretty much the same. We have a good time and try not to kill each other."

Tickets cost $32 to $35 for the all-ages show, which starts at 7 p.m. Saturday.


Doug Elfman's Night Beat column appears on Tuesdays