The National Student, March 2005

At the ages of 11, 14 and 16, having an international number one single has got to give you a bit of an ego.
If it has, Hanson hide it well. Now at 19, 22 and 24 the trio have left their major label and embarked on a journey of reinvention and reclassification in the industry.

With uber-pop single ‘Mmmbop’ in 1996, Hanson gained the boy-band image they feared they’d never shake, but with maturity and a haircut came a new look and a new sound. Their second release, ‘This Time Around’, was an uphill struggle for Hanson as their label Mercury shunted them onto the Island/Def Jam label.

Spending months trying to push a rock/pop album to rapper LL Cool J’s label was more than difficult and resulted in a flop for Hanson. So, they ditched the major and started up their own label, 3CG, independently recording and distributing their music, resulting in a number 1 slot for new album, Underneath, in the US Billboard charts. In the UK the album has been released through ultra-hip indie label Cooking Vinyl, home to the likes of Seafood, Frank Black and They Might Be Giants. Unless you’ve been completely shut off from British popular culture during the month of February, you will know Hanson are back and have enjoyed a reat deal of media coverage.

I spoke to Isaac Hanson, when they were in the UK for a performance on Top of the Pops, about Underneath, 3CG and performing live.

Hanson knew that Island/Def Jam would not be able to give the band what they wanted and needed to continue with their careers, so after finally leaving the label they had to make tough decisions. So with all this recent success, what went wrong with Mercury?

“You have to say to yourself what’s the place I feel most comfortable, what’s the place I feel I can make the most long-term decisions in and for us having our own record company and potentially being able to support other artists in the future was the only way to do it. I knew if I were to sign with another record company I'd be shaking hands with a new president in 6 months,” explained Isaac.

The band learned from their experiences with the majors and started on the long road to independence with 3CG.

“Too often what happens is a manager or a record company puts an artist in the position where they try to keep them as uninformed as possible, they feel that it’s better to let them do their artist thing but leave them in the dark so they can control the situation.”

Now Hanson are in control of their own situation, making executive decisions about how they want to promote themselves and to which audience. They have experienced how the industry market music and oppose their methods arguing that this has had a knock on effect with radio.

“Specifically in the US right now the radio stations are not really paying attention to what the audience wants and many people my age don’t listen to the radio anymore and don’t care.
I think its better in the UK, there’s a lot more of a more active music audience,” he enthuses.

Students make up a huge portion of this audience. With our ‘disposable income’ and thirst for cultural hydration, we now provide and consume the service we want.
With the industry supported Student Radio Association, 60 affiliate student stations across the UK produce and broadcast award winning radio programmes.
Hanson’s new single ‘Penny and Me’ entered the charts at number 10 after extensive radio play and support from many devoted fans who have followed their every move for 8 years. They flocked in their thousands to shows in October 2003 when Hanson played limited acoustic sets in the UK. Although they were here showcasing their new material, many fans already knew every lyric after importing both electric and acoustic versions of Underneath from the States.

“There’s a song called ‘Get Up and Go’ and that song is the demo. We never recorded that song more than once. As it came together you could just tell there was an energy about it, it was so spontaneous. The same with a song ‘Lost Without Each Other’, amongst the fan base I know there has definitely been a lot of consensus that that was one of the favourites. Then you’ve got songs like Underneath which honestly are quite a bit different than that. We rehearsed over that song for days before we really hit the nail on the head. It took a lot of work to really find the right feeling.”

They’ve done the acoustic sets twice now, but they’re back in March playing electric shows that will be packed out with 20-year-old women who fell for them with ‘Mmmbop’.

“Its gonna be the first extensive UK tour ever actually, we’re gonna be playing all throughout the UK,” explains a excited Isaac.

Venues include the London Astoria and Academies in Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester.

“I'd rather play theatres 3000 seats and below night after night in the same city than play an arena once, they’re not as enjoyable for the audience or for the band. The audience really gets an experience that is better for a couple of reasons: number 1 because I think the rooms actually sound better; number 2 I think that concert halls carry with them every performance that was done.”

Venues Hanson are playing these days differ dramatically to the likes of the huge arenas they were playing in the 90s.

“When you go to a place like Carnegie Hall, you feel it in the wood. When you go to a place like the New Orleans House of Blues where people like the Neville brothers have sold out shows 27 times, I truly feel that those venues carry with them that history.”

“In a place where a lot of music has been made its almost been prepared for you, the hall is already ready to absorb the music, its just as matter of you making it.”

Hanson have been performing music for most of their lives, which admittedly isn’t particularly long in comparison to others, but after fame and fortune at such a tender age, do they still get the buzz?

“You never really know what you’re going to get every night and I think that’s the exciting thing about music. There’s always the potential for a magical moment that you cannot possibly define. Some nights you don’t hit it but, man, when you do, it makes you’re life,” buzzes the eldest Hanson brother.

They made it big, then disappeared, but after time, and a lot of thought and energy, it looks like the blonde-locked trio are set for a more fruitful future, whether you like it or not.

“I think at the end of the day the overall thing for me is passion for what you do and passion for the music, it makes all the difference. I believe that’s what the audience wants, I believe that's where the relationship comes from and the real reason I have relationships with bands I don’t even know is because I have a relationship with the emotion and the passion that they have for what they're saying. It’s about putting that first and everything else is second.”

March 22: Ambassadors Theatre, Dublin
March 24: Carling Academy, Glasgow
March 25: Manchester Academy
March 27: London Astoria
March 28: Birmingham Academy

www.hanson-europe.info