Simply put, Taylor Hanson has always been several steps ahead of his peers.

He was 9 when he officially formed the band Hanson with older brother Isaac and younger brother Zac. And he was just 14 when the trio scored the smash hit "MmmBop" in 1997, earning three Grammy nominations. The band's breakthrough album, "Middle Of Nowhere," sold more than eight million copies worldwide and earned the guys a huge following.


And the trend continued when Taylor got married at 19 and, within months, welcomed his first child.


Now 21, Taylor talks like a mature businessman when discussing his band's latest album, "Underneath," released in April on its own independent label, 3CG Records. In a July 28 interview from Indianapolis, Ind., Taylor pointed out the dedication and sheer guts it took to part ways with a major label. He also expressed his pride in being an artist connected to his fans, including those who will be on hand when Hanson plays Tuesday at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford.


Truth be told, the band's latest single, "Penny & Me," is easily as catchy as those by today's hottest modern rock acts and singer-songwriters.


"Ÿ'Penny' is really all about the way music affects your life and the way all the moments throughout your life — whether you're listening to great music or sharing music with good friends or girlfriends — those are the things that make you who you are," Taylor said. "The idea of 'Penny,' it goes through all these sequences and stories and pieces of things. And it says 'It's always Penny and me tonight' because Penny is that part of you, all those things that make you who you are.


"It's also kind of like the girl that's not there or the person that you carry on with you," he added. "In the end, it's kind of a love song to music. It's a love song to the great feelings and the great moments you had."


Born March 14, 1983 in Jenks, Okla., a suburb of Tulsa, Jordan Taylor Hanson is the son of accountant Clarke Walker Hanson and Diana Frances Hanson. The couple has seven children, including their three famous sons; daughters Jessica, Avery and Zoe; and son Mackenzie.


Growing up on classic rock, R&B and soul, Taylor, Isaac and Zac began singing early on. In fact, Zac was just 7 when they formed the band Hanson in 1992. The guys released two independent albums before getting signed to Mercury Records in the mid-'90s.


The success the song "MmmBop" was so astounding that the band's Mercury debut, 1997's "Middle Of Nowhere," reached No. 2 on the charts and was later named among Rolling Stone's "Essential Albums of the '90s." Hanson's 1998 tour reportedly grossed nearly $9 million and its members were featured in magazines like Tiger Beat, in "Got Milk?" ads and in commercials for Eggo waffles.


"Whenever you have a song like 'MmmBop' — I mean, 'MmmBop' is probably one of the top songs of the '90s," Taylor said. "It was No. 1 in 27 countries and it's amazing to ever have a song like that particularly. That's a combination of fate and timing and the stars aligning — to break through with something that strong.


"The thing that always made us who we were was that we love the idea of getting out and playing music and expressing ourselves through it and making connections with people," he added. "You take pride in the connection with your audience — not just with your hardcore fans but with the idea of people connecting with what music is and putting a premium on it and saying, 'This is something that's valuable.'Ÿ"


The band went about connecting with fans through its Internet Web site, a relatively new concept at a time when people were just starting to go online. Constant informational updates fueled fans' interest in the band, which years later would successfully release an acoustic album exclusively available to its Internet fan base.


The relationship between the band and its audience was so strong that many fans went out of their way to display their affection for Hanson.


"It's not exactly groupies, but, gosh, I mean, there's so many stories about crazy things the fans have done," Taylor said. "Just walking into hotel rooms and having fans standing next to your bed, waiting for you in your room — or having fans sleep under cars in parking garages for two nights. Having people sneak into your back lawn to try and catch a glimpse of something. Things that you go like, 'Wow, that's crazy.'


"Probably one of the more insane things is, you know, there's a lot of fans that have Hanson tattoos," he added. "But when you see fans that have taken it to the next level and have done or made huge pictures of your face or Hanson symbols that take up their whole back or a whole part of their body, you kind of go, 'Wow! That's a lot of dedication.' There's definitely things I don't fully understand, but it's also amazing that you're connected with people enough that they want to get involved."


Hanson's next studio album, 2000's platinum "This Time Around," featured cameos from John Popper and Jonny Lang. Around this time, a budding singer-songwriter named Michelle Branch went from being a fan of Hanson to opening for them on tour. Branch, who has since sold millions of albums and scored hits that include "Are You Happy Now" and "Everywhere," made a guest appearance on Hanson's "Underneath" LP.


"Ever since we met, we've just had a relationship and we've been friends," Taylor said. "So when we were recording the song 'Deeper,' we all thought it would be really cool to have a female vocalist on the record. She was in town, she's a friend and so she just came and sat in, added her voice to it."


Prior to the release of "Underneath," Hanson played an acoustic tour that included a sold out date at Carnegie Hall. The band's current full electric tour is its first in four years, said Taylor, whose wife, Natalie Anne Bryant, gave birth to their son, Jordan Ezra Hanson, in October 2002.


Taylor, who lives in New York, said "Underneath" is a time capsule that represents where the band is today, adding that Hanson's fan base of high school and college students basically grew up with the band.


"I just hope people will be blown away by the intensity and the musicality — to walk out having no chance to think, just to be completely separated from everything else and pulled into music," Taylor said. "That's what live shows should be. I mean, I'm not amping myself up, but it's just that I think that's the goal. You bring people in and captivate them."

The show begins at 7 p.m. The venue is at 95 South Turnpike Road. Tickets are $25. Call Tickets.com at (888) 332-5600.