Philadelphia Daily
Aug 11, 2003 |
Monday, August 11, 2003
By JONATHAN TAKIFF
takiffj@phillynews.com
Hanson returns
They've sold 15 million albums, headlined huge arenas, circled the world a couple times and even earned some aesthetic credibility for bringing a polished, rocking touch to the teen music scene.
But now Taylor (20), Isaac (22) and Zach (17) Hanson are taking it back to square one with an acoustic tour that brings their group Hanson to the North Star Bar (please don't card them!) Tuesday for a sold-out show.
The idea of this tour, explained Taylor recently, was to introduce their evolving, new music in a stripped-down fashion "that lets the melody lines and lyrics really come through."
And by playing grown-up nightclubs, they're also hoping to get past some of the stigma that came with a success that happened when they weren't even old enough to drive.
"We've gotten into and learned from some new inspirations - people like Ric Ocasek [of the Cars], Jellyfish, Matthew Sweet - that weren't there when the earlier records were made," Taylor said. And the Hansons' career aspiration now is to align themselves with the "huge wave of credible artists who have a more gritty, earthier sound - from Michelle Branch to John Mayer or Norah Jones."
Hanson is anxious to escape being lumped with teen music, "which has been prostituted by the music industry with the most shallow stuff," Taylor said. "We'd never sneer at our success. Selling a bunch of records, breaking down doors is not something you can be mad about. And we've got a core of fans that are incredibly loyal."
Still, Hanson is so misunderstood, said Taylor.
"Every act has a box they've been placed in, be it U2 or Ricky Martin. They have their thing that the audience won't understand completely, or you have to step away from. What we want to get through is that we've always just been three guys out there to play rock and roll."
