Hanson sticking to its long-term plan
August 22, 2003

From the start, Hanson had a plan.

The band earned international fame with 1997's Middle of Nowhere, but the Hanson brothers were also cemented in the public's mind as a boy band playing infectious pop like the hit MMMBop. It got lumped in with other bands that don't have much actual talent.

The year 2000 saw This Time Around, which surprised both fans and critics with the great leap the Oklahoma band had made in both songwriting and musicianship. The album was to many the first indication that there was far more musical talent here than anyone had suspected.

The band members had different ideas from the start. They always planned for a long, substantial career.

"Never did we go, 'Hey, I hope we can sell a bunch of records then never do it again.' For us, it's in the blood," says older brother Taylor Hanson.

"I'm excited to have the opportunity to be who we are right now - everything from who we are as a band to the way we've grown stronger . . . and even just the way we're friends and brothers."

"You hope that with each record you become a better musician and a better songwriter. We're constantly striving to do that," Zac Hanson says. "Middle of Nowhere's success was one of the best things that ever happened to us . . . and gives us the ability to put out the records we're putting out now."

The band's next album, Underneath, will come out next year. But the brothers have recorded live-in-the-studio acoustic versions of some of the songs, selling them at their shows, which will include a Denver visit on Sunday.

"It's music for people to get into their hands and absorb until the new record comes out," says Zac Hanson. "We got about 150 fans and brought them in a studio and recorded what was essentially a live record."

And now a short tour is on tap.

"This is really for the hard-core fans who have been around. This is us saying, 'Thank you guys, here's something we've never done.' They're super-intimate venues; some are 500 seats, some are smaller. It's a different way to introduce this new record," says Zac Hanson.

The show, which is sold out for Sunday night at the Soiled Dove, will feature "a lot of acoustic guitars, a piano, maybe a set of drums," says Zac Hanson. "Whatever we feel fits the songs. It'll be sort of 'Welcome to the songwriting sessions.' This is how we write these songs - three guys and acoustic guitars."

The Hanson brothers all still live in Oklahoma but spend most of the year in California recording and writing.

"Oklahoma is almost like vacation time. When you get back here, it's Middle America. No offense to Oklahoma; I've lived here all my life. Nice people you can feel comfortable with," Zac Hanson says.

But it's the West Coast where things are happening musically for them. They've produced the new record mostly themselves, though they've brought in the occasional guest such as producer Danny Korchmar.

Taylor Hanson suggests that the band's continued growth is something positive for their fans.

"There's a lot that's really interesting about the history of this band and the timing of who this band is," he says.

"We've always been honored with the possibility that we might be able to represent things for people who are now going to college and going to be the leaders of the world someday - maybe we can have some reflection on that."

Mark Brown is the popular music critic. 303-892-2674 or Brownm@RockyMountainNews.com