A Phone Interview with Taylor
(November (98) issue of TV Hits)

The boys are just about to release their third album, HansonLive, so Taylor rang to bring us up-to-date on all things Hanson.....

Although it seems Hanson haven’t been up to that much here recently, they’ve just been getting bigger and bigger all over the rest of the world!

"It’s kinda weird that we’re still doing so well", admitsTaylor, "I mean, there are like, loads of bands out there who’ve been working so hard for a long time and trying to get where we are. I think we just got lucky - we had fans that heard the music and thought,‘That’s cool!’ and went out and bought it. I mean, anybody could do it as well as us, (yeah, right!)and I know it’s an awesome opportunity we’ve been given to get out there and play our music, so I’d never think, ‘Oh, we’re so special. ’We just think, ‘Wow, we’re so lucky!’"

It’s quite unusual for a relatively new band to bring out a live album, but Taylor thinks the time is right. "We want to take a bit of time over the new album, but in the meantime we don’t want anyone to forget us! Plus there’s a couple of new songs that haven’t been released before, and new versions of old Hanson songs that you won’t be able to hear anywhere else. Actually, it was great doing it - it gave us a chance to play songs we haven’t played for a while and that’s really good fun!" You’ve got to admit it though, Tay, ‘Hanson Live’ isn’t the most original of titles, is it? "No, it’s not, and we were actually thinking of calling it Albertane, which was on ‘The Man from Milwaukee’ and is supposed to be the capital of Mars - so who knows we might re-name it yet!"

OK then, if we’re talking about spooky things, do you believe in aliens? "You know, I’m really not sure. But one thing I can you tell is there are plenty of weird people on this planet already, so we don’t need anymore!"

There seems to be so much on the Hanson agenda, we wonder if it’s time for the guys to start thinking about solo careers... Taylor certainly doesn’t think so. "To be honest, I think that the thing that makes Hanson Hanson is the three of us making music together. If we split up I think we’ d lose that special something, and we work together so well, there’s no point in ruining it."

Well, it seems like Hanson are here to stay, but surely there must be other projects in the pipeline? "Actually, there have been people asking us to do movies, and we’d be interested in the creative side, like writing scripts or doing the music for them. But as far as acting goes, I don’t really think it’s where any of us are headed. For us it’s just about making music that people get into."

Most brothers would probably end up killing each other if they had to spend as much time together, so isn’t there anything you do, Taylor, that annoys them? "Well, I have this habit of tapping on stuff! I’ll be sitting somewhere and I’ll be snapping, tapping or banging on things. Seeing as I’m not even the drummer, it doesn’t really make much sense -and I can tell you, it drives the other two pretty crazy!"