Seventeen Magazine
BLOND AMBITION: They've gone from the Middle of Nowhere to the center of the
universe, but Hanson keeps its cool.
by Ethan Brown
Follow the screams and you'll find Hanson. Tonight the screams are coming form the
hundreds of girls who are assembled outside the Beacon Theatre in New York City.
They're bearing signs that read ZAC: YOU'RE ALL I'M LIVING 4; WE LOVE
HANSON 4-EVER; HANSON: AMERICA'S BOYS. They're hoping to catch a glimpse
of Isaac (17), Taylor (14) and Zac (12) leaving the theater where they've just shot their
upcoming home-video concert, Tulsa, Tokyo &the Middle of Nowhere, and the video for
their next single, "I Will Come to You." When the Hanson brothers appear at the Beacon's
backdoor, the noise reaches deafening decibels. The guys sprint to their limo and pile into
the car's plush backseat. A mob of girls breaks through the police barriers and swarms the
car, pounding against its windows. The brothers pound right back, laughing at the frenzy.
As the car pulls away, Isaac, Taylor and Zac kick back in the limo, readying themselves
for a trip to the airport. The Hansons are off to Europe to tour and record their first
Christmas album, Snowed In. Zac spots a car weaving through traffic to keep up with
them. "I wonder if they're following us," he says. They are. At a red light, a carful of girls
pulls up. As the brothers roll down their windows, the girls begin yelling frantically. Then
the Hansons ask in mock upper-class British accents: "Pardon me, do you have any Grey
Poupon?" You might say that the Hansons are handling superstardom well. They may
have sold more than 5 million copies of Middle of Nowhere worldwide and had a number
one single in 23 countries, yet they're cool, funny and down-to-earth. "You look out there
and you see all these people. And you look on the charts and you see your name. And
people go, 'Oh, my God, you're Hanson!'" says Taylor. "And you go, 'Wait, I can't believe
this.'" "It's been totally unbelievable," Isaac agrees. "People think of us as stars," says
Taylor, "and we don't think we're stars at all, not even for a second." "We think, Stars?
Where?" says Zac. "If I saw a band like us," says Taylor, "the first thing I would say was
'Fake! They're put together; they don't write their own songs.'" The Hansons are able to
deal with the type of hysteria that would drive even the most seasoned rock star insane.
"You go to a concert and there's all this craziness, but it's just a lot of people who are
really excited," says Taylor. In places as diverse as Indonesia, Australia and Paramus, New
Jersey, the Hanson craze is at a fever pitch. This summer, at a Hard Rock Café in Jakarta,
Indonesia, a riot nearly broke out when thousands of fans stormed the tiny establishment.
"They were flinging rocks," says Taylor. "We had people throwing themselves at us and
hanging on us and ripping out our hair and trying to kiss us. "In Australia 25,000 people
showed up to see us perform three acoustic songs," Taylor continues. "In Taiwan a group
of girls followed us everywhere we went, and they had cabs waiting at all times. I mean,
they spent a lot of money on cab fare," he muses. But the most hair-raising (blond, or
course) experience for these guys occurred at what was supposed to be a small in-store
appearance at the Paramus Park shopping center in New Jersey. "It was like the first
appearance we had ever done," remembers Taylor. "And we went to this mall - there were
like 8,000 people. And we had no security, no barricades on the stage. We thought, Wow,
if they wanted to get on the stage, they could." With all this touring, the brothers are
racking up major mileage. "It's really amazing to think, Yesterday I was in Indonesia;
today I'm in Canada," says Taylor. "We've been all over Asia, all over Europe. A lot of
people never get to do that." "It's an incredible opportunity," interjects Isaac, "but at the
same time you start to miss home." "You DEFINITELY miss home," agrees Taylor. "But,
still, when are you ever going to be able to do this?" What keeps these guys' spirits up
during their ultrahectic schedule is their love for music and devotion to their fans (not to
mention the copious amounts of Dr. Pepper and Jelly Belly Very Cherry jelly beans they
consume). "We're doing it because we love to do it," says Isaac. "There's always a little bit
of exhaustion." "It's the most fun thing ever," adds Taylor. "We enjoy recording and
performing." Perhaps it's because their father, Walker, is their manager. For the recording
of Snowed In, the entire family - which includes mother Diana; sisters Jessica, 9, and
Avery, 6; and brother Mackenzie, 3 - will be staying together in a residential studio in
London. "Hanson's family is what keeps them sane," says Mercury Records' senior vice
president, Steve Greenberg, who signed Hanson to the label back in 1996. Walker
Hanson's management has kept some of the Hanson mania at a distance. The boys - it
comes as no surprise - have been offered many Hollywood deals. "People have offered us
sitcoms, movies and all that," says Isaac. (One deal had them starring in a film version of
the '60s TV series My Three Sons.) "Obviously we didn't accept." While you won't be
seeing My Three Hansons, one rumor won't go away - that Hanson will be starring in a
biopic a la the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night. The Hanson publicity machine vehemently
denies it. But according to Entertainment Weekly, Morgan J. Freeman has been hired to
write the film. For now, fans can content themselves with the Hanson-related merchandise
coming this winter. "We want to say right now that we're not going to put out Hanson
dolls," says Taylor. "We're not going to put out totally sell-out stuff." "We'll offer a hat or
a T-shirt," says Zac. "It's no going to be jackets and boxer shorts and lunch boxes."
They're also putting out an authorized biography to set the Hanson record straight.
"Somebody said Taylor's a left-handed dyslexic; that's not true," says Isaac. "I'm
right-handed and not dyslexic," chimes in Taylor. "They also say we're immigrants from
Sweden, and that I used to have a girlfriend named Ashley who cheated on me, so I broke
up with her. What's funny is that I DO have a friend named Ashley, but he's a guy." "There
was one about Ike dating LeAnn Rimes," says Zac. "We don't even know LeAnn Rimes."
The truth is that neither Isaac, Taylor nor Zac is dating anyone right now. "We have
nothing against girls," says Taylor. "We actually like girls a lot. It just hasn't happened
naturally." You can't blame them for wanting to remain solo. This has been a big year for
teen-oriented pop, and Hanson has duked it out on the charts with everybody from Puff
Daddy to the Spice Girls, whom they met during a publicity tour in Europe. "They're all
very short," says Zac. If they're not into talking about the Spice Girls - or being compared
to them, or to any other new kids on the block - they will acknowledge the anti-Hanson
backlash. "You're are tough enough to stand up to their critics, and they're also very
protective of their younger siblings. There's a reason why they're not part of the act. "You
want them to be able to do whatever they want," says Isaac. Taylor agrees: "We don't
want to put them too much in the spotlight." But the younger Hansons do provide musical
inspiration. "The first songs we wrote were about them," says Taylor. They even
composed a lullaby called "I'll Show You Mars" for their brother. Mars is probably the
one place in the solar system immune to Hanson mania. The brothers don't think they've
peaked yet, and Steve Greenberg agrees, saying, "The guys want to mature with their
fans." If the girls at the Beacon Theatre are any indication, Hanson will be rockin' through
the millennium.