Hanson Is Cool. . . Seriously

http://popshifter.com/2010-06-08/hanson-is-cool-seriously/

By Brenna Chase

Photo credit:
http://boston.com/

To celebrate the upcoming release of Hanson’s newest album, Shout It Out, and to commemorate their recent “5 For 5″ concerts, here is our entire five-part series on Hanson. Yes, Hanson.

Unless you are a Hanson fan, you may not be aware of these simple facts:
1. Hanson is still alive.
2. All three of them are of the male gender.
3. They are still together as a band

Allow me to clear this up for you. Yes, Hanson is very much alive and writing and performing songs—successfully enough, in fact, to make a living from it. Though you may assume they went out of style back in 1998 (if they were ever really “in style” at all), their new material is actually better than most of today’s mainstream pop music.

While most of the millions of people who bought their first release stopped caring over a decade ago, Isaac, Taylor, and Zac have been steadfastly honing their skills as songwriters, performers, and entrepreneurs. They’ve been consistently putting out genuine, pleasing pop music at the independent level—music praised by fans and critics alike—even if their MTV and radio glory days are long over.

These efforts have culminated into their most recent (and arguably best) recent album Shout It Out. Take it from someone who didn’t always believe—it’s time for the rest of the world to start paying attention to Hanson.

You probably pretend you don’t know their names, so let me refresh your memory. The most recognizable—and the most often mistaken for a girl—is Taylor. He looks like David Cassidy and Kurt Cobain, sounds like a cross between Bono and Thom Yorke, and dresses like a metrosexual. Taylor writes perfectly catchy hooks and has the strongest voice, so it’s his lead vocals and melodies that make up the most recognizable “Hanson” sound. His piano skills are slightly better than average and the lyrics to his usually sappy-sweet, generic love songs are often indecipherable, but he gets an A for effort and an A+ for charm.

Zac, the drummer and the youngest of the three, used to be the spunky, annoying 11-year-old whose prespubescent falsetto provided the high harmonies in the band’s early days of fame. He’s since grown up (and cut his hair) to become an impressive songwriter and percussionist and a handsome guy. Zac has developed into a major creative force in the band’s later years and sings more lead as he writes more (impressive) songs on his own and, luckily enough, he’s still got the pipes to sing the high harmonies.

The oldest, Isaac, is the most awkward of the bunch. His guitar solos need some (okay, a lot of) work, but his solid rhythm guitar playing and evident manlove for Chuck Berry bring a nice rock and roll flavor to the bubblegum-sweet Hanson sound.

Separately, they’re each a bit corny, and they’ve got their apparent weaknesses, but together they blend into this unyielding dynamic of an indescribable something else. For those who aren’t fans and have yet to understand the magic of Hanson, it’s best to study the parts that form their ineffable whole.

Isaac, Taylor, and Zac are weird. Not like Jim Morrison or Marilyn Manson or Lady Gaga, just. . . Hanson weird. The oddity began when they formed their own cheery Jackson-5-meets-Partridge-Family band in the middle of the 90s post-grunge era, and it’s never really stopped. They’re a cheery family who lives, works, and plays in their own bubble separated from the rest of the cynical modern world.

The brothers are the oldest of seven children, all of whom were born, raised, and homeschooled in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the early days, when they took their multiplatinum debut album on the road and played to theaters full of thousands of screaming girls, they also took their entire family with them. Their touring entourage included their four young and non-famous siblings, their mother Diana, and their father/behind-the-scenes manager, Walker.

The entourage soon grew in size when Taylor and his girlfriend married when they were both 19 and had a child that same year—a bit of a shock to the outside world’s perception of the Hansons as an upstanding, conservative unit. The trend continued, with Zac marrying at age 20, and then Isaac marrying last before he became an old maid at the withered age of 25. They’ve since continued to have children with their wives, all of whom are pretty brunettes from the South. Now ages 29, 27, and 24, Isaac, Taylor, and Zac have a total of seven children among them. . . so far. And they all still travel together. In a few years, their children will start to reproduce and they will still tour as a pack of 50 Hansons.

Hanson seems to follow their own paradoxical creed, though I’m still not quite sure what the creed is. As if the fact that the band agreed to go on Howard Stern back in 2007 isn’t unusual in itself, Taylor and Zac admitted on the air that they were virgins before they met their wives. I have also spotted two nuns in the VIP section reserved for friends and family at a recent concert, sitting motionless beside the Hanson wives while hundreds of aroused young women screamed about the sexiness of their husbands and Taylor instructed everyone to “shake your asses!” Nuns, people! It’s not unlike an X-Files episode: they may be aliens who travel in pods with their wholesome procreating lifemates and provide their followers with pop music that went out of style over a decade ago.

So Hanson has always lived the antithesis of the pop/rock star lifestyle. They’ve experienced years of superstardom before they even hit puberty, had trillions of screaming female fans reminiscent of Beatlemania accompanied by lots of public ridicule, followed by intense periods of frustration and obscurity, all of which they endured without any substance abuse or arrests.

The Hansons are genuine and far from being anything close to egotistical assholes. They’ve constructed their own levelheaded family compound for themselves while they continue to make music and tour, with thousands of now twenty-something female fans still following and worshiping them as gods. If nothing else, take a second look at the band as a fascinating psychological case study. They’re so overly normal, they’re abnormal.

Although Hanson might be a more liberal, noncreepy, modern day version of the Osmonds, these guys are hipper than you might think. In a time when “indie” rockers are touted by major labels, Hanson is the true definition of a DIY band.

After the sophomore “slump” of their follow-up album This Time Around (a mere 262,000 records sold in 2000) and years of struggles with their label Mercury Records during the messy Island Def Jam merger, they parted ways with Mercury due to irreconcilable differences. Whereas countless bands in the same position were neglected and eventually dropped from their major labels when the overly confident industry of the ’90s was just beginning to collapse, Hanson got out of their contract on their terms and forged ahead on their own, by choice.

In 2003, they founded Three Car Garage Records, named after the place they first began making music together when they were kids. Taylor Hanson says the name of their label “represents unused space,” a fitting description, as they have set out to create and build their own niche in the music industry that no longer had room for them. The band took the songs that no one at their previous label supported and pushed onward, recording their next album on their own and taking its promotion into their own hands.

Without label support, they went back on the road in 2003, playing to the smallest venues in their career since before their glory days at MTV. They started with an acoustic tour, featuring the band in its stripped down form—just the three guys, on piano, drums, and guitar. They debuted new songs to the public for the first time in over three years alongside these bare bones versions of the hits they were famous for. And the new songs they played were GOOD—with the same catchy, floating melodies rooted in solid harmonies that made their older material hits, but without any of the extraneous production (or critics’ speculation).

Loyal fans followed the tour to each show. Those who were skeptical and attended shows out of curiosity or amusement (including yours truly) were quickly converted by Hanson’s charming, more mature pop style and command over their audience. The band sold an EP of live, acoustic versions of new tunes at the shows, whetting loyal fans’ appetites for their forthcoming full length album. Word spread and the crowds (and the venues) grew bigger. The band (with wives and children in tow) toured consistently throughout the summer and fall of 2003 before concluding with a sold out show at Carnegie Hall. Not too shabby for a comeback.

Once they brought their music back to the masses, it was clear that demand for Hanson still existed, so they took a risk and used their “MMMBop” royalties to release their next full-length album, Underneath, independently on 3CG. Most of the songs on Underneath were written and at least preproduced (and rejected) during their struggles with Island Def Jam years before, yet remarkable musical growth was already manifest on the album by the time it was finally released.

Underneath is a fun, focused record interlaced with some more mature themes that retain the same distinguishable Hanson sound minus the bullshit (i.e., the overproduction and DJ scratches of their previous hits). What remains are simple pop structures with feeling, catchy choruses, and perfect melodies anyone can sing along to after one listen—basically, what’s left is what the band does best.

The only question was, were there enough people paying attention to the band and their music after three years of silence, when they no longer had a major label to help stimulate the public mindset?

Photo © Peter Vernon
from http://www.sexpistolsofficial.com/

Underneath came out on 3CG in the spring of 2004 and shot to #1 on the Billboard Top Independent Chart in its first week. The album charted at #25 on the Billboard Top 200 and #49 on the UK Top 75. The band has since revealed that the costs of legal struggles and recording the album over such a drawn out period of time prevented them from being able to profit from this record, but it was more than an impressive start to getting their music out there for their fans to hear—it stands as an encouraging model for ignored and independent artists everywhere.

As of this date, Underneath has sold over 139,000 copies. The big, important industry suits who told Hanson that the band and their sound were old news were completely wrong. Isaac, Taylor, and Zac took it upon themselves to let their fans decide, and the resulting sales numbers became their own “Fuck You” to the record execs. So you may sneer at the notion that Hanson and the Sex Pistols have anything in common, but if you look at the facts, the Hanson brothers really are modern day punks. Never mind the bollocks, Hanson is sticking it to the corporate music industry as we know it and taking control of their shit!

In fact, back when they were struggling with the early stages of Underneath back in 2000, they decided to capture every step of the process on camera. What began as a filmed account of the making of their next album became an unfettered, uncensored, detailed chronicle of their battles with and eventual departure from a major label.

The resulting documentary, Strong Enough To Break, was first released in installments on YouTube and later as a full-length DVD, with the gnarly behind-the-scenes drama of the internal strife (and ignorance) within the industry out there for all to see.

The band is unabashed in its honest portrayal of the goings-on, including conference calls with a stuttering Jeff Fenster (their IDJ A&R rep) that become so frustrating the guys are shown giving the middle finger to the phone. Label big wigs are shown continually expressing their dissatisfaction with the new songs Hanson have written and brought to them with confidence, but act confused and become embarrassingly inarticulate when asked to explain why the songs don’t cut it.

“We just had to do something, because the current system is broken,” Zac explains in Strong Enough To Break, admitting something that seems obvious now, but what was then only a growing suspicion among frustrated musicians who suddenly found themselves lacking label guidance and support. Due to Hanson’s foresight and some serendipity, they were able to capture the exact point in time when the flourishing music industry of the ’90s was beginning to self-destruct.

In between more touring in support of a live album they released on 3CG in 2005, Hanson toured the college circuit, showcasing the film and holding question and answer sessions on the music industry and their personal experiences in the business thus far. They went straight to the people and educated them on what’s wrong with the industry today, the importance of the independent artist and their role in the music industry, and how fans can keep the music alive with their support. (To hear their eloquence on the subject, watch one of the Q&As here.)

Hanson may be mistaken for manufactured, sticky-sweet musical puppets of the system, but they are real and open and honest about the bullshit of the industry that gave them fame and fortune in the first place and then took it away. And if you’re willing to take them seriously for a second, they might actually teach you a thing or two.

By the way, while the rest of the world forgot about them back in 1998, Hanson has maintained a loyal fanbase that will buy from them and die for them. The band knows they owe their continued success to their (obsessively scary, 90% female) fans, and they do not take this for granted—they consistently give back to those who support them to make their fans feel special.

The band was one of the first to start a successful, paid, online fan club back in 2000 that remains a fan community and active resource of all things Hanson to this day. Hanson.net serves as a multimedia testament of their every project, including journal entries and video blog updates from the band and certain restricted access only available to paid members. One fan club member is randomly given the honor to be a “reporter” for each Hanson concert in exchange for a meet and greet with the band, so every show is well-documented on the official site in detail including set lists, photos, and interviews with the guys, all from a fan’s perspective.

The band has spoken openly about the importance of the artist playing an active role in the music experience and maintaining a connection with their fans in the present-day over saturation of Internet resources and shoddy business deals. While on their college Q&A tour, Taylor explained that as musicians, it’s not just their job to create songs; they’re also responsible for “bring[ing] the music to the masses.” In closing the gap between the band and their fans, they allow the fans to be “a part of [the band's] evolution.”

Just this year, Hanson began a partnership with LiveStream.com to deliver streaming footage in real time to fans on LiveStream and MSN.com, as well as their own site. They debuted this new endeavor by broadcasting their five night stint at the Gramercy Theater in New York this April, performing each one of their albums in its entirety each night, in chronological order.

The “5 For 5″ concert series led up to the live debut of their soon-to-be-released album Shout It Out on the final night. Thousands of fans who were unable to attend the sold-out shows were given the opportunity to tune in from around the world and watch the concerts from the comfort of their homes. They chatted with their fellow Fansons (yup, that’s a term) on the side of the screen while watching the performances and on certain nights were treated to a sound check and a stream of the band backstage after the show.

Isaac has pointed out that the key to success is “to be in control and know your audience,” and they’ve figured out how to do just that. Because there’s no big record company involved, they run all their operations internally and collect all the profit. They are their own infrastructure and control all creative projects they put out to the world, and they always use this freedom and control to reward their supporters for being so integral to the process. As a fan, I’ve watched all the videos and read the blogs and learned the dances and gotten to watch the band create and grow and change over the years. Hanson makes us feel like we’re a part of it all, because we are.

Those who’ve dismissed Hanson as just another passing fad from the ’90s are under-informed. The band has earned three Grammy nominations, making Zac the youngest songwriter in history to receive such an accolade. They’ve sold over ten million albums, singles, EPs, and videos to date and continue to chart significantly with each independent release. Hanson is a model for how to survive and thrive in the dying, post-millennial music industry.

Of course, Hanson’s music will never be for everyone. As long as they remain a band, they will make catchy, radio-friendly songs, and they will always have that recognizable three-part-harmony sound, regardless of the general public opinion or cultural trends. The majority of their audience will always be screaming females (though a percentage of smart male Hanson fans does exist). The guys in Hanson are far from perfect songwriters or musicians. But they’re genuine and good at what they do—making pop music— and they are forever evolving.

Each album has been an unmistakable step forward, each clearly defined in its own tone and chapter within the band’s career, especially since they’ve taken to writing and producing more on their own. They recorded with two choirs in Africa and incorporated the sound bytes into their 2007 release The Walk—a far cry from the over processed drum machine loops on their multiplatinum debut ten years earlier. Their latest effort, Shout It Out, hearkens back to the band’s early rock & roll, soul, and R&B roots. They’ve even added a horn section to their live shows (featuring original Blues Brothers band members Tom “Bones” Malone and Alan “Mr. Fabulous” Rubin) to enhance the retro vibe of their new melodies. It’s these details that infuse what would otherwise be conventional pop songs with energy and passion and sincerity.

I love Hanson, but as someone who’s observed them for so long I also can’t help but point out their limitations and laugh at their trying-so-hard dorkiness. After attending all the “5 For 5″ concerts and witnessing their artistic progression from their first release all the way up to the latest album, I’ll also be the first to admit that it’s come to the point where it’s getting harder to make fun of them (I didn’t say it’s impossible, but it is more of a challenge). They’re sharpening their pop sensibilities and business savvy, and the combination of both is pretty damn powerful.

Isaac, Taylor, and Zac have now been a band together for 18 years, and none of them have yet turned 30. The Gibb brothers sang together for over 20 years before they hit megastardom with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It may seem absurd to predict that Hanson may have a huge hit in the future, let alone compare them to the Bee Gees, but this is math, people! If they stay together on the creative path they’ve been on for the past two decades, Hanson has time yet to produce their ultimate masterpiece.

They will most likely never outsell Middle of Nowhere, but they will surpass themselves creatively with every new release, no matter how many people are listening. “If you don’t get it, you don’t get the band,” Isaac affirms with exasperation in Strong Enough To Break. This comment serves as the definitive motto for Hanson in any year: there will never be a point when everyone fully gets or likes Hanson, but there will always be enough people who DO and who WILL.

They’ve figured out how to thrive and they don’t appear to be letting up anytime soon, constantly pushing forward and taking their fans with them, and they’re always learning as they go. Their inspiration is becoming more focused as they get older. They put on a damn good live show, too. Now, whether you’ll admit it or not, Hanson is cooler than you.

Hanson’s latest, Shout It Out, is out today, June 8. You can order it directly from the band’s website, Hanson.net. Be sure to look for upcoming Hanson shows and appearances there, too!