Hanson Brothers Rock Toward Future

Isaac, Taylor Talk About Their Music, Growing Up In Public Eye

It was a song so catchy that we're still humming it today. The 1997 hit single "MMMbop" rocked three brothers to stardom. The band's name is simply Hanson, but there is nothing simple about Isaac, now 19, Taylor, 17, and Zachary, 14.

Some thought that the band hit its high note with the smash hit, but three years later, these Oklahoma brothers are proving that they're just starting to get rocking and rolling.

Now, Isaac and Taylor Hanson talk about their boy-band status, their latest album, "This Time Around," and missing the senior prom.

Name That Tune
If you can't hum at least the first two bars of "MMMbop" (the hit single from the "Middle of Nowhere" album), you were either a) literally, born yesterday or b) well ... there is no "B" in this quiz. The point is: It's a tune that sticks and a song that became the signature sound for Hanson.

But what exactly is that sound?

I caught up with two-thirds of the brothers recently to find out.

"I think when you listen to a Hanson album, you'd say it's pop-rock," Taylor tells me.

Taylor is unapologetic when he tells me, "I mean, I love pop songs -- the Beatles are pop. A pop song is a song that has a hook in it."

"MMMbop" hooked millions of new fans. Now, three years later, it's almost synonymous with the band.

But does the song still haunt them?

"It does in some ways, because people who really don't know about the band just know that song," Taylor laments. "But at least they know that song. For people to know you for something you're not ashamed of, for something that you feel represented you at some point in time, then there's nothing wrong with that."

However, the band wants you to know that not only are they growing up, their music is changing, too.

"I think it's even cooler to have more and more people getting to be taken along the ride of where we're going now," Taylor tells me about growing up in the public eye.

With the release of Hanson's latest album, "This Time Around," the guys have not only changed their hook and changed their look (they tend to be more grungy now), they've gone a little bit more rock 'n' roll. It's a sound that suits them.

An eclectic mix of pop, hip-hop and good old-fashioned rock and roll, "This Time Around" will be a surprise to those who think of Hanson as "that 'MMMbop' band."

Isaac agrees that we'll hear a difference.

"I think it's because we're a little bit older and because of the slight evolution of the music," he tells me.

One new song in particular shows the kind of evolution that he's talking about. Isaac describes "Hand and Hand" as having a "kind of abstract hip-hop groove."

He does confess that he doesn't think it's going to be the next "MMMbop."

"We all know that it's not going to be a single, but that song says a lot about who we are because it's a totally different thing than what people would expect from Hanson," Isaac says.

But for those of you longing for the vintage Hanson (circa 1997) days, don't worry -- you'll still get your "MMMbop" fix on this album.

"It's still definitely pop music, by all means," Isaac says.

And lest you believe that these guys are just some packaged bubble-gum teeny-bopper band, think again. They're serious musicians.

The members of Hanson, well-spoken music aficionados, play their own instruments, and (gasp) write their own songs.

"We wrote the whole record ('This Time Around'). All three of us either wrote or co-wrote the last record ('Middle of Nowhere')," Isaac says.

Isaac played guitar, Taylor the keyboards and Zac the drums. All three share vocal duties, usually with Taylor in the lead.

The brothers tell me that they don't pick up their musical inspirations from one particular place or person.

"That's the great thing about the music and about inspiration: You never know when it's going to come," Isaac says.

Oh, Boy Band
"I think there (are) a lot of weird connotations to a boy band," Isaac says of the term that has been bandied about the music world of late.

"Here's the thing: There's nothing wrong with being a boy band. But I think, in true essence, a boy band is a group of singers that do sort of an R&B pop music. And they generally dance. And were pretty much just a band," Isaac explains. "Our joke is that we're actually more a boy band than the other guys are. Nothing against them, but a lot of them are older and not really boys. They're just men."

But Isaac also defends boy bands like the Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees. He gives them R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

"I defend (the packaging of boy bands)," Isaac tells me. "Aretha Franklin never wrote a song in her life, but she made you believe it. She had soul. The passion and the music came from her. Whether she wrote it or not, she was expressing it in a very expressive and true way."

Aside from Franklin, the guys credit a lot of artists from the early days of rock who have influenced them.

"It was kind of a fluke thing," Taylor tells me. "The exact story is that we went overseas (Trinidad, Ecuador and Venezuela) because of our dad's job. Somehow we ordered a Time-Life collection of songs (covering the years 1957-69)."

The boys were fed a musical diet of Chuck Berry, Otis Redding, Bobby Darin and the Beach Boys.

And who fills their CD collection now? Taylor lists them: the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blues Traveler, Ben Folds Five, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, Lauryn Hill and Vertical Horizon.

"We enjoy music. We listen to everything from Billy Joel to Beethoven," Taylor says.

Their eclectic taste in music can't help but influence the songs that they write.

"On one hand, you're just listening for the enjoyment of it, but you'd be blind to say you're not influenced by hearing certain things. So I think it's both," Taylor says. "Everything you hear is going to influence you in some way. If it doesn't, you're not really listening to it."

Mr. Nice Guys
"There are a lot of different ways that artists deal with success. Some artists go (goof) off and play the hardball way, and that becomes their thing," Taylor says of the band's nice-guy image. "We're just who we are. If think if someone walks away saying 'They're nice guys,' I would sure hope they did."

But he says that not everyone sees it that way.

"'The Hansons are nice guys' can be backlash, too," he says. "It's like, 'Wow, they're too normal, they're actually nice.' But there's a little bit of a turnoff or unbelievability. It's wrong if it's right. That's the weird thing about it, but that's who we are. Nobody's putting anything on. We're just guys who like to make music and don't happen to be (jerks)."

The Price Is Right
"Most of our life, we were home-schooled. As the band thing started, it just worked hand in hand," Taylor tells me.

Like all child stars, there is a price to pay for fame. And in the case of the Hanson brothers, it was the high-school experience.

"There are certain things we didn't experience, or haven't experienced. I've never been to a prom. That was hard," Taylor says.

But he says that it was well worth the sacrifice.

"I have traveled the world, I've done something I enjoy, I've met people. Believe me, I've met plenty of girls -- no lacking there. But gosh, I wouldn't give up any of that stuff to experience getting beat up on as a kid," Taylor admits.

Isaac just earned his high-school diploma and Taylor will technically be a senior this year.

"We're looking at college more and more. Education is very important, I think it's very important to learn and keep educating yourself," Taylor tells me.

So is there a Hanson breakup in the near future?

No way, the band says.

"We're definitely going to stick together. There's not even the slightest plan at all, not even that thought," Taylor says quickly.

"Who knows what can happen? You can't predict life. Whether we're writing songs, producing people or being Hanson the way we are now, we're all going to do music," he adds. "Music is who we are. It's just a wonderful thing to get to do."

The Big Scoop

Spitting Out The Pitts? Heard through the Hollywood grapevine -- which sometimes turns sour -- that Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow lobbied strenuously to grace the cover of this month's Vanity Fair magazine and be touted as the "it" girl of 2000. The reason: Reportedly, Jennifer Aniston almost got that nod. You put the pieces together.

Good Taste Is Easy To Recognize: You can check out the menu and take a visual tour of the restaurant at findagreatrestaurant.com. The site boasts top restaurants for major cities around the U.S., along with driving directions. I hear that the site will soon boast celebrities touting their favorite hot spots. How far is it from Hollywood to Boston?

Star Grazing