Three boys. Long hair. Female sounding voices. Venues with no alcohol policies. This truly was “back in the day.”
Ten years later brings us to three men who have grown up in more ways than merely in their ages. Zachary (21), Taylor (24) and Isaac (26), otherwise known as Hanson, have come a long way since their first hit single, “MmmBop,” hit the number one spot in over 28 countries. Some perceived the boys and their music as one big joke, but artists such as Bono of U2, Carole King, Stephen Jenkins of Third Eye Blind, amongst many others, have supported the group since their early days and have believed that they have talent beyond their years.
More positive remarks and credibility also came from Rolling Stone Magazine with the release of Hanson’s Christmas album followed by a live album and their second studio release, “This Time Around.” The trio disappeared from the media’s eye after this point because it took them over three years to release their next album due to creative differences with their record label, at which time the band decided to leave the struggle and chaos behind and begin their own record label, 3CG (or Three Car Garage).
This decision enabled the men, who were 18, 21 and 23 at this point, to have the creative freedom to make music in whatever way they chose. All financial, business, marketing and personal decisions were being made on their own, with the help of a few close friends, which resulted in “Underneath Acoustic Live,” another live album in an acoustic format of the electric-driven album “Underneath,” which became the number one selling independent album of all-time, according to the USA Billboard Charts.
The first listen of “Underneath” provides proof in itself that Hanson is one of those rare bands who are not afraid of being themselves and making music that is not considered to be like those of other artists on mainstream radio.
The details of the issues they (and many other artists today who cope with it) had with former record label executives are presented and discussed by the band themselves on their home documentary video, “Strong Enough to Break,” which is also available for viewing on iTunes.
By mid July of 2007, Hanson released “The Walk” in Canada and other countries caught the album earlier in the year in order to allow for a sufficient amount of time for self-promotion. Listening to this album is proof in itself that these once three little boys have clearly become three men who have moved forward in their music and lyrics, the music industry, as well as in personal growth.
In their personal lives, each brother is now happily married and two of the three have youngsters to look after - Taylor and his wife, Natalie, have three children under the age of 5, while Isaac and his wife, Nicole, now have a son only a few months old.
Read a review of Hanson’s latest album, “The Walk.”