Hanson is as Hanson does

Despite fame, young trio still unassuming.

By Joan Anderman, Globe Correspondent, 06/26/98

Just their name conjures images of bedroom walls plastered with posters, tattered covers of Tiger Beat, and earsplitting squeals of pure, primal, junior-high desire. No fewer than six books with titles like ''Zac Attack! Hanson's Little Brother'' and ''Taylor Hanson: Totally Taylor!'' are on best-seller lists. By way of the sheer, archetypal sway of matching blond mops and a funky little pop song called ''MMMBop'' that stuck like bubblegum to the soul of teenage America, the trio of brothers from Tulsa, Okla., has single-handedly restored mass hysteria to the adolescent female experience.

''We kind of don't really think of ourselves as being famous. We don't. We're very, very normal,'' declares 15-year-old singer/keyboardist Taylor Hanson on the phone from Montreal, where the next evening Hanson will open their first North American tour - a scant year after the release of their major label debut, ''Middle of Nowhere'' (Mercury Records). When Taylor, who shares vocal duties and heartthrob detail with 17-year-old keyboardist Isaac and 12-year-old drummer Zac, is reminded that his band has sold 12 million records in as many months, he says that ''we just don't think about it. It is very weird to get thousands of letters and hundreds of thousands of e-mails a day from all over the world.''

The sort of instant, massive success that Hanson has stumbled upon is tricky for even the most mature artists to adapt to. But the brothers Hanson, who are as upbeat and polite in conversation as they are in their music, seem destined to defy the odds for remaining sane in the face of sudden fame and fortune.

''We do what we do, and there's nothing much more than that,'' reflects Isaac, Hanson's resident philosopher, who's prone to answering questions with contemplative pearls of wisdom. ''We just try to stay ourselves.''

Much of the credit for the trio's grounded outlook goes to growing up the eldest three of seven siblings in the remarkable Hanson family. Suffice it to say, the word ''wholesome'' doesn't do this clan justice. The children are home-schooled (and, increasingly, hotel-room-schooled) by their mother. They're being raised as evangelical Christians, and while faith hasn't figured so far in Hanson's music, the band's new CD, ''3 Car Garage,'' is dedicated to ''Him, the Morningstar, who is our Hope.'' From the start, Walker and Diana Hanson have offered more than the customary parental indulgence of their music-loving kids; when Isaac, Taylor, and Zac began to noodle around with three-part harmonies and feel-good tunes, Walker would set up secondhand sound equipment in restaurant parking lots while Diana sold T-shirts to the first wave of starry-eyed girls. So when Taylor explains that ''we're still regular kids, we still go out Rollerblading. We just, well, you know, need to avoid large groups of people,'' you have to laugh, but you just have to believe him too.

Now, of course, Hanson packs arenas and sheds - including Great Woods, where they'll perform tonight. Those who can make out the songs above the shrieks will hear material from ''3 Car Garage'' - a collection of rough drafts repackaged for maximum pop-culture credibility as ''The Indie Recordings '95-'96'' - as well as hits from the ubiquitous ''Middle of Nowhere'' and a handful of never-recorded tunes from Hanson's early years on the birthday party circuit. As for new material, ''we have a lot of new stuff that we're really psyched about,'' says Taylor. ''But we'll want to save those for the next record.''

Hanson plans to hole up in the studio this fall, with an album slated for release no later than next summer. And according to Isaac, they'll shake up their sound - a teeny-weeny bit. ''Let's just put it this way: I would definitely say that `Middle of Nowhere' does not define Hanson. There will be similarities, but I think it's pretty safe to say there will be a little bit more guitar action. It will be a little bit rawer than `Middle of Nowhere, ' which is quite polished. To a certain degree, even when we were making the record, at times we were going, `Maybe the guitar could use a little more oomph.' We're proud of it, and enjoy listening to it and playing it. But our tastes were starting to change even then.''

Tastes aren't the only thing changing in the Hanson camp. Word is, Taylor's soulful, sky-high tenor is losing top notes by the fistful as he careens through his 16th year. Although one shudders to think of ''MMMBop'' crooned in a baritone, Taylor offers this levelheaded assessment: ''I think whatever's going on, there's so many different ways a song can be interpreted. The songs are always evolving.'' Furthermore, any additional grit will go a long way toward placating pundits who've dismissed Hanson as flash-in-the-pan pop poster boys. ''3 Car Garage'' is already gaining a sort of grudging respect among critics; although the brothers' musical skills are achingly underdeveloped on those early recordings, the self-produced mixes are indisputable proof that

Hanson's sunny grooves aren't - as sometimes charged - the sum total of the Dust Brothers' hip production values and a savvy label exec's keen concept of the new antigrunge.

Meanwhile, the boys are writing like crazy. In Montreal, they tried to buy small keyboard with speakers so that they could jam on the tour bus - but within moments, a crowd was trailing them around the music store, making the shopping excursion ''a little too weird,'' says Isaac. Taylor, who is fascinated with the technical side of everything, says the band very well might co-produce its next album. And as for the enticing notion of a Hanson sitcom, or feature film, or Saturday morning cartoon? ''We definitely don't go around saying we're great actors or anything,'' Taylor offers as a disclaimer.

''I wouldn't say that's something that would happen in the very near future. But we are really very involved in the production of the videos [their latest, ''Weird,'' was helmed by ''Good Will Hunting'' director Gus Van Sant]. And people do bring up offers, just because we're out there.''

For now, though, it's ''MMMBop,'' night after night, for the adoring throngs. At the suggestion that Hanson might understandably be getting a bit tired of that beloved single, Isaac gently, sagely retorts: ''People are constantly commenting on that song. But trust me, playing it live is a lot more fun than referring to it. It's really, really fun to play.''

This story ran on page D01 of the Boston Globe on 06/26/98. © Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.