Wholesome Hanson deal with fame

By: J.D. Considine

So there I was, on the phone with Taylor Hanson - who, with the rest of Hanson, was on a tour bus somewhere near Boston - when suddenly, a little girl started singing in the background.

These days, it's not unusual for touring pop stars to do their interviews from a mobile phone on the band bus. Nor is it strange to hear odd noises in the background when talking to them. Sometimes it traffic, sometimes the TV, sometimes another band member.

But a little kid? That's not your typical tour bus fare.

"Oh well, the whole clan is with us." Taylor said, sounding very used to such things. "Who knows what's going on in the background?"

By "the whole clan," Taylor isn't referring to just his brotherly bandmates, 17-year-old Isaac and 12-year-old Zac. He also means his parents, Walker and Diana, plus sisters Jessica (9), Avery (6), Mackenzie (4), and baby Zoe. The usual entourage, in other words.

That the whole Hanson family would be along for the ride as the boys set out for their first -ever American concert tour is hardly out of character.

The Hanson's are home-schooled evangelical Christians whose musical career started out as a family affair and seems likely to remain one. Maybe that overwhelming wholesomeness explains why, of all the teen sensations working the circuit, Hanson has attracted the least amount of controversy. Not only has the group sold more than 4 million copies of its 1997 debut, "Middle of Nowhere," the groups ultracatchy single, "MMMBop," topped the Village Voice's annual poll of American critics- a feat that previous teen phenoms New Kids on the Block or Debbie Gibson never managed

Moreover, the three appallingly well-mannered and considerate. For instance, when Isaac is asked what he and his brothers would most like to see happen this year, he modestly suggests that he hopes people would continue to enjoy their music.

"We just continue to be amazed by the fact that people are embracing the band like they are," he said "Its very, very cool. You really can't ask for much more than what has gone on."

True, there is a dark side to the Hanson phenomenon. The mere sight of the band has been known to send preteen girls into bouts of shrieking, crying hysteria. Parents have sometimes spent hours in line to buy tickets for their Hanson-obsessed children. There have been reports of hair-pulling, as fans argue who's cuter, long-haired, soulful Taylor, or lean, lanky Isaac. But the Hanson's are used to the fan frenzy. When they don't get is the rest of the fame game. "It's kind of weird to even think of yourself as famous," Taylor said. "You go to all kinds of different countries, and no matter where you are in the world, people recognize you. And that's pretty weird."

Taylor is also disturbed by the way he and his brothers are sometimes misrepresented in the press. "A lot of people write thins that really aren't you," he said. "Like you read an article that you did a week ago, and it's totally not what you said. So that's kind of throws you for a loop." Despite being occasionally annoyed at being misrepresented in the press, Taylor hardly seems thin-skinned. In fact, he and his brothers seem to have remarkably well-developed sense of humor about their public image. "Its kind of like if Howard Stern talks about how much your music [stinks} and makes fun of you," he said. "That's a compliment, because Howard Stern is talking about you. And besides, he makes fun of everybody." Still being made fun of by Howard Stern is nowhere near as much fun getting to do a full-fledged tour. "I mean, we've been wanting to get out on tour for the last year," Isaac said. "For six or seven years, we'd been doing three shows a week. And for the last year or whatever, we hadn't been doing nearly as many shows.

"So now we get back on tour, be onstage and all that, just playing music, its a really great feeling." Besides the bands basic lineup, which features Isaac on guitar, Taylor on keyboards, and Zac on drums, the touring band includes a rhythm guitarist, a second keyboardist, and a bass player. One thing the live show won't include is a lot of razzle-dazzle. "We try to keep it focused on the music," says Taylor. As such, Hanson won't be using Spice Girls-style fireworks, video screens, or hydraulic staging, "Buts its a fun show," he adds. Originally, the band wanted to do a long tour playing multiple small halls. "We didn't want to be presumptuous," Taylor said. But because the group needs to get back to the studio to begin work on its next album, Hanson is instead making a short tour and playing mostly 12,000-seat amphitheaters. That means the group can perform to more fans in less time, but it also means that the screaming will be a whole lot louder.