“It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Hanson” we were thinking the other day. Then, as if by magic, the brothers were on the blower (phone), telling us about their latest japes...

TAYLOR

SH: What have you been up to recently?

We’ve just finished out first fan club magazine - it was totally manic! We were very involved with that. We put lots of articles together and stuff. It was really cool!

SH: And in your spare time?

Ha! I don’t know what spare time is! But we have just got some motorcycles, dirt bikes. We go out and hit jumps and stuff. We have a 200cc, a 250 and a 400.

SH: Does Zac go on the little one?

A 200 isn’t little! It’ll throw anyone off!

SH: Any nasty accidents?

Our dad, actually! He juiced it a little too much, and it threw him right on his butt! It’s funny ‘cos our mom’s more worried about him than she is about us!

SH: Any time for dating?

No, there’s been no dating at all. I haven’t got my eye on anyone in particular at the moment, but we’re always on the lookout!

SH: Met any famous pop stars recently?

Well, she’s not exactly a pop star but we did meet Lisa-Marie Presley, Michael Jackson’s ex-wife. It was pretty wild - she just came into the dressing room and said ‘Hi!’ She was just how you’d expect her to be!

SH: How’s your little sis Zoe?

Oh, she’s very cool, and getting fatter and fatter by the day. She’s growing fast.

SH: Does she like your music?

She’s a happy baby, but she definitely responds and smiles when we play music.

SH: So when’s she joining the band?

She’s probably not gonna join our band! We were thinking about it at one point, but Isaac’s 17 years older than she is! In a few years, when Isaac’s 23, she’ll only be six. Maybe she can start her own band!


ISAAC

SH: So what’s going on in Tulsa?

Not a lot, apart from preparing for our tour. It’s a fairly short one - we’re gonna be in Europe for the first few weeks, and we should be coming over to the UK. Apart from that, we go out and do as much stuff as we have time to. We just get out and do whatever anybody else does. We’ve been rollerblading and watching films.

SH: What films have you seen recently?

I saw Lost in Space, and that was alright. It was kinda interesting. There were definitely good parts...

SH: Would you like to do some more music for film soundtracks?

I guess if we got the opportunity, yeah, doing music for films would be very cool. But at the moment, we’re concentrating on our tour and doing loads of preparation for that.

SH: What was it like working with Gus Van Sant on the Weird video?

He was really great! We decided we were going to ask Gus to direct the video, and then between deciding on a director and actually filming the video, we thought ‘What the heck!’ and came up with our own idea. We gave it to Gus and he really liked it. He was the one who made it happen
- without him, we wouldn’t have been able to do it.

SH: How does making videos compare with writing music?

I think it’s a very similar process, and we really enjoy making videos - it’s a lot of fun!

SH: So what about a Hanson film, then?

There’s always been talk, but no, that’s not gonna happen. Well, I guess it may happen some time, but not in the near future.

ZAC

SH: Are you still as mad and hyperactive as ever?

Erm, I think you must be thinking of someone else.

SH: Why did you decide to call your album Three Car Garage?

I don’t know - it’s just kind of a cool name. I think it was ‘cos we wrote the songs in a garage, and there are three of us, so it kinda works! We like the way it turned out, anyway.

SH: Does it sound weird when you listen to your old stuff?

It sounds different, but if we thought it sounded bad, we wouldn’t have put it out! We definitely sounded more like chipmunks then!

SH: You’ve been around for a while now - do you have any advice for the next Hanson?

The only thing is, you’ve gotta work hard. Some people say it gets easier when you get signed, but that’s when the real work starts.

SH: Do you get mobbed when you go out?

It’s not like you get girls running at you and screaming, but we do get noticed. I don’t mind it. It’s fun, so long as they’re not running at you and going, ‘Zac, Zac, Zac, Zac, ZAC!!!!’ I like meeting the fans. It’s fun to find out what they think about the songs and what their favorite ones are.

SH: Where do you keep your Smash Hits awards?

We keep them in the garage! That’s where we’ve got all our band stuff.

SH: Finally, do you have a message for all your fans in England?

We luurve you! And we’ll see you soon!