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Tiger
Beat Interview
4/1/00 (Tiger Beat Magazine) |
What's the one thing you can't help but notice about Hanson these days? Their new haircuts, of course! Ike and Taylor both boldly chopped their locks into shorter and shaggier dos and look hotter than ever. But their new adorable hairstyles and Zac's growth spurt (he's almost as tall as
Taylor!) are only the tip of the Hanson iceberg! Sure, Ike, Taylor and Zac are still the same totally crushable brothers you fell in love with the moment you heard
"MmmBop," but after laying low for the past two years and recording the new album,
This Time
Around, the guys have a whole slew of surprises in store!
The biggest and best piece of news is that the new album is twice as good as the first! the guys packed a repertoire of totally hummable hits onto their much-anticipated follow-up to
Middle Of
Nowhere. But this time around, Ike, Tay and Zac are rockin' out even more! The album, set for a May 9 release, is slightly less pop and a bit more rock, and it features songwriting by three guys who have totally matured
since their ultra-successful debut. You'll find that since
Middle Of
Nowhere, the brothers Hanson have become better writers and wiser guys. But, don't fear, because above all, they've still got that intangible Hanson magic!
Their first single, aptly titled "This Time
Around," hit the airwaves on March 6th, and our bet is that you've already got the words memorized! So why not come along with Tiger Beat for a chat with the guys about the new album, their new look, and their plans for living it up this time around!
You guys had phenomenal success with
Middle Of
Nowhere.
What are your expectations for this album?
Taylor: This record could sell zero copies or it could sell a trillion.
You hope that you can grab the fans that were around before, because they've grown up the same way we have these last couple years, and then you hope you can get some other fans too.
The new album is a little less pop and a little more rock.
Did you set out to try and change your sound?
Ike: It wasn't a conscious effort at all.
Taylor: Over the three years it was just a natural evolution to rock. I think also a little bit with the last album, Stephen
Lironi, [the producer for
Middle Of
Nowhere] added his thing so it made it a little poppier than we actually were in that situation. I think probably if you would have taken our independent writing, if we had just been a band off doing our own thing, probably the last record would have been rockier and we might be even more there by this point. I think there are flavors on the last record that definitely relate very closely to this current record, so in some ways it's just a natural evolution. there's a little less loop stuff going on, there's a lot more scratching.
Zac: But to answer your question directly, no.
Any plans to change your image along with the change in your sound?
Zac: [joking] Besides full body tattoos?
Taylor: Full body tattoos, and we're gonna pierce every part of our bodies so people will know we're really cool rockers!
No, just, you know, we love to play music and that's the truth.
And I think hopefully that'll come through so people will see that.
Ike: Whoever gravitates toward it, whoever enjoys the music, it's great with us.
We just want to be able to continue to do the music and write an play for a long time.
Taylor: Yeah, there are certain people who are never gonna like the
music, but we just wanna say, "Here we are, do with us what you will."
Ike and Tayor, you've both changed your hairstyles recently. what prompted you to make the cut?
Taylor: About five billion people have asked us that! It was just time, you know?
It was just like, why not? We always said it's just hair, so that's the truth.
There's a trend toward harder rock now. How do you feel about it?
Taylor: Well that's not a lot of the stuff we listen to, but
I think if there's one thing that's true there's definitely a diversity that's happening right now.
Zac: A big gap.
Taylor: For instance, you've got NSYNC and Backstreet Boys and then you've got Limp Bizkit and all that kind of stuff, so there's kind of like a weird void happening.
What did you do to come down from the crazy publicity and touring schedule during
Middle of Nowhere? What are you doing to gear up for it again
This Time Around?
Ike: When we were traveling so much when Middle of
Nowhere was at its peak we almost didn't know what day it was.
Taylor: But now we do know what day it is.
Zac: [joking] It's Thursday, 1999.
Ike: That was our joke that we always used to say, we didn't know what day it was.
But I don't know, I mean you just continue to do what you did before.
I don't think you can do anything particularly different.
You just prepare yourself to do a lot of stuff.
Taylor: To work your butt off.
How did you decide on "This Time
Around" for the first single?
Taylor: [joking] We were forced into it! Well, "If
Only" [another tune on the album that was considered for the first single] is more like the last stuff, and we were kinda going, "Well this is more what people expect, whereas
'This
Time Around' is kinda like, this is the next thing, this is where the band's going."
Ike: It was kind of a little bit of a hard decision, but what we felt like was --
Taylor: No one can fault you for changing. "This Time Around," that sound is where the band's going, so that only makes sense, to be like, "here's what we're about."
Any message to your fans regarding the new album and your comeback?
Taylor: We're just excited to see what they think of the music, we're excited to play shows and to see them.
Ike: We're excited to get out there and do what we do best!
Thanks guys!
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