Hanson do not just talk the talk. Whether in 1997 as the youngest Grammy nominated songwriters in history with the smash single "Mmmbop", showcasing their live chops at Carnegie Hall with 2003's Underneath Acoustic Tour or debuting with one of the highest self-released albums of all time with 2004's "Underneath", they walk the walk. The bands aptly named forthcoming studio album, The Walk, proves to be the greatest testament to the bands independent and pioneering musical spirit yet. In 2004 The New York Post praised them saying, "Hanson has established itself as a credible rock band whose best years and music are still to come." With The Walk, Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson are proving them right.
The band's last studio album, 2004's critically acclaimed Underneath, took them to #1 on the 'Billboard' indie charts. Released on the bands own 3CG Records Underneath proved Hanson remains a vibrant entity in today's music scene with the album also spawning a #2 single in the US and top 10 single in UK with lead track, "Penny and Me". The success of Underneath as an independent release was in stark contrast to the arduous process the band went through to complete the album while still under the corporate umbrella of their former major label. That struggle, to break from their major label contract and start their own independent label, was captured in Strong Enough to Break, a hard-hitting documentary film selected for the Hollywood Film Festival and added to multiple music school curriculums including NYU and USC.
Their forthcoming album The Walk was co-produced with veteran producer Danny Kortchmar (Billy Joel, Don Henley, Carole King, James Taylor). The result is an album independent in sound and message. "Every song on The Walk has a direct tie to something or someone we have a passion for" explains Taylor. "We recorded these songs in our Tulsa studio to capture the true energy and spirit of what we were feeling. It's very personal."
Hanson released their first independent album in 1995 foreshadowing their future as indie music pioneers. That album contained the smash hit Mmmbop, written by Hanson independently, prior to signing with their major label and without any outside influence. The band signed with Mercury Records who in 1997 released the three-Grammy nominated "Middle of Nowhere", selling eight-million albums and an international hit single "Mmmbop." The song was praised by Bono in an interview with CD:UK as "genius". The band followed with "This Time Around" in 2000 and "Underneath" in 2004.
Now ten years after that first Mercury release the band has returned to its independent and musical beginnings, drawing from their R&B and rock n roll influences while continuing to define their own sound. "There's a harder-hitting sound to this record," Taylor says. "You can hear it in Ike's guitar, and in the grooves. We're going back to our roots."
Clarke Isaac Hanson
"If it weren't for Chuck Berry and the music of the late 50's I don't know where I would be today. It was the origins of Rock 'n' Roll and it was the window to music and songwriting for me."
~ Isaac Hanson
Name: Clarke Isaac Hanson.
Born: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Birth date: 17th November 1980
Marital Status: Married
Instruments: Guitar, Piano, Mandolin, and Bass.
Live Preference: Gibson Les Paul electric guitar (with Ernie Ball RPS 11's),
Taylor Model 810 acoustic guitar, Matchless DC 30, and Marshall "Blues Breaker".
What was your first guitar? "My first guitar? Well the very first guitar that I got was a small classical guitar for Christmas one year. I never really played that guitar, just banged on it. The real playing started when I got a Gibson Les Paul look a like from a local pawn shop, along with a small 35 wattamp. I was fourteen."
Do you still have your first guitar? "Yes. I still have both my first classical and electric guitar" (it is currently on loan to the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame).
What are your ambitions for the future? "Just to watch over my younger brothers and keep on enjoying myself."
Jordan Taylor Hanson
"Music is my life support; it's one of the only things in this world that can help me express every possible emotion." ~ Taylor Hanson
Name: Jordan Taylor Hanson.
Born: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Birthdate: 14th March 1983
Marital Status: Married
Instruments: Piano, Drums, Percussion, Guitar, Hammond B3 Organ, Wurlitzer, Rhodes.
Live Preferences: Kurzweil PC88, Roland VK8 and Grand Piano. Gibson SG, and Marshall stack.
When did you start playing piano? "I was in first grade in Trinidad. Isaac and I both had our first piano lessons while we were living there. Oddly enough, when wegot back to Tulsa and all three of us started to take lessons, our piano teacher was also from Trinidad. He is an amazing jazz and classical pianist and became a great friend of ours."
What kind of piano do you have? We have some electric pianos and a classic B3 organ. We have never owned an acoustic piano, however, there is nothing better than playing a grand. We recorded some songs from both Middle of Nowhere and This Time Around on the same grand piano. Our very first weighted electric piano is on loan to the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame.
What are your ambitions for the future? "I don't know. I'm not old enough to have ambitions yet."
Zachary Walker Hanson
"Why do I play drums? Cause life's too short to learn how to play the bag pipes." ~ Zac Hanson
Name: Zachary Walker Hanson.
Born: Arlington, Virginia
Birth date: 22 October 1985
Marital Status: Married
Instruments: Drums, Percussion, Piano and Guitar.
Live Preference: DW 4 piece drum kit with Zildjian cymbals.
What was your first drum set? "My first drum set was a 1960's Ludwig fourpiece. The drum set was a friend's who had it from high school, and had kept it in the attic for years. I asked him if I could use it and he lent it to me. The finish was like the Ringo Starr set, with the blue and silver pearl pattern. The only problem was that the bass drum would sometimes roll off the stage (the hardware was stripped) in the middle of a show. From the selling of our first indie album, Boomerang, we were able to save enough money to buy a nice set of Pearl drums which are on loan to the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame."
Did you ever take drum lessons? "Taylor and I both had lessons for 9 months in 1994. We took them from a local musician in Tulsa. He was a great teacher, however, we got so busy performing that we stopped taking lessons and practiced by doing more shows. Taylor and I use to trade off playing the drums and it still happens sometimes."
What are your ambitions for the future? "I've had this job since I was 6 so I think I'll carry on with this for a quite a while yet. It's great fun!"
