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Nov 12, 2007
Hanson fulfills concert promise
by: JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
11/12/2007 2:46 AM
Show keeps crowd bouncing
 Taylor Hanson Isaac HansonThe men in the band Chevelle were a little let down Saturday night once they realized that the crowd of girls outside Cain’s Ballroom wasn’t there to see them.
The girls were there — many of them since Friday afternoon — to welcome their hometown heroes at a much-anticipated Sunday show. The Hanson brothers played to a near-capacity crowd Sunday night, fulfilling a promise they made more than a month ago when Isaac Hanson suffered a medical emergency and the band had to postpone its Oct. 3 homecoming performance. It was worth the wait. Chants of “Hanson! Hanson!” erupted before they took the stage, then morphed into deafening cheers as the trio — Zac, Isaac and Taylor — launched into “Great Divide” from the new album for which they named the tour, “The Walk.” Taylor Hanson, sitting at an ebony Yamaha piano, at times played a keyboard with one hand and the piano with the other and sang while the crowd hopped to the beat. One teenage girl literally jumped out of her shoes while pogo-dancing and singing along to “A Minute Without You.” Yes, the band is an American original and is known worldwide for its emotion-evoking and powerful live performances and its hooky, bright pop music. But truly, what makes a Hanson concert an unforgettable event is its fans — loyal, polite, positive and, well, positively ecstatic. Another teen mentioned that she had seen more than 200 shows and could tell what song was coming by which guitar was handed to Isaac Hanson. (At least a dozen guitar changes were made during the show.) The brothers, with their now-famous immaculate vocal harmonies, even played an acoustic version of their smash hit, “MMMBop,” from their 1997 major-label debut album, “Middle of Nowhere.” A sea of handheld cameras recorded the band at every moment — glowing screens reminiscent of the lighters flicked en masse back in the “old days,” before fans could literally bootleg every intimate moment at every venue everywhere. Not that the Hansons seemed to mind. The concert was being professionally recorded as well, by a large camera attached to a metal arm that swooped over the crowd. The band also played a cover of the 1978 Police song “Hole in My Life,” and Zac pounded the skins artfully enough that it likely would have given The Police co-founder and drummer Stewart Copeland pause. A song they’ve performed numerous times on tour, the classic hit had the the crowd singing and clapping along. “It’s great to be back home in Tulsa,” Taylor Hanson said while seated at his piano. The brothers beamed several times, thanking their hometown fans for supporting them and for coming to the show. “Would you rather be anywhere else than here?” Taylor Hanson exclaimed as the crowd went wild. “Now this is a rock ’n’ roll show!”
Isaac Hanson: ‘I’m lucky to be here’
by: JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
11/10/2007 3:41 AM
 After a potentially life-threatening medical condition forced the Hansons to postpone the band’s eagerly awaited homecoming show at Cain’s Ballroom in early October, the boys made it back onto the road and will revisit the historic venue Sunday.
The Oct. 3 show was halted after eldest Hanson brother Isaac was taken to a Dallas hospital and diagnosed with pulmonary embolism early that morning — a blood clot that traveled to a lung — and thoracic outlet syndrome or Paget-Schroeder syndrome, a rare condition caused by compression of blood vessels and nerves in the area of the collarbone. causes pain, numbness and loss of grip strength.
“I’m lucky to be here,” Isaac Hanson said as he patted the elastic bandage that covered his right forearm a press conference last month. He has said that he will undergo surgery permanently repair the problem, probably sometime after Christmas.
The Tulsa act has sold out several shows during its current national tour, according to press reports.
The band has worked to raise social awareness of AIDS and poverty Africa after a tour of the country last year. And with maturity and marriage — Taylor, Isaac and Zac are all now wed, and two have children — has come a profound awakening social consciousness.
They’ve partnered with TOMS shoes, and for every pair sold during the tour, a pair will be donated to children in Africa. Also, all proceeds from the band’s first single, “Great Divide,” from their most recent album, “The Walk,” will go to fund AIDS and HIV research and treatment at hospitals in Africa.
“AIDS is killing more people than any world war. It’s wiping out an entire continent,” Isaac Hanson said in a recent interview. “If we don’t take action, it could get a lot worse than we ever imagined. With the Internet, with instant access to anywhere in the world, our generation can do anything.
“We just need to take that first step.” http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/article.aspx?articleID=071110_8_H1_spanc43808
| Hanson Still a Family Act After 15 Years |
By Larry London
Washington
05 November 2007
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| Watch Hanson report / Windows Broadband - download 
Watch Hanson report / Windows Broadband
Watch Hanson report / Windows Dialup - download
Watch Hanson report / Windows Dialup
In 1992, three brothers Zac, Taylor, and Isaac formed a band with their family surname, Hanson. Five years later, they released an album called Middle Of Nowhere which contained "MMMBop", the song that would launch them into stardom. First discovered by Mercury Records at the 1994 Kansas State Fair, Hanson remain a popular attraction today. VOA's Larry London caught up with the brothers when their current tour came to Washington, D.C.
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| Hanson | Before adding instruments and writing music, Hanson started singing a cappella songs from the '50s.
"Like anybody, you have influences. The first things you hear are the things that get you into music. We heard rock and roll - '50s and '60s music," recalls Jordan 'Taylor' Hanson. "Even songs like 'MMMBop,' which was the song that really broke out there, was really inspired by classic doo-wop and vocal groups. It was the first thing that got us going, got us into music and writing and wanting to produce and play music."
The new CD is called The Walk. Taylor feels there are many different influences that created the songs. It's been 10 years since their last major success.
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| Jordan 'Taylor' Hanson | "One thing that we've always said about this band is that everybody writes, plays, and sings," says Taylor. "Everybody brings together a different set of influences. Sometimes that's what makes a record so eclectic, honestly."
Fifteen years is a long time to keep a family act going, adds Taylor. "It goes way beyond the sibling thing. A lot of times people will ask, 'How are you in a band with your brothers?' Those people would not be in a group with their brothers or their family.
"I think with us, we were always connected by music and then every once in a while it's like, 'Oh yeah, we are brothers,'" he continues. "We are at Thanksgiving together, and we have the same parents. We hang out in the family environment, but we run a business (record company) together, and we have been a band together. Honestly, I think the music has always been the thing that has kept us connected. It's continually a passion."
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| Zac 'Walker' Hanson | "There is a rich history of brothers in bands," notes 'Zac' Walker Hanson. "That's because there is something about the way - when you get guys who are from the same genes and they have grown up together. They have learned how to play music together and learned how to play off each other."
Hanson's new single is called "Great Divide." They recorded the song with a children's choir while in Africa.
"The time there really inspired us for the needs that are there, especially with relation to AIDS and HIV," says Taylor. "If you buy that song on iTunes, all the proceeds from the downloads of "Great Divide" go directly to a hospital in South Africa, where their whole focus is mother-to-child transmission of AIDS."
Hanson is not only popular in the U.S. Their shows continue to sell out around the world. "To get back through Internationally is really hard as a band," says Taylor. "We have definitely had a chance to not only get a little glimpse, but to go back over and over to Latin America, China, Japan, all throughout Southeast Asia, Australia. It still blows me away."
Hanson is one band that is using its fame for a good cause. Describing the tour, Taylor says, "I don't want to be too heavy, but one of the things we are doing with our tour that is really cool is to continue our efforts with "Great Divide." We also have partnered with a really awesome company called Tom's Shoes. When you buy a pair of their shoes, they give a pair of shoes to a kid in Africa. We plan to go back to Africa to literally put them on their feet," he adds.
Hanson also hosts barefoot charity walks so that people can feel what its like to not have shoes on your feet. For now Taylor, Zac, and Isaac remain on tour for their new CD, The Walk.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-11-05-voa48.cfm
Posted at 02:44 pm by Psychomike
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