It’s 1997. Gas is $1.22 a gallon, boxer Mike Tyson bites off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear, a civil jury finds O.J. Simpson liable for the 1994 murders of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman, and a trio of blond haired, prepubescent brothers infect the airways with a little ditty called “MMMBop.”
In all fairness, only one Hanson brother had yet to hit his teenage years when the band debuted with “Middle of Nowhere.” Drummer Zac Hanson was only 11-years-old when the aforementioned hit single topped charts around the world sending throngs of scrunchie-wearing girls into frenzy.
In the subsequent years much has changed, but 13 years later Hanson is still making music and touring the world. Last night, the band performed at the Mesa Arts Center. Zac, now 24, explains how much things have changed and how much they have stayed the same.
“I have to bring a shaving kit to shows now,” Hanson says candidly in a telephone interview. “It’s very similar though,” referring to how the band prepares for shows today. “You’re still bringing instruments and a crew, but the aesthetic has changed. You have different things available, such as Twitter, and can reach thousands of fans at once.”
Although he has performed for the majority of his life, Hanson doesn’t view touring any more grueling than it used to be. “There’s still practice involved and you’re still thinking about sets but you have more things to choose from once you’re four or five albums in,” Hanson says.
“Shout It Out,” released earlier this year, marks the eighth studio album from the Tulsa, Okla., natives.
“The response has been really great,” Hanson says about the new record. “I think people are trying to hear something that’s not rap; not just rhythmic, but more about life at it’s core. It is a special moment [for the band] because it has been a certain amount of years. We decided to let loose and make more of a summer sound.”
In a world that consists of the likes of the Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber, Hanson explains they aren’t intent on fitting in musically with the bands that have taken up their mantle as teenage pop-throbs.
“We’ve never been afraid to sound like what we wanted,” Hanson says. “When we first hit the scene we were sort of this Motown-inspired pop band, and today we’re still a bit of an anomaly. It’s an advantage because we still have our own identity.”
Although history is rarely kind to child music stars, the band has been fortunate enough to make it through intact. “It’s a huge advantage to have been so young and have success,” Hanson says. “We’ve been able to build a fan base and still have time to grow. You have so many experiences to pull from and still have a long career ahead of you.”
Whether it’s better to be a music star at 11-years-old or almost a quarter of a century, Hanson explains he’s just never thought of it that way.
“Music isn’t something I do, but is so much of who I am,” Hanson says.
Pretty mature words coming from one of the kids who once wrote, “In an mmm bop they're gone. In an mmm bop they're not there. Until you lose your hair. But you don't care.”
Alternative rocker’s A Rocket to the Moon will be opening for Hanson. The once solo project spearheaded by Massachusetts’s Nick Santino in 2006, features Arizona native and ASU Alum Eric Halvorsen on bass. “On Your Side” is the current incarnation of the band’s first album, released in October 2009. In what started out as a bedroom experiment, the band has reached full fruition after being signed by Fueled By Ramen, the label that includes bands such as Paramore, Gym Class Heroes, and Panic! At The Disco.
Contact the reporter at jose.sandoval@asu.edu.
