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Review by Paula Morgan
Say "Ike, Zac, and Tay" and everybody with a radio should know you're talking about Hanson, the new musical group composed of three brothers, Isaac, Taylor and Zachary Hanson. Out of the blue, their new high-energy power bop sound, including the number one hit "MMMBop," has exploded across age limits to create a music phenomenon that raises lots of questions.
Jill Matthews does a good job of answering many of these in her new biography of the group, "Hanson: MMMBop to the Top." Considering their tender age (Isaac is 16, Taylor is 14, and Zac is 11), it may seem that there's not a lot to tell, but the Hanson boys are sons in a very musical family, and they have been immersed in singing and music all their lives. It was not a surprise that they sounded good singing together.
Matthews acknowledges the group's Tulsa, Oklahoma, origins early on: "The Hanson story begins, not exactly in the middle of nowhere, but close." However, Hanson had an unusual opportunity when their father was sent to Ecuador, Venezuela, and the Caribbean for a year in connection with his work as accountant for an oil drilling company. The whole family went, their mother became their teacher in a home school situation, and the boys took along a series of old '50s and '60s rock 'n' roll. It was almost a time warp, living in the company compound with no radio or television, listening to Chuck Berry, Bobby Darin, Otis Skinner, the Beatles and hearing them over and over. Then at night, their dad would play the guitar for family sing-alongs. That was the foundation for the music they sing and write today.
Following their return to Tulsa, they began writing songs -- by 1996, they had written more than a hundred; they performed at parties and schools; they found a manager and cut a recording of "Boomerang." And finally Mercury record executive Steve Greenberg heard them at a county fair in Kansas in the fall of 1996. He signed them immediately. The pace of Hanson's story picks up as Greenberg directs the production of their first album, "Middle of Nowhere," produced in Los Angeles and released in May of this year. Track 2 on that album is the chart-busting "MMMBop."
Matthews includes a chapter each on Ike, Zac, and Tay. Although they are bright and chatty, "none of the three is very comfortable talking about himself," so these chapters are brief but interesting. And she gives sidelights about the production of the video, info about each of the tracks on the album, and what they think about their future. ("We can't break up. We're brothers!" says Zac.)
Matthews also makes it easy to get in touch with Hanson, giving their address, e-mail address and phone number. They even have an official web site (www.hansonline.com). You might get a hint of what comes after "MMMBop."
Paula Morgan is a writer and mother of a teenager in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.
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