Big update!
I was gone for the weekend, so I've got alot of catching up to do.
Hanson hits the Strand Band offers chance to take a walk for charity By Kristi Singer - For The Sun News Pop rock trio Hanson is back again. The "MmmBop" boys are now men - and they're on a mission.
With its fourth studio album, "The Walk," Hanson (Isaac, 27; Taylor, 25; and Zac Hanson, 22) went beyond an artistic effort. "The Walk," which debuted in the Top 5 on Billboard's Independent Chart, is part of the band's ongoing mission to fight poverty and AIDS in Africa, a commitment that began with a trip to Africa in 2006 to record their charity single, "Great Divide."
"That first trip was during the making of the record," Zac Hanson said during a phone interview last week from Massachusetts on a rare non-show day. "It's all developed after that. If you listen to the album, it all starts with a chant of a children's choir. They're chanting 'I have hope' in isiZulu [the native South African language], which is pretty awesome. They came up with that part without any prodding on our end."
Hanson will perform songs from "The Walk" at the House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach on Tuesday with indie rockers Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers and Kate Voegele, the first artist signed to MySpace Records.
Hanson fans can show their support by participating in the band's one-mile barefoot walks that take place before each concert. The exact location of each day's walk is announced on Hanson.net three hours in advance. Concertgoers who participate in the walk get to "jump the line" for that evening's show.
Hanson, along with thousands of supporters, walked 48 miles across North America on its fall 2007 tour. The goal was to help provide shoes to children in Africa. TOMS Shoes, founded by Blake Mycoskie, donates a pair of shoes to a child for each pair purchased. To date, TOMS has donated more than 58,000 pairs of shoes.
"Before every concert we walk a mile barefoot because we're talking about shoes," Zac Hanson said. "[And] simple things that people can do, like walking a mile, walking in someone else's condition, in someone else's lack of shoes. Your feet are probably going to hurt a little bit afterwards, you might stub your toe on something, or you might be too afraid to walk without shoes - and maybe that should mean something to you."
Hanson is launching its own custom TOMS Great Divide Shoe. With every pair of shoes purchased, a download card for the single "Great Divide" and a special acoustic recording is given to buyers. Proceeds from the download will help HIVSA, an HIV research hospital in Soweto, South Africa. Shoes can be purchased at www.toms shoes.com.
"I think it's a hard thing for people to swallow - someone in the public eye standing up for something like this," Zac Hanson said. "But for us it doesn't matter. It's about the people who join us on these walks."
"It's easy to be a cynic. It's a lot harder to actually do something. We have no misconceptions about the impact that we've been able to make is very small. But we understand that the way we're going to make a difference in this generation. The impact is going to be made by lots of people doing little things."
"The Walk" follows Hanson's 2004 debut release on its 3CG label, "Underneath," which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Independent chart, producing the hit single, "Penny and Me." The band's 1997 debut, "Middle of Nowhere," sold more than 4 million albums in the U.S., thanks to the chart-topping hit, "MmmBop."
Hanson takes a 'Walk' By David Menconi, Staff Writer Hanson is playing Wednesday night at Durham's Carolina Theatre. If you arrive early enough, you can take part in a preshow ritual where you'll be asked to remove some clothing and participate in a physical activity.
Get your mind out of the gutter, it's not that kind of party. It's the "Barefoot Walk," in which band and audience walk a mile without shoes.
Hanson started doing these walks before every show last year as an extension of some of the themes on its latest album, "The Walk" (3CG Records). The band came up with the scheme in conjunction with the shoe company TOMS, which donates one pair of shoes to impoverished people in Africa for every pair it sells.
"We met with them and said, 'Here's the idea, we walk one mile barefoot in every city. You bring the shoes and we'll help you sell 'em,' " says Isaac Hanson, calling from a tour stop in Indianapolis. "'That's nuts,' they told us, 'but it's also awesome.' 'Exactly,' we said. 'Everything crazy has the potential to be really cool. The question is, just how crazy are you willing to be?'"
The young man is just getting warmed up.
"I think this is a valuable part of our goal to motivate our fans to take action on issues of poverty and AIDS in Africa," he continues. "There are 12 million kids with no families because of AIDS, 25 million have died so far and there will be 25 million orphans by 2010. It's staggering. We don't have the solution -- nobody does, it's complex. But by beginning to ask questions and giving people direct ways to have an impact, that has a compounding effect."
A decade ago, when Hanson was a wildly popular pop trio with an average age of about 14, you probably wouldn't have picked it as Band Most Likely to Emulate Bono. But even at their adorable peak, when 1997's "MMMBop" was blaring from the radio every 15 minutes, the Hanson brothers (Isaac, Taylor and Zac) never quite fit in with the late-'90s wave of teen idols.
"Nah," the 27-year-old Hanson says with a laugh. "We always used to say, 'Think of us as old guys with really high voices.' Or I guess you could say we were proof that ambition is blind."
Ten years later, Hanson is still making pop as pure as it is hard to classify. "The Walk" doesn't fit neatly into any category, although it evokes classic pop, rock and soul (especially the Jackson 5). And if you pay attention beyond the hooks, the lyrical sentiments aren't too far removed from what you'd find on a U2 record: "Have no fear when the waters rise, we can conquer this great divide."
This grew out of the band's travels in South Africa and Mozambique while making "The Walk," where the band's growing activist inclinations crystallized some of the yearnings of its new songs. While in Africa, the Hansons enlisted kids from an orphanage to put together a children's choir, which is heard on three tracks. In fact, these children are the first singers you hear on the album, on a chant called "Ngi Ne Themba" ("I Find Hope").
"We were certainly inspired by a lot of things going on in Africa," Hanson says. "The album carries a lot of those themes, which we've been privileged to talk to our fans about. We feel like there's an opportunity for greatness here. We all spend so much time thinking we're not capable of doing anything -- 'Dude, I can't figure out how the heck to do anything about this.' But Nelson Mandela said at Live Aid, 'Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great.' Our great grandparents fought a world war, and this is our war. We've got the opportunity, so let's make them proud."
david.menconi@newsobserver.com
Hanson walk barefoot in Allentown From The Morning Call Video of the allentown walk.
Pop-rock trio Hanson -- the brothers best known for the 1997 hit "MMMBop" -- took a barefoot walk Friday afternoon through downtown Allentown with a crowd of about 250 fans to raise awareness of poverty and AIDS in Africa.
"The turnout is amazing, we've had incredible support here in Allentown," said 25-year-old Taylor. "It's really motivating for us and it's great people are feeling it's important to make an impact. It's hard to get people to take off their shoes but it's great to see people want to be a part of this."
Taylor, Isaac and Zac were interspersed throughout the crowd as they walked from Crocodile Rock, where they play a sold-out concert tonight, down Hamilton Street to 11th Street and back again. They were armed with bullhorns to rally the crowd for their cause. They spoke to fans and took pictures with them.
About half of the crowd took off their shoes for the mile-long trek, something the trio has been doing before all their shows on their current tour. Fans who walked with Hanson received a hand stamp so they could bypass the line at tonight's show.
Amblin' activists Hanson, teen pop idols turned adult rockers, use barefoot stroll to highlight cause. By Kelly Federico | Of The Morning Call Pop-rock trio Hanson -- the handsome brothers best known for the 1997 hit ''MMMBop'' -- took a barefoot walk Friday afternoon through downtown Allentown with a crowd of about 250 fans to raise awareness of poverty and AIDS in Africa.
''The turnout is amazing; we've had incredible support here in Allentown,'' said Taylor Hanson. ''It's really motivating for us and it's great people are feeling it's important to make an impact. It's hard to get people to take off their shoes but it's great to see people want to be a part of this.''
Taylor, Isaac and Zac, now all married and in their 20s, were interspersed throughout the crowd as they walked from Crocodile Rock, where they played to a sold-out crowd Friday night, down Hamilton Street to 11th Street and back again. They were armed with bullhorns to rally for their cause, an outgrowth of their 2007 album, ''The Walk,'' which explores the personal and social responsibilities that come with maturity. They spoke to fans and took pictures with them.
About half of the mostly female and twenty-something fans joined the Hanson brothers in walking barefoot for the mile-long trek, an event that the trio has been staging before all the shows on their current tour. Some people came from out-of-town to walk with the group. One group from Pittsburgh said they have walked five times with Hanson already. Those who participated received a hand stamp so they could bypass the line at the show.
''I wanted to walk with Hanson because they are doing a very good cause and they are sending shoes over to Africa and it's great that they're raising awareness,'' said Lori Carita, 25, of Allentown. ''I'm very excited about the concert tonight. I've seen them maybe five or six times. I've been a fan of Hanson since the ''MMMBop'' days.''
When the walk began a little after 3 p.m., the crowd was rowdy and focused on getting pictures of the three singers, who rose to fame as teens. The frenzy died down during the walk and by 4 p.m. it was over.
The procession stopped twice -- once at PPL Plaza and once at Center Square -- so Taylor could make speeches on the brothers' decision to get involved with a cause.
''When we were making [''The Walk''] we were inspired to go to Africa. When our generation sees the problems in Africa, we wonder if that's our problem. You see parents and young people, the engine of society, dying, people in their prime; it's you guys. That's why you need to get involved,'' said Taylor, 25.
Later, in Center Square, Taylor thanked the crowd for their participation and encouraged them to get involved.
''People don't have to follow us. Just because you like us, doesn't mean you have to take off your shoes and walk a mile. We as a generation need to decide that we're going to raise the bar, we can become a greater group of people. This thing you never think about, a pair of shoes, this could change a life.''
kelly.federico@mcall.com
Hanson takes philanthropy in stride on tour By CARLA DI FONZO The youngest Hanson brother, Zac, said there's a difference between having a "day off" and an a "nonshow day."
For starters, he said, it's not truly a day off if you're scheduled to talk to reporters on the phone.
"Not that I don't enjoy doing that," he added quickly. "Seriously, it's fun."
Zac is now 22, though he began playing in a band with his brothers — Isaac and Taylor — since the '90s, when he was still snacking on milk and cookies and singing "MMMBop."
These days, touring still takes up a good deal of his life, as does time spent in the studio. However, there are actual "days off" in between, in addition to vacations.
"I love traveling with my brothers, but we get sick of each other, too," Zac said. "I mean, when we tour, we're sleeping 3 feet away from each other and see each other all day long. A vacation usually means we're not around each other, enjoying personal time, which I think is healthy."
For now, Hanson's on the third leg of "The Walk Tour," which kicked off last month.
The origins of the tour go back to 2006, when the boys visited South Africa to record their benefit single, "The Great Divide." There, Hanson saw children plagued by poverty and AIDS.
"You look at them and realize they were born into a death sentence," Zac said. "Most of the kids we saw were like preteens, and some little kids. They look really healthy, and they were having a good time. And suddenly there are adults carting them off somewhere, and we were like — is it their bedtime? But it wasn't, it was time for them to take their medication. And some of them were between 2 and 5 years old.
"On top of that, they lacked basic necessities," he said.
So, in 2007, Hanson began organizing 1-mile barefoot walks for charity before each of their concerts.
During their Fall 2007 tour, they walked a total of 48 miles, joined by thousands of fans. The proceeds from the walks went toward purchasing TOMS shoes for children in Africa.
"It's just a basic need we're providing, but it's a start," Zac said. "And we make sure the shoes get there — though I don't want to sound jaded. But you know, lots of times you give to a charity and start wondering if your donation is going to make it to the people who need it. So, we follow through and get the shoes there."
TOMS has donated tens of thousands of pairs of shoes through a program of its own, and last November Hanson joined the company on a shoe drop, delivering a whopping 50,000 pairs of shoes to children in Africa.
Hanson now has their own line of TOMS shoe — dubbed the "Great Divide."
Included with every pair of shoes is a download card for the titular song. The proceeds from the downloads go to an HIV research hospital in Soweto, South Africa.
The Hansons will continue their walks with fans, coinciding with their concerts across the U.S. The location of each day's walk is given on www.hanson.net.
"We'd take our shoes off for the walk, and try to get other people to take their shoes off," Zac said. "Sometimes people will, and it's painful. Or people won't because they're afraid of cutting their feet, and we're like, 'See, now imagine you're one of those kids and have no choice but to go barefoot.' People start to understand."
Obviously, the boys are all grown up. They even run their own label, 3CG, having experienced the ups and downs of being signed to bigger outfits.
"We were turned down 13 times before we were signed to Mercury, and even they turned us down three times," Zac said. "There was a certain sense at that point that the music industry was doing well. A few years later, it wasn't.
"For us, the downfall was when that label was dissolved, and we got absorbed into a huge merger. Bands got dropped, but we stuck around and made it through it."
Hanson ended up on Island/Def Jam, where they ended up working with more corporate types than "creative types."
"I guess you can say this isn't an industry that's looking to build careers," Zac said. "Labels now want to own your Web site, merchandising, touring, not just your records. We just decided it was time to go, so we made 3CG."
Zac said Hanson wants to outlive the record industry's "old model."
"The business of selling music is still alive, but the industry is dying," he said. "We want to create a new model and use tools like the Internet to even things out. We're using ourselves as guinea pigs and just experimenting now."
Zac also said Hanson doesn't worry about sounding like Hanson.
"We just worry about what sounds good," he said.
And while many things have changed in Hanson's career, some things have never changed since their "MMMBop" days, when they sported much longer hair and were constantly described as "adorable" by the teen-scene media.
Hanson seems to be a permanent fixture on the landscape of pop culture. The boys from Tulsa, Okla., have seen themselves spoofed on "Saturday Night Live," "MADtv" and even "The Family Guy."
"Oh, the pop-culture thing is surreal sometimes," Zac said. "But for us, the jokes aren't about our music, so we just usually laugh our asses off about all that stuff."
He mentioned the episode of "The Family Guy" in which Peter Griffin asks Glenn Quagmire: "If you could be stranded on a desert island with any woman in the world, who would it be?"
Glen Quagmire answers "Taylor Hanson."
When Peter reveals that Taylor is in fact, a man, Glen flies into a tizzy, yelling — "Oh my god! I've got all these magazines! Oh god!"
"That's a good one," Zac said. "But I also like when 'MADtv' did this sketch that was like Hanson in 2015.
"We're all older, but we act the same way we did when we were kids," he said. "I'm fat, Taylor has long hair but he's balding too. It's weird, because they got all the nuances right, and it's funny."
Zac said if a fledgling band asked him for advice on how to obtain success, he'd tell them to "follow your gut, and know who you are."
He paused significantly before saying, "Wait, that's terrible."
But then he seemed to change his mind a second or two later.
"Bands need to know what they want to become," Zac said. "So no one can tell you what you need to be. Play 500 shows, then decide who you are."
E-mail: cdifonzo@lnpnews.com
In Action: Hanson helps children in Africa By Kevin Hollander HIGH-SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT When it comes to fighting poverty and AIDS in Africa, the band Hanson doesn't just talk about doing something to help -- they actually do it. And the musical group is encouraging their many fans to do the same.
"Young people have huge power," said Taylor Hanson, 25, the middle brother. "The goal is to talk about the basic needs of children in Africa -- access to clean water, education, medicine and specifically even to a pair of shoes." Before Hanson's concert at the Carolina Theatre in Durham on Wednesday, brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zack will lead fans on a one-mile barefoot walk, as they do before each of their concerts.
But "The Walk" (which also happens to be the title of their latest album) is no publicity stunt. The brothers are involved in fundraising for the cause.
After a visit last year to Mozambique and South Africa, where they a recorded track for The Walk album with a local children's choir, Hanson partnered with TOMS Shoes, a California shoe company.
"Every time you buy a pair of their shoes, they donate a second pair to a child living in extreme poverty in Africa," Taylor Hanson said. "Our goal has been to invite people to join us for one-mile barefoot walks. As you walk barefoot, you recognize this ability to make an impact, and you understand that a pair of shoes can really change a life." Isaac, Taylor and Zack Hanson were 16, 15 and 11 respectively when they entered the international music scene in 1997, although they first appeared professionally five years earlier in their hometown of Tulsa, Okla.
Hanson has since matured musically and navigated vast changes in the music industry. In 2001, they left Island Def Jam Records and to form their own label, 3CG Records, named for the three-car garage in which they first rehearsed.
Concertgoers in Durham will experience what Hanson believes is a key to their continued success 10 years after their debut.
"The live touring is just so important (to our longevity)," Taylor Hanson said.
"Our concerts are eclectic. We play everything from the first record to brand new songs," he said. "And we'll throw in covers that show our influences, such as U2, Otis Redding, Radiohead or Lenny Kravitz."
Hanson approaches concerts by keenly understanding the task at hand, and having plenty of fun doing it.
"The biggest thing about our shows is we really believe it's about getting people going, getting people involved," Taylor Hanson said. "When people see that you are enjoying yourselves, that you are creating a head space that is different, then they feel like they can do that. That's our job -- to let people come in and walk out charged."
Hanson's own "walk" to relieve poverty and cure AIDS continues 24/7. Proceeds for iTunes downloads of their new single, "Great Divide" are donated to a hospital in South Africa.
For Hanson, whether in the live shows, or the charitable work, it's all about getting people involved.
"Everybody has the power to make a difference by taking simple actions," Taylor Hanson said. "We have music, but everyone has something they can use."
Kevin Hollander is a sophomore at Mount Tabor High School.
Photos and video of Hanson's appearance at 102.3 FM in Albany are up, here's the link: clicky - You can also vote in their poll.
There are 3 contents going on over at H.NET, the first is a "create a slogan", and the second is "design an album cover". The contents are in honor of Hanson Day which is TODAY (may 6th) in case you forgot. The deadlines are May 15th, so hurry! More info can be found here
The third content is writing a Haiku. "A haiku is an unrhymed verse having three lines containing usually five, seven, and five syllables respectively. You task is to create a haiku for Take the Walk." ~ Also a deadline of May 15th... More info, and list of prizes here.