LATERCERA [translated using google translate]
Isaac Hanson: “What we lived 15 years ago I do not want it or my worst enemy”
The trio survived the weight of a hit and the fall of the stamps. Now returns to Chile celebrating 25 years of career.
Isaac Hanson (izquierda) junto a sus hermanos Taylor y Zac.
The great phenomena of popular culture often divide waters. It occurs today with Despacito and occurred in 1997 with MMMBop. For some, Hanson’s sticky cover letter was seen almost as an aberration, an apocalyptic sign of the fall of MTV and alternative rock that had dominated the decade. For the more enthusiastic, however, the debut of the then unknown Tulsa Brothers trio (Oklahoma, USA) opened a new era for pop music, made by and for teens around the world and with no more pretensions to do have a good time.
Interestingly, both visions matched and MMMBop, with the perspective that gives the time, seems to have marked the exact moment when the grunge pessimism yielded to the explosion of the colorful pop of Britney Spears, NSYNC and who would come later. A milestone that has passed two decades and Hanson, aware of its impact, has decided to leave to celebrate with a world tour and a compilation of great hits to be published in September, with material from its six elephants.
“We always imagine being many years in music. You can not predict if that will be the case, but that was always our goal and we struggled hard to achieve it, despite the dramatic changes in the industry we have faced, “said Isaac Hanson, 36, the oldest of the three Brothers, who on August 19, at the Underground Club, will celebrate 25 years of career – and 20 since their first hit – in their third encounter with their Chilean fan.
Of those dramatic changes in the industry, which was the most affected group?
The most significant thing I would say happened about 15 years ago, when we launched our own label. Middle of nowhere (1997) was edited by a multinational that understood our proposal and wanted to work with us for many years. But when we released our second album that company no longer existed and all our collaborators had been dismissed. It was a big problem, we felt part of a label that did not believe in us and there we started a long process of abandoning this firm to finally spread our music ourselves. The labels tried to end our career but since we took control of our work we began to build this wonderful relationship that we have today with our fans. That is the reason why we continue in this, but what we lived 15 years ago do not want them or our worst enemy.
Do you feel Hanson is part of a scene these days? Are there other groups doing what you do?
Nowadays pop music is danceable and dominates the radio and the parties, but ours has always been rooted in the most traditional rock and roll and song format. We really admire The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, The Bee Gees and those great figures who always focused on melody and lyrics. If you listen to our last single you will realize that our music has always tried to inspire people to seek the best of them and to follow their dreams.
The fans seem to have been key to the group’s survival. I even understand that every year they organize a “Hanson Day” in their native Tulsa.
That’s right, we have that festival every year and also a beer festival. We have been very fortunate to have incredible fans around the world who supported us a lot when we went through all those legal issues with the stamps. What a pity that social networks did not exist in 1997, because everything would have been easier.