Courier Mail
THE Hanson brothers will be leaving one important thing behind when they tour Australia in June — their MMMhops craft beer.
Beer enthusiasts Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson, who will perform in theatres to celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary, started brewing their own pale ale a few years ago.
Zac, who was just six when the brothers formed Hanson, said they have been exploring opportunities to export the craft ale down under.
It has become so popular among fans the band now stage an annual beer festival in their hometown in Oklahoma.
“It’s probably a couple of years before we can bring it to Australia but it’s something we want to happen,” Zac said.
“We’ve met a lot of friends from there from doing the beer festival and we’ve been collaborating on beer ideas with some in New Zealand.
“Maybe I can bring a six pack in duty free.”
It took the young Hanson siblings five years to land on the mainstream radar with their breakthrough hit MMMBop in 1997.
Hanson tour dates announced
They became the biggest boy band in the world with the Middle Of Nowhere album, generating the same decibel-busting teen hysteria which now greets Justin Bieber.
Those screams still ring out when the brothers, now all over 30, perform on television or the concert stage and Zac is grateful for the beautiful noise.
“It will be a loss the day people stop screaming,” he said, laughing.
“There’s a beauty to it, that kind of abandon which is so distinctly associated with rock’n’roll.”
Zac said he was “leery of giving advice” to today’s scream-inciting pop stars such as Bieber who have a love/hate relationship with the ear-piercing hysteria of their fans.
“We are lucky enough to know what that experience is and I have a perception of what Justin Bieber is going through but you still never know,” he said.
“I think the thing you have been seeing is people don’t always respect how delicate that experience is for fans.
“You get so caught up in being a star you forget you were once a kid on the other side freaking out and it’s hard to remember that when your life is in complete flux with people constantly wanting something from you.”
Tickets for Hanson’s Middle Of Everywhere tour go on sale next Monday.
The tour opens at Perth’s Metro City on June 15 and then plays Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide on June 16, Forum Theatre, Melbourne on June 18, Enmore Theatre, Sydney on June 21, The Star, Gold Coast on June 24 and The Tivoli, Brisbane on June 25.