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Hanson performs their String Theory concert with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas1 of 55
[photos at the source]
Zac would like to build a ship in a bottle.
Which Hanson was involved in an incident with a ear bud, honey mustard and licking?
WEEKLY PIC Happy New Year! In just a few days we will kick off the year with our first performance of String Theory in Fort Worth, this show will be a great kick off for the year ahead filled with aspiration, live performance and creativity. Cheers to 2019! MESSAGE FROM THE BAND Happy New Year! We are here at the start of another year and there is so much potential. This time of year when it’s cold outside and beautiful days are few a far between is when we do some of our best work – writing songs, painting, recording. Who knew creation was so at odds with one’s environment, like an all-powerful cosmic equalizer helping make sense of everything? In just a few days, we will take to the stage for a performance of String Theory in Fort Worth, which is both thrilling and frightening every time. In addition to starting the String Theory Tour again, we will record the 2019 Members EP, host many of you at Back To The Island, and with a little luck, we will announce our plans for the spring and summer. In addition to lots of touring, we hope to make a lot of music in 2019. Isaac, Taylor And Zac |
ORNAMENT SALE! All HANSON ornaments are 50% off Jan 2nd – Jan 6th! Get yours today. JOIN HANSON.NET! With the String Theory album and tour just around the corner, don’t forget to renew your Hanson.net membership for 2019! During The String Theory enjoy these members benefits. • Pre-sale concert tickets • Member lines at concerts • Meet & Greets opportunities with the band • Fan Club Reporter’s interviews • Exclusive videos • Check-in at the concert to win one of a kind items You can find your current expiration date by going to your My Account page. Not a member join today! |
Isaac chickened out on skydiving.
Which Hanson would most like to make a ship in a bottle?
January
2018 kicked off with Hanson’s yearly retreat, “Back to the Island”, this year the weather was less than ideal and the event had several changes made to the itinerary made on the fly – such as bumping the first show to the second night as many had missed and delayed flights and trouble getting to the Island.
February
Hanson appeared on “Audience Music” on DirectTV. It was announced Hanson would perform as part of the Seven Seas Food Festival at SeaWorld in Orlando, FL in March. Hanson’s performance at the Ottawa Bluesfest was announced. Hanson performed in Nashville as part of Bobby’s Bones Million Dollar Show. The guys were on SiriusXM My First Time and The Jenny McCarthy Show. New events for Hanson Day in Tulsa were announced.
March
Petitions against Hanson’s performance at Sea World began circulating the web. Back To The Island 2019 was announced. Hanson performed at Sea World’s Seven Seas Food Festival. Taylor turned 35. Hanson made several appearances at SXSW in Texas. Hanson’s orchestra performance in Tulsa and Pittsburgh were announced. We all began wondering, “What is String Theory?” The 5th Annual Hop Jam was announced.
April
Hanson was announced as competing on TBS’ “Drop the Mic”. Taylor was honored by The Junior League of Tulsa for Food on the Move. More String Theory shows were announced. The Hop Jam’s musical lineup was announced. Hanson’s appearance a the Wisconsin State Fair was announced as well as their appearance at EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival. Firkin Feast was announced. UP State Fair announced Hanson would be performing.
May
Taylor was a commencement speaker at University of Tulsa. Hop Jam’s opening band contest winner was announced. Colorado Symphony announced their show with Hanson for String Theory referring to them as an ‘aging boyband’. Many fans descended upon Tulsa, OK for Hanson Day Weekend 2018. Hanson was announced as a performer about Pet-a-paolooza in Sacramento.
June
Hanson was announced as a performer at the Indiana State Fair as well as the New York State Fair.
July
Hanson performed at the Ottawa Bluesfest. String Theory debuted in Columbus, OH with the Columbus Symphony. The full details on the String Theory album and tour were released for the US leg of the tour. It was announced Hanson would perform at Adventureland in IA and sing the National Anthem at Darlington Raceway.
August
Hanson’s performance at The Big E was announced. Hanson performed at the Indiana State Fair. Billboard posted the premiere of the band’s String Theory documentary. Hanson and Mike Love re-recorded “It’s Ok”. It was announced Taylor and Natalie would be expecting their 6th child.
September
Hanson performed the national anthem for a pre-season NHL game at the BOK Center in Tulsa. String Theory’s November 9th release date was announced. Hanson headlined the McDazzle Fun Ball to benefit Ronald McDonald house. Mike Love announced a Christmas album which featured a rendition of ‘Finally It’s Christmas’ featuring Hanson. String Theory Europe and Australia dates were announced.
October
A second show was added at the historic Sydney Opera House for the String Theory tour. The fall leg of String Theory’s tour kicked off with a long string of shows and not just one-offs. Zac turned 33. Hanson performed at Disney for Halloween as part of Eat to the Beat once again.
November
String Theory was streamed “On Demand” on Hanson.net for members and later made available for a first listen on NPR. String Theory was officially released. Hanson returned to the Beacon Theater in New York City after playing there in 1997 and recording footage for “Tulsa, Tokyo and the Middle of Nowhere.” Hanson appeared on The Today Show with Mike Love to perform Finally it’s Christmas and later performed several songs with him at his CD release at LAVO in New York City.
December
Hanson performed “Landslide” with The Smashing Pumpkins in Tulsa. The last show of the year at the Williamsburg Winery got cut short by 20 minutes due to unsafe snow conditions and a sinking tent. Hanson.net members were treated to acoustic “Snow Globe Sessions” videos of the guys acoustically playing some of their Christmas songs. Taylor and his wife Natalie welcomed their 6th child, a son, Claude Indiana “Indy” Emmanuel Hanson on December 26th.
“Where’s the Love?” It’s at Taylor Hanson‘s house!
The Hanson musician and wife Natalie welcomed their sixth child, a son named Claude Indiana Emmanuel Hanson, on Wednesday, Dec. 26, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, his rep confirms to PEOPLE exclusively.
“Our new little man, Indy, is the best gift our family could imagine. His arrival brings with it a new sense of adventure and excitement for the future,” the couple tell PEOPLE.
Baby Indy joins big sisters Wilhelmina “Willa” Jane, 6, and Penelope “Penny” Anne, 13, plus brothers Viggo Moriah, 10, River Samuel, 12, and Jordan Ezra, 16.
Courtesy Hanson Family; Inset: Getty
Aside from his siblings, the new addition has a bevy of cousins to play with including uncle Zac Hanson‘s four children — daughters Mary Lucille Diana, 2, and Junia Rose Ruth, 8, plus sons George Abraham Walker, 5, and John Ira Shepherd, 10. Oldest brother Isaac Hanson is dad to daughter Nina Odette, 4½, plus sons James Monroe, 10, and Clarke Everett, 11.
Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Parents newsletter.
RELATED GALLERY: MMM-Tots! Your Guide to The Ever-Growing Hanson Family Tree
The couple announced their baby news on Instagram in August alongside photos of their entire family.
“What’s better than being a dad of five? Perhaps being a dad of six,” theString Theory musician and budding photographer captioned his outdoor snapshot. “Baby Hanson coming in December and we are over the moon.”
Taylor told PEOPLE exclusively at the time, “Natalie and I have always kept a love of adventure and pursuit of rich experiences at the heart of our family. There’s no greater adventure than welcoming a sixth little person to our tribe.”
Natalie posted another photo of their brood surrounded by musical instruments, captioning it, “Taylor and I are so thrilled to share the news that baby number six is coming this December! Ezra, Penny, River, Viggo and especially Wilhelmina can’t wait to be big brothers and sisters again!”
The new mom of six shared a few glimpses into her pregnancy on her Instagram account, including photos from the spouses’ N.Y.C babymoon in November and a side view of her baby bump on Dec. 17, captioning the latter shot, “It’s been real, it’s been fun, but … ”
RELATED VIDEO: Zac Hanson Welcomes Daughter Mary Lucille Diana
Play VideoYOU MIGHT LIKEROSIE O’DONNELL’S DAUGHTER CHELSEA WELCOMES DAUGHTER SKYLAR ROSEKIM KARDASHIAN HAD A ‘NIP SLIP’ AT CHRISTMAS EVE PARTY THAT LEFT KANYE WEST ‘SATISFIED’
While chatting with PEOPLE about his and his brothers’ latest String Theory album and tour, Taylor said he was “very excited about being a dad again” and that as far as parenting duties go, he and Natalie have “always struck a balance that is embracing the unbalance.”
“You can’t really control the fact that I’m often on the road and you have to do the things that you want to see happening — raise a family, being one very big one, regardless of the craziness that surrounds it,” he continued.
“We’ll definitely have a little bit of quiet time when the baby’s born, thankfully, but the life train will continue to move quickly so we’ll be excited to introduce them to this family they’re entering, which is pretty much on the move all the time,” added the “This Time Around” crooner.
Asked whether baby No. 6 will be the couple’s last, Taylor — himself the second oldest of seven kids — admitted, “We’ve never had a preconceived idea [of how many children we would have]. We just love our kids and are not afraid of taking on a bigger family than we have. We’re just one at a time.”
RELATED: Taylor Hanson and Wife Natalie Expecting Sixth Child
In a November blog post for Nameberry, Natalie — who homeschools the couple’s children — opened up about her passion for names and the “challenge” of “the more children you’ve named, the more of your favorite names you have probably already used.”
There also came the hurdle of fielding different opinions from her larger brood. As Natalie explained, “I want the older ones to feel invested and respected, and at the same time not saddled with the ultimate responsibility of parenting, or in this case naming. Therefore, I am now in the process of listening and debating and mostly just trying to appreciate how lucky this baby is that their name matters to all of us.”
“I can leave you with a little hint … ” she teased. “Both our top girl and boy choices right now are main characters in George Sand novels. Happy guessing!”
Hanson drummer Zac Hanson is sitting outside a brewery in Normal, Illinois, thinking about beer. In 2014, he and his brothers – guitarist Isaac and vocalist/keyboardist Taylor – started a beer and music festival called The Hop Jam, and they’ve also released their own brew, Mmmhops, its name a play on Hanson’s gazillion-selling 1997 single, MMMBop. Today Zac’s spending a day off visiting another brewer.
“We just look at it as something that will grow and evolve over time,” he offers of The Hanson Brothers Beer Co. “It’s a huge amount of learning, but it represents a lot of the ways we look at music. It’s about quality ingredients and craftsmanship.”
For those who remember Hanson as the kids who rocketed to superstardom on the back of MMMBop, the fact they’re now old enough to drink beer let alone brew it may come as something of a shock.
But at 33 (Zac was 11 when MMMBop exploded, and six when the band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma), the drummer has weathered well over two decades in the music industry, during which Hanson have sold more than 16 million albums.
Their latest is String Theory, a double LP recorded with a 46-piece orchestra. Rather than rearrange their greatest hits or lean on material that already had orchestration, the tracklisting favours more obscure, new or unreleased songs (with a few notable exceptions, such as Where’s The Love? and MMMBop), each linked by their lyrical themes.
“They all tell the story about a young man choosing this impossible path,” explains Zac. “Choosing to reach for something that other people don’t understand. Obviously we have a deep connection to that idea, ’cause we started as kids wanting to make music and travel the world.”
The arrangements come courtesy of Beck’s dad, Oscar-winning composer David Campbell, with whom the band have worked on occasion over the years.
“The phrase used most often in our early conversations was, this really should be a new work,” says Zac. “The strings, the woodwind and the brass bring something to each song that transforms it.”
Hanson will bring their String Theory tour to Australia in February and March, including two dates at the Sydney Opera House. The act of performing with a different orchestra at every stop can be fraught.
“It’s a very intense process,” says Zac. “So you spend the early part of the day talking through the whole show, beat by beat with the conductor.”
Rare is the band that achieves success at such a young age and doesn’t fall foul of the pitfalls of rock stardom. Hanson have navigated the always changing and sometimes rocky waters of the industry with a few key rules.
“We don’t make our dirty laundry something that happens in public,” says the drummer. “We fight regularly. I say we fight three times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. But I also recognise that … if the shit hits the fan [my brothers] are literally the guys who will kill someone for me.
“Also,” he adds, “you can see in certain life choices [I’ve made], your average guy in a band isn’t getting married at 20 with four kids at 33. But that’s part of a choice to find comfort and connectivity.”
For all their longevity and projects such as String Theory, Zac doesn’t resent the fact that for many, Hanson will always be the band that sang that ubiquitous 1997 hit.
“We’ve never run from MMMBop,” he says. “MMMBop is part of String Theory because it still has a place in our story. I am super proud of it. It’s a song we wrote when I was eight, and the messages in it are still relevant. Most people don’t get known for anything. MMMBop’s not that bad.”
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The brothers in Hanson — Zac, Taylor and Isaac — are reissuing their 1997 holiday album “Snowed In” this year. Their second holiday album, “Finally it’s Christmas,” came out in 2017. – Peter Balonon-Rosen/Marketplace
Just a few months after they broke out with “MMMBop,” the Hanson brothers moved into a London studio where they spent a very busy four and a half weeks making their Christmas album “Snowed In.”
“It was a very immersive experience. You never left the studio, right?” Zac Hanson, the youngest brother, said. “You just went from bed to the kitchen to the studio back to the kitchen back to the studio.”
Isaac Hanson cut in. “Which was just like a dream, actually.”
“We were all in a bubble,” Taylor Hanson added.
It paid off. “Snowed In” went platinum, and it was one of the best-selling Christmas records of the ’90s, along with Kenny G and Mariah Carey. Still, Hanson waited two decades to record a follow-up, “Finally It’s Christmas,” last year.
“You know, a lot of the conversation about making Christmas records or not can get very kind of weirdly … callous,” Isaac said. “Even with the success of that record … we were very conscious of the fact that we don’t want to be just churning out marketable products,” Taylor added.
But there’s pressure on recording artists to do just that. Holiday music gets more and more popular every year. While the recording industry has changed seismically since the ’90s, there are still a lot of good reasons to make a Christmas album, even if you might not make the next “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
An original hit can be lucrative — Carey’s reportedly earned $60 million in royalties on that track alone. And the data show people are hungry for new Christmas music, said Jon Miller, vice president of audience insights at Nielsen. Even though physical and digital sales have slowed significantly, streaming numbers and the growing popularity of all-holiday radio stations has more than made up the gap.
About 500 radio stations switched to an all-holiday format last holiday season, Miller said, and people streamed Christmas songs 5 billion times in November and December alone.
“Globally it’s just there’s more appetite for holiday music,” Miller said. “Every year there’s more stations that do it. There’s more songs being streamed. So it appears that Americans just want more and more every year.”
And that’s broadened the market, Miller said. Nielsen’s data from last holiday season show people tend to stream more new Christmas music than they hear on the radio, which leans more on classics.
But those classics are never far from recording artists’ minds.
“It’s incredibly intimidating to write Christmas songs because essentially — unlike anything else you do — you’re saying ‘OK, here’s a classic!’” Zac Hanson said.
Ingrid Michaelson said her new Christmas album “Ingrid Michaelson’s Songs for the Season” was one of her toughest records to make. She worked with a symphony and got her hands on vintage equipment in pursuit of a classic, mid-century sound.
On top of all that, Michaelson said, writing a brand-new song came with a lot of pressure. The one she ended up with, “Happy, Happy Christmas” is a melancholy song reflecting on her parents’ deaths. Anything else felt too cheesy, she said.
“I remember my manager was like, ‘It would be really lovely if you could get another original.’ Like, I agree with you. I do. But I just can’t do it,” Michaelson said. “It’s not happening, and I’m not going to force some crappy Christmas song into the world.”
There is good reason for Michaelson’s reluctance. Music fans have more choices than ever in the streaming era, and that means artists have to compete more for attention. A Christmas album can hang around for years. That can be a benefit too — it helps keep fans interested over the winter months.
“If you’re on the road hawking your wares there’s a point, like a lot of businesses but especially with music, where you you might as well take a month off,” Taylor Hanson said. “If it’s authentic, and if it’s something you can stand behind, [making a Christmas album] is a cool way to sort of share in something — a lot of people are having these experiences and you get to [do] the soundtrack.”
An artist can hopefully count on fans streaming the album or going to a Christmas show for years after. Hanson is reissuing “Snowed In” this year on vinyl, a format that was far out of fashion in the CD heyday of 1997 when the album debuted. Other reissues come a lot sooner.
“I was being told by people, like, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s only a handful of people putting out holiday records this year, it’s a really quiet year. And then all of a sudden it was like: Sia deluxe album! … Gwen Stefani deluxe album!” Michaelson said. “And I was like, wait a minute, they just put it out last year, and then you put out a deluxe album the next year?”
She joked, “OK, I guess I’m going to do a deluxe album next year.”
That kind of long tail is all the more important these days. Some Christmas albums still sell big, like Michael Bublé’s “Christmas” or Pentatonix’s several holiday releases, but most artists can’t live on sales and streaming royaltiesalone.
“The last avenues left to musicians for finding profit, and I won’t say easy profit … are live performance and placement in movies and TV and advertisements,” said Rhett Miller, lead singer and songwriter of the the Old 97’s. “That’s a way that you can make money when there’s no real money to be made from album sales or — God forbid — streaming services.”
Miller’s band is on a nationwide tour this winter to support its first Christmas album, “Love the Holidays.” One of that record’s nine Christmas songs stands a better chance than their other output of being featured in a a movie or show, Miller said, which could itself become a perennial favorite.
There’s a persistent notion of the Christmas album as a quick, easy cash-in, but the math doesn’t totally add up in the streaming era. The Hanson brothers own their own label now, and they’re getting creative.
“You really can’t look at streaming as a really great revenue source,” Zac Hanson said, but “can an album be enough to get you to buy a ticket? And if you buy a ticket to a concert, does that mean we’ve engaged you enough to buy a T-shirt? And if you buy a T-shirt are you willing to … pay for annual membership to get music that no one else does?”
But none of that works if you’re making music just to make money, Isaac Hanson added.
