The band noted that the ’80s and ’90s had a lot of ‘great music’ that inspired and influenced the kind of music they make
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Hanson in 2024 and in the 1990s. Photo:
Mark Sagliocco/Getty; Eric Robert/Sygma/Sygma via Getty
For the members of Hanson, the 1990s are always en vogue.
The band, which consists of brothers Isaac, 43, Taylor, 41, and Zac, 38, shared during the Old Navy & The Cut Host 90s Throwback Party on Monday, Sept. 9, in New York City that they are happy to be known as a ’90s band and to have come up on the music scene during that time.
“I mean, we’re proud of where we’ve come from,” the brothers told PEOPLE. “You never want to live in the past, but your origin is what it is. It’s where you came [from] and there was a lot of great music.”
“Rock bands, pop bands, Hip-Hop, R&B, all happening at once,” they added. “And the way the Top 40 was, it was definitely like a hop. We took No. 1 from Notorious B.I.G. That’s what [the music scene] looked like.”
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The brothers, who started making music in 1992, noted that there “were a lot of things happening in the ’90s,” which “influenced” their music and helped them decide to go “back to the business.” Their experiences eventually culminated in their 1997 album Middle of Nowhere, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 that year and featured the single “MMMBop,” which went on to hit No. 1 internationally.
They shared that they really “admired” artists that “broke in the ’90s” as well, including Spin Doctors and Tonic, so much so that they’ve even worked with other groups of the era.
“We’ve done collaborations with a lot of people we admired in the ’90s,” the brothers recalled, before floating the idea of “a collaboration with the Spin Doctors and with Counting Crows.”
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The brothers previously reflected on their stardom in a 2022 interview with PEOPLE and shared that they felt they were “lucky that we’ve always been a little bit of an anomaly” when it comes to how they came together to form a family band and make music together.
“To be brothers who don’t fight that much and who share a dream, that’s unique,” Zac shared. “We’ve been a band for a long time, and a lot of people go, ‘Wow, you’re normal,’ because the industry has a way of leaving its marks on people. But we just always had a really strong sense of place.”
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Isaac Hanson, Zac Hanson and Taylor Hanson of Hanson perform onstage during Old Navy’s 30th Anniversary Celebration, 94 Reissue Collection Launch and The Cut’s Fall Fashion Issue Event at Webster Hall on Sept. 9, 2024, in N.Y.C.
Bryan Bedder/Getty
While plenty of time has passed since their early careers, one thing has stayed the same: family is still the most important thing to the brothers, who have 15 children among them. They noted that when they put on shows, their children are still at the top of their minds.
“After I finish a show, it’s like, ‘Hold on a second. I’ve got to do an encore, then I’ll call you for the bedtime story,’ ” Isaac shared.
Taylor added, “The job of being a dad is to sacrifice everything you want for that kid. I may be in the middle of meeting some famous musician, but, sorry, I’ve got to call my daughter and talk to her about her day.”
