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Remember the long-haired kids from 1997? The ones you may have mistaken for attractive girls? The ones who released unfortunately catchy hits like “MMMBop,” “Penny and Me” and “This Time Around”?

Forget what you know about those guys. Thirteen years later, Hanson, the pop boy band turned soulful rock stars from Tulsa, Okla., are a force to be reckoned with. The fact that their music wasn’t the loudest message Sunday night at the Slowdown in Omaha also speaks volumes.

Since 2007, the trio has been taking barefoot mile-long walks on sweltering hot sidewalks before each show to raise awareness and funds for poverty and AIDS in Africa. More than 100 fans, who showed up early (there were even some sleeping bags in front of the venue) took the barefoot walk with the band. Each walker equaled a dollar to the cause.

They also have been giving back to the communities they play in by letting local bands open for their “Shout it Out” tour. Adelaide, from Omaha, won an online voting contest for the opportunity. The four-piece alt-rock band opened the sold out show with a seamless five-song set.

Their four original songs had catchy hooks, dynamic guitar riffs and soaring choruses. They also threw in a rocked-out cover of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” which whipped the crowd, mainly consisting of women, into a frenzied singalong.

I’d keep an eye on this up and coming local band – singer Adam Trabold has the pipes to make it big in the region. Meanwhile the rest of the band kept it energetic while still playing their instruments to near-perfection. They announced they’re releasing their five-song EP, “Find me Love” in October.

After a nearly 45-minute wait, Zac, Taylor and Isaac Hanson and two more that rounded out the band took the stage. In front of a garish backdrop, the band broke into “Waiting for This” the last song on their latest album “Shout it Out.” The crowd got involved with the call and response “Shout it Out” lyric and stayed enthusiastic throughout the long night.

For those not keeping track, you might be surprised at not only each musicians vocal and instrumental chops, but also at the sheer size of their catalog. Their 23 song set lasted nearly two hours.

And of course they peppered in hits from a decade ago into the mix. “MMMBop” was what the crowd was waiting for – and it came near the end of the set – but you have to wonder, are these guys regretting that song?

From the looks on their faces during the song, it seems like they want to break away from what they were known for and be recognized for what they’ve done recently — which is grow into a more mature rock and roll group over the last 13 years.

It’s almost not fair how well their voices mesh — only brothers could make three-part harmonies sound so good. They proved it over and over throughout the night during songs like “The Great Divide,” “Make it Out” Alive” and a cover of AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top.”

The band left the stage at least three times during the set saying they’d be right back. They’d return a few minutes later to play more, but God knows what they were doing. I’ve never seen anything like that before.

Once they returned for a stripped down acoustic set which was the most intimate — and memorable — moments of the night.

You may not have heard from Hanson since “MMMBop” if you haven’t been paying attention, but now is the time to catch up with these guys.

JournalStar

Teen pop stars are supposed to have their moments in the spotlight then rapidly disappear, never to be heard from again.

Not Hanson.

Thirteen years after the three brothers hit with “MMMBop,” they’re still going strong, having just released the best album of their career on their own label, and the trio still is playing generally sold-out shows across the country.

Last month, Taylor Hanson talked about the band and his brothers before leaving on a tour that will bring Hanson to Omaha’s Slowdown on Sunday.

He attributed the band’s staying power to three factors. First, he said, “music is in our DNA.” Second, he and brothers Isaac and Zac are hard workers. Third, they happened to hit when the Internet was in its infancy.

“We’re really kind of the first band to be of the Internet age with the fans,” Taylor said. “When we started out, we were so young and our fans were somewhat our age. We’ve always had a great connection with our fans from the beginning. We’re always humbled by that. We’ve always found a way to connect with our fans.”

Those fans aren’t just the grown-up kids who started with Hanson in the late 1990s. The band is picking up new followers, younger and older, who are drawn to the music they hear, whether that’s the oldies from the ’90s or the 1960s soul-rooted material on “Shout It Out,” the new album.

“It’s like ‘The Blues Brothers’ movie,” Hanson said. “If you had no idea who the Blues Brothers were and no idea of that film, you’d still like it. If you do have the history, it adds this extra layer. That’s how it is with this band.”

Taylor, the band’s main singer, was all of 14 when Hanson had its big hit. One of the biggest success stories to ever come out of the South By Southwest Music Festival, Hanson was signed by a manager at the Austin conference in 1996, then landed a deal with Mercury Records the next year.

“Middle of Nowhere,” the band’s debut album that contained the then-ubiquitous “MMMBop,” sold 10 million records. The next year, the band’s official biography was on the bestseller list and the brothers had received three Grammy nominations.

By 2000, however, Hanson had lost its pop appeal. The album “This Time Around” didn’t sell like its predecessors, in part because Mercury Records was in the middle of a corporate shakeup that led to it getting folded into another label.

In 2003, with their struggles continuing and the major label system entering its death spiral, the brothers decided to start their own label, setting up headquarters in their hometown of Tulsa, Okla., where they still live.

“We had the advantage of having a view from the top and seeing it crumble,” Hanson said. “We’re the band that had the lesson of making records in the old industry, and we could see where it was going. That coupled with some good old-fashioned Midwestern work ethic, we thought, ‘Let’s start the company.'”

The first release on 3CG, 2004’s “Underneath,” debuted at the top of the Billboard independent records chart and at No. 25 on the Top 200 list, making it one of the most successful indie releases ever.

“Shout It Out” is Hanson’s latest release, debuting at No. 2 on the indie chart in June. A collection of Motown-influenced pop-soul, the album showcases sounds that Hanson said the brothers have loved for decades.

“The first music we got into was actually older than our parents’ generation – late ’50s and early ’60s Stax, Motown and classic rock,” Hanson said. “That’s what’s coming out on this record. Then we got into piano-driven songwriters like Billy Joel and bands like the Doobie Brothers and Three Dog Night. Who knows what we’ll do next.”

One thing is certain, Taylor said: He and his siblings are together for the long haul, even if they fight once in a while, like all brothers.

“In some respects, being in a band with your brothers for this long, it means you do fight,” Hanson said. “We’ll get into a fight, and somebody will say something, and our band members will look at us and say, ‘That was kind of harsh.’ But then we’re back together again. There’s something about respecting each other enough to keep it together.”

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 402-473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com, or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/KentWolgamott.