CHAT TRANSCRIPTS

hanson.net
28 November 2006

HANSON: Hey everyone, glad you could join us. We're really excited about the song "Great Divide" and how we can work together to make a difference. Let the questions commence!

MARIAHANSONFAN: Is "Great Divide" the first single off the album? If yes, great stuff! If not, which one is the first single? Also, you said "Great Divide" is the key influence of the album and how is the album going to sound like then? Maria xxx (Greek-Cypriot fan)
ZAC: "Great Divide" is not really the first single - it's something we wanted to do before we got into the process of promoting the record because we felt it was important to give back to people who inspired us and added something to our music. It looks like the first single will be "Go." As far as the sound, it's not that every song sounds like "Great Divide," it's just that that song is one of the first songs that sounded like the next evolution.

BEKHITZ: Hi, Bek from Australia here, how are you guys doing? I guess the burning question from Aussie fans is, will "Great Divide" be available to us?
TAYLOR: We're working on it. As you heard in the first HITZcast about "Great Divide" we didn't have a US date for iTunes and now we do, so hopefully the rest of the world will come soon.

SYVERS: I want to ask them: How it was to meet all those children in Africa that had lost their parents because of AIDS. And how did that affect you. Love from Kristina.
ISAAC: It was touching, and honestly you feel a little helpless because you can't do a whole lot for them. They did more for us by letting us spend time with them than we could ever give with money and medicine and anything else.

FURBY: Hanson, when will there be a US tour?
ZAC: Right now there's no scheduled tour. We have a rough timeline but we haven't talked to venues yet. We'll keep you up to date.

HCLJENNY: Hanson, Do you have any idea how much the charity has made so far?
TAYLOR: We don't know how much “Great Divide” has made yet. It just came out yesterday in Europe. Regardless, whatever it makes will be a small number in comparison to what they need.

MINNESOTAFAN: Hey, Michelle from MN here and I was wondering what made you decide to do this charity? How did it come up?
ISAAC: Some friends from Tulsa donated software that they had created to this hospital. We went to South Africa and visited the hospital with them, and realized that these people were the ones who were going to find the vaccine or miracle drug. They are incredible people.

MARIAHANSONFAN : What are your immediate plans for the future? Are you thinking of re-visiting Africa? What’s the one thing you’re most excited about the new stuff coming out? Love Maria (keep rockin)
ZAC: Visiting Africa again would be amazing. I look forward to the opportunity to go back. As far as the new music, it's just exciting to finally be in a place to be getting it out. We're ready for people to hear the new record and hopefully enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.

YOSI_HSN : Hanson, do you have any plan to have a world tour for the upcoming album and do you have a plan to visit Asia?
ZAC: Yes. Yes. :)

HITZO21 : Hey guys! Just wondering if this was a spur of the moment thing or if you are planning on doing any other charitable events in the future?
ISAAC: It's not a spur of the moment thing. There will be more in the future. I think it's important to give back when you are in a position of privilege.

ZACLOVESYOU: Hi guys, my question is: in the video for “Great Divide” we see you in Africa, what was your experience like? Becky x TAYLOR: The whole trip was inspiring, but I think what was the most touching for me was recording with the children's choir. Watching these kids sing reminded all of us why we started singing in the first place.

DAWNMARTIN: I think it's wonderful what you are doing to get the word out about AIDS and how much of a problem it is worldwide, what made you decide to want to help? Thanks!
ZAC: We've always supported AIDS charities because it's such an important issue in the world that affects so many people. Millions of people are dying each year and we can do something about it.

ROBYN: Is “Great Divide” on The Walk? Or is it just for the charity?
ISAAC: It is on The Walk. Looks like it's going to be track 3.

HITZO21: A lot of people are saying that you are copying Bono and that you are doing this for self promotion. What do you say to that? P.S. I completely disagree with them!
TAYLOR: It is true that a lot of celebrities are doing work in Africa right now. The problem is so enormous that it can use as much attention as possible and I hope people don't think that we're trying to get free promotion from children dying.

ROBYN: In the “Great Divide” video, were you guys learning an African dance?
ZAC: Yes. We were doing a very bad job at it.

LIRE: Surely there are lots of deep stories about the recording, but I really want to know a funny story about your experience in Africa, something you enjoyed there. Doesn't have to be necessary "funny," though.
ISAAC: When we went to Africa, a cameraman who was on the trip wouldn't eat anything except for white bread and ketchup.

SUNFLOWER319: Has doing to “Great Divide” song/video and being in Africa opened you to doing any other charity work?
ZAC: Yes. We think it's important to bring attention to great causes. Right now we're focused on helping this hospital and the fight against AIDS.

SALAMANDA: Was "Great Divide" an almost-finished song before you went to Africa?
TAYLOR: “Great Divide” was one of the first songs written for the new album. When we started talking about going to Africa it was immediately something that came in to our minds because the song is all about hope.

AMBIGUOUSLYJER: What can you tell us about the African children featured in the video? How'd you get to work with them? Are they orphans?
ZAC: The choir featured on “Great Divide” is a school choir in Soweto, who we found through Miss Earth South Africa. Though not all of the kids have AIDS, the disease is so widespread almost everyone you meet is touched by it in some way.

BELLA: How has your experiences in Africa and your contributions to needy children changed your outlook on life?
TAYLOR: I think it affects each of us in a different but personal way. Probably the most immediate thing is you realize that we have no concept of poverty and no concept of what it really means to need things.

SUNFLOWER319: Hi from the cheese state, how was it working with the choir, will you incorporate them into other songs?
ISAAC: It was awesome. We didn't give them a lot of direction before we got there, but they didn't need a lot of it. The African choir sing on 3 different songs and we also feature a piece of one of their indigenous songs on the record.

_BRAZIL_LIMAIA: Is “Great Divide” a real single off The Walk? I mean, are you going to make a promotion like going on TV shows or radios, etc?
ZAC: We would love to do TV because we think it's important to talk about this hospital and the work they're doing, but with everything we do it's really important that it is about these people and not about Hanson.

JAMIE26: How will the proceeds from the song be spent on the AIDS epidemic, is it purely research or technology?
ISAAC: All the proceeds will go to the PHRU unit of the hospital which is primarily focused on mother-to-child transmission of AIDS. They have many other projects they work on researching vaccines and giving out medicine and baby formula. As far as specific spending, we are leaving that up to the head doctors at the hospital.

FAN4LIFE: Hanson, how did you create the "Great Divide" graphic? It almost looks like a painting. Did you paint it or did you create it using a graphics program?
ISAAC: The same design firm who worked on Underneath has been doing the artwork for The Walk. They use a variety of things, from actually painting to computer graphics.

HANSON: We're just going to take a few more questions, guys.

PEACHJJ: In my perspective, this is something totally different than you've ever done before. Can we expect to see more of this now that you've got your own label? Can we expect to see you develop all of your passions, and challenge yourselves in this way again?
TAYLOR: Having the label is going to make it that much easier to work on these kinds of projects. For us going forward, it's very much on the forefront of what we want to be able to do, so you will be seeing more of this in the future.

BOSHER: Hey guys, I recently went to an L.E.O. CD release party in Boston. Obviously, Bleu played a set, and he played some of his own songs in addition to those on Alpacas Orgling. He mentioned something about how he's never going to play "Go" live again and I was wondering if that has anything to do with the fact that "Go" is going to be the first single off of your new album. Thanks!
ZAC: You'll have to let me know when you find out why he's never going to play it live. I hope it's not attributed to us. I think both versions do the song justice and I'm glad to see it will be on his and our record.

HAILEY: Have you guys ever thought about doing a rerecording for Middle of Nowhere for the 10 year anniversary?
ISAAC: What we have thought about doing with Middle of Nowhere is a possible companion acoustic album, similar to Underneath Acoustic. Right now we've been struggling to find the time, but I look forward to getting to that project.

AMBIGUOUSLYJER: Why AIDS? And why Africa? Of the hundreds of diseases and hundreds of place, why this and there? (I think it’s great work, but I'm curious what drew you there)
ZAC: Obviously it's affecting millions of people who actually have the disease, but it was the fact that there are 14 million AIDS orphans in Africa and by 2010 it will be 25 million. You can't not do something when you know that you could make a difference to that number.

HANSON: One final question....

DAISEE: For those of us that have donated by buying the single and the t-shirt, but still would like to contribute more, is there a specific way you would suggest we can go about doing this. (and I just want to say that this venture has made me SO proud to be a Hanson fan)
TAYLOR: I know some people have said they'd like to give more. If you want to donate directly to the hospital, you can send it here:

HIVSA
P.O. Box 796
Melville, Johannesburg
Gauteng 2109
South Africa

HANSON The best way to send them money is to get an international money order from the post office. Thank you so much for all your questions. We're really excited about “Great Divide” and being able to give back with our music. We hope you enjoy the song, but please do something whether it's buying a t-shirt, downloading from iTunes, or something on your own. All the best, Isaac, Taylor & Zac