FM100
Memphis, Tennessee
03 March 2004

STEVE: We're going to talk to Zac Hanson when we get back, you remember the Hanson's? We are going to play "MMMBop" then we will play their new song "Me Penny?" "Me & Penny?" Yeah, "Me & Penny." They came out in 1977. Oh, 1997.

KAREN: Their parents were born in 77!

STEVE: Well, they came out with MMMBop, it went #1. We have the drummer for the group, a guy who was well we will find out how old he was when he was playing. 1997, three kids from Tulsa, Oklahoma and I want to know how you go from Tulsa to tinsel town, have a #1 song, huge prodigies coming out of nowhere. 12 years old, 14 years old, the Hanson brothers and we have Zac Hanson on this morning.

KAREN: Hey Zac Hanson.

RON: Hey Zac.

ZAC: Hellooo, good morning!

RON: Zac, how ya you doing?

ZAC: Doing good!

RON: How old were you when this whole thing started for you?

ZAC: Well honestly I was about six when the band formed but um when you first saw Hanson I was 11 or 12.

KAREN: We were most impressed when we saw your whole band, especially you on the drums and we were like, "how old is that kid and he can play the drums so well!"

ZAC: Yeah, now it was always a little funny because the drums were bigger than I was.

KAREN: Right.

ZAC: At 11 it's like the drums were towering over my body and people were like, "wow, dude, how do you hit the drums?"

STEVE: How did ya'll get discovered? How'd you go from Tulsa to you know a record contract and a huge #1 song?

ZAC: You know, it's just a lot of work. We spent years playing just shows everywhere you could and performing for as many people as you could find in the music industry and you know after getting a manager and an attorney and just shopping the record labels eventually one of them really caught on to what we were doing and we were able to release our record and the rest is, I guess, history.

RON: It really is.

KAREN: Was it everything you thought it would be?

ZAC: You know it's all about… it's a lot of hard work it's a lot of just going out there and getting to the fan base and targeting the fans and really being true to your audience and just… there's a lot of work to it.

RON: "Penny & Me" is the new single you got out, and tell us about making the video. You got some special guests in your video.

ZAC: Well, we made that video, the director is a guy named Chris Applebaum--is a great director and everything from Britney Spears to let's see, Fountains Of Wayne, stuff like that.

RON: Right.

ZAC: And we just spent a long time talking about what the video would be with him and finally sort of settled on this video that's coming out and we got Samaire Armstrong from The OC to be Penny.

RON: She's pretty hot!

ZAC: She is, she is hot you know, she's a friend so I can say this, she's hot!

STEVE: And what was the concept of the song "Penny & Me?"

ZAC: Oh well the song "Penny & Me" is, you know, obviously it's a love story but it's really about music going through people's lives and the role that it plays and how it sort of helps you take memories and people with you everywhere you go.

STEVE: Cool. Why don't we play it?

ZAC: Yeah, go for it.

STEVE: Today's best mix FM100, it's Hanson's latest, it's called "Penny & Me."

RON: And you're going to be I guess Zac you're going to be on Ryan Seacrest later on today right?

ZAC: Yeah, we are doing Ryan Seacrest this afternoon and we're doing Wayne Brady tomorrow we're just, we're out in LA just doing all kinds of stuff, promoting this record, trying to just talk to people about what were doing. You know we formed a label for this album, it's called 3CG Records and we're just you know really excited about getting people new music.

RON: Absolutely!

KAREN: Cool, when ya'll aren't doing your music thing what is everybody up to these days?

STEVE: Oh Taylor is married and got a kid now right?

ZAC: Well Tay is married with a kid, with a boy named Ezra. So that's sort of an amazing thing, sort of. Like Tay, I'll speak for him and say that he's just so excited about that and you know, his wife is wonderful and his baby is… I don't know how it got so cute because clearly you know the genes aren't in Tay but he is just so cute and so musical. And then the rest are just getting along. Ike is the oldest but the furthest away from any relationship. I'm doing fine with my girlfriend for about three and a half years.

KAREN: Okay, good, that's what we're checking on, just checking on your personal life, making sure everything's all right.

STEVE: Hey, by the way, when you get on the Seacrest show today make sure that at the end of the interview that you look at Seacrest and go, "hey Zac out!"

ZAC: You know, I'm gonna do that.

STEVE: Do that man.

ZAC: Just cos you said that because…

STEVE: Absolutely, Letterman just did a whole bit on other phrases that Seacrest you know, tossed out instead of Seacrest so why don't you do that man.

ZAC: Sounds good man, like out peace.

RON: Man, keep up the good work, all right? Hug your girlfriend for us and we will see you on the radio here soon on FM100, all right?

ZAC: Hey, definitely and sorry about that hole there, I guess somebody here got messed up with the time that we were supposed to call.

STEVE: That's okay man, that's okay.

RON: You're cool.

STEVE: What we'd like you to do now is say, "Zac out!"

ZAC: Ready?

STEVE: Yep.

ZAC: Zac out!

RON: There you have it, the history of Hanson!