( radio transcripts)
star 94

atlanta, georgia
november 20 1997

steve: and of course hanson - a big part of what we’ve been doing the last few weeks... yesterday, late in the show, we got a call as the hanson brothers were on their way to a show in baltimore. they were driving in a car from washington, dc, and that’s how we started our conversation with them.

taylor: we’re going from virginia to baltimore now, yeah. cos its such a short, its such a short flight it would have been like five minutes in the plane, so we’re just driving up.

vikki: we have to ask you, are you gonna be able to come back in 98 so all of your fans will be able to get an opportunity to see you?

taylor: um, yeah, we’re really looking forward to touring. hopefully, hopefully we’ll be able to tour in the spring but that’s till being decided whether that’s gonna happen, but yes, we really, really, really want to tour.

steve: well we’re so happy to be able to be throwing this private show for our star 94 listeners and for those that don’t understand, i mean, this was the only way we could bring this about with you guys still in school and so forth right now. is it a bit overwhelming sometimes taylor?

taylor: ehh, no. the thing is doing music is what we do and we’re always really, we’ve always done music since we were really, really young and so any, what’s happened has been pretty overwhelming for us you know, all this, all the success, all the fans, but you know the music is what we’ve always been doing. but you know its succeeded our expectations by far.

vikki: so you’re fourteen. so how long have you been singing?

taylor: ah, we’ve been singing for six years, we’ve been a group for six years.

steve: so really what, take us back to the history.

taylor: well we started off - our first performance was a festival in tulsa, oklahoma, our hometown, um, called mayfest and we were just a capella at that point and we had written, we were singing 50’s and 60’s rock and roll and also some songs that we’d already written. and then after doing that we just kept singing. we sang a capella for about three years and we were playing piano but, then after being, after doing that for about three years, we then picked up instruments - zac got drums, ike got a guitar and then we began the band.

steve: so how did you guys get discovered, how did the record company come into the deal?

taylor: um, you know we did a, we did a performance in a place called coffeeville, kansas and that, you know that was one of those performances where you kinda go “huh?” but you know. but we just got lucky, the um, an a&r guy named steve greenberg came down to see us and we, and he liked the show and that summer we made the record.

vikki: well all our young listeners want to know, do you have girlfriends, any of you?

taylor: ah, no, nobody has girlfriends [laugh]

steve: now do we have the ages right? you’re fourteen, isaac, your brother, just turned seventeen, right, a few days ago?

taylor: yes.

steve: and zac is twelve?

taylor: yep, he’s twelve.

vikki: so ike, he’s driving now?

taylor: yeah. he’s, he’s been driving for a year.

vikki: what does he have, what kind of car?

taylor: huh, oh sorry [ i think he was talking to someone in the car ]

vikki: a ferrari?

taylor: no, i’m sorry! i’m sorry, not a ferrari!

steve: a ferrari? [laugh] i’m sorry, a ferrari!

taylor: actually, we...the thing is we’re not even home that much so we haven’t even really thought about buying... about cars and all that stuff. we, it’d be kinda weird to get a car an then it’d just be sitting in the garage, so, you know...

vikkiI: sounds like such an intelligent kid for fourteen

taylor: [laugh]

steve: you guys, i’ll tell you, i’ve read some magazine articles where you’ve been quoted and the things you say about “we think its kinda cool to like your parents” and a day in time where sometimes young people think its cool to be very negative and have a negative outlook on life you guys have a very positive outlook and i think that’s to be admired at your young age.

taylor: well thank you very much, i mean, we’re just you know, a lot of people say that the music is really positive but we just, we just kinda write about everything and we’re just out there having fun doing what we love to do.

vikki: okay, what’s the song where you’re talking about johnny and the yearbook or something, what the heck does that mean? does that mean johnny was killed? i need to know.

taylor: that’s, that’s for you to figure out yourself, see you...

vikki: taylor! you gotta tell me!

taylor: no, it really isn’t. there’s no answer, i mean, its you...i guess you think he died, so that, you know, maybe he did die but everybody has their own idea.

vikki: well what do you think it means?

steve: [laugh]

taylor: we didn’t decide actually, we just left it open and it was open, it was an open ended question.

steve: has it been fun? have you been able to do some fun things? i understand you guys like skating an rollerblading. are you into hockey at all?

taylor: yeah, street hockey, rollerblading, you know, all that stuff, we play a lot, we play a lot of different sports. um, we like, you know, we draw a lot, mess around on the internet, an all that kinda stuff. anything, we’re just totally normal guys when it comes down to it.

vikki: you keep up with your school work?

taylor: you have to. so you know, we just take our books everywhere with us.

steve: are your parents tough on you, would you think?

taylor: you know, they’re, they’re pretty good. they’ve always been our teachers really, we’ve always homeschooled; even before we were singing so...

steve: oh.

taylor: so they’ve, they know what they’re doing.

steve: well it’s so good to hear and again, we look forward to you coming saturday. you know you talk about the internet. do you guys ever pop into a chat room that’s marked “hanson”? because i see those [taylor laughs] on aol, did you ever try to talk to some people and have a hard time convincing --

taylor: yep.

steve: that you are --

taylor: we definitely go on but also that’s weird is people try to pose as you [steve laughs] so a lot of times like some people will...now they know like if we get one we immediately...like people say “its hanson, its hanson, its hanson!” but people will pose as you and, and will tell people “yeah, hi-this is issac” or “this is zac” or “this is taylor” and people think its them. the only name we’re under is mmmbop@aol.com and so if you’re ever on, yeah. big “m”, little “m”, little “m”, bop? bop. [then someone in the background says “bop” as confirmation probably]

vikki: ike and zac in the background?

taylor: that’s the only, that’s the only name we go on as and so if anybody ever sees some other name that you’ll know it’s not us so...

vikki: and what does mmmbop mean?

taylor: mmmbop is, if you listen to the song, its a pretty deep song actually. um, it says: “you have so many relationships in this life / only one or two will last / you go through all the pain in strife / then you turn your back and they’re gone so fast” and its kinda saying “hold on to the friends that really matter” and mmmbop is kinda like a frame of time. it say’s “in an mmmbop they’re gone/in an mmmbop they’re not there” so its, its kinda like a second or an instant, so you know.

vikki: and you wrote this song and you’re fourteen? and its that deep? i’m impressed!

taylor: well, uh, thank you very much.

steve: well guys, we’ll see you on saturday.

taylor: yes.

steve: here in town and thanks for the call, we know its kinda tough to keep up with all that’s going on with you guys.

taylor: well thanks, thanks for talking.

steve: hey we appreciate it taylor. say “hi” to your bothers and we’ll see you saturday.

taylor: we will, bye!

steve: alright.

taylor: see you there.

steve: that was taylor hanson.

vikki: i talked to taylor, i talked to taylor!

steve + vikki: [laugh]

steve: and then vikki: “mmmbop. that’s deep.”

vikki: well that explanation he had was kinda deep for a fourteen year old, i thought.

steve: you know what i like about these guys?

vikki: what?

steve: you know what i like about this kid?

vikki: their blonde hair.

steve: where, no. where he said about his parents, let me just see if i can find it.

[rewinds tape to different parts in their conversation until he comes to this part:]

steve: are your parents tough on you, would you think?

taylor: you know, they’re, they’re pretty good. they’ve always been our teachers really, we’ve always homeschooled; even before we were singing so...

steve: oh

steve: listen to this:

taylor: so they’ve, they know what they’re doing.

steve: they know what they’re doing.

vikki: words you’ll never hear from your children.

steve: a fourteen ear old saying that about his parents, that’s terrific.

______________________________

( this is a review i listened to and wrote down from the radio station here in atlanta. please respect that, and email me first if you would like to use it. thanks. )