The following text is a transcript of an emission on Fun Radio (a french free speech radio) : the Libre Info (Free News), animated by Florian Gazan. Lorenzo was here to translate (which he did very badly). The point is listeners ask questions to the guest. It aired on May 20th, when Hanson's album got out (14 days after the US (grrr)).
Florian : Fun Radio. It's Free News up to 1 PM. We receive Hanson today. One of their specificity is that the three of them are less than 16, the other one is their first album, Middle of Nowhere, makes a score ( ?), an album inspired by seventies' music which is rather surprising when you know the older must be born in the mid-eighties. (...) Hello Guys, nice to meet you.
Isaac : Hi !
Florian : How are you ? How do you do ?
Taylor : Real good.
Zach : Hi !
Florian : It's not your first time in France...
Isaac : No it's second time in France.
Florian : What did you know about France before coming ?... You are coming from middle of nowhere. It's the title of the album. (Laughs).
Taylor : ~ I guess we are coming from quite a, well, pretty far away, yea.
Lorenzo : Oklahoma exactly...
Taylor : Yes, we're from Oklahoma.
Florian : It's really the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma ? (Laughs)
Isaac : Oh, no, no no ! Oklahoma is a really great place. We really love...
Taylor : I think the title, the title for the album came from the bonus track on the album, Middle of Nowhere. There was a line in the last song of the album.
Florian : You're coming from Tulsa, Oklahoma... can you present a little bit this town, Tulsa ? Why is this so famous ?
Taylor : I don't know if it's famous. What Tulsa is really based around is oil. Oil is what started and founded Tulsa.
Isaac : Yea. Tulsa was very big in, you know, in oil drilling. There's a lot of. It was actually the oil capital of the world at one point in time, during I believe sixty thirty ( ?) eighties.
Lorenzo : But not anymore...
Zach : Taylor : Isaac : No, no, no.
Taylor : But it's still very strongly supported by that.
Isaac : Yes, a lot of oil ~ there, err, you know, there's definitely a lot of oil drilling companies.
Lorenzo : The only real attraction in Tulsa are the Hanson now. (Laughs) You are the new oil...
Zach : Aaa, no. I wanna say that.
Isaac : There's actually quite a few well known, you know, groups from there, you know, more country-western groups, very popular. We actually have some friends, some pretty good friends, that are ~ well known. Their band is called the tractors.
Taylor : Yeah, they had a number one song in the US a while ago.
Lorenzo (To Zach) : What did you wanna say before ? You disagree with them ?
Zach : Well, I ~ we're the attraction now no...
Taylor : Yeah, we ~ to be the attraction into Tulsa.
Zach : ... I wanna, I wanna say that...
Taylor : I think Tulsa...
Lorenzo : Let him speak.
Florian : Let your brother speak.
Zach (yelling) : LET ME SPEAK !
Lorenzo : At home, he never talks ? You always beat him ?
Isaac : No no no ! He's very... He always talks. He definitely talks. He's very animated obviously I guess with the LET ME SPEAK !
Listener : What age exactly did you start with music, and who composes in the band ?
Isaac : Well we all compose the songs, all the songs that are in the album. We wrote on either with other people or on our own of us.
Lorenzo : Who ?
Isaac : Well we wrote with people like Mark Hudson who wrote Living on the edge for Aerosmith, Ellen Shipley, she did ~ Belinda Carlisle and ...
Taylor : Barry Mann.
Isaac : Barry Mann who've done a lot of stuff, you know, just...
Taylor : ~ a loving feeling somewhere, there's just... a million songs.
Florian : When did you start playing music together ?
Isaac : We started five years ago singing...
Taylor : We were just snapping our fingers 'n singing with no instruments at that time.
Lorenzo : And you sang under the shower ?
(Laughs)
Taylor : I guess everybody sings in the shower but...
Isaac : No, not really necessarily in the shower but, you know...
Lorenzo : For the parties and for your friends...
Isaac : Yeah, for family and for, yeah, for friends.
Lorenzo (singing) : Happy birthday to you...(Laughs)
Taylor : Our parents were both ~ musical so we've got it from them. It was in the genes.
Florian : You have other siblings ? What are they doing, one is a lawyer for the band, another's dealing with the tour ? (Laughs)
Isaac : No. We have, we have two younger brothers and a younger sister.
Lorenzo : What age ?
Isaac : 8, 6 and 3.
Lorenzo : Good job for the parents ! (Laughs)
Florian : Are they going to join the group when they're a bit older ?
Taylor : I think they will probably do their own thing. They have music in them too. They're very independent.
Lorenzo : The Next Generation of Hanson !
Zach : Hanson II !
Taylor : Hanson Next Generation !
(Laughs)
Listener : Are you still going to High School ? How do you deal with school ?
Taylor : Hum, actually we home school. We take our books with us.
Lorenzo : You have someone special...
Taylor : Our parents just teach us...
Isaac : Yeah, and we also do it, you know, on our own. There's books with the instruction in them that you can read and...
Lorenzo : But with someone, a teacher, or with...
Isaac : It's ~ parents ~ to help us or we do it on our own. Oh, we do actually have a math tutor.
Lorenzo : Are you really strict on it ? I mean really concentrated ?
Florian : Did you do your homework for today ?
Taylor : Actually... we did ?
Zach : Yes.
Isaac : Yes.
Taylor : We have to. The thing is getting to travel all around, coming to Paris, going to Germany, going to London... there's so many things to see. That's, I mean, that's a part of school... That's like going to ~, going to see different things... I mean, everyone in the US would love to be or to come to Europe.
Florian : We're going to do a pause, as one might say to make us live, and we'll come back in a while. There's gonna be Eloise, Audrey, only girls for you.
Zach : Yeah.
Taylor : No, not only girls really.
Zach : Not only girls.
Taylor : There's a lot of... We've been getting a lot of college radios... I mean, a lot of different people respond to it for different reason.
Lorenzo : But I mean in France.
Florian : Girls girls girls girls girls.
Isaac : I think that's a natural thing. I think, you know, all, you, ~ always you get girls.
Taylor : There is a girl, there is a guy, that happens. (Laughs) But, really, there's a lot of different people respond to it so...
Ads.
Florian : Till 1 PM with our guests, (...) we're gonna listen the first single from this album (...) and as is the rule in the emission, they will start it themselves. You have to play the DJs guys...
Isaac : OK.
Florian : OK ? Let's go Let's go Let's go Let's go !
Isaac : Here's the song MMMbop.
Florian : (Laughs) That's short.
Zach : MMMMoooooooh BABY !
Florian : Ah, that's good introduce.
MMMBop.
Florian : Fun Radio, that's Free News up to 1PM with Hanson we've just heard with mmmbop and that was funny because as there was Fun TV, all three of them were watching the clip and Zachary was saying « Who are those hideous guys with those mugs ? » And... What does mean MMMbop by the way ? Is it like be bop a lula, it means nothing, or does this song have a sense though ?
Isaac : MMMbop is actually a period of time. It says "I an mmmbop they're gone. In an mmmbop they're not there."
Taylor : It's like an instant.
Isaac : An instant, a moment.
Lorenzo : Just a part of time, or...
Taylor : Yes...
Isaac : Yeah, well that's...
Zach : It's like a second.
Isaac : It's like a second, an instant, a moment.
Lorenzo : Happy moment ?
Isaac : It could be anything.
Taylor : It's a first ~ says "You have so many relationships in this life. Only one or two will last. You're going through all this pain and strife. Then you turn your back and they're gone so fast."
Isaac : It's very... It's kind of... It's way... It's much deeper, much more intense than people think it is.
Florian : Zachary takes the mickey of them, he's doing playback because they must have prepared. What does it mean for you Zach mmmbop ?
Zach : I mean mmm bop, I mean, it's the same thing. (Laughs)
Taylor : Exactly what is says.
Isaac : Exactly what is says, I mean the song's kind of... is... you know, if you know the lyrics of this song...
Taylor : Probably anyone does. (Laughs)
Florian : Very well. We'll ask Zach doing again the Oklahoma accent, 'cause he does it very well, the accent of the peasants from there. He made us laugh during the song. Could you do just a little bit of the Oklahoma accent, from the farmers ?
Zach (44Kb).
(Laughs)
Lorenzo : That's a cow !
Zach : No a cow is more like mmm (31Kb).
Florian : This looks like a nice place.
Listener : I would like to know if you intend to have a tour in France.
Taylor : We hope so.
Isaac : We sure hope so.
Lorenzo : Nothing scheduled.
Isaac : Nothing scheduled in... well... we're just thinking about... we're probably gonna tour in the fall in the US.
Lorenzo : (...) maybe in September.
Isaac : It'll probably a later than that.
Taylor : A tour in November.
Florian : But precisely, doesn't your young age pose a problem for all this. We know American laws are rather hard about work, err... (Laughs)
Lorenzo : Zachary's always making a face.
Florian : He's a mocking. Doesn't your young age pose problems ? I know there's a story at the beginning of your career, you hadn't been allowed to play in bar because you weren't allowed to enter.
Isaac : We didn't play very many bars.
Taylor : We play everywhere else.
Zach : You don't have to play in bars necessarily.
Lorenzo : But especially for the law, you know, the working law, the job and,... I mean, you're young people and you're not allowed to play and... or to go abroad and...
Taylor : Because we home school we take our books with us, that takes care of the school aspect and also, just, we love to do music and that's...
Isaac : It's yet not exactly work anyway.
Florian : It could become a work.
Isaac : Oh well, I mean, it's...
Zach : It's work but we love it.
Isaac : It's definitely a work but at the same time it's very enjoyable.
(...)
Listener : I have two things to ask. First one is : Who discovered you and how ?
Taylor : Well, we did two independent CDs before this, we did two independent records by ourselves.
Florian : With your own money ?
Isaac : Yeah, with our, well...
Taylor : With our parents being very supportive.
Isaac : We couldn't exactly, you know, make a record with lawn mowing money, that's not exactly, it's a little more expensive than that. (Laughs)
Taylor : So, we then tried to get records ~ signed ~ two records and got interest towards Mercury Records on the second independent record.
Lorenzo : And then ?
Taylor : And then, and then we did the album last summer.
Florian : It's a fairy tale.
Isaac : It's... It's a dream, I mean, that's all we've always wanted to do.
Lorenzo : Have you met Cinderella ? (Laughs)
Isaac : You know, it's... it's... again, I mean it's not like it's easy because we've been working, you know, for a long time, you know, we made the two records on our own.
Taylor : So to us this is our third album.
Florian : When a new group comes, we've been used to compare it to other groups or artists. Who have you been most compared to and what pleased you most ?
Isaac : I think it's probably, a lot of the time people compare us to the Jackson Five. Because their music sounds in a lot of ways very same with us.
Taylor : (...) The first music we really heard was the late fifties early sixties rock'n roll. It was very influential in a way.
Florian : You sing in harmony, like the Jacksons...
Isaac : Yea, harmony, definitely.
Taylor : I think that adds to the sound to...
Lorenzo : What about all these bands like MN8 or...
Florian : The Boys Bands.
Taylor : ~ say we are a Boys Band or we're not a Boys Band.
Isaac : The difference between us, is the fact that we play instruments, we write the songs.
Florian : If we follow the comparison with the Jackson Five, it means Zach is like the Michael Jackson of the band...
Zach (disgusted) : eaaaaaa...
Florian : Do you intend to do plastic surgery ? (Laughs)
Isaac : No no no !!!
Zach : I like my face the way it is !
Listener : I would like to ask you to sing something a Cappella.
Isaac : Oh, sure.
Zach : Yes, sure.
Lorenzo : Could you do that ?
Isaac : Yeah.
MMMbop a Cappella (502Kb)
Florian : You're not a Boys Band.
Zach (with a cartoon voice) : Tank you ! Thank you very much ! We love you guys.
Record playing.
Florian : There's a lot of girls calling for you. I would like to know actually why, in your opinion, why girls are so unleashed by Hanson ?
Taylor : I think it's just a natural...
Zach : It's girl... guy. (Laughs)
Isaac : A large ~ of the people that buy records and stuff are girls.
Florian : Do you think that the success really helps you with girls ?
Taylor : Well...
Lorenzo : No, don't say no.
Zach : Nah !
Isaac : Well, you mean, being guys and the fact that they're girls, well yea of course it does.
Lorenzo : Yea, but that's not only the problem of being guys and girls. I mean, you are stars now, you sing and everything.
Taylor : I mean, that's not ~ about, we're just doing it 'cause...
Lorenzo : You don't do that for girls.
Isaac : No.
Taylor : The girls are just a bonus. (Laughs)
Isaac : Girls are icing on the cake.
(...)
Isaac : Oh, you guys probably get girls, I mean, you guys are on the radio.
Florian : Yes, but we have to pay.(Laughs)
Lorenzo : How do you live your success. Do you have big head, do you show off ?
Isaac : Ah, you mean... no.
Zach : No.
Taylor : We have to realize it's just... It can be gone so fast. We just have to have fun ~ last.
Isaac : I mean, we're not doing it because of girls, because of, you know, all that... The reason we're doing it is because we're loving. We've been doing since we were so young, I mean, why would we do it for any other reason.
Listener : What did you do with your first salary ?
Taylor : With the first salary, I would like to... find out ( ?) when we'll get that. (Laughs)
Zach : I know what do we do. Let's get a...
Isaac : Well we would probably put it in a bank...
Zach : Let's get a... dog... hum... hum...
Isaac : Zach's gonna get a dog.
Florian : What are going to do Zach with your money ?
Zach : I'm going to hum... hum... hum...
Lorenzo : Hum is good too. (Laughs)
Isaac : We'll probably put some in a bank, but we also wanna buy some recording equipment...
Taylor : Invest in doing music.
Florian : I read that when you were younger, your parents told you to do the dishes and instead you would write a song. Do you intend with the money to buy a washing-machine ? (Laughs)
Isaac : No, we have a machine.
Zach : No, we have a washing-machine.
Taylor : Do the dishes' meaning...
Zach : put 'm in the washing-machine.
Isaac : Yea, putting them in the dishwasher. No we weren't washing them by hand.
Taylor : One of the story is they would leave and say do the dishes and clean the house and we would write a song.
Isaac : Much more interested in music.
Florian : I think you've got a better future in dish-washing... in music-composing than in dish-washing. Oh the shitty slip !
Record playing.
Listener : Hi guys.
Taylor : Salut.
Isaac : Hello.
Zach : HELLO BABY !
Florian : Zach is hot, I think tonight... in Paris, it gonna be... He's on fire.
Listener : I've got strange questions.
Taylor : OK.
Listener : I suppose it already happened to Isaac and Taylor. I just would like you to tell me if it's a very disturbing problem if your voice breaks.
Isaac : Oh, well no, our voices... Taylor's voice changed during ...
Taylor : During the making of...
Isaac : During the album.
Taylor : So that's something you definitely have to work around. When Zach... When that happens to Zach. That'll be an interesting...
Zach : The songs'll be lower. Yeak.
Taylor : We'll just lower the songs, you know.
Isaac : Or we could sing like the Bee Gees. (Laughs)
Listener : I saw the video clip. Had you smoked pot before you do the video or are you so crazy...
Zach : We don't do that !
Taylor : Not exactly.
Zach : We don't do that !
Taylor : No, no no.
Lorenzo : It's the Oklahoma air in fact, is that it ?
Zach : No, it's just we need rather keep our brain ~ then use 'm.
Isaac : Why did she ask that question ?
Listener : Well, the video was so crazy so I didn't know...
Zach : 'was just weird period.
Isaac : Yeah, yeah, we're just weird.
Taylor : We were just having fun.
Lorenzo : Can Zach do again the accent ?
Zach
Taylor : It's not... I think we'll need to... I mean it's not exactly the Oklahoma accent, but there are some, there are a few people that have that accent.
Zach : I mean, I don't think there's actually very many people talk that bad.
Listener : Bye.
Taylor : Bye.
Zach (sad) : Bye.
Listener : I saw the video clip for the first time this morning and I would like to knows if skate and roller were a real passion for you.
Isaac : Err, we do like roller blade.
Taylor : We love to roller blade.
Isaac : We also play street-hockey.
Florian : You brought them in France ?
Isaac : Yes, we actually did.
Zach : We have our roller blades
Taylor : We have them with us. We take them everywhere.
Lorenzo : In Paris, you should go to Trocadero...
Taylor : Cool.
Lorenzo : Near the Eiffel Tower.
Florian : It is the place where all the people...
Taylor : You can roller blade around there ?
Florian : Yea, yea.
Taylor : I didn't know that.
Florian : You know it now. (Laughs)
Zach (angry) : YOU KNOW IT NOW, SO DON'T SAY THAT.
Lorenzo : Are you agree with me if I say Hanson music is a mix of and Aerosmith Beck music, more young, of course.
Isaac : Err... I definitely... I mean, the fifties and sixties influenced, there's definitely a lot of that. They were the first music that we listened to, the first music that really influenced us.
Florian : Parent's records or...
Isaac : Well, no, it was kind of by coincidence, we bought a tape that had songs from 1958, it was a Time/Life tape.
Lorenzo : And then ?
Isaac : And then, you know...
Taylor : Just listened to it a lot.
Isaac : We listened to that a lot. And... it definitely influenced the music, and Beck, I guess...
Taylor : Because the Dust Brothers produced the songs, I think they added that age to it.
Listener : What do you think about Silverchair, because they have the same age.
Isaac : Hum... Well...
Taylor : I think they're very different from us.
Isaac : I think they're very different but at the same time, you know, they're doing music, and they're young guys, and they're doing what they love.
Florian : Thank you for coming guys.
Zach (shouting) : We love you guys.
Florian : We hope the mmm bop, this instant of time, will last as long as possible for them. Bye bye.
Zach (shouting again): Bye. Hey !
Trancribed by JBR.
