Despite the fact that "MMMBop" came out 13 (yes, THIRTEEN) years ago, many people still frustratingly think of Hanson as that "kid band," those little golden boys with the long girly hair. The truth is, Hanson have steadily built a respectable career for themselves since their youthful beginnings, releasing four solid albums of impeccably crafted pop-rock since their 1997 boyhood breakthrough Middle Of Nowhere and now heading up their own label, 3CG Records. However, diehard music fans and, it should be noted, serious musicians have always appreciated and respected Hanson. The trio's praises have been sung by everyone from super-producer Butch Walker to electropop guru Har Mar Superstar to "American Idol" rebel girl Siobhan Magnus; singer Taylor Hanson was recruited last year to front the supergroup Tinted Windows with Fountains Of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, Smashing Pumpkins' James Iha, and Cheap Trick's Bun E. Carlos; and the brothers guested on the allstar powerpop project L.E.O. alongside underground pop darlings Bleu, Mike Viola, Matt Mahaffey of Self, Andy Sturmer of Jellyfish, and even Jason Scheff of Chicago.
And now, with the release of Hanson's fifth album, the critically hailed, pleasingly soulful Shout It Out, there seems to be a real Hanson renaissance going on. Their fans have grown up with them, and judging by the millions of hits their Weird Al Yankovic-assisted, Blues Brothers-parodying "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" video received, Hanson are gaining countless new fans as well. Finally, these boys-to-men are getting the respect they've long deserved. Something to shout (it out) about, indeed.
Hanson recently played a buzzy midnight show (attended by Har Mar, Cedric from the Mars Volta, Ryan Cabrera, Siobhan Magnus and Tim Urban from "Idol," et al) at Hollywood hot spot Bardot to celebrate their record's release. There, Yahoo! Music caught up with them to talk about Shout It Out, the current new surge of Hanson appreciation, and how they've at long last shed their child-star image. Check out their nightclub interview below, along with five performance clips (four Shout It Out cuts plus the '90s classic "Where's The Love") from this very special, all-grown-up gig.
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