MMM! Hanson's Hot! - September YM 97

These kissworthy cuties are big stars. But they're just learning to snag dates, score tube time, and get rides to the mall... With their flowing, Brad Pitt-like manes, oversize smiles, and laid back style, Zac, 12, Taylor, 14, and Isaac ("Just-call-me-Ike"), 16, Hanson have become the hottest American musical family since The Jackson 5. The group receives close to 1,000 messages a day at their internet address (MMMBop@aol.com)! And they're getting the royal star treatment: Their debut album, Middle of Nowhere, was produced by the Dust Brothers-who did Beck's Odelay-and Steve Lironi, who produced for Black Grape and Space. Once the group's first single, "MMMbop," hit number one on the charts last May and the videogot major play on MTV, the brothers from Oklahoma became instant superstars-and the band-in-demand on shows like Late Night with David Letterman and The Rosie O`Donnell show. All this before they even had driver's licenses. "I think it's totally awesome that people want to talk to us," says Zac, the group's drummer. "I just think think it's so cool that people really like us. Really." ~talented tykes~ So how'd it all happen? The Hanson brothers got their start from their parents. Their dad, Walker, who's a financier and Hanson's manager, and their mom, Diana, who's been home-schooling the guys since they were tots, got the three eldest boys (there are three younger Hansons, too-a boy and two girls) singing early. "Music was unavoidable in our house," says Taylor, the keyboard player. The boys harmonized from their father's music collection of 1950s and 60s rock 'n' roll: Chuck Berry, Otis Redding, and The Beach Boys. "We love old stuff," says guitar-guy Ike, who first recorded songs he'd written when he was in the third grade. The brothers are so young that when they performed at one hip bar in Tulsa, their hometown, they had to play outside on a patiobecause they were underage. "It worked out for the best," says Taylor. "A lot of our fans are underage too, so it was cool." The word "cool"doesn't even begin to describe it. Those local gigs got the band an enormous following and, eventually, their big-time recording deal with Mercury Records. Their sudden success has turned the boys into real babe-magnets. Packs of screaming girls follow them almost everywhere they go. "It's just a natural phenomenon when guys play music," Ike says. "I'm sure it happens to all the bands." As if! ~no dates?!~ So with all those admiring fans, these guys have about a million girlfriends each, right? Internet buzz says Taylor's taken. "Don't believe everything you log onto," he says. "I don't have a girlfriend yet. But if you live life, you meet girls. That's pretty basic." "None of us has a girlfriend," Ike says. "But being in a band, you meet people everywhere you go. I know mine will turn up one day." "I've never kissed a girl," Zac admits. "But I do think about it. And it's not like there's just one type of girl who's right for me, because you say that and then you fall for someone who's the exact opposite of what you said." Spoken like a true rock star. ~band-boy basics~ Here's the scoop on these three available guys Zac: The drummer's hidden talents might gross you out. "I can burp and say stuff at the same time," he informs us. Zac's obviously the show off-or as he puts it, "I'm the wacky one. Wacky. Wacky." He also loves to pig out on anything and everything. "Ding Dongs, Twinkies," he says "are my most important food group. And I also like lasagna and hotdogs and pizza and...." All right, we get the point. Taylor: When he has downtime, he's devoted to cartoons. "I love Freak-a-zoid," he says, referring to the mega-hip animated Steven Speilberg show. He also like to hang with his family: "We all know each other pretty well." Taylor says that his parents are very important to the band. "You really need somebody to help you out. Who else is going to carry all the instruments to to stage?" He's joking. He's JOKING! Ike: This dude's known in the band for his Kermit the Frog impersonation. But he's got a serious side-just ask him what "Mmmbop" means: "It's deeper than most people give it credit for," he says. "It's a frame of time. 'In an mmmbop, they're gone. In an mmmbop, they're not there.' It's about holding onto your friends and the people who matter. Because in the end, as we say in the song, they'll be the only ones there."