Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson in Sydney on June 21, 2017.Photo:Carly Earl/Newspix/Getty
Carly Earl/Newspix/Getty
Hansonis celebrating a huge milestone this fall: 20 years on their own independent record label, and their first record under it.
Speaking with PEOPLE amid the release of his nonprofitFor Women Life Freedom’s new version of theGrammy-winning song “Baraye — For Women Life Freedom,” the 40-year-old musician reflects on the two decades since he and brothersIsaacandZac Hansonlaunched 3CG Records, based in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Underneathwas such a significant record because it was the decision to leave Universal start around record company,” says Taylor, referring to the band’s third studio album and first under 3CG Records, which includedan acoustic EPin 2003 and, the following year, a full electric version.
“I was 20 years old, and we were ‘starting over,’ starting a label, building up a team, becoming independent in 2003,” he recalls.
Taylor, Isaac, 42, and Zac, 37, also released a documentary calledStrong Enough to Break,which they screened at universities around the country in 2005. The film chronicles Hanson’s 40-month journey toward creating 3CG — an acronym for3 Car Garage, a compilation album they recorded in the mid ’90s, in a time period that predated their “MMMBop” andMiddle of Nowherefame.
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Underneath(2004) album cover art.Amazon
Amazon
Strong Enough to Breakalso served as the title ofUnderneath’s opening track, in which the brothers sing in part, “Things keep coming, and I keep wondering / I start feeling the walls close in / Things keep coming, and I keep stumbling / I start feeling I’m strong enough to break.”
“Oh, nothing ever seems to change / We just play like broken records in a deaf man’s charade,” goes another poignant lyric.
Addressing howUnderneathwas a “significant” album for him, Taylor says, “It was a call to reframe, to re-articulate, just how true whatever it was that youmight’ve heard from the bandas a fan early on to be able to say, ‘No, whatever you felt then, it was true, and it’s even more true [now].’ "
“Like, here’s a song called ‘Strong Enough to Break’ about being strong enough to grow up, essentially — to fall apart and put yourself back together again,” he adds.
Touching on a “bright spot” from the album, fan-favorite track"Penny & Me,“Taylor says it’s “really about how life continues to move and you don’t get to stay put, but you take these people, and you take these affections, and they act as your soundtrack to get through the good times and the romanticized times.”
Hanson performing during A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys on Feb. 8, 2023, in Hollywood, California.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
SinceUnderneath,Taylor, Isaac and Zac have gone on to release seven more albums under 3CG — including their secondChristmasalbum, an orchestral-fueled double album and their latest offering, 2022’sRed Green Blue.
The brothers haven’t slowed down in terms of connecting with their fans on the road either, regularly touring their albums, showing up for special events dedicated to their fanbase and more. They arecurrently playing in the U.K.alongside Busted for the latter’s 20th anniversary tour.
And as he looks to what’s next for the band, Taylor is grateful for howUnderneath"really taught” him, aside from the music, “about building things,” and the revolutionary thoughts” he and his brothers had as a band at the time.
“When we did that acoustic tour, we were telling a story not only to the fans but to the industry around us that said, ‘Hey, Hanson is not going down in the night. We’re continuing to push forward,’ “the father of seventells PEOPLE.
“Baraye — For Women Life Freedom” is streaming now onSpotify.
source: people.com
