Isaac Hanson

Isaac Hanson

Clarke Isaac Hanson (b. November 17, 1980 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is one of the singers in the band Hanson. He also plays both electric and acoustic guitars, as well as the piano, the bass and synth.

Biography

Early life

Firstborn child of Clarke Walker Hanson, born June 1, 1954) and Diana Frances Hanson (née Lawyer April 30, 1954), Isaac Hanson is the eldest of seven children: brother of Jordan Taylor Hanson (also going by his middle name; Taylor) (born March 14, 1983) and Zachary Walker Hanson (Zac Hanson) (born October 22, 1985), Jessica Grace, July 31, 1988), Avery Laurel (November 4, 1990), Joshua Mackenzie, January 7, 1994), and Zoë Genevieve (January 14, 1998).

Isaac formed a band with his brothers Taylor and Zac, which was originally called The Hanson Brothers, and eventually became 'Hanson' started out as three young boys who sang a cappella and recorded songs like "Rockin' Robin", "Splish Splash" and "Johnny B. Goode" as well as their own material. Their first performance as a professional group took place in 1992 at the Mayfest arts festival in Tulsa.

Hanson also appeared on Carman's Yo! Kidz: The Vidz which included Taylor, the middle child, cast as a young Biblical David facing Goliath; Isaac was cast as an event announcer, and other members of the family, including Zac, in the stands cheering on this "sporting event."

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Hanson on the cover of their commercial debut album Middle of Nowhere

The three kids all started out playing the piano. Isaac and Taylor needed one more player in their band so Zac entered the group. Later on, Isaac picked up a secondhand guitar, Zac borrowed an old set of drums, and Taylor became the keyboard player of what turned into a garage band. The band recorded two independent albums in their hometown of Tulsa, Boomerang (recorded autumn 1994, released 1995) and MMMBop (1996). The latter featured the original version of what would later become the runaway single on their debut commercial record Middle of Nowhere. The boys then found themselves at the South By Southwest music festival for unsigned music bands in Austin, Texas. There, they were promptly signed by manager Christopher Sabec. He shopped them to several record companies, most of which dismissed the band as either a novelty or fraud before Steve Greenberg, an A&R representative for Mercury Records, heard them play a set at the Kansas State Fair. This break resulted in the band being signed almost immediately by Mercury. They soon became a worldwide sensation with the release of their first major-label album, Middle of Nowhere.

1997-2000: Commercial success

Middle of Nowhere was released on May 6, 1997. The album's first single, "MMMBop", debuted at #16 in the United States, reaching #1 in both the US and the UK, reaching #2 in Canada, and staying over two months in the top spot in Australia. The group was heavily featured in teen magazines such as Tiger Beat and found a wide following among teen and pre-teen girls. The album's second single, "Where's the Love", followed "MMMBop" to the top of the charts. Their first album's worldwide success was registered in Tulsa, Tokyo and the Middle of Nowhere, an 82-minute videotape with home videos, interviews, video clips, and live performances.

During the summer of 1998, Hanson began a highly successful concert tour, The Albertane Tour. They performed a string of shows throughout stadiums and arenas in the US, targeting young audiences with its playful and energetic theme. A live album, titled Live From Albertane, was released the following fall.

Since then, follow up albums have failed to match the success of Middle of Nowhere and Hanson has struggled against the label of one-hit wonder. Hanson released their second album, This Time Around, in May 2000 but due to lack of sales the label pulled funding on their tour. They toured through the summer and fall of 2000 on their own funds.

2001-present: Independent career

The brothers left their record label, Island Records, due to conflict with the producers who felt their material was lacking quality and had refused over 80 songs from the band. The band now works under their own independent label, 3CG Records ("3 Car Garage Records"), named for the three-car garage in which their studio lies today. The label has distribution deals through Alternative Distribution Alliance in the United States, Sony BMG in Asia, and various other distributors throughout the world.

During the struggle with their former label, Hanson signed with their current management company, 10th Street Entertainment, which also manages artists such as Meatloaf and Blondie.

The band toured during the summer and fall of 2003 in support of Underneath Acoustic, which was composed of acoustic versions of songs from their then-forthcoming release, Underneath. The tour culminated on November 5, 2003 with a performance at the prestigious Carnegie Hall.

Underneath was released on April 20, 2004, and the following week debuted at #1 on Billboard's Independent Album Chart and #25 on the Billboard 200 album chart, making Underneath one of the most successful independent albums of all time (only a few artists, such as Prince and Ani DiFranco, have released a top 25 independent album).

The first single from Underneath was "Penny & Me"; its music video featured The O.C.’s Samaire Armstrong and was directed by Chris Applebaum. "Penny & Me" reached #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart. The video for the album's second single, "Lost Without Each Other", was directed by P.R. Brown and filmed in Boston, and includes live footage from the concert played in the city that coincided with the filming.

On March 5, 2005, Hanson performed the US anthem at the inaugural NASCAR Busch Series Telcel-Motorola 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City.

In fall 2005, Hanson toured the US and played at certain Canadian venues to support their recently released live album, The Best of Hanson: Live & Electric. They also visited various colleges in order to showcase Strong Enough to Break, their documentary chronicling their struggles with Island Def Jam during the making of Underneath, as well as their subsequent departure from the label. During the college visits, the band also held question-and-answer sessions about the problems that independent artists face in music industry today.

In November 2005, Hanson's old record label released "Mmmbop: The Collection", a compilation of famous tracks from the first two albums and the consequent B-sides of singles. However, the CD never charted, partially based on poor distribution. The album also received criticism from Hanson's loyal fan base, as many fans rejected the record label that released the album. This was in large part due to Hanson's recent documentary and college tour, which did not frame the music industry in a particularly positive light.

During the spring of 2005, Hanson toured many countries in South America and Europe, and performed their first ever electric shows in Australia during their highly successful Live and Electric tour. Hanson plans to release Strong Enough to Break on DVD in late 2006 and are currently working on their fourth studio album set for release in early 2007. This album, which Taylor revealed to be titled The Walk in a chat on Hanson.net in July, has been said by the band to be very different from Underneath. Zac recently posted on their official website, saying that the band recorded a school choir in Soweto, South Africa. This indicates that the new record will indeed be different from the quieter, more acoustically-driven songs featured on Underneath. A recent video posted on their official website reveals the clip of a song that was played live on the Underneath Acoustic '03 Tour, called "The Walk", and revealed the possible title of their upcoming album, or maybe a documentary on the album, called "Taking the Walk".

They began a new tour in 2007. they performed in carling academy in glasgow on the 15, the day before the release of their new single "Go".

On October 13, 2006, Hanson posted a new song from the upcoming Van Wilder 2 soundtrack, exclusively for members of Hanson.net. The song is called "The Ugly Truth" and is, in the band's own words, "a true back to basics rock'n'roll tune".

On October 8, 2007, Isaac and his brothers resumed their tour for The Walk, their fourth studio album, with a performance in Knoxville, Tennessee. The brothers plan to return to Africa in November to deliever 50,000 pairs of shoes they hope to have collected by then.

Personal life

During Hanson's 'This Time Around' tour, Isaac was linked to singer Marit Larsen from M2M who were the supporting act for the band at the time. The couple dated for about two years, before apparently parting amicably.

Isaac confirmed during the band's November 11, 2003 show at Chicago's House of Blues that the song "Hand in Hand" was written about his own personal experience, in which one of his previous girlfriends had been unfaithful.

Isaac married his girlfriend of 3 years Nicole Summer Dufresne (born November 25,1983) of Panama City, Florida, on September 30, 2006 at Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa in a ceremony in front of 300 guests. Isaac met Nicole after spotting her in the 5th row of a crowd at one of the band's concerts. Brother Taylor served as Isaac's best man. Isaac wrote and recorded the song 'Every Day' the night before the ceremony for the couple's first dance. He performed this song for his solo during the band's "The Walk" tour in honor of the couple's first anniversary, which happenend to fall on the date of a scheduled performance in Chicago.

Isaac and Nicole's first child, Clarke Everett Hanson, was born on April 3, 2007 weighing 8lb 12oz.

On October 3, 2007, Isaac was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism after suffering severe shoulder and chest pains. He was rushed into emergency surgery, according to Tulsa World, and is now in recovery and in stable condition. On October 4, they discovered that the form of embolism afflicting Isaac is venous thoracic outlet syndrome which required surgery. The condition which is commonly referred to as Paget-Schroeder Syndrome can be fatal. Isaac underwent surgery at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Bradley Grimsley, the surgeon who performed Isaac's surgery, expects Isaac to make a "full and swift recovery".

Isaac and his wife, Nikki recently did an interview with People Magazine, discussing the seriousness of his condition. The article appeared in People's October 22, 2007 issue. According to the magazine, Isaac will need to undergo a second surgery in December to remove a rib pressing on a vein, which was the cause of his nearly fatal episode on October 3.

Discography

Studio albums

1. Boomerang (1995) Indie Release
2. MMMBop (1996) Indie Release
3. Middle of Nowhere (May 6, 1997) #2 US (4x Platinum), #1 UK
4. Snowed In (November 1997) #7 US, #87 UK
5. This Time Around (May 9, 2000) #19 US (Gold), #33 UK
6. Underneath (April 20, 2004) #25 US, #1 US Independent Chart, #49 UK
7. The Walk (2007)

Live Albums and Compilations

• 3 Car Garage (May 1998) #6 US, #39 UK
• Live From Albertane (November 1998) #32 US, #129 UK
• Underneath Acoustic (August 9, 2003) Available only through the Official Store. [1]
• The Best of Hanson: Live & Electric (October 2005) #182 US, #15 US Independent Chart
• Mmmbop: The Collection (November 2005)

Singles

• "MMMBop" (May 1997) #1 US, #1 UK
• "Where's the Love" (September 1997) #4 UK
• "I Will Come to You" (November 1997) #9 US, #5 UK
• "Weird" (March 1998) #19 UK
• "Thinking of You" (July 1998) #23 UK
• "If Only" (April 2000) #15 UK
• "This Time Around" (July 2000) #17 US
• "Penny and Me" (January 2005) #2 US, #9 UK
• "Lost Without Each Other" (April 2005) #39 UK
• "Underneath" (2005)
• "Great Divide" (November 2006)
• "Go" (2007)

Music Videos

• "Where's the Love" (July 1997) This also has two different versions. As with "MMMBop", one was on public TV (directed by Tamra Davis) and the other was on the Tulsa, Tokyo, and the Middle of Nowhere home video. Both are also mainly the same, except for a few different scenes.
• "I Will Come to You" (November 1997) directed by Peter Christopherson and shot just outside of London. There was also a version of the video shot in New York's Beacon Theatre. A shot of a fox was cut from the final version of the video. (Source: article by Hanson in MOE magazine, Issue 02)
• "Run Rudolph Run" (November 1997) very rare; features Hanson in the studio playing the song and goofing around.
• "Weird" (May 1998) Director: Gus Van Sant, Producer: Danny Wolf, Cinematographer: Harris Sevides (famous for being one of the only cinematographers that Madonna likes to work with on her videos). Between them, Gus, Danny, and Harris had worked on videos for David Bowie, Elton John, Madonna, Mariah Carey, R.E.M., Michael Jackson, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The video for "Weird" had many unique techniques. Hanson called up Gus Van Sant and told him about a concept they had thought of for the video. His first reaction was: "Boy this is really weird." The shots in the white room where filmed in a giant round Victorian room with a floor of lights that rolled on its side and was twenty feet tall. The room rotated and was built by Tom Foden who has also designed and built the spaceship for Michael Jackson's "Scream" video. The painting on the wall of the white room was The Judgment of Solomon by eighteenth century Italian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and was enlarged color print that was smooth, so Hanson could slide across it as the room revolved. While filming the video shots in the white room, Taylor forgot to jump down off of a ledge of a door sill at one point and, when he finally did, the room had revolved enough that he found himself perched atop when seemed like an enormous skateboard ramp and had to jump down in the shot, which looked very dangerous. (I don’t know if this shot was left in the final cut or not, but there is a part a little over halfway through the video where Taylor jumps down from above, so perhaps that is it.) Another tricky part of the video shoot was having Hanson swim underwater and lip sync to the song at the same time. The guys had to wear weights so they wouldn't float out of shot. They also had to hold their breath for a whole verse while they swam towards the camera. After the video was aired around the world, it had become a number one play request on MTV together with Puff Daddy and Madonna. (Source: article by Hanson in MOE magazine, Issue 02)
• "River" (May 1998) Directed by Weird Al Yankovic, this was a spoof on the Titanic, with a Guest Appearance by Gloria Stuart, who played Rose DeWitt Bukater, and "Weird Al" Yankovic as Brock Lovett, who started as the leader of a treasure hunting expedition to RMS Titanic. The video also has a live performance of the song from the 1997 Mall Tour.
• "This Time Around" (April 2000, directed by Dave Meyers).
• "If Only" (May 2000, directed by Dave Meyers) For a short while back in the summer of 2002 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland Ohio had the outfits worn by Hanson in this video on display. Short note: The Hall of Fame also had on of Issac's guitars at the time.
• "Save Me" (November 2000), an independent video viewable on the internet in the U.S.. It was quickly done on a laptop computer using digital Rotoscope, a process in which an artist traces an image from film frames, so that the movements on the film can be used in other media: each frame has several effects to make it look sketched. The 1985 music video for A-Ha’s “Take On Me” is another example of this technique. The video consists mostly of live performances during the 2000 This Time Around Tour. The entire bridge section of the song was shoot in the basement of the theatre Hanson played at in Erie, PA. It did eventually air on MTV in many country's all over the world, and spent two months in the top ten on the MTV Select Show on MTV Europe. It is Taylor who is writing on the wall in the end of the video when the paint breaks off. It was an accident, but when it happened Hanson decided it was a great way to end the video. (Source: article by Hanson in MOE magazine, Issue 11)
• "Penny and Me" (March 2004) Hanson only had one day to shoot this video. The actress in the video, Samaire Armstrong, also played Anna Stern in the TV series The O.C. The video is alsoon The Best of Hanson: Live & Electric bonus DVD.
• "Lost Without Each Other" (July 13, 2005) This video consists mostly of short clips from concerts during the 2003 Underneath Acoustic Tour. It premiered on MTV Brazil and was only aired outside the U.S., though it is on The Best of Hanson: Live & Electric bonus DVD.
• "Underneath" (October 4, 2005) This video only consists of a room with a TV set, showing a live video of Hanson performing the song in concert on a very small screen. There are also headphones on the floor and sunlight coming through a window. As the video progresses, vines begin to grow and entangle everything in the room, until it is almost completely covered. Towards the end the sunlight shines through and the vines slowly disappear. Hanson has never mentioned anything involving the influence on the video. It is also available on The Best of Hanson: Live & Electric bonus DVD.
• "Misery" (February 2006) is an animated video created and drawn solely by Zac and only released with the 2006 Hanson.net membership kit.
• There was also a short video for an Eggo Waffles commercial in 1997 which features the band playing "Thinking of You", while a crowd around them are passing around a box of waffles.

Promotional

• Pepsi Music Live: Hanson (1998)
• MOE Enhanced CD (January 1, 1998)
• Teen Mag Music 2000 Volume 1 (July 1, 2000)
• HANSON.NET Enhanced CDs (Versions 2.0 - 2.2) (May 2002, May 2 2003, May 2005, and May 2006)
• Live & Electric Indie Sampler (2005)

External links

• Hanson Official Web Site
• Isaac Hanson at IMDb