The Hanson Hour

If you're up for some fan stories while you pound the pavement or sit down for your morning coffee- then this episode is for you. Andrea Howat is based in Chicago, but sat down with me in Nashville. I wont give away any spoilers, you'll need to listen, but I will say...this one is a whole lotta fun! Enjoy! You can find Andrea on her insta handles which are: @andreakhowat and @dancewithdre. You can check out her youtube channel: dancewithdre And also hit up her website which is: dancewithdre.com

It feels good to be back! Delighting you this week with guest Jason Taylor. Jason is based in the Midwest and currently plays in a band that plays all Grateful Dead music-KC Bones is the name of the band. He was also the original guitarist for Hanson's band on the Road to Albertane and This time around tours. You can also find Jason's two albums on iTunes under the name Honeyspoon- Sixth Sense Honeyspoon- Songs for Camels. As for me, you can find me on Instagram as The Hanson Hour. Thank you for listening!

Remember when Christopher Sabec name dropped Matthew Spaid in his episode? Well we have Matthew on today to tell us all that he remembers (well some of it, because I'm sure this could have been a much longer episode if it were all of it) about his time with the band, beginning from 1997. And what does Matt do now? You can find out more below! In 2003, Matt Spaid's career took a significant turn, transitioning from web development to oral care product development. He specializes in developing oral care products, including toothpaste, mouthwash, and teeth whitening products, for prominent global brands like Smile Direct Club and HiSmile among many others. Following a decade in Amsterdam, he relocated to rural Arizona in 2021 with his husband, a doctor currently completing his Internal Medicine residency. Matt now resides on a small farm and runs a consulting company, Quia Group (pronounced 'K-WA'). He also established Quia Farms, a brand for selling farm products like eggs, produce, and his uniquely crafted toothpaste. If you want to explore and purchase his artisan toothpaste and other products visit quiafarms.com (spelled q-u-i-a farms.com). He's offering a 25% discount for Hanson Hour listeners on their orders if you use the coupon code 'HANSONHOUR'.

Well the MON era has been a ride. And to be honest I feel like I could have stayed here for a little while longer. In this episode I welcome past guests Katie from Hansonstage and Chris from MMMBOPtastic back to discuss the first 4 episodes in a little more detail. Enjoy! @hansonstage @mmmboptastic

What would you do when a 7, 11 and 13 year old came up to you during lunch and asked to sing for you? If you're Christopher Sabec, you drop everything, and spend a good few years turning that encounter into a household name. In this weeks episode we spend some time hearing about Christopher's role with the band and what that was like in the Middle of Nowhere era. This episode wraps up the guests for this era, with up-coming episodes focused on the era "wrap up" Enjoy

What a pleasure to sit down and chat with the effervescent Tamra Davis. Tamra was the director of the MMMBop and Where's the Love video clips. These videos were one of the main, if the not, THE main parts of our Hanson 1997 era. It was through these videos that we were able to connect with Hanson, to visually see them and.....well pause our VHS's and stare.

I mean...it's TOM LORD ALGE here today team. Tom is a master of his craft, working as a mixer and recording engineer for some of the biggest names in the industry. Just hear this one out to learn more about him and the incredible work that he does. Tom was the mixer for Middle of Nowhere, if you aren't entirely sure what that means, then you'll learn a lot from this episode whilst also hearing lots of fun stories. Enjoy! Megan

Clif Magness stops in this week to bring you a little pocket of joy! Clif is an amazing singer/songwriter who is a 3 time grammy award winner. He has also been nominated for 2 Academy Awards and is just an all round great guy. In this episode Clif shares his songwriting process with Hanson and as usual, we will learn a lot about the industry as we listen. I can't thank Clif enough for his time and energy. Enjoy!

Welcome to episode 12! This week Rhonda Bedikin joins us. In an email she explained to me: " As my daughter is 6 months younger than Zac, Hanson's attorney at the time asked if I would be willing to host a party at my home, invited the kids and families from my daughter’s class as well as some A&R people and have Hanson play. Anyway, they were offered a deal from that party but it wasn’t exactly what they were looking for, so they turned it down. Their management and Walker Hanson (they co-managed) and I kept in touch and they knew I did music publishing administration and had some name clients. At the time record companies were not doing 360 deals, and the attorney, the management and Walker seemed to understand the importance of keeping the ownership of the compositions and, thus having creative control. I was able to make sure that Hanson’s music would not be used in any way that would not align with their values. Anytime PolyGram wanted to place a song in film, tv, commercials, etc, they had to come to me for approval and I worked closely with both the family and their managers. They have said that keeping their publishing and keeping in close contact with their fans through email and MOE was 2 of the best decisions they made at the beginning of their career. I worked with them until about 2004. " Sounds incredible right? Well, it is. Tune in to find out more. You can find Rhonda @rhondabedikian xx

Yay! A very self indulgent episode ahead. This week we have Emily drop in. Emily is from Newcastle, Australia and is an OG fan from '97. In this episode we get deep into our early teen years, remembering what it was like to be a Hanson fan back in the day. We share stories about early shows, magazines, radio stations and TV Spots- (hello Recovery, Ugly Phil, Video Hits and TV Hits Magazine!) Emily has also travelled to Back to The Island and Hanson Day and this past RGB Tour saw her camp out to secure the spots in front of the stage that bring joy into her life. And hey, that's what it's all about! :) You can hear Emily chat about her experiences in this episode. And oh yeah, we are up to unpacking "Look At You"- but I'll be honest, we both don't rate this song and thus it was barely up for discussion. You can find Emily on Instagram @emfuller

Nothing says MON era like Tulsa Tokyo and The Middle of Nowhere, The Albertane Tour, Promo including TV spots and Jack Frost Soundtracks! And this week's guest, Scott Hogan, was there for all of it. I loved talking with Scott about his memories of this era. Noteable discussions were how he got the gig and a fun set up he did with a roadie named Romeo- which landed Taylor and Zac's their wives. The reasoning behind this set up also struck a chord- as we continue to unpack this era, we see more and more that the reality and lens in which we were viewing this era as fans was very different behind the scenes. I hope you enjoy! x You can find Scott on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram @nilandscott

Oh, you better believe it. Steve Greenberg is here on the podcast today. Steve signed Hanson after checking them out at a local county fair- there would be no Hanson as we know them if not for Steve. A former rep for Mercury Records, Steve now has his own label- S-Curve Records. Steve brings an hour of fun, laughs, enthusiasm and passion into this episode, his love for Hanson and the Middle of Nowhere era is undeniably contagious. Tone Deaf:" Steve Greenberg, the executive producer on Hanson’s album Middle of Nowhere, was convinced that if the band were to fulfil the potential that Christopher Sabec, the band’s manager, first saw in them at SXSW, they’d need to have alt-cred. “We were coming out of this alternative rock moment, and everything was about alternative cred. People were very skeptical that we could do a pop record,” Greenberg recently told Broadly, who’ve published an oral history on ‘MMMBop’. Greenberg decided to assemble an alternative Justice League to spruce up the band’s indie credentials. Having recently heard an advance of Beck’s Odelay, Greenberg tapped the Dust Brothers to produce Middle of Nowhere. “It was the Dust Brothers’ involvement that helped us achieve alternative cred,” said Greenberg. David Campbell, a composer who’d worked with Green Day and Hole, did arrangements for the album, and Tamra Davis (Sonic Youth, Veruca Salt) directed the ‘MMMBop’ video. “Steve and I wanted to create a patina of hipness around a pop record. I think we picked exactly the right people,” said Mercury Records’ Danny Goldberg. “They didn’t try to make it like Nine Inch Nails or too hip. But they did add a hipness factor that smoothed the pathway to quick exposure in all aspects of the business.” More about Steve's Podcast: American Song Writer- " Grammy-Award winning Record Executive and Producer Steve Greenberg — the veteran music industry producer who helped launch the careers of Hanson, The Jonas Brothers, Joss Stone, Andy Grammer, AJR and many more — announced today the debut of “Speed of Sound.” The new iHeartRadio Original podcast explores how some of pop’s biggest songs, bands and musical genres soared to the top of the charts. From The Beatles to disco, “The Twist” to hip-hop and beyond, Greenberg examines the unique historical circumstances, technological advances and trends that helped create some of music’s most remarkable and unlikely success stories."

Hello and welcome to episode 8 of Season 1 of the Hanson Hour. This season we are in our Middle of Nowhere era. This is an era that really catapulted the band out of Tulsa and onto the word wide stage, bringing with it a certain mania and hysteria, which honestly I feel comfortable using those words and I reflect on those words in such a positive way, meaning no judgment. Someone that was there to witness this, someone who had a front row seat to it all is an incredible man named Ravi Hutheesing. He fell in love with music at age 11 and by starting a band, building a recording studio, and teaching a handful of guitar students, Ravi established himself locally as an artist-entrepreneur before graduating high school. His worldwide visibility skyrocketed in 1997 when he became the guitarist for triple Grammy nominee, Hanson, whose massive millennial fan base catapulted them to the White House, Madison Square Garden, Tonight Show, Good Morning America, Saturday Night Live, and more. The following year, Simon & Schuster published his memoir, Dancin’ with Hanson, and he has since authored over a hundred articles for major magazines. As the Internet rose and the recording industry declined, Ravi began to speak on entrepreneurship at music universities and conventions including Berklee College of Music in Boston, the National Association of Music Merchants in Los Angeles, MusikMesse in Moscow, and Music China in Shanghai. You can find Ravi @raviunites.com or www.raviunites.com. Dancin' with Hanson is available now.

This week, Chris Easom from the UK stops in to chat about her unique Hanson experiences. You may know her from her Hanson.net or social media handle which is tayzbeth. Chris became a fan at the age of 43 in 2000 when TTA was released. The music resonated with her 70s teen years of Motown, Stax, poprock and - I love this- the bloom of youth. She’s reported for Hanson.net, met the band, seen them 50 + times, and visited Tulsa a few times. She also writes for MMMBoptastic.com in a piece called Tulsa Times. Chris was also the lucky winner of a recent Food on the Move initiative which saw her have a Zoom call with Taylor Hanson and the Food on the Move crew. We also dive into Yearbook, from the Middle of Nowhere album. This is a song that has long perplexed Hanson fans and remains one of the most talked about songs to date. You can find Chris @tayzbeth and/or @mmmboptastic www.mmmboptastic.com I hope you enjoy! Megan x

Doug is a grammy nominated recording engineer who has worked with some huge artists including Nine Inch Nails, Santana, Matchbox 20, Jewel ,Tracy Chapman, Joe Cocker and of course Hanson….where he worked on the Middle of Nowhere album, and also….played trumpet on Where’s the Love. Doug also owns and runs his own Wine store (which I’m just obsessed with this idea and can’t wait to visit one day) in Santa Barbra called Good Land Wine Shop. This episode speaks to the process of recording an album from an engineer's point of view...only this wasn't just any album now was it? Doug has some beautiful stories and memories that you wont want to miss. xx

There's no denying that Tulsa, Tokyo and The Middle of Nowhere was a huge part of the M.O.N era. Those memories are etched into our minds and re-watching the doco now as an adult brings back all the feels. Paramus Park Mall in New Jersey always stood out to me on T.T.M.O.N, the scenes were unbelievable. In this episode we talk to Casey who is originally from New York, now living in London who was lucky enough to be in attendance at this one of a kind show. We also talk about what was going on (well, as armchair researchers ;) ) in the music industry at this time that made Where's the Love a bigger hit in some places than in others. You can find Casey on instagram at @caseypenney

Buckle in for this one! In this episode we talk with Dr Jadey O'Regan who co-authored a book named "Hooks in Popular Music" (in which MMMBOP is discussed) Jadey also teaches Bachelor of Music Studies as the Sydney Conservatorium of music. In 2014, she was awarded her PhD, which focused on the development of the distinctive sound of the Beach Boys between 1962 and 1966. She is also a musician and song writer herself. Jadey speaks with us about what makes MMMBOP such a catchy tune. We are also joined by her husband, Dr Tim Byron, a music psychologist. If you've ever wanted to know the pyschology behind MMMBOP and being in a fandom, then this is the episode for you! You can find Jadey on Instagram @hellojadey and to find the book you can do a Google search of "Hooks in Popular Music"

In this delightful episode you can listen to Melissa who has lived in Tulsa her whole life. Melissa was at that very first Mayfest show back in '94 and talks about her experience of not only living in Tulsa in those early days but also being a member of the fan club even back then. Melissa brings some amazing laughs and a very unique perspective of Hanson, Tulsa and the Fan Club. We also unpack the song "Speechless" from Middle of Nowhere You can find Melissa on Instagram @artishtulsa

Alissa Laderer stops into the pod this week to discuss being on the Rosie O'donnell show back in 1997 as Hanson's number 1 fan (undisputed I gotta say too!). We also unpack the 4th single off the Middle of Nowhere album- Weird. You can find Alissa on Instagram @missalissa and her website https://www.alissaladerer.com/

Hello there! And welcome to season 1 episode one of the Hanson Hour. My guest this week is Katie who runs Hanson Stage which she started way back in 2004- 19 years ago! When I was thinking about doing this podcast and who I would have on as guests, Katie was one of the first people I thought to reach out too. She is a WEALTH of Hanson knowledge, and if you don’t already know, runs one of the most comprehensive Hanson websites out there. She collates a range of data that really gives Hanson fans the advantage of looking up past set lists, shows the band has played and a range of other helpful bits and pieces that are really instrumental for us fans. We also unpack the first song off Middle of Nowhere, Thinking of You and come to the conclusion that we have no idea how the verses link together. :) You can find Katie on Instagram @hansonstage and check out the Hanson Stage website at www.hansonstage.com