Interviewer = X,MIsaac = I,MTaylor = T,MZachary = Z
Smash Hits Magazine, January 28-February 10 1998
"We're Bored of Dumb Questions!" So shouted a tired Hanson after literally weeks of dopey interviews. That's as
maybe, replied Smash Hits. But what we really want to know is...
X: Have you ever lied about your age?
I: Why would we lie about our
ages?
Z: (smiling)I don't have that problem yet! It'd be pointless anyway. When we started doing gigs I was, like, this big! (He waves his hands around his knees and screeches 'Hi I'm fourteen!')
T: (laughing) Even now, I can't
say I'm nineteen.
Z: (putting on a New York
accent) Hey, yo! I'm 22!
I: (with the same accent)
Yo! Wassup!
T: You're 22 and you're from
Brooklyn.
I: (still doing the accent)Hey,
forget about it! I'm Italian. We all live in a Subway sandwich!
X: What's the most annoying question you get
asked?
T: Oh wow. One of the questions
we always get asked is, 'Are your little brothers or sisters gonna join the band?'
I: (laughing) That's pretty
annoying!
T: The most commonly asked one
is 'Do you guys have girlfriends?' And the stupidest question is How did you
meet? People actually ask us that! Someone once asked us what our favorite
ice
cream flavor was...
Z: (reasonably) That was kinda
more original, because not many people ask it, but...
T: It's not exactly profound
though, is it?
X: Can you name all five Backstreet Boys?
T: I'm sorry, we can't.
I: I only know...(tails off
with a puzzled look) No, I've gotta say I don't know any of them!
Z: We just don't think about
that stuff!
I: We only know what they look
like.
T: They probably can't name us!
Z: Well, that's probably
because our names are a little easier to remember.
I: Yeah, and there's only three
of us, rather than five. Oh, what the hey!
X: Do you find it bizarre when people say you
look like girls?
I: (very firmly) Yes.
Z: (disagreeing) No, you see,
it's not that bizarre at all. The only people who say we look like girls are ones who've
lost their girlfriends because they like our band!
T: You know what, we'd be the ugliest girls
you've ever seen! If I was a girl, I'd feel really sorry for myself because I am UGLY!
Well, for all those guys that say we're girls, I sympathize. If I had a girlfriend and she
was screaming at some band, I'd be kind of ticked off. So why not call us, girls!
X: What would you most like to change about
the world?
Z: (pretending to cry) You know
what I wanna do? I wanna give everyone in the world a puppy!
T: We're not up there to, like,
saving the whales or anything, you know...
Z: (continuing to tearfully
interrupt the others) Because puppies are good! They make you feel good!
I: Except when they grow up to
be big dogs. (Pretends to cry too.) Yeah they're all warm and squishy inside. Especially
when they pee on you.
T: We're not majorly into all
that 'save the world' stuff. We make music - but then that's something you couldn't live
without...
I: It's something you
realize as you travel around - music is a universal language. When you go to all these different
countries and people are singing a song that you wrote - in English - you realize
music
crosses all boundaries.
X: What are you like first thing in the
morning?
T: Like we are now, only in the
morning.
Z: Well I'm like in the
mornings when I'm in the morning!
I: I'm a bit groggy, I guess. I
think my voice is deeper.
Z: Yeah, you're like (in a deep
groan), 'Woaaherrgh!
T: It depends on whether you've
had enough sleep - either too much or too little. I sometimes think getting too much sleep
is worse than not getting enough. You feel really weird when you've slept 'til noon.
X: If you could have a chat with anyone in
the world , who would it be?
Z: Well, see, I would have my
brain split in half and I would talk to myself! No, I'd speak to Jim Bob
Baybowlay.
X: What's the eleventh commandment?
Z: (shouting) To have a frog in
your bathroom!
I: (in vicar's tones) Thou
shalt have a frog in thy bathroom. Erm sorry! (Zac has started giggling uncontrollably.)
T: I'm not sure about the
eleventh commandment. I don't think we should go there!
X: Are you lovers or fighters?
T: It depends on the situation!
If there's a big bully and he's getting ready to beat up on a really cute girl, then
you're a fighter!
Z: You're a fighter, then
you're a lover! Wooooaaaarghh! (Giggles madly.)
I: Yeah, you're like
'Hey,baby,you can lay one on me.'
X: Should girls play with Barbie and boys
with Action Man?
Z: (very unimpressed) How about
we pass this question? People should play with what they want.
T: Well, if I'm a guy and I've
got loads of sisters, I'll probably end up playing with Barbie to a certain extent. But,
in the end, guys and girls like different things.
I: It was really funny, a long
time ago, when I saw this thing on TV that said (does serious voice) 'Guys and girls are
different'. Like, no way! In general, guys like guns more(everyone laughs.)
T: Guys are more violent, guys
have testosterone...
I: At least in our family, they
do!
Z: (joking) Yeah, let's play
with guns and knives and motorcycles!
X: Who was the last person you argued with?
Z: I don't keep track of those
kind of things
T: Everyone argues at certain points, but I don't remember the last time... (Thinks for a while). The computer! We were yelling at the computer last night!
I: Yeah, we were yelling at it because it wouldn't save something. We were getting really mad at the thing.
Z: (pretending to cry again) We were like 'You mean computer! We don't like you at all! It was arguing back as well!
T: Yeah, it was sending us messages like, 'Screw you!'. We were like, 'Oh my God! It's alive! (They all giggle). The computer's cussing at me!