What were you doing eight years ago? Don't lie now. It's likely you were plastering your walls with posters of the hottest boy bands; if you're female, it's almost positive.
In 1997, a group of three brothers "bopped" their way into the music scene. Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson were young, had the hits and had the loyal following — and now they are back.
On Saturday, the Marquette campus has a chance to get up close and personal with Hanson. Prior to the band's concert at The Rave, the brothers will be doing an in-studio interview with Marquette Radio.
Afterwards, there will be a showing of the band's documentary "Strong Enough to Break," followed by a question and answer session.
"The documentary shows the process we went through to get this last album, Underneath, out," Isaac Hanson said in a phone interview with the Tribune. "It shows the creative process, discussion with people at the record company, the process to release the album itself and why we decided to start our own record company."
The documentary shows the process the band went through to leave its record label, Island Def Jam, and start 3CG Records. The band said the title of the documentary is appropriate.
"In large part the title itself was a strong title. It evoked a feeling and an idea that was consistent with the film," Isaac said. "You have to be strong enough to pick yourself up and break down and pick yourself up again. That's life — you have to have the confidence and the ability to rise up and rise to the occasion."
The documentary shares its title with a song off of the album Underneath. Isaac said the song was about the struggle to put out the album and is actually metaphorical about certain situations in which the band found itself.
"(We) wrote the song, and the documentary doesn't show this because it was impossible to show everything. The funny thing is ("Strong Enough to Break") was one of the record company's favorite songs and it's about how they were screwing with us," Isaac said.
If people find the idea of the documentary to be Hanson-centric, Isaac disagrees.
"This film is not just for Hanson fans; it's a film for music fans," he said. "If you like Wilco, if you like Fiona Apple or like any band in between, you'll get something out of this film. You'll get something out of the Q&A if you're a starting band, a journalism student, an entrepreneur business-focused person. Most importantly, if you're a music fan you'll get something out of this."
Isaac said the documentary should shed some light on the music industry and give reasons why there can be large gaps in between albums, as was the case with Fiona Apple.
"The music industry is changing dramatically. By coming to this, film fans will get an idea," he said.
Hanson is also getting involved in helping other independent bands. Hanson put out a call to the local music scenes to get heard by competing to open for us.
"We wanted to use our tour to reach out to the local bands and the college radio stations and get them involved in a direct way," Isaac said.
Plenty of bands answered the call. The top three bands from each city were listed on Hanson's official Web site and fans got to vote on which band would get the opening spot.
For Milwaukee, the bands Pierced, Thomas Lane and Bascom Hill were the top three finalists.
"Clearly (the band) opening for us allows them to be exposed not only to people performing in front of, but all three bands are exposed to hundreds of thousands of people on the Web site and can get fans all over the world," Isaac said.
Bascom Hill's lead vocalist, Charlie Victor agrees.
"We've already gotten a bunch of fans because of Hanson," Victor said. "Whenever we log onto MySpace.com we have new friends and all have Hanson on their page. It's opened up a door of opportunity."
The contest has also had effects for the band Pierced.
"We're a little more confident in our music," said lead singer and guitarist Jacob Slye. "We did a lot of self promotion (for the contest) and it's done some good. It's good exposure."
Hanson has "have very, very loyal fans. We've talked to other bands who have won this contest and they have said there's an amazing response," said David Burleton, a vocalist for Thomas Lane. "It's great to find people who are truly fans of music and it's better to go and play for those fans."
Hanson knows those fans are to thank for its success as well.
"I want to say thank you to everyone who comes out consistently," Isaac said. "We believe in them like they believe in us. Music is more than a hobby, more than a job. It's a life choice, it's a passion frankly I feel fulfilled through music I was born to do. I have no regrets."
The staff of Marquette Radio — the sponsor of the event — agrees.
"It's a good excuse for all of us to get nostalgic about our teenybopper days in middle school," Jessica Cushion, a junior in the College of Communication and Marquette Radio program director, said. "It's not often that people who are famous at some point devote time so much time to something. It's a big deal for us and a big deal for the station. If this can get our name out, so be it. It's great publicity and we'd love to have more artists come and do Q&As."
"This event is a great chance for any Hanson fan to get together with their fellow fans and feel the Hanson love," said Suzanne Sando, a junior in the College of Communication and MUR's general manager. "I have this feeling that the Hanson fans will be crawling out of the woodwork on Saturday. It will give people a chance to ask the band those burning questions that they've always wondered about."
The winner of the Hanson opening band contest for the Milwaukee show Saturday is Bascom Hill. You can get more information on the band by visiting its website or on myspace.com.