Where were you when …

You first heard Hanson?
I was sitting in my room listening to the radio (Z104 I think), and all of a sudden this song comes on that just makes me happy. It took me awhile to figure out who sang it, but once I did, the rest was history

You got your first Hanson CD?
Well, my first Hanson albums were cassettes. When I finally got a CD player, however, I distinctly remember my first CD purchase being Middle of Nowhere at Tower Records in DC.

You saw them in concert for the first time?
July 2, 1998 at the Nissan Pavilion!

Hanson was on Live with Regis & Kathy Lee?
I dunno. Definitely didn’t see it live — without the internet at home, it was hard to keep with all their TV appearances.

You wore your very first Hanson t-shirt?
I dunno, maybe to school or their show?

Concerts …

Which tour did you first see them on?
Albertane Tour.

How much merchandise did you buy?
None — I was stupid and forgot my money at home. I remember hating myself for that the whole night.

What songs did you hope that they’d play at this first concert?
I honestly didn’t care (it was my first concert). I just wanted to see and hear them!

Did they play them?
Yes?

How many times have you seen them live?
9.

Old School …

Did you own MON?
Um, who didn’t?

Did you own Tulsa, Tokyo & The MON?
See above.

Be honest, how many times have you watched those videos?
Lots.

Did you have posters that covered your walls?
Haha, thousands — you literally couldn’t see the wall. Ask anybody who knew me back then!

Are they still up on those walls?
No, we’ve moved twice since then (not to mention college). Though I do have a few of their more recent posters up.

Did you have Hanson books?
Oh yes. I think the question is, what didn’t I have?

Do you still have them?
Yep (in a box).

Do you know who Puff Greeny is?
LOL of course. But I thought it was Puff Broccoli?

The middle years …

Did you rush out to the store to buy This Time Around?
Yep. Forget which store, though.

What’s your favorite song on that CD?
Sure About It, Runaway Run, If Only.

What did you do when you found out that Taylor got married?
My internet friend told me and I thought she was lying/spreading a rumor. Then I read the People article or whatever and was like zomg! And freaked out a little while my 14-year-old self died, but then I got over it

Did you own Live at the Fillmore?
Si.

Was it a DVD or a VHS?
DVD.

Do you still have it?
Why wouldn’t I?

Recent times …

Could you absolutely not wait until Underneath came out?
Well I was excited and got it the day it came out, but I didn’t wake up before dawn to be at the store or whatever.

Have you seen Strong Enough to Break, the documentary?
Yes.

What did you think about that?
I liked it, and it really shows what can happen to great bands who don’t agree with the mainstream.

When Underneath came out, how many years had you been a fan?
Since MMMBop.

Do you own a copy of The Walk?
Duh.

What’s your favorite song on that CD?
Georgia, Been There Before, Great Divide, One More, Tearing It Down, Your Illusion.

And your least favorite?
Intro (even though it’s not technically a song) and The Walk lol.

Have you inspired anyone that you know to also purchase The Walk?
Sadly, no.

Have you seen them on The Walk tour?
Twice!

If so, where?
Baltimore and DC.

Do you own the Hanson coffee mug?
I won it in a Hanson.net contest!

What about the playing cards?
I have the cartoon set.

Have you participated in any of the walks?
The DC one.

Did you walk barefoot?
No.

Have you purchased a pair of TOMS?
Yeah, though I get blisters if I wear them for any extended period of time.

What color?
Pink patch (pink, white, and blue).

Have you heard Yearbook live on The Walk tour?
No

Random …

Where’s the love?
Right here.

Where did Johnny go?
Who cares?

How many hours are in Hanson’s days?
24? They also need to give us a concrete definition of “soon.”

Have you seen Zac’s Back in Japan video?
Maybe?

Last question …it’s a big one …

Will you be a Hanson fan always and forever?
I’d like to think so!

I got to see Hanson for the 8th and 9th times a couple weekends ago, and it turned out better than I ever expected (DC also wins the best-concert-ever prize)! Here’s a quick recap of each show:

Baltimore (at Sonar):

- Taylor fell off the stage at one point ’cause a fan pulled him too hard … but it was funny, all of sudden he goes *plop* and disappears from view

- Got my first picture with Zac, and my new Hanson.net member CD autographed! Plus, Taylor hadn’t seen it before and was like “wow cool, sorry it took so long to get sent out to you guys.”

- And the set list:

1. Great Divide
2. Hey
3. Can’t Stop
4. Been There Before
5. Crazy Beautiful
6. Hole In My Life (Police cover)
7. I’ve Been Down
8. Go
9. MMMBop
10. Strong Enough To Break
11. Never Been To Spain (Three Dog Night cover)
12. Blue Sky
13. A Minute Without You
14. Runaway Run
15. Got A Hold On Me
16. Penny & Me
17. Running Man
18. Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz cover)
19. This Time Around
20. Lost Without Each Other
21. Something Going Round
22. If Only (encore)
23. The Ugly Truth (encore)

DC (at the 9:30 Club):

- While passing Starbucks on the walk, Taylor yells out something like “400 cups of coffee please” on his megaphone.

- Got my first picture with Taylor (with a little help from TOMS Shoes and Mike’s tallness)!

- 3rd row (closest ever)!

- Got one of Locksley’s set lists! They’re awesome, by the way.

- Zac messes up during “Running Man,” and Ike looks at him and starts laughing.

- After “Call Me” (I think), Ike reaches into the crowd, grins, and freakin’ gives me his guitar pick! At this point I’m like omg, I’m not supposed to be that girl … but apparently Mike had been occasionally pointing at me throughout the show, trying to catch Ike’s eye when I wasn’t looking (aww) … and I guess that’s just what Ike decided to do

- I wanted to see if there was any chance to get both Locksley and Hanson’s set lists, but the 9:30 crew kept telling the group of us who wanted them that they weren’t giving them out. Eventually the group dwindles down to just me, Mike, and another fan, and I was determined on staying — even if I didn’t get a set list — just to see what they planned on doing with them. Then the other girl leaves, and minutes later the very same guy who’d been saying no all night walks up to the stage, peels Ike’s off the carpet, and is like “here, you can have this if you leave now and don’t tell anyone.” Um, yay!

- Hanson recognized Mike when they came out after the show; Zac even remembered what color shirt he’d worn the night before

- Got my mini-poster signed, and my first picture with Ike!

- Set list, of course:

1. Great Divide
2. A Minute Without You
3. Can’t Stop
4. Been There Before
5. Crazy Beautiful
6. Hole In My Life (Police cover)
7. I’ve Been Down
8. MMMBop
9. A Song To Sing
10. Call Me
11. Never Been To Spain (Three Dog Night cover)
12. Blue Sky
13. Hey
14. Got A Hold On Me
15. Penny & Me
16. Running Man
17. Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz cover)
18. This Time Around
19. Lost Without Each Other
20. Something Going Round
21. Rock ‘N Roll Razorblade (encore)

So yesterday, out of the blue, I get an email from a freelance reporter asking for permission to use one of my photos from the DC Hanson concert (and for a fast reply since the article’s running in less than 12 hours). Needless to say, I say yes, and wake up to an awesome review — and my first reaction is hey check it out, there’s my name!

The real credit, however, should go to Mike, since I’m almost 100% sure he took it … I was originally gonna ask them to credit him, but then misunderstanding ensued and my name’s there and I feel slightly guilty, even though he says it’s no big deal. I mean, I don’t call myself a photographer in any way and he’s the one getting photo passes at the House of Blues. So yeah … meh.

In other news … concert reviews will come, but only after my site stops hating me, even though I did nothing to make it randomly break in the first place. Not to mention no one helping me on the WordPress support forums, and now the Enthusiast forum, and the people at A Small Orange either not knowing what the hell was wrong or making things worse and not telling me *sigh* If you’ve tried to visit in the past 24 hours and were greeted with a lovely error message, sorry — hopefully more won’t be on the way.

I finally got around to finishing Monday’s issue of the JMU newspaper, and what catches my eye in the Darts & Pats section? Another Hanson reference!

A “way-to-rock ‘Mmm-bop’” pat to the Jeep blasting Hanson while going through campus.
From a former long haired-brother lover who got a kick out of your musical selection.

This is actually the 2nd one I’ve seen since my arrival here in August ‘03 It still hasn’t sunk in that I’m seeing them in 9 days!

Why is Drew Carey replacing Bob Barker on The Price is Right? After Whose Line and whatever other comedy-related things he’s done, I just can’t see him doing something semi-serious, not to mention almost famous/legendary …

I found a staple in my bottle of Allegra this morning. Granted, there was only 1 pill left and I noticed it before anything bad happened, but just think what would’ve happened to CVS if that bottle had found its way to someone less careful with taking their medicine.

I’ve finally started Harry Potter. And no, not the latest book that’s mentioned everywhere you turn — book 1. Don’t know why, but I think after so many people bugging me about reading it and how great it was (especially Mike and my boss), I guess I just caved and decided to give it another go. Over the weekend I visited Myrtle Beach, experienced book 7’s midnight party, and borrowed the first 3 books from Mike … and I have to admit, 100 pages in, it’s not that bad. It kinda sucks being so far behind and subconsciously comparing everything to the movie … but oh well. I keep being reassured that the more I read the better it becomes, so for the sake of not being clueless anymore and so Mike has someone to talk to about it, I’ll push through Who knows, I might even become a convert!

Hanson has finally released dates for the first leg of their tour! They’re even coming to Baltimore and DC back-to-back, on a weekend no less, and I feel a little weird not having Baltimore tickets yet. The pre-sale started on Monday, but I haven’t been able to make myself buy a ticket ’cause of the price (which can get expensive when you’re going to multiple shows) and the fact that the drive is long and in unfamiliar territory (like that’s stopped me before). And I’m sure my Hanson fan friend, Christina, will be at every show she can afford, so it’s not like I’d be alone … meh. Maybe I’ll just suck it up and do it. I’m definitely going to the DC show … and then there’s a show in Richmond, but it’s on a Wednesday night in October and ever farther than Baltimore, so I’m leaning towards no on that. Part of me is really holding out for a Myrtle Beach date on a weekend that Mike’s friend Dave has access to, but I know that’s a long shot Hmm. Well, I have ’til Saturday (the general onsale day) to decide on Baltimore, and if I’m lucky secure a spot in DC, so I guess I’ll update you all then.

So there was a Hanson chat tonight, and it was pissing me off ’cause all these people were getting more than one of their questions answered that’d been asked a billion times before, and I felt I’d come up with lots of particularly interesting ones (when usually I only ask 1 or 2). Then, suddenly, in the final minutes of the chat, I appear on-screen!

It’s not what I’d have picked for them to answer, and I think Elf (the main moderator) was running out of “good” questions since mine was the last, but hey — out of 250+ fans, my question was chosen! My week/month has been made