By By Elyssa A. Goldstein

Brothers since birth and band-mates since the early ’90s, Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson have seen the best and worst of what the music industry has to offer. Hanson is currently touring in support of their Best Of: Live And Electric album, recently making a stop in New York City. The Chronicle recently had a chance to speak to eldest brother and guitarist, Isaac Hanson, about the new album and documentary film, life on the road and Hanson’s plans for the future.

The Chronicle: What makes the current “Live and Electric” Tour different from past tours?

Isaac Hanson: We are playing new music on this tour and we are also playing a lot of rare selections. We’ve pulled a lot of stuff out of the vault, in a specific effort to make sure people are going to this show and hearing different and new music on the road. We’ve opened the show lately with a song that no one’s heard before called “In A Way.” Also, when you come to a “Live and Electric” concert this fall, you walk away with a “Live and Electric” indie sampler, which is music from five different artists, including ourselves. The reason why we’re doing that is because we have been aggressive advocates of the independent music scene. The fact that indie music is growing and changing, the fact that indie music is no longer a niche sound or a group of labels and is becoming more mainstream in a positive way [is great].

Chronicle: One of the unique features of this tour is the fact Hanson has been holding contests through your Web site and college media outlets to find bands to open the show in most cities. What do you seek to achieve with the opening band contest?

IH: We seek to expose local bands to a larger audience, not only through the web to international and national fan base, but also exposing them directly to their potential local fan base. There will be three bands who are finalists at the opening band contest, and they will be on the Web site and voted on.

Chronicle: Songs like “Look At You” and “If Only” sound very different from their original recordings on the new record. How did the newer arrangements of the old songs come about?

IH: With “Look At You” we just tried to stay as close to the original as we could. It’s a little bit less rhythmic and a little more riff-based. The same goes for “If Only.” I think that’s just from years of playing them. The music always evolves. I love playing “Look At You,” because it’s fun, it’s groovy-it makes you want to dance. That was a purely spontaneous jam. It was actually funny because the mistakes end up being a really powerful element of spontaneity that adds a powerful energy and we really enjoyed it.

Chronicle: What would you attribute to your evolving musical abilities and songwriting?

IH: I would attribute it to the fact that Taylor and Zac are brilliant songwriters. We do write together for the most part. What I mean by that is [we] are coming from different places musically. I think people are going to see a more gradual change as opposed to a more drastic change because between This Time Around and Underneath there was four years. Two-and-a-half of those years was the primary artistic evolution, but we shouldn’t be spending two-and-a-half years evolving, it should be more regular. And you will be hearing from us more regularly.

Chronicle: What do you hope to show both the fans and the music industry with your documentary film, Strong Enough to Break?

IH: I hope to show the fans that they have the ability to go out there and make a difference and they have a reason to be aggressively invested in music. Without their involvement and their passion for music, their favorite bands are left to a potential fate worse than death (in some cases), which is constant doubt. I think the documentary articulates clearly what is going on now more so than ever before in the music industry, which is non-artistic people being involved in the artistic process. We’ve spent years trying to work with the record company, trying to do what we felt was the right thing. Trying to work with them and help them understand where we were going and then realized there was no way that we could help them understand, because there was no end goal in mind for them. Every band has to make their own choices, but we as artists cannot be apathetic. We have to take our careers into our own hands. Fans need to know that they are doing the right thing by going to alternate outlets. But also they need to not be afraid to go to the larger media outlets and call them up and tell them about all the great music that’s happening that they’re not playing, and tell them why they’re turning off their radio station.

Chronicle: How do you and your brothers inspire each other on a day-to-day basis throughout your career?

IH: I have to say that I’m inspired by Taylor’s passion for what he does. [We] all really share a passion for music, but he is really great at connecting with people. He’s a really great communicator in large groups. He is really good at bring people together. I admire Zac for his clear-cut reasoning. He’s very definitive, very strong and he doesn’t hold back. He can also be a very thoughtful person, much more so than I am. His assessments of things are always clear, to-the-point, and without any pretense or unnecessary words. He just spits it out in as blunt and as clear a way as possible. I am a much more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of person. I am a much more aggressive person overall, kind of an emotional communicator.

Chronicle: What have you learned from your fans over the years?

IH: One of the things that I’m inspired by is their passion and dedication. I think in some ways they have exhibited the passion that we have for our music in a more obvious way than we have in the past. I think the fans’ passion for our music has definitely helped to fuel our aggressive passion for independent music. I think that people waiting outside venues and sleeping in line, should be a more common occurrence. I believe that music does great things for people. [It] is a passionate, powerful, emotional and spiritual experience. I hope that more fans of more bands can have those feelings and more music will evoke those feelings in the near future. I believe that the music industry and the bands have the opportunity to grab a hold and make it their own more than ever before. I believe that there is a positive revolution for music that will empower fans and artists in an amazing way unlike ever before. I believe 2005 is like 1955 in the sense that the image is being reinvented. Rock ‘n’ roll is on the upswing.