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My bus arrived in New York at 6:00 p.m., a good half-hour late, so I booked the 14 blocks from the bus terminal to the Sheraton hotel. Despite my tardiness, I hadn't missed much, just a boring cocktail reception in the upper lobby.  I picked up my ticket and looked at the seating chart.  I was assigned to Table 72, all the way in the back of the ballroom.  Well, what did I expect?  VIP I am not!  Just for fun, I looked under "H" to see if you-know-who were listed, and much to my astonishment, I found the name "Hanson" listed next to Table 9, right in the front.  So now I knew exactly where they would be sitting.  I couldn't believe it!  At 7:15 p.m. the ballroom doors were opened. Before going to my own table in Siberia, I went to check out Hanson's table right next to the stage. Sadly, it was empty, so I went to my table in the back and took my seat as the show was beginning.  The people at my table were all very well dressed (it was a black tie affair), and they were all much older, so they were surprised to see someone my age there.  When they asked me why I had come, I told them the truth:  I had come to see Hanson.  :o)

The show got off to a slow start, with a lot of boring speeches from music executives and other dignitaries. Things picked up a little when the awards began. The basic pattern of the night was:  celebrity presenter makes speech about recipient, award recipient makes thank you speech, and then celebrity musical guest performs award recipient's song. I won't bore you with the details, but some of the award recipients were James Taylor, Neil Diamond, and James Brown.

Finally, the second to last presenter was announced as "Great Britain's greatest Beach Boys fan. Paul McCartney." A wave of tangible astonishment went through the crowd as people rose to their feet in thunderous applause. Paul McCartney gave a very warm and heartfelt speech praising the songwriting genius of Brian Wilson which was very moving. Then Brian Wilson joined Paul on the stage and read a simple acceptance speech. As soon as he and Paul were finished, Hanson took the stage. Taylor, wearing a dark suit and a baby blue tie, sat at a beautiful grand piano on the left side of the stage. Isaac took centre stage with his electric guitar, and Zac, with his hair down, wearing a brown jacket and a silky dark brown shirt, sat at his green drum set just to the right of Isaac. Taylor began by saying what an incredible honour it was for them to take the stage right after Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson, and Isaac and Zac chimed in with similar comments.  Hanson were incredibly gracious and humble in explaining what a great influence the music of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys was to their musical development, and they said they had chosen to perform a song that meant a great deal to them personally, "God Only Knows" (which happens to be one of my favourites too).

Of all the musical acts to perform that night in tribute to some of the greatest songwriters of all time, Hanson were by far the best. Their performance was simply incredible. Hanson did justice to "God Only Knows" and then some. Their overlapping vocal harmonies were deep and very beautiful.  Unfortunately, my own lack of musical knowledge prohibits me from being able to more intelligently describe what I heard; all I can say is that it was A*W*E*S*O*M*E. Those three minutes of musical bliss were more than worth it. Hanson did themselves proud, and everyone with whom I spoke was very impressed by their tribute to Brian Wilson.

After that show-stopping performance, there was one more award presentation to a pair of prolific songwriters from the 1950s and 1960s, and the last musical performer was Ben E. King singing his greatest hit, "Stand By Me."  He did a great job, and just as the song was wrapping up, all of the night's celebrity presenters, recipients, and musical guests appeared on stage for one big finale.  Together, Paul McCartney, Neil Diamond, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, James Brown, Carol King, Hanson, and others sang "Stand By Me."  It was so enjoyable to watch, and everyone on stage was having so much fun. Paul McCartney was goofing around and dancing right next to Hanson, who were all grinning ear to ear.  You could tell they were all having the time of their lives up on that stage.  After the second time around of "Stand By Me" (this was apparently the 12 minute version of the song), they started passing the microphone around and everyone got a solo:  first Ben E. King, then James Taylor, then James Brown, and then Paul McCartney. Paul started wailing out the song, he was really into it.  He sure knows how to have a fun time!  The best part, though, was that when he was finished with his verse he passed the microphone to Taylor, and he got a 10 second solo.  It was so great!  After "Stand By Me" finally ended, the finale STILL wasn't over, as the band kicked in and began to play "Kansas City."  Just as before, they passed the microphone around, and Hanson (all three of them, this time) got another 10 second solo.  It was sweet!  After "Kansas City" they sang "Stand By Me" one more time (can you believe it???) and finally the show came to a resounding end.

The second the show was over, the ballroom erupted into life as an army of waiters came out with food.  It was 10:00 pm, and time for supper!  Rather than waiting to eat, I made my way up to the front of the ballroom, up to Table 9.  I knew that I would probably never have a better chance to meet Hanson than at this one moment in time.  You have to realise that this was unlike any other Hanson appearance I had ever been to before.  There were no barricades, no backstage area, nothing but open space separating me from Hanson.  This was because only guests were allowed into the ballroom in the first place, and almost all of the people at the event were big shots, professionals in the music industry, or just wealthy people looking for a night out.  Of the 800 people there, I would say that there were less than a dozen people who were dedicated Hanson fans in the traditional sense. Still, that did not prevent Hanson from being mobbed by people.  When I first caught site of them, they were standing in the space between their table and the stage, completely encircled by people -- not fans necessarily, but people who wanted to tell them what a great job they did (which was true).  In addition, there was a whole group of VIPs and musicians who all wanted to get their pictures taken with Hanson for whatever reason.  Some (especially the musicians) really liked and respected Hanson, I'm sure, but a lot of the VIPs just wanted their picture taken with them because Hanson are celebrities, no other reason than that.

As I approached Hanson, I encountered two security guys whose job it was to give Hanson some space.  Their job wasn't really to prevent people from getting to them, but they were trying to discourage people from taking pictures and bugging them too much, which is understandable.  Still, they made it very difficult for me to get up there just to say hello, but I made it. One thing that I should mention is that the whole scene was very chaotic, and it was very hard to get Hanson's attention for more than a few seconds.  There were literally people on all sides of them, trying to talk to them, trying to get them to sign something, trying to get their pictures taken (or just take pictures of them).  To make matters worse, the "dinner music" was so loud up by the stage that it was very hard to talk to them. I managed to get Isaac's attention long enough to say hello and to tell him that their performance was great before he was pulled away by another musician.  Zac was just two feet away with his back to me, so I called out his name.  He turned around and smiled when he saw me, and he gave me a big "Hey!" as I shook his hand.  Zac was a really popular guy, so many people wanted to talk to him, the last thing I wanted to do was to make a nuisance of myself, so I let him get back to the other guests.  I felt badly, because he and his brothers had just given one of the best performances in their lives in front of some of the most important people in the music industry (stressful, maybe???), and now they were being hounded by so many different people (myself included) who were so demanding.  not to mention the fact that it was well past ten and they couldn't even eat their meal like everyone else.  And still they were so gracious and kind to everyone, talking to as many people as they could, posing for photographs.  They are practically saints!

At about this time, the security felt that I had had enough time schmoozing with Hanson (all 30 seconds of it), and they asked me to move along.  That's when I was rescued by my hero, my man Walker Hanson.  He saw me, came right up to me, and said "how are you?"  It was the lucky break I so desperately needed.  I chatted with him for a couple of minutes, and I have to tell you he really is, along with his sons, one of the nicest people I have ever met. I then told him what a big fan I was (which he already knew, duh!), and I asked if there were any way I could have a photo with the guys.  His response?  "Sure, I think we can do that."  He then took my camera, called Isaac, Taylor, and Zac over, and like magic I was standing right between all three of them and I got the picture of a lifetime.

But wait, there's more!  By some strange movement of the crowd, right after the picture was taken I found myself surrounded by people and pinned up next to Taylor in the middle of the crowd with nowhere to go for the time being. So what did I do?  I certainly wasn't going to just stand there!  I put my hand on his shoulder and spoke right into his ear so he could hear me quite clearly.  I then proceeded to give Taylor the "works" -- for a full minute I stood there and gave him a blitz of compliments, praise, and well wishes. I told him what a talented musician he is, how great his performance was, how greatly they honoured Brian Wilson, how I had no doubt that one day he and his brothers would get such an award, how "This Time Around" is the best album I ever bought, how much I appreciate everything he and his brothers do for their fans.  and on and on.  It was a "lightning round" of every single positive and encouraging thing I could think to say to him.  When I had finished, Taylor looked shocked, but in a good way.  I will never forget the look of complete astonishment and appreciation on his face.  He finally said "Wow, thank you so much, man," and smiled.

After my exchange with Taylor, the crowd opened up again and I left Hanson to their other admirers.  I had been selfish enough with them, and I felt so completely blessed by everything that had happened.  I returned to my table to eat supper and converse with my dinner companions.  All I could do was think about what had just happened and how lucky I was.

At 11:00 p.m. I had to leave, as I had to catch the last bus for home. Before I left, though, I returned to Table 9 one last time to thank Walker again for his kindness and to tell him how much I appreciated what he and Hanson had done for me.  Hanson were finishing up some last pictures with admirers, and then they were getting ready to leave. Christopher Sabec darted by me, and when he saw me standing there he came up to me and shook my hand!  He asked me how I was and everything.  He knew exactly who I was, I was so shocked.  I couldn't believe he remembered me, but he did!  I guess that was just the icing on the cake.  Isaac, Taylor, and Zac all waved goodbye to me as they left through the kitchen along with their father, their manager, and the security detail.  I left too, but the rest of the night I couldn't stop smiling.  :o)

The Late Show with David Letterman was great, very exciting.  I'm not that crazy about Letterman himself, but I was glad for any chance to see Hanson, and I was psyched to see them again when they took the stage.  It had been 18 months since the last time I had seen them in person, and they looked great!  I'm sure you saw the great performance they gave on television.  I was a bit surprised when they decided to sing "If Only" instead of "This Time Around" -- I guess Hanson are more interested in promoting the album as a whole than the title single.  (I was also surprised when they did the opposite on Rosie's show by singing "This Time Around."  That was also a great performance, I really loved the camera techniques they used!)  After the Letterman show, I went out to 53rd Street where all the other Hanson fans had been waiting for Hanson to come out.  There I met and talked with Ashley Greyson, as well as with Walker Hanson.  My mother, who happened to come with me to see the Late Show, was chatting away with Walker for several minutes, I guess they found they had a lot in common!  It was Walker who told me to get my camera ready because Hanson would be doing something special, and sure enough, after a few minutes, Ike, Tay, and Zac appeared on a balcony and serenaded the crowd!  Ike had an acoustic guitar, Taylor had a harmonica, and Zac had his hands, and together they sang "If Only."  It was great!  I only wish that I had my video camera with me.  Instead, I had my still camera and an audio recorder, so I got a lot of great pictures and an audio recording of the "balcony concert."

The best was yet to come, however.  On Wednesday, I returned to New York for the autograph signing:  5 hours round trip on the bus and 6 hours queuing in the pouring rain for 30 seconds with Hanson, and let me tell you, it was worth every bit of it!  :o)  This time around (hehe, I love saying that) Coconuts was more relaxed with its rules, and they allowed some picture taking, so I got some more pictures of the guys, although not that close.  I still wasn't able to take a picture WITH them, that's my ultimate goal.  As soon as I got up there, Ike smiled at me and took my CD cover, which he signed.  When Zac looked up, he had a big grin on his face and said "Hey, it's you again!  Your name is Frank, right?  I saw you at Letterman and a tonne of other places!"  I can't believe he remembered me, I was so psyched.  That really made my day!  :o)  So when Zac got my CD cover, he wrote "To:  Frank" on it, something they rarely do.  He's such a great guy! Then finally Taylor signed it, and I told him that "This Time Around" was the best album I had ever bought (so true) and that I really appreciated them staying to sign autographs (they had postponed a late flight to California). He seemed to really appreciate that, gave me a smile and simply said "Thank you."  It was a great experience, and one that I will always remember.  I know how lucky I am to live so close to New York and to take advantage of these great opportunities, and I certainly don't take them for granted!

On Wednesday, 4 November 1998, I took half the day off from work and went down to New York -- I got in line for the Coconuts autographing at 1:30 pm.  By that time the line was already a block long.  Hanson didn’t arrive until almost 5:00 pm, but the line moved very quickly from there.  I got into the store and observed the scene.  Hanson were sitting at a table (Isaac on the left, Zac standing in the middle, Taylor on the right). The fans got to walk right up to the table and get their autographs, but that was about it.  Hanson weren’t really talking to the fans much, and the average person got about 10 seconds among the three of them before they were ushered out by security.  Well, you know me -- I didn’t come 150 miles just to be ignored, so I jumped right in and tried to engage them.  Here’s how it went:

 Ike was first at the table, wearing a shiny silver shirt with his hair in a ponytail.  My goodness, he looked so tired -- he was pale with bags under his eyes.  Poor guy, he must have had a bad flight (they had just arrived from the airport).  He wasn’t making eye contact with any of the fans, just signing away.

Frank:  [To Isaac]  “Are you getting writer’s cramp yet?”

Isaac:  [Mumbles]  “Thank you for coming.”

 Okay, that didn’t go very well.  The poor guy looked exhausted!  So, I moved onto my golden boy, Zac.  Zac, as always, had a big grin on his face -- he was wearing a blue coloured outfit, and his hair was very shiny, but a bit ruffled.  I offered my hand and he took it.

Frank:  [Yelling almost, as he is very excited]  “ZAC!!!  HI!!!”

Zac:  “Hi!”

Frank:  [Still yelling]  “FRANK!!!  Nice to meet you, finally!”

Zac:  “Thanks!”

Frank:  [No idea why he said this]  “You’ve dumped a lot of water on me, huh?”

Zac:  “Well, yeah.”

Frank:  [Being very redundant]  “Yes.  It’s so nice to finally meet you!  Here, take one of these.  [Hands Zac a card which he quickly slips under the table without a glance]  It’s a card with information, okay?”

Zac:  “You’ve been to a lot of concerts, huh?”

Frank:  [Hoping for a glimmer of recognition]  “Have you seen me before?”

Zac:  [Being a wise guy, as usual]  “Well, when I’m dumping water on you, I usually spot you.”

Frank:  [Duh]  “Oh, you do...”

 At this point, I had already been up there chatting away with Zac (while Walker and Jessica Hanson watched in amusement) longer than anyone else had, and I still had Taylor yet to go.  I had been backing up the line, so I really had to rush past Taylor, who was wearing a really funky pink/purple shirt.  After signing his name, he looked up and handed me my CD cover.  I took his hand.

Frank:  [Same geeky voice]  “Hi Taylor, nice to meet you!  Frank!”

Security:  [Very annoyed]  “Okay sir, time to go.  Right this way...”  [Personally escorts me out]

Frank:  [Yelling back at Zac, determined to milk every second he could without being too obnoxious, but sounding incredibly lame]  “Zac, you rock, you are SO cool man!”

Zac:  [Looking at me the whole time]  “Hey, take care!”

Taylor:  [Delayed reaction]  “Nice to meet you.”

[Security guard chuckles, I am finally forced to leave the scene.]

In total, I’d say I had a good 30 seconds total with them, more than three times the amount of time given to most of the other fans, and most of that time was exclusively with Zac.  In retrospect, that was pretty selfish of me, as Zac continued talking with me while signing the CDs of the three girls behind me.  I don’t feel that badly about it, however, because judging from the conversation they were having with Isaac (they were talking about his shoes), I probably saved the little guy!  :o)

 All in all, I am more or less satisfied with this experience.  Actually, it was absolutely wonderful, don’t get me wrong -- I am just critical of the way I chose to use my time with the guys.  I should have told Zac how much I admire him, how much I love his music, how much I want to pinch his cheeks...  But instead I babbled about being soaked and other insignificant stuff.  At least I remembered to tell them my name.  Actually, I must have yelled it so loudly, they’ll never forget it now!!!  :o)

 Okay, so it’s no big deal, and I still have yet to get a picture with them, but it’s a start.  There was just so much more I wanted to tell them...  There’s always NEXT time!  :o)

When I awoke at 1:00 am on Saturday, 13 December 1997, I thought the most exciting thing that could possibly happen to me would be getting mugged on the streets of Manhattan, a definite possibility. I awoke so early because I had to board a bus departing from Hartford’s Union Station at 2:15 am in order to get to New York early enough to get tickets for the show. My grandfather was kind enough to get up in the middle of the night and drive me to the bus terminal. I slept the 2.5 hours on the bus to New York, arriving at 4:45 am. I was still quite tired, and it was bitterly cold, but I walked the 2 blocks east down 42nd street (through Times Square), five blocks up 6th Avenue, until I got to 49th street – Rockefeller Centre and home of NBC Studios. On the way, I was sorely tempted to stop into a McDonald’s for a hot chocolate, but I wanted to check out the line for the show first. So, arriving at NBC’s GE Building at 5:00AM, I was surprised to see 8 people already camped out outside the doors. Keep in mind that it was still dark out and freezing cold. Apparently, a group of zealous fans (not Hanson fans, though) had been camped out since 6:00 pm FRIDAY NIGHT, waiting to be the first to receive tickets for the show. Well, I got in line right away, being the 9th person to arrive. Two minutes later, two teenage girls arrived and got in line right behind me, followed by another group, and another group, and then two more. The Hanson fans had arrived!! I was the first, though, and I spent the four hours in line talking with and making friends with other people who like Hanson. They had come from Queens, Long Island, and even New Jersey to see Hanson perform that evening. At 7:00 am, right down the street, we got to see the “Today Show” being performed, which was kind of neat (no Hanson this time).

 Finally, at 9:30 am, after 4.5 hours of waiting in line, the NBC pages came out to tell us that the live show was over-booked, meaning no standby tickets would be given out. However, at 8:00 pm there was to be a Dress Rehearsal identical to the live show at 11:30 pm, but that it wouldn’t be aired; tickets were available for this show, however. So, accordingly, I got ticket number 9 to see the Dress Rehearsal at 8:00 pm. However, this was not a guaranteed seat, as the Dress Rehearsal also had the potential to be over-booked as well, should everyone decide to show up. We wouldn’t know for sure until just minutes before the show began at 8:00 pm, so I had to hang around New York the whole day, hoping to get in to see the show.

 At 3:00 pm a limousine pulled up and out of it stepped this rather familiar looking guy. It was Ravi, the backup guitarist for Hanson! He was immediately rushed into the building, but not before I had the chance to take some pictures!! Not five minutes later, another limousine pulled up, and this time it was Scott, the fair skinned backup guitarist for Hanson. Some Hanson fans mobbed him trying to get an autograph from him, but I just settled for a picture. The backup guys don’t thrill me that much. Around 5:00 pm, while we were still waiting for Hanson to arrive, I met this tall, well-dressed man standing in the lobby. I struck up a conversation with him, and as it turned out he was an extra on the show (he was one of the partying basketball players)! Anyway, he was a really nice guy, and he told me he would try to sneak me up to meet Hanson sometime after the show. I was really psyched about that!

 At 7:30 pm, the NBC pages started lining up the standby audience while those with regular or VIP tickets just strolled right in. The whole lobby was just packed with young girls screaming for Hanson -- it was unbelievable. One of the NBC pages told me that NBC had to send out for extra security just for Hanson, and that no other host or musical guest had ever caused such a reaction. People had completely mobbed Rockefeller Plaza trying to get in to see Hanson, even if they didn’t have tickets. Finally, at 7:50 pm, a man came down and told us that all seats were full and that no standby seating would be needed. Just at the last minute, however, a page rushed down and said that they had found 10 empty seats; accordingly, those people with tickets numbered 1 to 10 were allowed in. I WAS #9!! If I had arrived just 2 minutes later, if I had stopped to get that cup of hot chocolate at McDonald’s, I would have missed one of the greatest Hanson events of my life. As it was, only one of the other 8 girls I had met got in with me, and the rest were all crying. I felt so badly at first, but then I got over it, rather quickly!! I also realised that all of the girls had seen Hanson perform multiple times, and I had really sacrificed to see Hanson this first time, so it was my turn. We were rushed up to the studio just as the show was about to begin. 

 Now, I realise that this is a very long story, but there is so much more to tell. I’ll try to skim over the actual show and just focus on Hanson. The Dress Rehearsal for the show was actually 2 hours long, from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and included 4 extra skits that were never aired (one was a funny skit with Bill Clinton in Arlington Cemetery). The
studio itself is a lot smaller than it looks on television, and you can see everything going on at once, including people preparing the next skits. Anyway, after they shouted “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” the band started playing the theme song and the whole audience jumped back because it was so incredibly loud! Not painfully loud, but still much stronger in person than on television.

 Now just a comment about the audience. For the Rehearsal show, I would have to say that almost half of the entire audience was comprised of young teenage girls, all with signs and banners for Hanson. When Helen Hunt announced Hanson as the musical guest, the screams were deafening. Appropriately enough, I was sitting in the Hanson section, and I was screaming along with the rest of them. When Hanson finally came on to perform, we were still in commercial, but people were going hysterical, climbing over chairs, screaming their brains out, shouting “I love you Tay” or whatever.

 Hanson came out during a commercial break and got into position, and the crowd was all psyched up. When Helen Hunt finally came out to announce Hanson the first time, the noise level was ear shattering. Taylor was trying to get them to keep quiet, but Zac was just egging us on by raising his hands. The camera cut to Hanson, they were cued, and they began “Merry Christmas Baby” (which was the first song during the rehearsal, they switched it later). Everyone in the crowd started getting up, dancing, clapping along, and the ushers were going bananas trying to keep them seated and quiet. We were all singing and clapping along, and Hanson really fed off of our positive energy and performed incredibly well. The song was so much better live than what you see and hear on the television. They all looked really great, and they nailed the song. People were screaming all throughout the commercial break until the next skit began. It was so great, I could see all of them so well; they were only like 50 feet away from me, I wanted to reach out and touch them all... The show continued, and finally, the very last skit that was done was the elevator skit, and that was incredible too. Hanson did such a great job acting, and they didn’t even have any cue cards (the cue cards were facing Helen Hunt, who was looking at Hanson the whole time). The only problem was that everyone in the audience (again, a very pro-Hanson audience) was screaming at Hanson to not give in to the terrorists, and they were shouting, “No, Ike, don’t give in!!!” and stuff. They were screaming throughout the whole skit that I couldn’t even hear what Hanson were saying most of the time. But when Taylor was unaffected and eventually came to his brothers’ rescue, and when Will Ferrel started dancing to “MMMBop”, the whole audience just went nuts. It was crazy!! Finally, right after that skit, Hanson came out again wearing different clothing (Zac with his dayglow orange prison outfit) and Taylor with that funky shirt (which I actually liked, so don’t knock it!), and once again Zac started getting the crowd all worked up (an easy thing to do), so when they finally came back to sing “MMMBop”, the audience practically drowned out Hanson. Still, everyone was on key and there was a much better balance on whole. Of course, the whole audience was rocking in the aisles with Hanson, singing and clapping along, myself included. It was such a wonderful experience.

 Anyway, I considered myself quite lucky as I left the show. My “extra” friend told me he couldn’t take me backstage to meet Hanson, so I counted my blessings and started to head back to the elevators. Just as I did, this wave of screaming girls practically swept me over on its way back to the studio. Those girls must have super Hanson radar, because standing at the door to the studio, surrounded by the NBC guards, were Hanson. I followed of course, camera at the ready. The wave of screaming girls pushed right passed the guards like they were butter, but the guards didn’t seem to care. Fortunately, this crowd of girls was relatively mild, and they only wanted to shake Hanson’s hands and to get an autograph. I rushed up and stood off to the right where I had the best angle to get pictures -- at 6 feet I towered over the girls and could see Ike and Tay at eye level. They weren’t signing autographs but only shaking hands and telling people they had to go. I took advantage and started snapping pictures like crazy, until someone grabbed my hand. I thought it was a girl trying to climb me like a tree to see Hanson, but then I heard someone say “Hey, Mr. Camera Man!” I looked up, and right in front of me grabbing my hand was ZAC!!!!!!!!! I almost passed out from surprise! He was smiling that way he always does, looking right at me. Apparently, I was quite a novelty for him to see. All I could say was “Zac, you’re awesome!” while shaking his hand (not very eloquent, I know). Zac just said “thanks” and went on to other fans. Then I noticed Taylor had moved right next to Zac and was looking right at me, so I reached over all the girls (it’s nice to be tall) and grabbed his hand. I just called his name and he gave me one of those macho hand clasp things (I guess because I’m a guy) and he said “Thanks for being here, man!” And I said “No, thank YOU Taylor!”. He smiled and then turned to the others. Ike was on the other side so I really didn’t have much contact with him, but I did reach over and grabbed his hand to shake it for just a second before all three of them were whisked away by the staff. The whole thing couldn’t have lasted more than 30 seconds, but those 30 seconds will stay with me for a long time.  That was the first time I ever saw Hanson in person, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last.  :o)