Galaxie InterviewGalaxie Interview
You met each other at an audition . What was it for ???
Stevie : It was for commercial for a Disney thing .
How long ago was that ???
Ryan : It was probably in October last year ( 1997 ) , cause I came down in November to form the group .
Stevie , your dad's a minister . Was he supportive of this career move ???
Stevie : Well , I do respect for being a minister , but I guess my dad's dream was always to be an artiste and he's been in the entertainment industry himself . He was in a Christian band for a while and now he's managing a secular group , K.C and The Sunshine Band . So he's been very supportive for me being in the business . He was always saying to me , " You do what you've gotta do to fulfil your dreams . "
Were all your parents supportive of your decisions ???
Ryan : Yeah ! They were all pretty supportive . When we started the group we were all under 18 . We couldn't have done it without them ' cause they had to come and live with us down in Florida . So , they were all there for us 100 percent .
Do you realize that you are going to have to put up with the boy band tag ???
Stevie : We realize that . I guess we're gonna take it from a different standpoint . So , if people think that we're just a boy band , then that's just their opinion . Technically speaking we are a boy band . But we'd like to see ourselves as five male vocalists .
Ryan : Yeah ! There are lots of stereotypes . A lot of people say , " Oh , you're just here for a look and you don't have any real talent . " But as far as we're concern that we're don't think much of it . Our hole show is life . We do an a capella ( number ) in our show and we do a capella anytime , anywhere for anybody . it's very difficult to find a lot of boy bands that do a capella .
Another thing is our ages are very different . We're younger . So we've got a much higher vocal range . Besides , our image is a lot different . We've got a clean cut , all American look . No ear piercing . No tattoos .
You said you'd perform a capella for anyone . Care to entertain ???
Stevie : No , sweet ! You know Baby I Can't Let Go , our next single ? We'll do the chorus of that song for you .
{Galaxie is suitably impressed when the boys stand up to take their place and belt out the tune with apparent ease}
That was amazing . Now , you share the same label as Backstreet Boys , but doesn't it bug you that for now , you're going to be labelled as the sequel to the BSB phenomenon and not as Take 5 ???
Tilky : We're nothing like them . We don't mind being compared to them but we'd rather not be . I mean , we have our own style .
Ryan : We still take it as a compliment though , ' cause they've been very successful .
I that way do you think you guys are different from BSB ???
Stevie : Well , our sound is very different , although it may have the same groove . Besides , when we're on stage the energy coming from our youthfulness is there . Another thing is that we're younger . Nick Carter { BSB } is the youngest in their group and he's 18 . So their youngest is like our oldest .
About 10 years ago , the biggest thing to explode onto the pop music scene where New Kids On The Block . But they've since slipped into anonymity . What do you think of that ???
Stevie : They were definitely the biggest of the boy groups after Jackson 5 .
Tilky : But I think we plan on staying ground a while longer . That is what we definitely want .
Your big break came when you performance at the Kids Go Music Festival in Germany . What was that experience like ???
Well , we'd done a show in Orlando before the Festival but this was our first real tour . We were up with some really big names . 911 was there together with New Authority , Gil and Aaron Carter . So the experience was really tremendous .
Did you have butterflies in your stomach having to perform in front of thoundsands of people from an entirely different sector the world ???
Tilky : I can remember when we went out there for the first concert and weren't used to anything . It was all new to us . Sound checks and stuff like that . And then we were the bears .
Bears ???
Stevie : Yeah ! People were , like throwing bears ( teddies ) and stuff on the stage . When we saw it happen to Aaron , we didn't think it would happen to us but it did . The scary thing was that once in a way you'd didn't know it was coming to you .
Tj , you were probably the least affected by stage fight , having already performed for large crowds at the White House when you were 11 . Was it nerve-wracking performing centrestage at such an early age ???
Tj : There were a lot of others acts but I was one of the only solo performers . I'd already been doing theatre . I did Les Miserable on Broadway and I'd been in talent competitions in state fairs in Minnesota where thoundsands of people show up . At the White House there weren't a ,lot of people but they were important people . So , it was an entirely different experience .
Who inspires your brand of music ???
Ryan : Boyz 11 Men . That's a biggie for me .
Stevie : Personally as a solo single I like Brian Macknight , but as group I think N'SYNC is a great group to look up to .
Clay : Yeah ! N'SYNC . Plus we know them really well .
Are you influences only derived from R & B ???
Stevie : Well , I've done jazz , Ryan's done a lot of classical stuff , Tj likes alternative stuff like Sublime and we've been in theatre . I guess to be a good artiste you've got to open your mind up to the industry . It's also fascinating to be able to listen to various different types of music .
Is Clay the songwriting machine of the group ???
Ryan : Actually we all write ' cuz we're all musicallytrained . I play the keyboards and so do Clay . Tilky plays drums and Stevie plays guitar .
Clay : But we haven't really written anything on this album .
Ryan : This album was done really quickly . It's took us about only a month to get it out so we didn't have time to write it . But for our next album there's a definite possibility .
There have been a few R & B groups like Dakota Moon who play their own music . Is there a chance we will see Take 5 taking the same course ???
Stevie : Dakota Moon ? ( sings ) I wanna be an eagle high ... I love that song . I think that playing our won instruments is a real possibility in the future . But as far as Dakota Moon concerned I think they're a great group . They may not be as popular as some other groups ' cuz they don't have a look or a promotional things . But they're very talented .
The whole world has labelled you a pop group but if you have to choose , what label would you attach to your music ???
Stevie : I think R & B . But it also has a reggae and hip hop feel .
Tj : we're just changing the whole pop thing , We're bending and stretching it in different directions .At times it's towards a reggae directions . It still has the pop flavor , but it kind of leans to different styles .
Stevie : We'd like to call it Young R & B .
What about the name of your group . Some would say you've chosen the name that's in line with the boy band trend .
Ryan : Take 5 in the States means take 5 minutes or even Take Five , Scene Three . We're all from showbiz backgrounds so it was the obvious choice for a name .
Stevie : At the back of our logo you see a star , right ? And three are five points to a star and without either of us represents a points to a star . Each of us represents a point of that star and without either of us you can't make a star .
Tilky : And we didn't know about Five and Take That when we started . It's only when we went over to Europe we heard about them , when people started to saying to us , " Oh ! You're like those band . "
Stevie : We're are different , though . You'll see when you watch us in concert .
What do you think about R & B bands utilizing numbers in their names like All - 4 - One or Boyz 11 Men ???
Stevie : I think that the whole idea just flows .
Tj : Those names are really clever when you think about it , like using the 11 in Boyz 11 Men without spelling it out .
Ryan : But Take 5 is just something we thought about .
