The Summer of Take 5
Popstar September/October 2000
Good things are worth waiting for! That could be the group motto for boy band Take 5. T.J., Stevie, Tilky and brothers Clay and Ryan have been working for two and a half years toward becoming household names. Take 5 has already made a splash with and international CD featuring bubblegum hits like “I Give” and “Never Had It So Good.” Instead of courting instant success in the U.S.A., Take 5 took five and rethought their sound, their look and their goals. Longtime fans will see that Take 5 has changed as much as T.J.’s voice! First, these guys are growing boys… they’re all north of 6’ tall despite all being teens. But more then just physically, their first American CD Against All Odds reveals a funky new edge that sounds nothing like anything the other boy bands have tried. They’re bringing an R&B edge to the pop scene, and we’re bringing these new heartthrobs onto our pages with top secret visits to Typhoon Lagoon water park in Orlando “* and * to their Shake it Off video shoot!
Stevie:
Birthdate: January 11, 1983.
Popstar!: Do you like the recording process?
The recording part is the fun… that’s the creative part. Everything
comes out when you’re in the studio. Being on stage performing the songs, that’s actually getting to show the emotions. The recording you
can just feel everything. We put candles in there to get into a vibe and
we base everything on emotions and vibing and stuff.
How was it filming your video?
It’s the first real video that we’ve done. I mean, we did a couple of
videos before with Lionel Martin for our singles “I Give” and “Never
Had It So Good” then we did one for “Baby I Can’t Let Go” in Asia. We spent a lot of time doing that kind of stuff but this video was just crazy. I think it was the funnest thing that I’ve done so far.
Everybody was just getting out together, shakin’ it, havin’ fun, just goin’ crazy on it. We had the crowd shakin’ it and doing the new “Shake it Off” dance and it was the bomb… everybody was loving it.
We had about 200 extras. We talked to a lot of the extras, hung out
with them and stuff.
You and Tilky seem to have different hair every day!
Yeah, I change it a little bit once in awhile. I don’t try to go too overboard. I usually stay dark brown or black. I might do a couple of highlights. We base everything on individuality. We try to keep away
from things like tattoos and stuff like that, but if someone wants to get one, he can get one.
We hope fans will like us for who we are not what we are.
What kinda girl do you look for?
Trust, personality, of course good-looking in her own way. Somebody who could be your best friend besides being in a relationship. Somebody you could hang out with.
Ryan:
Birthdate: June 29, 1980
Popstar!: Your CD is so different from your old stuff!
The album takes pop to a new level. It’s definitely got more edge but it still focuses on our youthfulness. One of our songs is like a real serious rock ballad, some of it’s more just kinda like kickin’ back. It’s definitely taking a new millenium sound.
You seem different from any other boy band out there.
That’s been our goal… proving that these groups are not manufactured. Some of ‘em are… a lot of ‘em are… but, y’know, like, we’re not. (laughs)
We are a guy group, but that’s about where the stereotype stops. We all play instruments, we sing live, we all write music, so it’s the real deal.
Last issue, we ran your yearbook photos and you were called “biggest scam artist.” What’s up with that?
How embarrassing is that? I was always pulling scams but Take 5 has definitely mellowed me out. I was always scamming people out of their lunch money and always getting people to give me a ride home. And I
was always scamming girls to scratch my head in class!
You’re * all five * single… what kind of girl do you look for?
Everybody in the group dates… y’know, if we can get a date. (laughs)
From a physical standpoint, I like girls who are maybe like 5’5” to 5’7”…
and I mean, it doesn’t have to be exactly that! I typically like girls who are shorter than me… I’m 6’2”. Tall girls are cool, though. Hair colour doesn’t really matter. Personality means a lot to me. Honestly it’s the biggest thing to me.
Would you date a fan?
You don’t have to be front-row at every concert, but if somebody enjoys what I’m doing as much as I do that’s definitely a good quality. I have to date somebody close to my age. I couldn’t exactly picture myself dating some 14-year-old girl. (laughs)
Tilky
Birthdate: June 24th, 1981
Popstar!: What are some highlights of your album?
It’s a song called “Now You Do Bounce.” I helped write it, so that was fun. We went into the studio and worked all night till like five in the morning, finally got done went home and got some sleep.
Then there’s this one song called “The Girl Next Door” that I can get into because it talks about exactly what I went through in a past relationship. It was cool because, like, after I sang it, I only wished I had heard that song before I went through what I went through with this certain girl.
What’s your showbiz background?
I’ve been in the theater forEVER. The first time I auditioned was for Robin Hood. One of my friends dared me to go audition with her and I was like “All right, I’ll go!” I didn’t get the part, but I just kinda fell in love with being onstage and interacting with crowds and stuff.
I did commercials. There’s this one for Busch Gardens that’s still airing… I had, like, really long hair down to my shoulders.
Are you totally comfortable on camera by now?
We’re pretty used to it by now. We’ve had cameras follow us around to do documentaries and stuff. It gets like, “Can’t I just pee in peace?”
Did you ever think Take 5 wouldn’t make it?
All I can do is hope and pray that it’s gonna go the way that it’s planned, but you still don’t know till it happens. The ideal is to blow up and sell 10 million records and be right up there with the rest of ‘em. Maybe it’ll hit it right there, maybe it’ll be a gradual process or maybe it won’t work at all, y’know?
We have respect for ourselves now that we’re doing what we wanna do, doing our own thing.
So you’re single, too right?
Yes I am single. I loooove the ladies… all kinds. Gotta be good personality, good humour, click with ‘em and flow with their conversation just so there’s no awkward moments. For some reason I tend to attract brunettes.
Clay:
Birthdate: April 28, 1984
Popstar!: What are the plusses and what are the minuses of being in a group with your big bro?
The plusses are that I get along with Ryan because I’ve known him all his life. I know what makes him mad so I don’t do those things. I just know him and know what he does and I’ve been around him. Minuses is he always tries to tell me what to do. “Don’t do this, don’t do that,” and I’m like, “Whatever.” (laughs)
What do you guys do I your free time?
Most of the time, it’s T.J. and I hanging out or Steve, Ryan and Tilky because Ryan and Tilky are the older guys so they like to go do different stuff than T.J. and I. T.J. and I like the movies, hanging out just at the apartment, watching TV. Ryan and Tilky like to go out at night and just have fun.
What movies do you recommend?
Frequency and Gladiator were unbelievable.
Do you guys live together?
My brother and I live in a house together, and then T.J. is like 15 minutes away from us. Stephen lives with his parents in a house like 30 minutes away from us and Tilky lives like right across the street from Stephen in an apartment with a roommate.
How do you feel about girls?
I’m kinda looking for a girlfriend but it’s really hard. Before I was in the group I had a girlfriend. I was like “I’m going to be going overseas for a few months, so just relax,” and she was like “No I don’t think so!”
T.J.:
Birthdate: February 29, 1984
Popstar!: So you were born on a leap year day?
My birthday comes once every four yeas. Back home sometimes I used to celebrate it in the summer because if I didn’t have a birthday and it was cold, I’d just pick a day when it was warm.
How important has your mom been to your success?
Very important. Everything she’s done has actually got us all here. She was the person who met the manager that hooked us up with Lou Pearlman. She’s always pushed for me ever since I’ve been in Take 5 for Take 5.
Is it hard travelling and touring so much?
Yeah, it’s hard, but I’ve been on the road since I was really little. I was on Broadway when I was like eight, so I got used to it at an early age.
What’s your fave song on your CD?
My favourite one is “Save the Best for Last.” It’s kinda calm and cool and the harmonies ended up being really, really tight.
Is there competition between you and other boy bands?
We see all these other groups around and we hang out with them sometimes and we’re cool with them. Its not like we hold grudges against each other because we’re all boy bands… that’s stupid.
What goes through your head onstage?
Nothing. It’s just blank. It’s all muscle memory, just do the moves and free your mind and when I sing I concentrate really hard on what I’m doing to make sure that everything’s really on.
What kind of looks do you like in a girl?
Physically, I like girls who are a little taller, not too short… um… lately it’s been brown hair, for some reason, I don’t know, it kinda changes with my mood or attitude. Big smile, big eyes.
