How do you feel about doing the Disney Christmas Special?
Dallas: Great. Naturally, we know how all of the other Disney Specials have helped out all of the other groups, and it actually was a suggestion of ours also and it just made sense and everybody else agreed.
It must have been great for the group to land the single on the Inspector Gadget soundtrack.
Dallas: Definitely. All of us grew up watching Inspector Gadget, so when the song was presented to us for the movie we couldn't turn it down. And we thought that the song was a hit right off of the bat.
How's the album doing right now?
Dallas: We really haven't had that much time to check it. We have been on the road so much and have been doing so many shows that we really haven't been paying attention to it, but we are going back home pretty soon and are going to check it out then.
How did you get into writing and producing?
Dallas: Actually, we all started out that way. We never really set out to be a group. We actually set out to be writers and producers, and while we were showing the demo someone said that we were doing things just fine and that we needed to be the group. So it just kind of happened like that. And a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work, actually.
How did you get signed to Hollywood then?
Dallas: It was weird. We were in LA showcasing the songs and somebody called and said that they had a situation for us over at Hollywood Records, which is a Disney label. So we flew out and that day right off the plane we showcased it to the label and played the tape and sang the song. And they asked if we wrote them and we were like, 'Yes,' and they said, 'You produced them also?' and we were like, 'Yes.' And right there on the spot they we like you guys got the deal.
Your album seems to be more R&B than other albums in your category. Do you agree?
Dallas: I mean, we have a lot of R&B influences, we have a lot of rock influences. We really just wanted to try and cater to all crowds on this album. We have pop songs, we have really heartfelt deep songs that are for a more mature audience. But we really just do what we love to do, and we leave it up to everyone else to put it in their own category, because music is so diverse these days. You just can't really categorize everything as much as you used to be able to do.
How would you describe your music?
Sammy: I would have to say kind of universal. We try to cater to a lot of different aspects of the music and a lot of influences along with a lot of different styles. We like the urban hip-hop style and we like the rap thing and we dig the ballads, and I even think our forte is the ballads that we write a lot. We try to do the hype thing because we love to dance and do energetic shows, and that's us and the way that we get down.
How important is the writing process to you?
Sammy: It is very important, mainly because it is us and what created our whole image, our love for music, and our love for each other, and our respects for each other's talents. It's funny, because usually a group is put together by people, but with us it wasn't even like that. We just sat in the basement and wanted to create, and, little by little, the personalities started creating as a group and people told us that we had it going on, and in the back of our minds all we wanted to do was music. God was on our side and he opened doors for us to finally have our dreams come true.
Describe some of the early years of the group.
Sammy: It was cool. Me and Dallas lived together and we were friends, always kicking it together and going out all of the time and getting into trouble. And we argued a lot, just like typical brother stuff. I could put up with these guys for like the rest of my life if I had to.
Did you originally do it for the love of music or because you thought it would be a good career?
Sammy: I met up with the group when I was in Georgia visiting my mom and I told them that I loved music and that we should go back and see what we could put together. And we just wanted to create something new and just go with the flow and let it go natural and see what can come of it, and something beautiful really happened. And it's astonishing to us when we just look back and say to ourselves, 'That really came from us.' It's a real trip.
What were some of your influences growing up?
Sammy: The King of Pop, Michael Jackson. And I grew up listening a lot to my family members. Just growing up in the church, I wasn't allowed to listen to a lot of secular music so everything came from just watching my parents and my aunts just pouring out their heart, as far as feelings and emotions in their music, and it made me want to pursue that.
How would you describe the group's music?
DC: It's just kind of us. We try to hear as much criticism from everybody else, because we are just Youngstown and we just write and do our thing and what we feel. It's kind of hard to explain, but we try to be as universal as we can with our music.
What are some of your plans for the New Year?
DC: We are doing a Disney thing for the New Year, and they are going to have our families come out so that is going to be pretty dope. Hopefully we will still be here at 12:01. (laughs)
+ sam conjerti
published: 12.13.99
