CosmoGIRL chat transcript

Tuesday, June 6, 2000

CosmoGIRL: Welcome to our chat with ~*~BBMak~*~. This chat is sponsered by CosmoGIRL!-a magazine for REAL girls with REAL issues.
CosmoGIRL: Welcome!
Christian: We'd like to say that we've got some breaking news - our single has gone to number four on the charts in America!
peachyprincess22: What makes BBMak different from other boy bands?
Ste: The difference between us and the other boy bands is that we all play instruments, we're all musicians, we're all songwriters, and we've produced the tracks on our albums.
Christian: Ste summed it up. The image is secondary to our music.
Allisha: Hi Christian, Mark, and Ste!!! I think you are fabulous! How did the three of you meet?
Christian: We met back about five years, when we were in other bands. We got along really well, so we decided to start our own band. We wrote our own songs, and it kinda went from there.
asharamola: How many years did it take for you guys to actually become a band, how did it finally come about, and who discovered you?
Christian: I've been in bands since I was 14.
Ste: I joined a band when I was 14 too.
Mark: We were all interested in music from an early age.
Christian: This was our ultimate goal. We sort of discovered each other. You can't sit around and wait for someone to discover you. We went to London, and busked outside the record company offices and got discovered.
fLirTy_ChicK04: How has your life changed since you have became BBMak?
Mark: Heyy!!! I think the thing that has changed is our social life--we don't have much any more! Just being really tired, and getting up at really really stupid hours. But we love the job - we love what we do.
Christian: Nothing really - just the hours.
GrEeNuPgirL: What does BBMak stand for??
Christian: BBMak stands for our surnames - Burns, Barry, and McNally.
Allisha: Do you write all your own songs?
Christian: We've written about 50-60 songs total, and seven out of the twelve on the album. We write all the time. And we produced four songs on the album as well.
asharamola: What do you think of the Backstreet boys, *NSYNC, 98 degrees, LFO, and other "boy bands?"
Christian: They're great. We admire anyone in this business, because we know how much hard work it is. All those bands are a success, and have great vocalists, so we respect them for this.
L_Boogie19: Hey I love "Back Here" and I was just wondering what was the story behind the song?
Christian: It's a love song, about a guy being a bit foolish, and messing around a bit so his chick leaves him, and he realizes he's been an idiot and won't be happy until he gets here back.
Mark: "So I told you lies, even made you cry. Baby I was so wrong. But girl, I promise you, now my love is true!" You know, he's just saying you can trust me now. But there's no second chances in this game!
uncle-8: Who are your musical influences, bot American and European?
Mark: Between the three of us, we love all types of music, but especially soul and R&B. Donnie Hathaway, Maxwell, D'Angelo, Stevie Wonder. We all love the Goo Goo Dolls and Vertical Horizon. Ste loves Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles and Billy Joel. We're lovers of music, so we love all styles between us. There are elements of everything there.
Milkysnow: What is your favorite song off the album - just choose one, okay?
Mark: I love all the songs on the album, but my favourite is "The Ghost of You and Me" I'm a big lover of strings, and there's a 21 piece orchestra backing us up. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up--it was amazing, and the melody is beautiful and heart-wrenching.
Miyuki-guest: Is there anyone you would like to work with in the music business? i love your album, by the way!
Mark: I think obviously, from my perspective, I'd love to do a duet with Stevie Wonder. I'd love to meet him actually, and find out how many songs he's actually written.
Ste: Paul McCartney.
Christian: Tom Jones.
sweet_lil_mer: What is the next single after "Back Here?"
Mark: We haven't actually decided the single, but I think it will be between "I'm Not in Love," "Love is Unpredictable," or "Next Time." It's great having a choice between so many songs, because we have great songs on the album.
i_love_music-guest: Do any of you have brothers or sisters?
Mark: I have an older brother and an older sister, Daniel and Lisa.
Christian: Two older sisters, Karen and Louise.
Ste: Two older brothers, Michael and Tommy.
Mark: We're all the youngest in our families, which is quite ironic.
Ever_after13: Do you enjoy your job? On tour and stuff..
Mark: Yeah, we LOVE our job. It's a dream to be able to do a job that we love. It's the only thing we want to do. Going on stage, performing songs that you've written, seeing fans singing along to your music - it's the greatest thing in the world!
MissJakob: Mark, would you ever pull ou the bagpipes eventually, at a show??
Mark: It's a secret, and I'm going to leave it until we do a really big concert on our own. I'll let Ste and Christian take a bit of a breather, and I'll do a ten minute bagpipe solo, preferably with a string section. :-)
GrEeNuPgirL: When did you first realize you were really famous?
Mark: I think actually recently--we did a big gig in Boston for the KISS concert with Bon Jovi and Savage Garden. There were 20 thousand people in the crowd, and they loved us. We got there early and went out in the crowd to see some of our friends from Westlife perform, and it was a shock to see the people that recognized us. It was quite nice!
stacey-guest: How are your European fans different from your American fans?
Mark: The American fans have a different accent! LOL In America, we get more respect from the male audience because we play our own instruments. It's good for them to see. Like that gig in Boston--we got a lot of respect from the male audience. And the music scene in America - it's more real. Not as many boys bands as in England. It's nice to see that we get so much respect.
music_chic8000-guest: Hey guys!!! this is Jamm and I live in Canada. Could you please say hi to my friend Alana cause she loves ya. And I am wondering when you are gonna be here in Canada?? Also Christian I love ya, and Mark, Alana loves ya.
Christian: Hi Jamm! Hope you're doing well. I hope I'll bump into you some day at a gig.
Mark: Well Alana, if I come across you at a gig, I'll sing a chorus to your favourite song on the album. But I'm not sure yet when we'll be in Canada. We'll be in the US until the end of the year, so no doubt we'll make it to Canada sometime. But we're so busy at the moment, we can't even think straight.
MissJakob: Would you guys ever consider moving to America and setting up like a second home here?
Mark: We've all got plans to actually get our own place in America. For me, it's definitely going to be in LA. And a place in Miami as well, if I make it really big :-) But I love all tlhe states in the US - they all have their own qualities.
JokesterPrincess: What was your most memorable experience so far in your travels?
Mark: I'll have to think about that one...
stacey-guest: How do you guys feel about going on tour with Britney Spears this summer??
Mark: We're really really excited. It's great exposure for us. We haven't met her yet, but she's heard our album, and she's a big fan of BBMak and we can't wait to meet her and perform in front of the massive sellout crowds. The first concert is the 20th of June in Columbia, MD.
HUNNYBUNZ13: Hi this is Allison from Westerly Rhode Island and I just wanna say you guys were great the other day in Groton at Bash at the Base. It was sooo good. I was in the front towards the right. I loved it when you guys made eyes contact :) I just got my pictures developed and I wanna send you guys one, so what's your fanclub addy?
Mark: Our email address is blank blank (*note from webmistress* hmmm, my hardcopy doesn't have it. :( Yes, I am typing everything, if you were wondering).
MissJakob: Hey, you guys are doing PremEARs in the Park for Disney. Can you tell us a little bit about those gigs? Does your website have the location of the shows as they know them?
Christian: We don't know that much yet, but there will be a Disney premiere, with the guys on the stage singing songs. The website will have the location of the shows and that's ________...
MythologicalLegend: What sign do each of you guys have?
Ste: I'm a Cancer.
Christian: I'm a Capricorn.
Mark: I'm a Scorpio.
Miyuki-guest: Has your accent changed since you've been in US for so long??? :)
Christian: No, it hasn't changed, but we've picked up words like "awesome" and "rest room." -)
LADYV23: Do you have a favorite American movie?
Christian: Mine has to be "The Rock."
Mark: Mine is "Shawshank Redemption."
Ste: "Aladdin."
teencandy: Will you have a home video for the fans?
Christian: Oh yeah! That won't be until we have enough fans to have a video in the shop, but we'll be doing all that, yeah!
Angeleyes511: I understand one of the songs on our album was written by Robin Thicke who also wrote Jordan Knight's "Give It to You." Did you guys have a chance to meet Jordan?
Christian: We actually didn't meet Jordan, although we worked with Robin.
Raquel185: If you guys had three wishes, what would they be and why?
Christian: Just that everybody in the world could get along without stupid fighting or stupid things.
Mark: Another million wishes!
Ste: A decent sleep.
Ever_afer13: Do you miss your friends and family?
Christian: Yes, we miss our friends and family, but it's part of the job. Our minds are occupied all the time, and we're busy. But it makes it all the better when we do go home, because we appreciate our family and friends even more.
LaNey_20001: If you guys could meet 1 famous person who would it be?
Christian: I'd like to meet Paul McCartney.
Ste: I'd like to meet Billy Joel.
Mark: Stevie Wonder!!!
Karma_Kitten: If you could change anything about your job, what would you change about it?
Christian: More hours in the day, because it seems like we don't have enough hours to do everything. And some bands fight between themselves, so I'd change that so everyone would get along. But we don't fight; we get along great.
Night-Shade7: Hey guys, I was wondering when are you going to be going on tour? And who will you be touring with?
Mark: We're on tour with Britney Spears, starting on the 20th of June. Hopefully, we'll be doing the full tour with her--tons and tons of cities.
Karma_Kitten: What are your favorite bands and music groups? Do you like Korn and bands such as those that do not really fit in the pop scene?
Mark: I'm not really a big fan of that type of music, to be honest. It's too hard. But I'm not disrespecting that band; it's just not my personal taste.
Christian: It's too korny! LOL
xBlinkBabe182x1: Were you guys popular in school?
Mark: I had many friends. And the babes were after me. :-)
Christian: I was quite popular with the girls. Some of the guys used to get jealous because I was always into music. They thought I was stupid for doing music and not sports. I never got bullied at school though, because I made them laugh instead so they wouldn't pick on me. But I was a loner at school--I liked my own company.
Ste: You know what? It was weird in school, because there were a lot of different crowds--the cool kids, the jocks. i was on th basketball team, so I hung around with everyone. I had a lot of frieds.
HUNNYBUNZ13: Who would your dream date be with (a famous person)? What type of qualities do you look for?
Ste: My dream date? Liv Tyler - she's really pretty, cute, and sexy - she's everything.
Mark: Mine is Ashley Judd - I rather like her! She was in "Double Jeopardy" and she's sooo attractive.
Christian: I like anyone who likes me :-) I don't know-If there's a fan out there for me, I'll find her!
busta_move-28: Hey guys! I live in Louisiana, USA and your music ROX! I wanna know-how do you keep yourselves from becoming self-centered? Are your families important in keeping you grounded?
Christian: Yeah, definitely - we worked from nothing to get to where we are, so we appreciate our success and keep trying to better ourselves. We're down to earth lads anyway, and we've seen too many artists be full of themselves.
Mark: It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.
MythologicalLegend: What do you all like to do when you have a day off?
Christian: We just chill out, because we're always so busy. We've got a couple of days coming up in Miamai, so we're going to chill out on the beach, watch TV, go on dates with girls...
Lance-chick-guest: Do you have a favorite food?
Christian: My favourite food is Thai food.
Mark: Mine is Italian. I like gnoochi della casa.
Ste: Anything my mother cooks for me.
uncle-8: Are you guys fluent in any other language?
Mark: A bit of Japanese. We know a song in Japanese, because when we went there we had to sing a song in Japanese. And some French--est-ce que je peux aller au cinema ce soir?
Miyuki-guest: Hi, Miyuki from M'sia again! Thanks for answering my questions, but here comes another one! Where would you like to go for your holiday? Except UK?
Mark: I'd probably like to go to the Bahamas or someting, a Caribbean island.
adiaschic23: Do a lot of people recognize you when you walk down the streets?
Mark: Just lately, we've been getting recognized a lot. I think it's because we've got BBMak stickers all over our guitar cases.
Christian: We get recognized a lot on stage :-)
JokesterPrincess: If you were stranded on a deserted island who would you want to be stranded with?
Mark: Ummm, let me think! There's so many nice women out there...Maybe a boat to get off the island?
Christian: A phone line and a laptop.
Mark: A phone and a phone card. I always buy phone cards. And as many women as possible.
Karma_Kitten: Do you ever regret your lifestyles and how much it has changed since you started?
Mark: I don't regret it at all really. It's just the fact that we have to spend so much time away, and we're away from our family and friends. And that's the disadvantage of being a pop star, really.
CD_BRIT-BRIT122: About what age should someone who loves singing start auditioning for things?
Mark: If you want to go into the music business, for me, definitely over 18. There are a lot of artists out there, not mentioning any names, that are really young and have had too much success in such a big and confusing business. There's a lot of pressure. Everyone has their own opinions, but start getting into music as early as possible. Get the basic training, and then do the auditions when you know you're ready.
Ever_after13: Was it hard to get a record deal?
Mark: It was hard in a sense. We had to spend a lot of time in London. It depends on how committed and focused you are. If you want something bad enough, you'll get it. We thought rather than send a demo to the record companies, and not get listened to (because we saw piles and piles of tapes on the floor that never got listened to), that if we wanted the job done, we'd do it ourselves. So we busked outside their offices until they gave us a job. It's way better than sitting around the house, waiting for the phone to ring. Go do something about it! Have a really positive attitude.
CosmoGIRL: Thanks so much for chatting with us! Unfortunately our time is almost up. Do you have any parting words for us?
Mark: The band thanks you from the bottom of our hearts. We appreciate all the response we've been getting from the fans. You're the guys who make BBMak BBMak, and if it wasn't for you, there wouldn't be a BBMak. So thanks, and hopefully we'll see you soon.
CosmoGIRL: This chat is sponsered by CosmoGIRL! -a magazine for REAL girls with REAL issues. Guys, beauty, fashion, money, parents, school, your body--you name it and we're talking about it. Think of us as a girls-only club that meets every month, with fun fixes available 24-7 at cosmogirl.com

Brought to you by CosmoGIRL.com and Talk City. Copyright 2000.