http://www.yourgigs.com.au/interviews/?interview_id=114497
The Boyz are back in town
Smooth-singin' Shawn Stockman reminisces about Boyz II Men's early days and
discusses all things old-school R&B.
Boyz II Men are undoubtedly the kings of R&B. Along with selling more than 90
million albums and 50 million singles, they've broken their own record of
holding a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the longest
period of time - three times! Even with the departure of an original member,
nothing can taint the legacy of the group and all that they do.
yourGigs: Is it true that you originally formed as a result of a high school
performing arts project?
Shawn Stockman: Well actually we were a group before the group. Nathan had a
group in high school - it's where we all met. During the course of those kids
that he was in the group with graduating, he recruited other guys. The guys
you see now were the last ones before everyone went off and did whatever they
did.
yG: Rumour has it that you guys serenaded Michael Bivins [Bell Biv DeVoe]
hoping he would sign you?
SS: It's a little like that. (laughs) It was a radio show that a local radio
station in Philadelphia was throwin'. Bell Biv DeVoe happened to be there
hosting and we weren't trying to get a deal, it was more or less us getting
his opinion and actually meeting those guys. We looked up to New Edition,
they were one of our favourite groups to emulate and we sang all their songs.
It was an opportunity to meet him and get his opinion on how we sounded.
yG: How did Bivins react?
SS: I guess he liked us, he gave us his phone number and about six months to
a year later we were signed to his company through Motown Records and we
released our first album Cooleyhighharmony.
yG: You guys achieved phenomenal success during the '90s, tell us about some
of the changes you have witnessed in the R&B scene since that time?
SS: You know the industry as a whole has changed. Due to illegal downloading,
the industry was kinda spending up because there were so many things that hit
the bottom line. I think the industry is somewhat distracted because now it's
just trying to catch up to the technology and to what the kids are asking for
and what they [kids] want to listen to and they're really trying to figure it
out. And you can tell, at least in America anyway. Just by the type of music
they put out. It's just recycled music all over because everyone is just
afraid to basically take chances and really develop acts because the industry
claims to have lost a lot of money due to the downloading and all that other
stuff. Because of that, good music suffers a lot of the time, and
unfortunately the bubblegum stuff tends to take control of everything because
at this point everyone is trying to keep their jobs and keep the lights on in
the record company... it doesn't matter how long the artist lasts, as long as
it helps bring revenue to the industry. It's more about money than music.
yG: Do you think the industry will get some heart back?
SS: It's in the process of trying to fix itself. The people that are in the
record labels and things of that nature don't have the intelligence or the
spirit to actually want to change it because their priority it totally
different. It's going to take someone, an underdog who's playing their music
on MySpace or trying to get their stuff played on YouTube to really create a
buzz and something that the whole world can cling to. Hopefully Boyz II Men
will be a part of that. (laughs)
yG: You've worked with some amazing artists such as Mariah Carey and Michael
Jackson. Who were your favourites?
SS: All of them. For different reasons. Mariah's a phenomenon. We've done
some things with Michael Jackson. We've done a lot of things with a lot of
great artists. All of them are equally fulfilling because each of these
people are people we've looked up to and whose music we've listened to and
we're fans of. So to actually be in the same studio with them and trying to
create something musically is a dream come true.
yG: Original member Michael (McCary) left the band in 2003, how did that
affect you guys?
SS: It was difficult at first because we went through a stage of not really
understanding what we were going to do next. Somewhat apprehensive of how our
fans were going to receive us now that we were three, but fortunately
everything worked out. We've been performing since 2003 as a threesome and
haven't heard a complaint yet... (laughs). We pride ourselves and make sure
everyone still get the full effect of what Boyz II Men does.
yG: Are there hopes he will return?
SS: His space is always open. Michael can't be replaced, and he's always
welcome back to the group, but I just don't think his aspiration is that
anymore... he's acting now. He'll be in a movie this summer. We actually just
saw Michael before we left for this tour and he hung out... and actually sang
together for a couple of songs together for old time's sake, so he's still
our brother and we still love him and support him to the utmost.
Shelley Jones
9 Feb 2007
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