| Way Past Boiling - May 24, 1999 CDNOW: Why do you think 98 Degrees And Rising is making a bigger impact than your first album? Jeff Timmons: I think it's a combination of things. I think the first album was, creatively, a little bit different than this album. The first album was more R&B, more of a vibe album. This album is more mainstream. We had a lot more creative control over it. It represents us more [as] a group. How much impact have all the shake-ups at your label had on the band? That was the way it was, pretty much, when the group got signed. Motown was going through some pretty hard times, and us being a new group, we were na�ve. We thought Motown was the Motown we knew in the past, the Temptations and the Four Tops and everybody. We were pretty blind toward the industry. And it was a shadow of what it had been. There were only a few people there who worked really hard for [the label]. It was disheartening. Then, after "Invisible Man" came out, Motown underwent huge transitions. They fired the president [Andre Harrell], and there was no one to work on the album. When George Jackson went to Motown, we said, "We want to do our own album," and he said, "You can do it, but I want to oversee it." There was a big push behind it coming from him. So it created a big buzz. "We like to think we're different from those groups in a lot of ways. One is we put ourselves together. We didn't get put together by a super-producer or manager who had a million dollars and a record deal waiting." And he came through on his promise to let you do it? Definitely. We wrote and produced a large portion of the album -- co-produced about 99 percent of it, co-wrote maybe five or six of the songs. It was definitely more of a hands-on project for us. We produced all of the first album as well, but with us being new artists, we didn't get any credit for that. This time was definitely more hands-on -- every vocal, every track. We figured if we were going to put out an album and fail this time, we want it to be our fault and nobody else's. What was it like working with Stevie Wonder on the song "True to Your Heart?" A complete delight, like a dream come true. He was a huge idol of ours. Anyone in pop music looks up to Stevie Wonder. When Disney gave us the opportunity to do the song for the Mulan soundtrack, we were more than flattered. They suggested we do it with the Temptations. We love the Temptations, but we wanted to meet Stevie, so they made it happen. At first he was just going to play harmonica on it. Then he heard it and said he wanted to [sing] on it, too. Did you actually record it with him? No, we didn't get to work with him in the studio. We got to hang out at the video shoot, though, and that was a blast. You're often associated with other male vocal groups such as the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. Do you feel like you're all cut from the same cloth? We like to think we're different from those groups in a lot of ways. One is we put ourselves together. We didn't get put together by a super-producer or manager who had a million dollars and a record deal waiting. We're very soul-based, influenced by a lot of soul groups -- Boyz II Men and a lot of old Motown soul -- but we're also influenced by classic rock. We write a lot of our own music, too, and we do a lot of live singing and not as much choreographed dancing. So you're better than they are? [Laughs] Oh, I won't go there. Those guys are good singers and good dancers. As far as musicians, I don't know how they'll fare later in their careers after the young audience goes home. "We have a young audience, too, but half our fan club is over 25, and the other half is under 25. That surprises people who say 'All you sing to is teenyboppers.'" We have a young audience, too, but half our fan club is over 25, and the other half is under 25. That surprises people who say "All you sing to is teenyboppers." People try to market us that way, but a lot of older people buy our records, too. You have one member [Drew Lachey] who's a trained paramedic. Has that ever come in helpful on the road -- giving mouth to mouth to an overwhelmed fan or anything? You know, it's funny. Drew has come to the aid of a lot of people. One time we were on a plane, and a lady had a seizure. He completely saved her life, kept her from swallowing her tongue and helped her out. There was one time he did it at a cheerleading camp we were visiting, too, when a girl got injured. He's always saving people. So what's next? We've already started working on a Christmas album, maybe to come out this year, maybe not. And our third album, we'll probably start working on it in December, after this album dies down -- if it does. We feel very strongly about it, and the label thinks there are five singles on it. By the way, you've been touring with B*Witched, which has a girl for every guy in your band. That seems symmetrical� Oh, no � [laughs]. We met them not too long ago when we were in England. They're cute girls, but I don't think any of them are our type. |