Q: How long have you worked on the new album, and did things go smoothly?
Danny: About a year. Actually, It hasn't been that smooth. We've been (having
some problems) ... you know, it's a different kind of thing now that we're
doing this one on our own; picking the producers, and picking the songs. It's
a bit more difficult. You've got to work with our schedules and the producer's
schedules. And have contracts with all the producers and negotiate. It gets
kind of complicated, so it's taken us a while. But once we get in the studio,
everything's fine.
Q: I heard that you guys had done a whole album completed around September '92
and then you scrapped it and started all over again.
D: No, no, no. Actually, we started recording last September. We didn't scrap
it. That's just when we started it. Some of the earlier material that we did
we're probably not going to use on the album. But we'll use it for B-sides or
whatever else.
Q: I'm curious if you guys, your sound has changed, and if so how would you
describe the change?
D: Well, our sound had definitely changed because music changes so quickly. I
mean, with all the technology and sampling and everything, you couldn't put a
song out that we had on our "Hangin' Tough" album now. It would sound empty
and old. So you definitely gotta change, and it's definitely gonna be more
updated. And I think, especially on the fast songs, they're much better
produced and full, and more danceable, definitely.
Q: What kind of music have you guys listened to in the past couple of years
that might have influenced your sound?
D: Uh, I can't really pinpoint a certain artist or a bunch of artists. It is
more or less the sound that has changed. Nowadays, if there is an r&b song,
people will hook up a drum loop with it from an old record, or they'll hook up
some nice sampled sounds and stuff. It's just the way the production has
adapted over the past two years and we haven't been on the scene. You know,
people like Teddy Riley, stuff like that, and SWV and all that stuff. That
kind of stuff has probably influenced the album.
Q: I'm trying to figure out the series of events that happened when your last
tour ended and when you went into the studio last year. Did you get any
vacation time? Did you guys do anything special between ending your last tour
and starting your new album?
D: Well, our last tour ended probably a year and a half ago. So we took three
or four months off, and really didn't do anything because we needed to rest.
We were on the road for like four and a half years. So we took that time off.
Then we got together and threw a list of producers that we'd like to work
with. You know, just started making calls and working with people.
Q: Are you trying to reach an older audience with this album? Also, do you
think your old fans will like the music?
D: I think our old fans are definitely going to like it. You know. It's still
all good songs, it's just more danceable. I think they'll have more fun with
it. But we're not trying to reach an older crowd or anything. We're just
trying to do songs that we like and people will like.
Q: People that work with you tell me that, overall, you're trying to reach a
young "adult" audience rather than a "teen" audience.
D: I don't know who told you that, but we're not consciously trying to do
that. We're just making the music that we like, and we think people will like
and are doing it. We're not saying "Let's target this album for the 18-25
market."
Q: Do you guys write your own material or does it vary?
D: It varies. Some of the guys got with some of the producers and wrote with
them. Donnie wrote the stuff that he sang. I wrote the stuff that I did. You
know, we're getting into that. But we didn't make it a big issue. We didn't
feel that we had anything to prove...like we had to write our whole next
album. We felt we'll more gradually into it ... and just see what happens-see
how the people like it.