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INTERVISTA DEL 22 GENNAIO 2003
BEU SISTERS IN ESCLUSIVA PER PALCOSCENICO
di
Luca Cirillo
What
was your motivation for starting the group?
It really all started from our passion for music. It is in our blood.
Our parents are performers. They met doing a Broadway show and from the time
we were babies, we would travel on the road with them. We had a rare childhood
in which we experienced what "show business" was like from behind the scenes.
I think it was inevitable that we would follow in our parents footsteps and
become performers ourselves. "Show business" is truly our family business. We
started singing together as "The Beu Sisters" about 8 years ago when our
sister Christie decided to get us all together for a school show. We sang "Somewhere
Over the Rainbow" and from that first moment on stage together, we knew this
was something we wanted to pursue.
Could you tell me some of the artists and album that helped to shape yours
creative vision?
We each individually have several artists/albums that have influenced
our writing and our musical sound over the years. Our mother had an incredibly
diverse record collection that we would listen to. She taught us to never get
stuck listening to only one type of music but to keep expanding our horizons.
Some of our favorites include groups like The Beach Boys,
The Mamas and the Papas, The Beatles, The Shirelles, The Jackson Five and
singer-songwriters like Harry Nillson, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, and Billy
Joel. Recently, we have been listening a lot to Alicia Keys, India Arie, Jill
Scott, John Mayer', Norah Jones, Craig David, The Dixie Chicks and No Doubt.
One of our very favorite groups is Sublime.
Tell me about your meeting with Desmond Child...
We met Desmond Child back in the winter of 1999. Earlier that year we
made a video "demo" tape of one of our performances. We sent this tape to
every contact we had and eventually our tape made its way, through a chain of
people, to Desmond. We received a phone call from him saying he wanted us to
drive down to Miami, Fl. and sing for him in his home. We did and apparently
he thought he could do something for us. Two months later he asked us to
drive to his house again and meet someone who was starting his own label.
That someone was Mr. Steve Greenberg, who ended up signing us to his new label
S-Curve records. The following year we began writing and recording our first
album.
What do you think about other "family-band" like Hanson, Cleopatra and..why
not The Bee Gees and Mamas and Papas?
Its funny you ask that question about our feelings towards other
"family bands". Steve Greenberg actually worked on the "Hanson" family
project, which made us feel good about working with him. Family groups really
intrigue us. We feel like we can relate to them because we are getting to
experience what it is like to, not only, live with but work side by side,
everyday with the people you love. There is something that happens when voices
from the same gene pool blend together in a harmonic arrangement....its as if
these voices-together-make up the one sound that defines them. Without each
distinctive members tone, it would not exist.
There is a special place in our hearts for families that can do this job
together, and do it well.
I'm speaking from Italy...what do you think about the Italian music, band and
singer?
Well, as we mentioned earlier, our parents made sure to encourage us to be
open to all types of music. Italian Music, French music, American music....it
all has a common central theme to it...its purpose is to express, and to reach
out and touch lives. Music is universal. We believe that we are all part of
this "one song", it just depends on how each individual chooses to sing it. If
people could listen to music with their hearts instead of just their ears,
then the boundaries of language and culture would disappear.
When are you coming to Italy for a show???
We would love to come to Italy to perform a show in the future. We have no
immediate plans to come over, but if people are interested in hearing/seeing
us then we would definitely want to oblige.
Yours first album are really good! Which song do you like so much and
why?
Thank you. We are really proud of the work we put into it. We really love
each song individually for its own merits so it is difficult to choose
favorites, but there are a few songs on the album that have special meaning
for us. The last song on the album, "Emily" is a song we used to sing in our
pre-record deal act and it is a song our mother sings on with us so it is very
special. "Decisions" is another important song to us because we wrote it from
our own experience. We know there are a lot of people out there who can relate
or who might need to hear a song that helps them to come to the right "decision"
in their life. "Stop! Stay away from my sister" and "You Make Me Feel Like a
Star" are two songs that remind us we are sisters and that no matter what
happens, nothing will come between us.
"Stop" is about being a protective big sister, and "...Star" is about loving
people for who they are and making them feel like the "Star" in your life.
In the future with which artists would you like to experiment a collaboration?
We would love to collaborate with an artist or group with whom we had
a great creative synergy. I couldn't say exactly who that would be, but we
are always open to whoever is suppose to come into our lives. Maybe Stevie
Wonder, or Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, or Madonna even....who's to say?
We believe everything happens for a reason, and timing is everything. So when
it is the right time, I'm sure the right person will cross our paths.
At this point we are just getting used to collaborating with each other.
You have realized a wonderful video for the song called "I was only 17".
Where do you have realized it?
Our video for "I was Only 17" was an incredible experience. We worked
with director Sophie Muller, who was open to collaborating with us to come up
with the concept, the locations and even the styling of the video. We filmed
the video basically right in our backyard....in our hometown in Florida. We
recruited our family and friends to be background actors in our video, and we
even costumed everyone in clothes from our local thrift shops and Good Will
stores. Our sister, Jilaine, made a few of the costumes (she is a
designer/seamstress). We shot the video for 2 days in mid August. We all
had a wonderful time and we are very proud of the way it turned out.
Last question: any message for the Italian fans connected in this time with
"Palcoscenico"....
The one message we are all in agreement about is, sending out a
message of love to all the fans of music everywhere in the world. Love is what
keeps peace, joy and hope circulating the planet, and music is a way to
translate that love to people who may not speak your language or share your
same cultural background. A smile means the same thing in every language and
if we can help to make one person smile then we can smile in return. Thank you
all for taking the time to read this article and find out about us. We
especially thank you for listening to the music we have made and for all the
encouragement we have received
a
cura di LUCA CIRILLO
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