You'd be wise to keep your ears and eyes on singer, songwriter George. Under the tutelage of The Backstreet Boys' Howie Dorough, the multi-talented Toronto-based George appears destined for a ride with stardom. With his debut CD Believe featuring the hit song "Talk to Me" currently garnering major radio airplay, and a performance this Saturday evening at Plush Nightclub, we spent 24 Seconds with George and Howie D.
24 hours: What are some of the inspirations and stories that brought you to this point?
George: This is an album that really represents my life ... what I've gone through. I've really studied people like Prince, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, even the Backstreet Boys. I've listened to their songs and music and why they are classics, and that's what I tried to do on the album ... as well as connecting to the message of my music. :thumbs:
24 hours: How did the two of you connect together?
Howie D: We met a little over a year ago. I have a friend in the business from Toronto who was in a group called 3 Deep, and we've known each other for about 10 years ... just from the whole "boy band" era. We kept in touch, and he was working with George, and he approached me to see if I was interested in doing some writing. I really felt compelled to his [George's] music. He's a true artist. He plays piano, guitar, harmonica; he sings and dances, so I really felt like he had a message behind his music as well. He seemed like he had the true package of being an artist; he had the true work ethic, a humble guy and actually comes from an entertainment family ... his uncle is Kevin Bacon, so I knew he was a true entertainer.
24 hours: Having been through the perpetual superstardom, what kind of advice did Howie give you?
George: The idea of celebrity isn't something that Howie has let get to his head ... and I don't want to buy into that stuff. I think it's really important to stay grounded and stay focused to the music, because that's the reason that this is all happening. :broken:
24 hours: You talked about Michael Jackson and Howie mentioned that you can dance your butt off ... what are you like on-stage?
George: There are two sides. For intimate shows, I'm just sharing my music and talking to the fans and reaching out to them. For the club tracks, it's a little bit different, it's more like Usher ... being on-stage dancing and performing and just being in the song, so every night, it's a different night, it's a different show, and it's a different side of who I am as an artist and as a person. :superhapp
24 hours: Canada was good to the Backstreet Boys. Is Canada still a good breeding ground for musicians and new artists?
Howie D: I definitely think so ... that's why we decided to break George here. Not only the fact that he's Canadian and it feels natural here, Canada's always been open arms to good pop music and the fans here are unbelieveable ... this was the first place in the world that we went Diamond in record sales.
24 hours: If we pull this interview out five years from now, where is George?
George: Hopefully, I've finished a world tour and I'm just connecting to the people that appreciate my music. Learning from Howie, it's really important to give back. :biggrin:
24 Hours Vancouer
24 hours: What are some of the inspirations and stories that brought you to this point?
George: This is an album that really represents my life ... what I've gone through. I've really studied people like Prince, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, even the Backstreet Boys. I've listened to their songs and music and why they are classics, and that's what I tried to do on the album ... as well as connecting to the message of my music. :thumbs:
24 hours: How did the two of you connect together?
Howie D: We met a little over a year ago. I have a friend in the business from Toronto who was in a group called 3 Deep, and we've known each other for about 10 years ... just from the whole "boy band" era. We kept in touch, and he was working with George, and he approached me to see if I was interested in doing some writing. I really felt compelled to his [George's] music. He's a true artist. He plays piano, guitar, harmonica; he sings and dances, so I really felt like he had a message behind his music as well. He seemed like he had the true package of being an artist; he had the true work ethic, a humble guy and actually comes from an entertainment family ... his uncle is Kevin Bacon, so I knew he was a true entertainer.
24 hours: Having been through the perpetual superstardom, what kind of advice did Howie give you?
George: The idea of celebrity isn't something that Howie has let get to his head ... and I don't want to buy into that stuff. I think it's really important to stay grounded and stay focused to the music, because that's the reason that this is all happening. :broken:
24 hours: You talked about Michael Jackson and Howie mentioned that you can dance your butt off ... what are you like on-stage?
George: There are two sides. For intimate shows, I'm just sharing my music and talking to the fans and reaching out to them. For the club tracks, it's a little bit different, it's more like Usher ... being on-stage dancing and performing and just being in the song, so every night, it's a different night, it's a different show, and it's a different side of who I am as an artist and as a person. :superhapp
24 hours: Canada was good to the Backstreet Boys. Is Canada still a good breeding ground for musicians and new artists?
Howie D: I definitely think so ... that's why we decided to break George here. Not only the fact that he's Canadian and it feels natural here, Canada's always been open arms to good pop music and the fans here are unbelieveable ... this was the first place in the world that we went Diamond in record sales.
24 hours: If we pull this interview out five years from now, where is George?
George: Hopefully, I've finished a world tour and I'm just connecting to the people that appreciate my music. Learning from Howie, it's really important to give back. :biggrin:
24 Hours Vancouer
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