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On His Own
BY BILL BISS, Buzz Columnist
Jeff Timmons is a renegade -- not only has he
taken a break from the boy band 98 Degrees, but he chose to break out
independently. Jeff is doing everything on his own, from marketing to promoting
radio relationships for his new CD entitled Whisper That Way. It is commendable
to go in this direction and not be swayed by having to conform to all the
packaging and hype of some of the major labels.
 I
had the chance to talk with Jeff about his career, debut album and feeling sexy.
Do you feel you've grown as an artist since
your hiatus from 98 Degrees?
I definitely think so. Taking time away from
the group and spending time in the studio and writing about what's going on in
my personal life getting to do this album on my own really taught me a lot about
enhancing my craft.
What do you feel you have gained by having
total control over your solo debut?
Having total control means you get to create
and be the person in charge of the entire project. The product is exactly what I
want it to be. When you are with a major label, you have a lot of cooks in the
kitchen. They kind of twist what you do to what they want to put out and market.
This is the best possible project I could do
on my own.
When was the first moment in the music
business when you found yourself completely star struck?
I was really star struck when I met Stevie
Wonder. We did a collaboration with him on Disney's Mulan soundtrack. He is an
idol of mine. He is the most humble and down to earth musician. It was a real
inspiration meeting him.
You are considered sexy by women and gay
men alike. A lot of the boy bands have this sort of cross following. How does
this make you feel?
I'm completely flattered that anybody would
find me attractive at all. I did consider myself kind of a nerd. I never found
my niche group of friends to hang out with. I was a late, late bloomer. Girls
were like "he's the cute little friend." To be looked at in a sexual way by
anybody is quite flattering.
Let's talk about some of the songs. "Be the
One" is a classic ballad.
I wrote that awhile back about my wife. Having
Jim Brickman playing piano with me on that song makes me feel great. I don't
play any instruments and programmed most of the album.
I originally wasn't going to put it on the
album. I played the song for Jim and it was like "you have to put this song on
the album. It's your classic radio ballad."
My favorite song on Whisper This Way is
"Rainbow." The reason being is that the song has a Michael Jackson touch to it.
Good job! I love you! You're perfect. I'd like
you to do every interview for the rest of my life. You're asking all the right
questions and you're picking all the right songs. "Rainbow" is my favorite as
well. It's got a little retro Michael Jackson feel to it with that old Off the
Wall sound.
Thanks. I look forward to seeing you at
Humphrey's on Oct. 8. |
