Midwest BEAT Magazine

    The newest musical import from the land of the Union Jack is BBMak, whose moniker is an anagram taken from the last names of its three members -Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Steven "Ste" McNally - hailing respectively from Manchester, Wigan and Liverpool.

     Their debut CD -"Sooner Or Later" - entered the Billboard Heatseekers Chart at number one in late spring. Their debut single, "Back Here," hit the Top 10 and their new sophomore single, "Still On Your Side," is likewise expected to burn up the charts.

     To celebrate their album being certified "gold," BBMak kick off their first headline tour on October 24 at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. Joining them on the road will be their Hollywood Records label mate, Jessica Riddle. Catch them at Chicago's House of Blues on November 3.

BREAKIN' BIG...

    After their album hit the Heatseekers Chart, BBMak was added to this summer's Britney Spears tour. Playing outdoor sheds with the "not that innocent" one, brought BBMak's acoustic pop sound to the masses.

    When you compound that exposure with a singing cameo appearance on the hit daytime drama, "All My Children," and a high profile guest spot on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," BBMak have come a long, long way since I first met them last spring at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago during a radio/press tour.

      At that time, the somewhat shy trio were virtual unknowns on these shores. Their debut album for Hollywood Records was still a few weeks away from being released at that point and they were trying to promote a few spins of their advance single and get a little ink. Now you can't pass a magazine rack without seeing their faces looking out from the glossy covers of national teen magazines.

     I am proud to say, I was the only print interview they did on their first visit to Chicago and Midwest Beat was the first publication to introduce BBMak to this market.

     Now, just five months later, journalists all over America are standing in line and taking numbers to chat with these sexy and talented Brit boys. Over the summer, I slipped backstage a few times to chat with the guys and can attest that success has not gone to their heads. BBMak are still the same sweet and kinda shy guys they were when we first met.

    The only difference is that they are no longer the teen world's best kept secret. In fact, they are no longer just limited to the teen world. Sure, they are the bomb on youth-minded shows like "TRL," "Slime Time Live," "Snick House," or when they starred in a Disney Channel "In Concert Special," but lots of teen acts do those shows.

BREAKIN' DOWN BARRIERS...

     BBMak set a new precedent, shocked the show biz industry and broke down barriers, when they invaded the GQ world of high finance by strumming and singing in-between Wall Street reports and world events on CNBC's "Power Lunch" program. That daring move landed BBMak as the subject of a feature article in the recording industry bible, Billboard Magazine. Appearances on programs like "CNN Showbiz" and "CBS This Morning" have endeared them further with the adult market share of music buyers.

    They write their own songs (mostly), play their own instruments and sing songs with a little more substance than "boy bands," a genre the media first tried to lump them into.

    Burns bristles at comparisons to the Backstreet Boys, N'Sync and others. "We've nothing bad to say about those groups, but we don't dance and do other people's music. We play our instruments and write our songs. We just do what we do."

BREAKIN' OUT...

    Sadly, most of America think BBMak just strum guitars and sing. In reality, they are a full band. They have a full time rhythm section, that unfortunately have had little opportunity to get on stage since the group started performing in the U.S. On the Britney tour, they had to play live acoustic guitars and sing over taped rhythm tracks.

    Those who saw the band perform live on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (July 8), got the see the BBMak as they like to be seen, as a full on band, rhythm section and all. That's the kind of show they will give their fans now that they are out headlining.

BREAKIN' DOWN THE BAND...

     "We've known each other for nearly five years," said Barry, "and now we share a flat together back home. We met while we were in other bands playing (the circuit) in England. Our bands sometimes did gigs together so we all got to be friends."

     "I started playing the guitar when I was 14, about seven years ago," said McNally. "I grew up and seeing musicians on the TV like Eric Clapton and Slash (of Guns 'N Roses). Watching artists like that got me into playing the guitar."

    "I've also been playing guitar for about seven years," said Burns, who ranks The Beatles high on his list of influences. "I loved their songs, the way they sang the songs, the harmonies and the way they'd trade off on lead vocal parts. Their music was and still is amazing and inspiring."

    While he just sings in BBMak, Barry is also an accomplished musician. "I play instruments not generally used in a pop band," he said. Barry blows Irish Whistle on their album cut, "Again," and fans know (thanks to their televised "Disney In Concert" performance) that Barry also plays bagpipes.

    "Yes, it's true," he laughs. "I've played the bagpipes for eleven years now. I love 'em. I've also been playing keyboards for about three years as well. For about a year now, I've been working on playing guitar. The other guys are helping me with that."

     "As far as our music and songs are concerned the Beatles have been the biggest influence for us collectively," said McNally.

    As vocalists, the trio collectively toss out names like Stevie Wonder, D'Angelo, Boyz II Men and even our region wonders, The Jackson 5, as being influential.

BREAKIN' OUTTA THE "BOY BAND" STIGMA...

   BBMak says the large teen phenomenon happening now in the United States is being mirrored in the U.K. as well.   "There's a lot of boy-bands who are very popular over there like Westlife and Five," said McNally. And girl bands too, like Ireland's B*Witched."

    BBMak is a cut above those acts in many ways. Not to put down those groups, for like most teenage girls, I listen and like most of them. BBMak may be young and cute, but their music is much different than the slick pop fodder of an N'Sync or BSB. Their songs have more maturity and warmth than those of the pre-fab groups.

     "We wrote seven of the twelve songs on our first album," says Burns. "The others are songs we'd heard that other writers had done, which we felt we could do a good job on."

BREAKIN' AMERICA...

     "We actually had gotten our record deal while we were in England. Then when we'd recorded the album, we went to Asia to promote it and things went really well," explains McNally. "Our single, 'Back Here,' went to number one in five countries in Asia. Our original plan after breaking the record in Asia, was to concentrate on Europe, but some U.S. radio guy picked up on our song ("Back Here") last year and started playing it."

     Other stations added the song, as teens began flooding request lines for the fresh BBMak sound. Suddenly, there was a buzz on BBMak and the A&R folks at the Mouse House smelled a new brand of "teen spirit" brewing. Disney-owned Hollywood Records signed BBMak to a U.S. deal and the group's focus shifted from Europe to conquering America.

    "Once the record started getting radio play and we signed with Hollywood, we gave up on the idea to push on to Europe because the kids in the U.S. were connecting with our song," continued McNally. "We've been just incredibly busy over here ever since."

    "We're not complaining," insists Barry. "But some days things get pretty rough. You do a concert, then rush to the airport to fly to a different city to do a television show, then you rush out of the television studio to catch another plane for a show in some other city."

    "On the up side, we've learned how to sleep in a variety of positions," joked McNally. "Sitting, standing, leaning... wherever you can close your eyes for a few minutes, you do."

    That their current fan base is largely teenage is totally cool with BBMak. "We love our fans," said Barry. "Rock 'n' roll or pop music or whatever you want to call it, has always been teen music. Look at the Beatles. Look at Elvis. When they started out, their fans were all teens too. As a musician, if your songs are good, your fans stay with you and grow with you."

    "We are young ourselves," added McNally, "so why shouldn't we have young
fans relating to our music? Our fans are the best!"