CDB

CDB are back! Original members Andrew De Silva, brothers Gary and Brad Pinto and Danny Williams, celebrate their 90s R&B heroes with iconic hits from Boyz II Men, Montell Jordan, SWV, R Kelly and many more on their new album Tailored For Now. Hi Fi Way: The Pop Chronicles caught up with Andrew De Silva about the album and their future plans.

Great to see CDB back in action, it feels like it has been awhile?It has been ages! Certainly has been ages, we’ve been doing the odd show over the years here and there. About two years ago we did a show with Salt ‘n Pepa and the penny dropped. We just looked at each other and said we should do a show of nineties classics and bring that whole atmosphere back again in a concert. Then Warners Music were interested in us doing an album of this stuff, so here we are, we’ve done this new album called Tailored For Now which is nineties R&B super jams with songs that shaped our lives and inspired us to do what we wanted to do.

Was it more than just the penny dropping? Do you miss being in a band with brothers and that feeling we should be doing this more often?
Yeah, it would have to be the people as well like the audience as well. Audiences have been asking when we do the odd show when are we going to record again and we need to have more of this. I think for us we all do other things in the music industry but when we are together it is like a band of brothers getting back together again and just having a good time. In this music industry I think timing is everything and I believe at the moment it is the right season to be doing this again.

Things seem to go in cycles with essentially what is old is new again. It must be great knowing that people want to hear the music again?
Exactly, all the nineties kids have grown up now and still want to go out and experience that again. That is what we want to do is bring that whole showcase of how it is live as well, with the production and dance moves and all that kind of stuff. The atmosphere as well is really uplifting, so it’s a party and our main aim is to give people a good time.

Have you noticed a generational change where a younger audience or the kids of the nineties fans are coming to shows?
It is going to be interesting to see if that is going to happen. At a couple of our shows they have been parents with their teenage kids as well. It will be really interesting when we hit the road again to meet the audiences.

Being a bit older how are you going with all the dance moves?
Personally, I’m probably more fitter than I was in my twenties. In my twenties I could do anything I wanted to do and I would bounce back the next day whereas now I have to be really fit and healthy as I do a lot of other shows as well such as Boom Crash Opera and Purple Evolution. I do a lot of live shows that are really demanding. For me, I have to keep relatively on my game and this CDB show is in another league of its own. There’s a lot more dance moves than other show. We’re still able to do it, may we’ll only do the one show and drop dead after that but we’ll see how we go.

Going back to 1994 was that really like living the dream?
Yeah and at the same time there is a level of innocence when you’re that old in the sense that I had this feeling deep down that doesn’t happen to everyone. We got signed and had a hit song, touring and when we won the ARIA someone kept it under the front seat of their car for a couple of months and no one knew where it was. We were so in our own little world, very thankful to be there but at the same time it was happening so fast that we lost our heads in it. We were just thinking about the next song or the next song, it was good!

With the resurgence now do you think you’ll be able to enjoy it more and take it all in compared to back then?
Yeah, exactly and I think this time our main aim is just to really enjoy it because I know when we enjoy it everyone else will as well. All the hard work is done for CDB in that people know who we are and what we have done so we want to make people feel something and have a good time.

Do you think bands/artists have forgotten how to have a good time?
Just in general with the world there’s lots of stuff going on at the moment and the pressure in the music industry in that you either make it or don’t make it. For us we have been in the industry for quite a while and it is a celebration more than anything for us. We want to hit the road and bring people together and just remember the good times and show people that we’re still here loving what we’re doing. We love what we do and that’s what I say to young artists that it’s not about being famous it is about loving what you do. When you love what you do other people will love as well and see the passion, that’s our purpose in the world that night when they come to watch the show to make them feel something and then go home. Simple as that!

Were the songs on Tailored For Now personal favourites or ones begging to be given the CBD touch up?
We wanted to do the big, massive songs that everyone is going to know such as Bobby Brown’s Every Little Step, Boys II Men’s End Of The Road and those were songs that were worldwide smashes. There are other songs that mainly R&B fans would know such as Just Got Paid by Johnny Kemp that is going back to the start of that new jack swing sound. There is a little bit of something for everyone there.

Were those songs fun to record?
Absolutely, what we wanted to do with the songs was to give them that real CDB stamp such as This Is How We Do It is so iconic we have to pretend this song is ours now, how are we going to do it? How would we flip those harmonies around, the beat and all that kind of stuff.

Was it good not having any pressure or expectations for this record?
Well, we were under a tight time frame and we did the whole album in just under two months. That worked in our favour as well as producer of the album as I didn’t really have the chance to second guess myself. We went in with an instinct of how I wanted to approach the songs. There was a little bit of pressure as we have been away for a while and we have to show people what we can do again. That is a good thing to have always, there’s a level of anticipation for us to get back together and to be doing this again. The response has just been amazing and now they’re waiting for the shows. This album is the opening act for us to get back out there and create that atmosphere of the nineties.

Interview by Rob Lyon

Aussie favourites CDB are excited to announce New shows in Sydney & Melbourne this August! In addition to touring nationally with Keith Sweat, CDB will be performing all of their past hits & tracks off their latest Top 10 Album: Tailored for Now.

Keith Sweat feat CDB Australian Tour this July & August:
For more info, go to: http://frontiertouring.com/keithsweat

CDB Show Dates – R&B Super Jam:
Friday 18th August – 170 Russell, Melbourne
Friday 29th September – The Basement, Sydney
Saturday 30th September – The Basement, Sydney

Tickets for all shows are ON SALE NOW!