March 13, 2023 • 59 mins
I’m Still in Love With You Johnny Gill!
As New Edition celebrates 40 years and prepares to head out on tour, Johnny joins the pod to look at events of the past as well as what lies ahead!
From amazing stories of Whitney Houston, to details of the band’s inner struggles, to which member was against him joining the group…AND rumors of a Vegas residency!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is Frosted Tips with Lance Bass and my heart
reading a podcast. Hello, my little Peanuts, it's me your host,
Lance Bass. This is Frosted Tips with me, Lance Bass
and my co host dark At Durchin. Hey, guys, I
just want to say Lance, it's not that little what nothing? Wait? What?
(00:25):
What did you? What do you try to say? Why
are you trying to start the show with what? I'm sorry,
I was her little peanut. Okay, what to support you? Okay,
you're great, You're great. Um, all right. Today I am
super excited because we have a member of a group
that kind of started it all for many other groups
(00:46):
like In Sync, Backstreet, New Editions. Johnny gil is on
the show today. I'm excited to really get to know
him because you know, I was a kid, like really
young when he started his solo career and then join
New Addition. Um, so it's kind of the first memories
of listening to R and B music as a kid
(01:08):
was New Addition. Yeah yeah, um. And then of course
I became like a big Bobby Brown fan because everyone
in junior high was it was like, oh Bobby Brown,
my prerogative. Um, but he came in right when Bobby left. Yeah,
I don't really know. Well, I mean he kind of
was asked to leave, but I don't know that whole story.
We'll wait till Bobby comes on this show just to
explain it. Brown. I mean, I'm sure they're antics, mum,
(01:32):
So I'm excited for him to come. He's coming on
in just a couple of minutes. But in the meantime,
what has been going on? Turkey Church and you just well,
you had your LA Art show a couple of weeks
ago that to not talk about, No, uh, that was fun.
We did talk about a little bit a little bit.
It was good. You know. This year, I have to
say what, I didn't really enjoy it. No. I usually
go to the LA and it's great, and La r
(01:52):
Show is awesome. It's one of the biggest art shows
on the planet. And I usually find some pieces that
I just are obsessed with that I can't afford, but
I'm obsessed with. I didn't find but maybe a couple
of those. This year. There were a few. But also
we we only saw like I think, like a third
of the art there because all I went through almost
all the know, there were still so many other out
because we had our kids with us, and they were
(02:14):
going a little cuckoo. After like an hour of being there,
they did good. It's like our attention span was just
cut real short. People were loving Alexander like. People were
just coming asking if they could take pictures of Alexander
was like a piece of art walking around. He was
being orner room. He was running up and down the
aisles of laughing. Would not be held, had to walk,
had to run making a scene. Yeah, I'm like, there's
(02:35):
so much priceless art in here, Oh my gosh. And
he's like, watch out, I'm a priceless odd. I'm gonna
walk around like a cool baby. He's getting so ornery.
Now he's dancing. Oh my gosh. We're gonna talk about
with Johnny. He knows how to groove now, keeps the
beat he does. He claps on beat. Yeah, but he's
been clapping on beat for months now. I know he's
(02:58):
gonna be something with Rith. Yeah, maybe a rhythmic dancer
in the Olympics or Chippendale's dancer. I know I will
support whatever whatever he wants to choose. Whatever he chooses.
Pilots not so much. She doesn't respond to music as
much as he does no. No, she's a reader. He's
a music listener exactly. Yeah, she's gonna be the studious ones.
(03:18):
She's very STUDI speaking of studious, we uh, you know,
we've we have our baby classes every once a week
we have Yeah, we usually hosted at our house where
we have a little playgroup where a woman, their teacher
comes in and she sings them so well, it's so
important because we have COVID babies right there, all COVID babies.
That's gonna be fun the rest of their lives. And
so they were born not really getting to mingle with
(03:41):
their babies and kids. So now that you know, we're
all vaccinated and you know, we can be around people. Yeah,
it's important for them to be around kids their own
age and even a little older. I think if they
hang with older kids, they learn a little faster. I
would imagine, I don't know, these our first kids, they
see the bigger kids doing something and they want to
be like, yeah, so we just had to do this
kind of music class once a week. And we have
(04:03):
lots of friends that have just happened to have babies.
I know. It's the same. It's a very boogie baby club.
It is bougie. It's it's very bougie. So and this
is just how our class ended like ended up being.
So it started with us in Pandora Todd, who is
Lisa vander Pump's daughter. So Lisa Vanderpump's grandson is our
kid's best friend. Yes, because she is the godmother to them.
(04:27):
So we decided let's start a class. They because Teddy
doesn't really hang with kids, um, and so like, okay,
we need to really mingle who has kids. So then
we call Darren Chris and his wife who just had
a baby like the months after us. Bluesy the kid
goodest little chairs. So actually, all these kids are so cute.
I don't know what happened, but they all they're good
(04:50):
looking babies. But I mean they're just all like gap
gap models. They are. I thought our babies were cute,
but they guys, I'm cute cut Yeah, So then you know,
we added them, and then uh, our Lisa, you know,
giggles out there. She's friends with what's her name's nanny Halseys,
Halsey's nanny, and they were talking. She's like, oh, they've
(05:12):
been wanting to join a group. So now we have
Halsey's kid. Yeah. And then and the thing which we
can't take pictures of. So yeah, she's very proud. It's
very pride, which I totally respect. But he is a cute,
handsome little credit super handsome kid too, just so cute. Huh.
And then we just added then we have GT, our
friends g t GT, who owns the biggest kobocha company. Yeah,
(05:35):
if you don't know kemp komboocha out there, um it
for me, it's amazing. It really works for me. It's
it's that probiotic Lance loves I do. I drink it
every day because I feel regular. I got just it does.
It makes me feel good. I mean Lance talks about
MBO like the cast of My Big Greek Wedding talks
about because I think it. But I think it helps
(05:57):
people out there. I really do research it. If it
works for you, you don't you know, you don't even
drink much of it. I don't try to. I just
don't like the taste. I don't remind the taste either,
but like, yeah, it'll make you go to the bathroom
very like it. It'll regulate you. Let's see, that's what
I need. Yeah, I trust me. You do oh in
the bathroom like five times a day. I like, did
you drink no? Yeah, But anyway, he owns the toilet.
(06:20):
Say well, I'm toilet saying on air. Maybe I'll get
you to drink your kombucha. Okay. Anyway, his kids are ina,
he has two kids out of the same age as ours. Um.
And then we just added so yeah, Jesse b Yeah,
Jesse Bradford who I'm not seeing Jesse Bradford since the nineties. Yeah.
But him and his wife amazing people. Um. And again
they're kids. It's so cute. It's gonna be the older kids.
(06:42):
He's a year or two years almost two years. Um,
So she's gonna be the good influence. By the way,
I've now realized, Alexandre, you know how you don't want
your kids to hang out with certain kids, and you're
gonna be like, you're not hanging out with that kid. No,
he's that kid. He has that kid. He is that kid,
and he's turning Violet that way. I know she has
a new had but now because of him, where he goes,
she goes into planters in our house. We have some
(07:03):
big trees in our house, and she'll scoop up the
dirt in her hand and just throw it on. She
was the perfect kid until she started copying what he does. Yeah,
so he's that guy. I was talking to Pandora about that,
and Teddy's just the sweetest innocent thing. For long he
started doing some of the things that you know Alexander
was doing. I'm like, I'm that parent of that kid. Yes, no,
(07:24):
Oh he's so ornery. I love it, but in the
best way. Oh what a little scraped his whole face
the other day, just fell right off the thing, right
into a cement cement bench. Yeh, scraped his nose. H.
He's an angel. Good times, good times. Um, whoa, We
need to get to this interview. What are we doing
talking about our babies? Who cares about them? We should
start our own little baby podcast called Scram Kids. Scram Kids,
(07:48):
all right, Uh, let's get to well, maybe take a
little break right now, we come back where you're gonna
have mister Johnny all right, please welcome to the show.
(08:10):
Johnny gil Junior singer actor from Washington, d C. Sixth
and final member of the R and B pop group
New Edition was also a member of the supergroup Lsguh.
Keith sweat Hello. Gil has released eight solo albums, three
albums with a New Edition, two albums with the LSG,
one collaborative album with Stacy let Us All. Gil sold
over fifteen million copies worldwide as a solo artist. Johnny Gil,
(08:33):
Welcome to Frosted Tips, my man, Thank you. I'm an
old lion now and I try to listen to all
that stuff. I'm like, whos you have lived? You have lived?
And I see your sweating your butt off right now
because you're in the middle of rehearsals for the Legacy
tour coming out. When when can we see you on
the tour? We start March and we take off, so
(08:54):
thirty one cities, We're all over the place. So I've
been in there, like trying to use the motor oil
everything to kind of screw, you know, to get into
these joints and stuff. Yeah. Yeah, how are those knees feeling?
I feel, because I mean, you're in the same boat
that I was. You started young. You get into New Edition,
what age what nineteen or something like that? Yeah, yeah,
(09:16):
what was crazy? When when the guys started I was
I just started saying here, but I was I was
from Washington, d c. And it's just ironic. We ended
up starting the same year and then I came in
a few years later after um Bobby left. But it's
it was interesting, how you know, what a coincidence that
(09:37):
you know, I started the same year. So we're all
celebrating now this year. I know it's been forty years,
but we're gonna get into that. So, Okay, you're born
in Washington, d C. Take us back, Johnny, what was
it like growing up in your town? I know you're
a preacher's son. What was your life like as as
little Johnny? Don't say that through that because you know
(09:59):
people start cringe when you say a peak, But were
you that typical preacher's kid though? Getting in trouble? But
you know, it's crazy for me honestly, Um, being in
this business for forty years. Uh, the foundation from from
(10:22):
my dad being a minister and coming from church. There
was a lot of things that I saw a lot
of things that I could have gotten myself into that
I never did simply only because little siege that were
planned and from coming from that from there, and I
think that really really grounded me over the years and
being in this business. I'm not saying I didn't have
my challenges like anyone else, but I just didn't you know,
(10:44):
I knew how far to go. Yeah, I find a
good comma denominator with all of these guy groups out
there is starting in church, I would say, the majority.
That's where they kind of learned how to sing, how
to harmonize, get that soul in their voice. Um, did
all the members of your groups start in church? Also? No?
Just me? Um? You know the other an other guys
(11:07):
were just a little hood rath and stuff. I love. Yeah.
They actually they all from Boston and uh they they
they came from the projects and it's crazy how our
lives just really intertwined. But it was man truly. Um,
I often say it was just state. I mean how everything,
how everything happened, because, like I said, I started had
(11:28):
a few records before I didn't the group. So yeah,
because you were sixteen years old when you started, same
age as me. Um, how how did you get discovered?
Because I know you did a demo and I want
to say Stacy at us all was involved. Yeah, discovering
you tell us that story. Stacy at that time was
(11:49):
the hottest you know. Uh, she was that that that
girl that uh you know at the time that everybody
was you know, it was her and I think in
Janet maybe at the time. Oh and how did you
know Stacy? But we grew up in the say, went
to the same school, went to elementary and JA High.
And we used to sing in a glee club in
(12:09):
the elementary and that's how we actually met um singing
in the glee club. Then then her place was like
the hangout spot, like we would go over there, like
all the kids would go over after school. Like her
place was like Disneyland for us. How do we go?
We would go go card ride, we'd go through the
movies that get the whole gang. We played volleyball, I
mean everything took place over her place. That was the
(12:32):
that was our our meeting grounds. How were you able
to finish school because at sixteen you're obviously on the road.
Did you have tutors and anything like that? Yeah, so
Stacey and I both um had tutors, and after we
we did a couple of years in tutor Junior High
and then we got tutors and I was like, man,
where has this been all my life? Because I can
(12:54):
I tell you, I don't know what it was about
school but I used to dread just getting up, trying
to get the air and then stuff. I don't know,
I just always had this thing about it. But it
was that was the thing that ever happened when we
uh suits, and it was like, I get up, eat
whenever I want. It's so true. I still have nightmares
to this day. I'm having to get up and go
to school, like multiple times a week. That's another common
(13:17):
denominator too. I think artists they just don't care about school.
It was a good place I loved. I loved having
friends and it was a social thing. But school I
just I didn't enjoy it and it was boring to me.
It was just boring. Yeah, I needed more. I need
more action. Yep. That was the same way and a
weird thing about me growing up. I used to wear
(13:39):
suits to school. Give it up, flies. I think I
was dressing for success. Just didn't know it. Yeah, well,
you're dressed for success right now. I need that jacket
that you're wearing. Oh thank you. I just bringing another top.
I was like, I can't go on here looking with
my sweatsuit on drenched. Oh well, congratulations on your debut
(14:04):
debut solo album forty years this year, Yes, take us
back to doing that first album, because I mean, you're
so young. Um, did you know even what you were
doing in a studio at that point? No? But you know,
I was like maybe fifteen when we started recording, and
I worked with a guy by the name of Freddy
(14:24):
Parren who wrote, um, oh my god, tons of hits
from ABC, I want you back for the Jackson nine.
The list goes on the stuff that he did, you know,
But I as a kid growing up and having an
opportunity to work with him, he taught me so much.
(14:45):
And I and as I began to record and began
to learn my way around the whole process, he was
so patient with me. But and yet at the same time,
he was so encourage. He was really really supportive and
uh and watching me because I played different instruments. He
really encouraged me about just playing and writing and doing
those kind of things. So I knew I was on
(15:05):
my way and I was in great, great hands at
least when I first started working with him, you know,
and the rest was just history. And at that age,
who who did you respect? Who influenced you at such
a young age, I mean fifteen years old, knowing I'm
going to be a professional singer. I mean, who who
did that for you? My dear friend and my dear
brother to this day, Stevie wonder h Stevie, Donnie Half
(15:28):
of the Way, Peebo Bryson, Jeffrey Osborne, Luther Vandross. It
was Teddy Pendergrass. It was all of that that, you know,
the influence that that I from all of them guys
that I truly cheerished. And I can imagine you've become
(15:49):
pretty good friends with most of those guys that you
have named. What is it like for for fifteen year
old Johnny Gildville, Like, oh my gosh, I'm actually friends
with my idols right now. You know, it's the craziest thing.
And I've often said this, it's like still to me,
the weird the craziest, the weirdest thing. Actually, it's like,
you know, I've often said, there's so many you know,
(16:12):
you in this business. We've you know, so you know,
gott have gotten so many accolades and over our years
of being in the business, but my greatest rewards are
my friends and people like Stevie. It's like, you know,
sometimes we're on the phone and we're talking and we
just and we most people, it's not pg kind of stuff.
We talk about going at each other elected dozens all
(16:33):
the time, So so funny. Sometimes we're going at it
and everybody's laughing. Uh, and it never I mean, that's
what happens whenever we're together. So it's so funny because
sometimes we would call me and we talk and we're
laughing at some point saying something stupid to hang up,
and then it hits me every now and then and
I'm going, Jesus Christ, um damn, Yeah, what is my life? Yeah? Like,
(16:58):
what did I do to deserve this? I don't know.
All those guys, who's the quickest to return a text?
All those guys it was quick? Um, wow, that's good.
I would say Luke when he was a lie Luther.
But I would say, uh m hmmm. I would say.
I'd say Jeffrey, yeah, out of the group. If yeah,
(17:22):
I would say, oh, Ralph, no, no, nothing, No. Ralph
and I talked the most. Uh, Mike, I'd say, Mike,
he's gonna go on it, you know. At some point,
let's go to nineteen eighty seven. I always say the
best year ever. I just I mean, I was only
eight years old. But for some reason, the music, the movies,
(17:43):
everything that came out in eighty seven just stuck with me.
I just it really changed my life. Michael here was
born in eighty seven, so it like makes me want
to throw up, um, but I know I get told
this all the time. Yeah, so eighty seven you join
you at now New Edition had been going strong and
then how did you get the call? Because I know
(18:05):
Bobby was leaving and I believe another member was leaving too,
but ended up saying if it, Let's think was was
contemplating he wasn't leave. Actually, he was contemplating what he
was going to do a sol right, And I think
the guys kind of was concerned with what was going
to happen with them as far as if Ralph does
a solo. They were kind of panicking that, oh, well,
(18:26):
maybe you won't return if if he does a solo
project and it's successful, ba blah blah. So that's how
I ended up. I didn't know that at the time
when they had asked me about coming to join the
group Ralph. At one point Ralph didn't even know about
it because they were on hiatus. But it was like
they knew that. When they asked me about joining the group,
they was just talking telling me about wanting to go
(18:47):
back to a five member because the choreography looked more
effective about blah blah. So I'm just thinking, oh, okay,
all right, and I was like, I gotta think about
this and and ponder with it. But it's like it
was it was just one of those things where we
where we went to Minneapolis, we was working with Jimmy
jamm and Terry Lewis. We went into the into the
(19:08):
boardroom and man, all hell broke loose because Ralph didn't
know that there was another member and didn't vote it. It
It was like, man, it was I tell you, that
was like that was really a scene out of a movie.
But that has to be such an awkward moment for
you because you, I mean, you came in as like
the oldest member already, so I mean, you know, uh,
(19:29):
and then you were going to be a lead singer.
I could imagine that would like step on. I didn't
know what my role was, but Jimmy jam Terry Lewis
looked at me in the meeting and said, yo, he said, okay,
so y'all gotta new Remember he said to me. He
looked at me and he said, well, you know you
you probably won't be doing any leads on this album.
I said, okay. My process was whatever you guys need
(19:50):
me to do here, well, I'm here to be a
team player, and it didn't matter whatever you know, what's
gonna sing lead or not. I didn't because when I
when I joined the group, I still had, um, you know,
a commitment to the label as a solo artist. So
I was never concerned or worry about, well, how am
I gonna get out there and people are gonna hear me?
I didn't. I just never phased me, baba, did you
(20:13):
have did you have any reservations on joining her? I mean,
you had a successful solo career. Did you have any
reservations going to a group that's already been killing it
immediately the first when we first started talking about it,
it was kind of I was sitting there thinking what
I don't know? But I talked to a few close
friends and everyone kept saying listen, man, and even Gerald Buzzby,
(20:34):
he said, you know this this group, this guy the
guy guys are you know a very popular group and
that you know with my kind of gift and talent
that he felt like this will be a great springboard
for that young audience because I had such a mature
voice for a young kid, that this would help to
really get a lock in that audience. And God bless
(20:55):
the soul, rest is soul. He he was absolutely right.
I have to show you this video. So last night, uh,
as we were preparing for this interview today, we have
a sixteen month old son and daughter, um and so
I was playing a little new edition last night and
I think he got bit by the R and B
bug because he was out. So he's a big fan,
(21:18):
the youngest fan now. So, uh, I can't wait to
come see you one. Now, you guys, you were in
the height of new Jack Swing, and I think especially
a lot of listeners here and the younger generation might
not know what new jack swing is. Can you explain
exactly what type of music that is? Wow? That was?
(21:39):
I mean, new Jack swing just had its own sound
and identity. It was really more of a like AH,
I don't know what would you say, like more like
AH had a little bit edge of a hip hop
sort of speak, but yet R and B mixed and
it was just it had his own identity. Man that
that stood out from the rest, and um and I
and Teddy got you know, bless some he man, he
(22:01):
was at the forefront of it all, you know, like
the Godfather. Yeah, I guess. Uh. More about New Addition,
(22:23):
were you fans of New Addition before you had joined? Uh? Yeah,
you know. The crazy thing is, like I said, ironically,
we started the same year, but we would cross pass
doing shows. We did several shows, you know, and uh
that's how we actually kind of got acquint acquainted and
we talked and saying hi and hung out a little
(22:44):
bit here and there, and that was it. So you know,
but I yeah, definitely a fan. Yeah. And also when
you did finally make that shift to New Edition, Like,
how different was it in terms of like your fans
and performing and going out. Did the fans overlap at
all with your solo and group career? No, it was
really because they were so huge, and you know, I
(23:06):
was still just gonna I listen my first couple of records,
Uh uh ship Platinum and came back Wood and there
projects right out there. I mean, they just came out
and shoot back to the top. Yeah. That's what's great
about these groups, you know, it's you know, the fandom
goes crazy for for guy groups like that. And you
(23:27):
know now the term boy band has really you know,
expanded and I think includes groups like yourself. Um, do
you get offended when someone will call you a boy band?
Or I mean, and y'all get the credit. I mean,
your addition does get the credit of being the blueprint
of the modern boy band today. So when you think
of that at all, I think that it's lesson to
(23:48):
be first and pharmost to be for someone to be
able to identify you and the work that we do
and the work that we you know, nobody works hard
and want their work to go and notice. Um, so
the impact that we've made, that it's been written in
stone can't be rased. And when people can, uh, you
know that they have a great appreciation for what we've done. Uh.
And it's a blessing, it's and we don't take it
(24:10):
for granted. We just don't take it for granted. Yeah, well,
your influence is very impactful, especially for uh, you know,
musicians of my age. You know, your group. Your voice
is what taught us R and B and how to
sing and to harmonize, you know what I mean. That's
that's there would be no InSync without new addition. I mean,
there's just it just wouldn't used InSync fan fans and
(24:35):
of all you guys. So it's like, you know, that's
the beauty of watching something that blossoms, that grows, and
how it's just offsprings and you begin to see the
impact that you've made on others. That's the most I
don't think there's nothing more rewarding than watching the impact
that you had or have had on others. That to
see them just offspring from those things, it makes us proud. Yeah, well,
(24:59):
we thank you very much much. Um. What I love
about your era of groups too, which I don't think
happened today. I could not see this happening with the
end seeing Backstreet one direction ners, but with LSG, Bell,
Bill Da vox, y'all kept you know, switching groups and
making groups and every dam just evolved. I mean that
that would be so great if we were able to
(25:20):
do that today. Was that something? I mean, how did
that all happen? How could you join other groups without
pissing off other guys? And I mean how did that
all work? Well? The thing for maybe when I joined it,
even when I joined the group. Everyone knew that I
still had once we finished the Heartbreak album that I had,
you know, I had to go back and start working
(25:41):
on the solo album. So that was never a secret
to anyone. Everyone understood that. Uh you know when that
happened when I joined the group. So they decided, wow,
I was working on my solum. Uh. Jimmy Damn came
up with this concept for Bell Bill de Vaux and
then said okay, and they came up with this concept
for for Ralph. You know, so it was kind of
like everybody just knew we was gonna take that bag,
(26:02):
everybody's gonna do some stuff, and that we would return
back at the roup. But you know, so I think
it helped really in a lot of ways. That really
gave this group legs and I think even longengevity by
doing that. And I think the own problem sometimes with
groups these days doing it everyone when they're trying to
go solo, they're not trying to come back. Yeah, that's
(26:23):
I mean, it's true, that is true. Yeah, I know
a little bit about that. Yeah, but it's true. And
you know these days, especially bands that are manufactured by
you know, television shows and you know, record labels they
do cho choose lead singers like everyone's lead singers, and
so yeah, a lot of them go off like I'm
not going to go back to this band. The money
(26:44):
is in. This is easier, I get more over here. Yeah,
it was never about that for us, just about the
money too. It was about the whole brotherhood thing. And
that's the other thing that sometimes you can't manufacture, and
you can't you know, nobody can control these guys. They
were all they all grew up together and as kids,
(27:04):
you know, so there's a bond there. And then for
me to come along, you know, it was just like
and I was I'm the oldest, so for me to
come along and join and become I mean, the craziest
thing with Ralph and myself, even when it first happened
where he wasn't really feeling that, we ultimately while we
were there recording started to uh to hang out man
(27:25):
him and we became the closest. It was the craziest thing.
We realized we just had so much in common and
men him would just hang out when we finished a
recording and talking and going to eat and stuff. And
then it was just like things just kind of just
Mesh just came together. Speaking of the money part, you know,
most of us more modern boy bands got really screwed
(27:48):
with our record deals or management. Did you have to
go through that at all, and earlier in your career
having to absolutely, I don't think nobody in that business
at that air that time didn't get screwed over. It
was just a part of the way the business was,
and you had to realize understand that it's still even
through all of that when you look back and think
(28:10):
about what we went through and what we had to
sacrifice when it comes down to the money, the fact
that what you guys have done, what we've done, the
world has seen it and it's been written in stone
and it can it can never be raised, regardless of
what it took the goal to get there. But it
was a big price we paid. But still I wouldn't
trade change trading for nothing in the world. The fact
(28:33):
that we made great music, the fact that we impacted
so many people's lives. It wasn't their fault that the
business was what it was. We had to just live
with that and understand that that's just what it was.
But ultimately being able to be in front of people singing, dancing,
doing what you enjoyed doing the most. God put us
here and getting anointed every teach and every one of
us as far as I'll give you, know, what more
(28:55):
can you say besides that that's what it was. It was,
we learned from it, we grew from and became much
better from it. So still it's a good lesson to
learn at an early age. That's what I always say. Yeah, absolutely,
word yep. Now you have collaborated with many legendary artists,
artists like you said Stevie Wonder a baby face. But
(29:18):
I want to talk about a little Whitney Houston. Um,
what was it like to collab with Whitney? Because of
course you know that that was what I grew up
on in the eighties. It's just Whitney, Michael Janet. But
as huge Whitney fans, can you give us a little
insight of what it's like to work with her? Man?
Just her whole aura energy was so like full of
(29:40):
life and she just I'm telling you what, she just
comes in the room. It's just like she just comes
in with this enescy that just to have you. So
it's so funny because when we started working, Um, she
would call me and she says, um, you know what
you gotta do right, And I'm like, no, what, you know?
You gotta get this gospel album together? And I said.
(30:03):
She goes, you know you know better because she grew up,
and I said yeah yeah. And she kept telling me,
she said, I'll help you. I help you. But and
so at times when we would all get together and
we all hang out, She'll go, I'm not talking to
you and I'm like, why what. She goes, you know
what you gotta do do it? I said, I'm good,
I don't get around to it. We never did, and
(30:26):
I think about that a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we
love her gospel stuff. I mean, we're listening to Whitney
Houston channel right now and it's just all these amazing
just b side you know, and then live performances and
it's just and when she takes you to church, it
is nice. She was just absolutely there's no there's no
(30:46):
one like her ever, and they love being when the
one like And you never got around to the gospel album,
never got around to it, And I kept seeing to
myself that I was going to do it and dedicate
it to her because she stayed on me. Every time
you see me. Well, let's get on this, Johnny. I will.
I definitely will, all right. So here's the frost, the
(31:10):
tip I need from you. To this day, you're still
working with New Edition, your solo music, your own record label.
What keeps you motivated to continue working in this crazy business?
The love, the love for it, the love of it
and compassion for it. Um. You know, it is truly,
um a blessing, especially when you meet people who want
(31:35):
to be in this business so bad and realize how
tough this business is. And when you look back and
think about what we were we were able to accomplish
uh in this business. Um, I don't, like I said,
I don't take it for granted, And I go wow, wow.
You know, have you ever seen if someone once told
me that just for one hit record, there's the odds
(31:56):
of just having one hit record, So imagine when you
can have a string of records, hit records and do
this for a living. This is the only thing I've
ever done all my life, poor living. It's music and singing,
So I don't know any other thing, and it's like
it's just part of my life and I still have
a passion for it. Yeah, well, being on the road
(32:18):
in this business. You know, you're a man of faith.
How do you how do you stay on track and
keep that faith and when you could easily stray away,
you know, being on the road. Well, the reality of
it for me is sometimes life is not always what
we want it to do, and understanding that with faith,
Faith doesn't make things easier, it just makes things possible.
(32:40):
And so yeah, go through the same things that everybody
else go through, challenges, and you do that was challenges
with my faith that I believe and know that it's
possible to get through these things. And that's what I
hold onto the most um, being able to do this,
knowing God put us here to do this. This is
all I've ever done, all we've ever done. And it
(33:01):
tells you quite clearly that this is I'll call him.
So it's like you just can't take it for granted,
because as long as we're here, even forty years, even
at its fifty, even at the sixty, you know, tomorrow
is not promised. So it's like, yo, every time we
step out, I know, I put a mic in my hand.
I don't care where I'm at. It bits in front
of three people or three thousand people or ten thousand people.
(33:23):
I always know, and it's go hard to go home.
Where do you live now? Are you in Atlanta? Los
Angeles rehearsing? But Los Angeles? And the craziest thing when
I was fifteen, when I when I first started recording
in California and I was I'm from DC, my first
thought was I'm moving here, like I loved Californias so much.
(33:44):
And I when I turned eighteen, I ended up in
Los Angeles and I never looked back. It's a look,
it's a great town, great state. You know. We get
a lot of crap, you know, for being in California.
It's just it's an amazing place to live. I'm glad
that we get a lot of crowd because I don't
want to move in here. We got too many people. Anyway,
(34:04):
It's like us living in the valley. Everyone in LA
makes fun of the valley. I'm like, oh, yeah, it's horrible, horrible.
Don't come over here, don't visit. You do not want
very expensive. Oh yeah it's horrible. Oh never mind, Yeah, yeah,
you can't park anywhere. No, it's horrible, don't come over here. Um,
(34:36):
all right, we have some fan questions for you. So
let's get to these. But first I'm gonna play an
interview question from a youth quake nineteen ninety one interview.
All right, so get back to your brain in nineteen
ninety one. All right, So the question is going to be,
if you weren't a singer, what would you be doing instead?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be two things.
An electrical engineer, and at one point I thought I
(34:58):
was going to be a boxer. A boxer. I loved it,
and I was until I one day got hit and
it didn't feel good. Yeah, I know, I always think
about that. I'm like, the first time I get punched
in the face, I'd be like, I don't think could
do this anymore for me? Not for me. Yeah, I
(35:19):
love fixing bangs, and at one point I thought I
was gonna be an be an electrical engineer. Okay, let's
see if you said that nineteen ninety one, if you
weren't doing this, Like, if let's say thing you didn't
pay very well, Let's just imagine if you can for
a moment that you like got that first pay check
and it was really bad. Yeah. Yeah, I didn't want
to be an electrical engineer. That's what I was heading
(35:39):
for before this happened. And I'm still going to go
back to school for that really. Yeah, And that was
something that I've always been interested in, and I think
that that's probably what I would have been in two
by now it matches my back. I like my gig. Yeah, exactly.
(35:59):
Two things from that interview. One, yes, I don't think
you did go to school for that engineering degree. I
love that she was like, you know, your first paycheck,
if it wasn't that great, what would you be doing?
And I'm sure that first paycheck was not that great. No, Yeah,
A golden Nugget ring, the golden Nugget watch, and the bracelet.
(36:20):
It was. It was done. That was the check, Yeah, exactly.
All right. A few more fan questions here from G Pixie.
What has been your favorite decade of music? Oh? My god,
I have to say the nineties. I have to say
the nineties. It was the nineties to me, it was
(36:43):
just I don't know, it was unbelievable to me. I
just thought the nineties, when you had so many great records,
and I love the eighties, two eighties was cool, but
the nineties to me sticks out the most. Well, there
were so much going on in the nineties, Rum the
Seattle grunge to hip hop, exploding R and B, the
(37:04):
biggest thing ever, into Spice Girls and Hanson like it
just kind of the country. It's true. I mean the
nineties had so many different genres of music, like in
the Forefront too, you know, it's all over the place.
I mean it was hard to stand out because it
was so much. And even Aeron too. I think Wayam
(37:25):
might have been in the Yeah. Wam was definitely you know,
late eighties, like early nineties for sure, but even you
know mc Hammer, right, I mean yeah, starting with mc
hammer and ending with jay Z, Like just how that
just that one decade transformed hip hop just right there. Yeah,
it's crazy, all right. What you got some other questions
(37:45):
is from well, I'm no, I'm gonna do one from
Underscore Booze mommy, Oh, Booze Mommy. That's this question. M
I was gonna ask you this question earlier. You had
the new edition of the miniseries you guys did with
bt Um and so a Boot His Mommy wanted to
know how accurate was the new edition mini series and
were you happy with your portrayal very accurate. I thought,
(38:08):
oh my god. You know, of course we had to
condense everything to try to you know, within that. Yeah,
but I mean the stories themselves were actually true. M
James did an incredible job. I met with twice because
I was My mom wasn't doing well and I was
(38:29):
while they was doing the film. In the movie, but
I was. I told him, yeah, a question blah called
me and we met twice and one time he asked
me about something called me. But he did. When I
looked when I watched that movie and watched how he
embodied me, that was scary. I was just like, oh shucks, wow, yeah, no,
(38:50):
that's great because there was so many of these, you know,
movies of groups and artists. You hear like that was
not true, like that it was all b s. I
never had up in that way. Well they tell you, well,
they tell you that they probably just like without that
was very accurate, and I don't want to know that
it was on the whole process of the movie. I'm
making sure stories were being told the group ourselves. We
(39:12):
were hands on involved in every step of it. So
sounds great. Oh yeah, yeah, you gotta get that final
letter for sure. Like I would never do a show
unless add final let it nowhere all right from life
with my low Oh, this is a good tip here.
What is the best advice you would give to someone
young dealing with all the stress and pressures of the business. Oh,
(39:37):
my goodness, man, because times has changed and it's so
tough because you know, coming up in our my era,
um getting a record contract back in the day was
it was huge if you get a record deal well
and you were actually supported by the record label. Now
it's just I feel like record record companies now are
(39:58):
just a pr firm at this point, and they don't
like to develop the artists. They just want you to Hi,
here's the full album already done, just we release it
for us. That's how I feel it is like so
times has changing for them. I thinking for young people
who are in this business, I still want the one
thing that could never change in the business is a
key word. I just said business, Learn the business that
(40:22):
could be the end of all. Tell all as far
as how far to go into business and how you
can recover if you've made some mistakes and it's falling
along the way. It is important to not just want
to sing, dance, and hold the mac in your hand
or make beats, but to also understand the numbers, understand
those things and what you're walking yourself into. Having lawyers,
(40:44):
never walking into situations and taking them for granted, because
you know, you could sign something that could put you
in a situation for years to come guilty. Yeah, a
lot of people, and it's common, it is so many people. Yeah,
and you know people will still do that even with
(41:05):
all the warnings we've all given anyone right for decades
in this industry, that young person is still going to
sign that contract. What else are they going to do exactly?
I mean, you're coming into a business, you don't have
any power, you don't have fame at that point, and
it's like this or nothing. You're gonna you're gonna sign
it anyway. But yeah, it's a shame that can even
just happen legally. You have you're so hungry to be
(41:25):
out there and to be you know, to be able
to showcase your talent. A lot of people do it
even knowing what they're walking into, even if you try
to explain it. So it's just one of those things
that you just have to really be in a place
where you just got to think about what it is
you're doing, figuring out even if you're gonna let them
beat you over, how long are you gonna let them be?
Yeah about renegotiation. Yeah, here's another question from New York
(41:50):
born California dreaming. I want to know this one. Yeah, um, yeah,
this is the big one. We've heard a few people
ask this one for us. Is a new addition a
Vegas residency ever going to happen? Absolutely? We were, we
were close to doing it, yeah, this year, but we
had to make a decision between this year is being
our fortieth and that's a milestone. So we're you know,
(42:13):
let's celebrate this fortieth. Go out here with our fans
and celebrate our fortieth. Then we'll come back, circle back
around and and and get that locked in uh later
on in next year and you know, keep it rocking.
So how's the choreo coming? Oh? Oh lord Jesus, do
(42:34):
you really want to know? They really share the paramedic
standard all year? It was, but you know, it's crazy.
The first week is really really the toughest. Yeah, second
week it's tough, but you go, okay, I can. I'm
starting to work my way through it. Third week it's like, Okay,
(42:56):
I'm starting. It's starting to really wear off me. Now,
way I can kind of get through the process. But
that first week, I don't wish that all my worst enemy.
Yeah yeahs. Last time we before, we did Coachella a
few years ago, and I know I hadn't danced in forever,
especially within seeing, and we were just doing Tearing in
my Heart, which is like the simplest choreography from nineteen
ninety six. Oh my gosh, my knees were killing me.
(43:22):
I mean it's a thing like protect any young people
listening right now. We did not take this advice because
I remember a lot of people are like, oh, don't
do that, don't do that move because you're gonna be
filling it in twenty years. And I do. My knees hurt.
You know, I can't relate. I can't tell me, but
I did though this time. Yeah, the first time I
(43:43):
started we're working out. The first day we got here,
well that's the first day that the fifth ding we
got here, started working out. And the only thing I
do is walk. I walk on I walk into treadmills
for forty five minutes. So that's all we can do
these days. I'm actually, believe it or not, I'm seventeen
(44:03):
pounds lighter than I was three weeks ago. Wow. So
it's crazy because of course it intimate. Yeah, I've been
doing it all like everything, what's the fastest other tricks?
So it's crazy. But what I've learned every day after
I do my walk and an incline and stuff on
(44:24):
the treadmill, I don't let a single day go without
doing light leg presses. I don't do nothing heavy, but
just every single day. And I noticed when I was
it was hurting me the first week to bend down
and go through some of those routines. Now I do
them at ease. Every single day I do the light
leg precess and it made a difference and I was like, oh,
(44:46):
this is the trick stretched stretch. I know. We say
that every day. We're like, we're gonna walk on the dreadmill.
That's what we do. We walk on the treadmill on
an incline, and then it comes to like time to
do it, and we're like, well maybe tomorrow. A lot
of tomorrow. All you have to do is twenty minutes
on a treadmill with an incline and all it is
a phone to ring or something happened anything anymore talk
(45:10):
myself out of working out anytime? Good good, Well. Speaking
of tour, what is your favorite song to perform on
the upcoming tour. It's my favorite, but it's the toughest
one for me because I put some reason you gotta
just if it isn't love has this thing where it's
that being in sync. It's no punt in it. But
(45:33):
yoe me a dime? So are you olu prom on
a dime? Oh beauty when you're watching it and we
watched how when we are locked in and downed in
But it's like you gotta breathe, Like it's you know,
just the different turns and twists and stuff you can
going down, going back up. And I mean it's like
it's a bunch of little movement pieces in that choreography
(45:56):
that makes you go by the time you finish as much.
I love hearing the reaction by the time. I love
it also here and getting to the very end of it.
But it is amazing what the fans, the energy they
give you on stage really just make you not feel
the pain as much. Yeah, um, all right, are we
(46:20):
gonna hear some new music from new edition anytime soon. Yeah. Absolutely,
we've been people have been produced, has been submitting songs
right now. So we're just trying to figure it out
where which one are we're gonna We're gonna gonna dive
in on and yes, keep it rocking. I mean, you know,
we've been able to do this for forty years. And
let me tell you, make no mistake about it, forty years.
(46:42):
It hasn't been no walking apart. We have had some
serious challenges we have had with internal issues with us
as brothers, uh, dealing with life, dealing with business, dealing
with each other. And it was no, it's not a
wasn't no walking apart. But somehow somewhere there was something
that something had happened that allowed us to learn something
(47:07):
which was more important. And I made the first phone call,
and that was to understand that part of our biggest
problems for us, how group, was about everyone wants to
feel a sense of value and need to be heard.
We had the biggest problem with you know how people
talk over you and you when somebody saying something that
(47:27):
you don't don't, you don't agree with, and you cut
them off, and it's all this other stuff and it
was always all that kind of stuff, and so I
made everyone do was become more conscious and aware that listen,
I don't care if they're saying the craziest thing there
is on the planet. We still have to allow every
individual to speak NPR. Then we can begin to start
(47:49):
to figure out what's the next thing here, how we
resolve these issues, or how are we going to go
about it. But everyone got a chance and we still
do it to this day. Everyone's voice is heard and
then we sit down and figure out how we going
to what's going to be the next move. We're doing it,
but we've learned that more everybody came on board and
was more ampt to work together when they just wanted
(48:11):
to be heard their idea and you know, so it
made a world of a difference for us. Yeah, it's
it's so true. Everyone just wants to be heard, and
so many times we just forget to listen. Um, So
that is a very good tip right there. Yeah. Well,
especially with your crew, I know you've had many They've
had many moments over the course of the past decade together.
(48:34):
I can imagine I've been we didn't see it all.
There was time we were in the back and you
couldn't tell. There was bites going on, food on the
wall and stuff was going on, and we're coming out
and go ahead. Yeah. Yeah, they just still haven't gone
to the next steps yet. They're still working on that part. Yeah,
all right, before we let you go, I'd love to
get your opinions on what we should binge here and
(48:58):
watch right now. So what are you listening to right
now that we all need to be listening to? Oh
my god, Harry Lennox, Jasmine Sullivan. Yeah, uh god, I
listened to so much. I like the whole school stuff.
That's why I go back to Steed and Pego Ryanson
(49:19):
and Jeffrey Osborne of those kind of people. But I
listened to everything because I'm a musician, so a lot
of things just intrigues me. So I go from one
end of spectrum to the other. Um. But you know,
I live, love, and live and read music. So yeah.
One one musician that I've just been reacquainted with is
(49:41):
al Green. I've been listening to his music lately. L
V maybe one of my top five songs of all time. Now,
So you can't teach singers. It's just when you got
business of this gift anointing that is just unique. That
God gives every end visual and some stands out more
(50:02):
than others. And al has and have always had this
thing that when he opens his mouth, it's like he's
just going, man, you're just you're you're mesmerized. What's your
favorite movie? Oh my god, there's so many. UM, believe
it or not, I'd have to say, uh, I love life,
(50:23):
but Eddie and Martin and so many of our it
was like, whenever I just want to laugh, that's the
movie I put on. Yeah. I don't know if you
have time to bene TV, but are you binging anything
right now? We need to be watching my brother and
(50:45):
my dear friend Tyler Perry. He has a show called
The Oval. You know what I do to him when
the season goes, when he goes off, he won't he
won't walk for it. I start asking him like, come on, man,
I'm not gonna tell nobody. It's like because he goes
to Hell, goes through his place, and he just and
(51:07):
he starts writing and getting getting. I mean, he just
writes to all this stuff, and so I'll just call
and keep going. Also, what uh, what's gonna happen? Uh?
He's like, man, I'm not gonna tell nobody. And you've
done a lot of acting, and I'm sure you've been
in Tyler Perry productions. Why doesn't he throw you into Oval? Well,
(51:30):
I would love to, And uh, that's one of my favorites.
I remember when he had The Has Having to Have
Not just that was a another show where you just
get like, just get engulfed and I can't, like, I
can't turn from it. And that's what's now happening with
The Oval. I'm just like, yo, what the heck? And
then I'll call him and go, what are you on? Like,
(51:51):
how did you think? Are you serious? But you sound
very creative? Why don't you create your own series? I
would love to do that. I actually would love that. Um,
everyone says I got issues everybody in the name of
the series right there, right there and done. See it
(52:13):
just writes itself. But for me, I love to laugh.
And I've been around you know, my brothers Eddie, who
have been around since I was sixteen, seventeen years at
the age, all my friends that are most of my
friends that are comedians and stuff. So it's just it's
almost a natural thing that I find humor and everything,
and it's always NonStop of something I'm laughing at. And
(52:33):
then I realized later that laughter is the best medicine
on the planets. You just have to laugh to keep
from crying. But it's the there's something out of the
day that I'm gonna find that I'm gonna find, I'm
gonna laugh about that. I just find humor and then
and it is the best medicine on the planet to me. Well,
life itself is humorous. There's a lot of little jokes
(52:54):
going on at all time, but you just have to
laugh at it. Yeah, Johnny gil I love having you
on the show. I loved getting to know you better. Um.
You know, like I said, if it weren't for you
and your guys, I wouldn't be sitting here today. So
I thank you for all the influence that you gave
me and my my brothers. Um, you're a great influence.
(53:16):
And uh, I wish we could have been together forty years.
That would have been God, I tell you. But let
me tell you we broke up for a long period
of time. Yeah never say never. I mean That's what
I'm saying. Walk around doing that and we was like
and something happened yeah, it's like something can yeah, and
(53:36):
life and you know the one. And that's why I
said never say never. But more importantly, we're proud of
what you guys have done, and you guys should be proud,
and even at some point in life, you've just got
to realize that at some point when you put things
in perspective and understand that what you were able to
accomplish that some many others couldn't. Uh to know that
(53:58):
you can't shouldn't take it for granted and learn at
some point. But one word is called forgiveness. But people
have in the right place, in the right space to
do so. But ultimately, let go let God because when
he put you guys together, when y'all created this whole
thing as a group that has been successful, understand it
(54:20):
wasn't through you guys. Is just through y'all, and you're
telling your gift that was through his hands that he
put it on. He put put on you guys, and
he can do anything but fail. And so all we
do is continue to live, continue to appreciate what you
guys have accomplished, but at the same time, understand some
people got more growing to do. And it's okay they're
(54:41):
not going to get to the bus stop at the
same time. We don't all get there at the same time.
But at some point, as you get older, you beginning
to realize and have a great appreciation for the smaller
things in life. You begin to look around and those
things that you start looking around and you start thinking,
you're asking yourself, what am I? What was that mad about?
What was I tripping on? What does it really matter? Yeah?
(55:02):
Really that serious? When you get older, you it really
does start you start looking at the trees and the
things that are that you never really paid much attention to,
and you start having a great appreciation for it and
the reason why we're here at this point, because we're
the old battles in here around here, So Liance, but
you are a wise man, and Johnny Gil, how can
(55:24):
everyone stay in touch with you out there? Real Johnny
Gil twenty two on my Instagram and um and that's
where my and the Real Johnny Guild as well on
my Twitter, um and uh the official Johnny Gil Fan
fan club page you can find find me on so
and I answer all you guys. It's a lot of
(55:45):
you guys. But I do I sit when I have
my time in space. Start going out and answer, and
then they want to ask more questions. I'm going, but
I'm just responding. You gotta take care of the fans.
That's why we have the show right here. We wanted
the fans to have direct access little all these legendary
performers from these amazing groups. UM. Super excited that you
(56:05):
were here and I hope to catch up again one day,
and of course the rest of your members have to
come on the show too. So absolutely absolutely congratulations man,
and keep doing what you're doing. We're all proud of
you two. Man. Well, I'm gonna see you on this
Legacy tour. I can't wait. Yeah, yes, please, man, you
know wherever you want to come, that's done. Deal. You
(56:25):
know that we got you ONLCK. Okay, we'll be there.
I'm gonna hold you to that. I'm gonna hold you.
I got you absolutely all right, Matt. We'll give the
guys my love and uh enjoy the rest of rehearsal.
Get back to this wet No. I thank you for
giving me this break. Yeah yeah, anytime you need an
excuse to be like, well, I gotta talk to Lance now,
I gotta go. Thank you so much, Johnny, We'll see
(56:50):
you later. Thank you so much. All right, Aye, I
love Johnny nice human. I've always been such a fan
right of him individually, of the group. Like I've said,
we can't give New Addition more credit for being you know,
for us being who we were within Sink Back Street.
That's just who we were influenced. We were the kids
(57:11):
that grew up on that music. Oh yeah, they're the
ones who gave White Kid's soul, right, like just some
final likes. Not me, but you know JC justin Yes,
that's they got that soul from listening to Johnny Gill
and New Addition. Yeah, just what it is. What a
nice guy I know. And we're definitely going to go
(57:33):
see that legacy. I would love to see that residency. Yes,
of course they need a Vegas residency. A great. Oh
that was so good. It was just now I have
a huge smile on my face, so that it's just nice.
There was things I just kind of sat back and
I just really digested what he was saying. That was beautiful, Yeah, beautiful, beautiful. Well,
(57:57):
I mean there's nothing else we can say after that
interview like that. No one wants to listen to us anymore.
So we're just gonna leave it right there. Thank you
so much for listening to for roust Tips out there again.
You can review, subscribe and rate and rate five stars
five stars only anything less pretend you can't do it,
and we do love reading and reviews. In fact, we're
gonna start reading some of the reviews on this show.
(58:19):
Oh can we even the bad Yeah, in the bad
one that there's been any bad there hasn't been, so
let maybe start writing some bad reviews. No jk at
the very end to give it five stars a bad
review and then put JK. Yeah, just kidding, No, don't
do most. I love it. No, all right, guys, we
love you out there. Don't drink and drive, be good
to each other. Turket Turchin. It's been a pleasure. It's
(58:41):
always it has been all right. Oh yeah, and we're
gonna end with our new sign off. What's our new
sign off? Stave frosted. Okay, I don't know what that means,
but it sounds fun. I know it can so many
and don't forget stay frosted. Hey, thanks for listening. Follow
us on Instagram at Frosted Tips with Lance and Michael
(59:03):
ursonar and at Lance Bass for all your pop culture needs,
and make sure to write us a review and leave
us five stars six as you can see you next time.
This is Frosted Tips with Lance Bass and my heart
reading a podcast. Hello, my little Peanuts, it's me your host,
Lance Bass. This is Frosted Tips with me, Lance Bass
and my co host dark At Durchin. Hey, guys, I
just want to say Lance, it's not that little what nothing? Wait? What?
(00:25):
What did you? What do you try to say? Why
are you trying to start the show with what? I'm sorry,
I was her little peanut. Okay, what to support you? Okay,
you're great, You're great. Um, all right. Today I am
super excited because we have a member of a group
that kind of started it all for many other groups
(00:46):
like In Sync, Backstreet, New Editions. Johnny gil is on
the show today. I'm excited to really get to know
him because you know, I was a kid, like really
young when he started his solo career and then join
New Addition. Um, so it's kind of the first memories
of listening to R and B music as a kid
(01:08):
was New Addition. Yeah yeah, um. And then of course
I became like a big Bobby Brown fan because everyone
in junior high was it was like, oh Bobby Brown,
my prerogative. Um, but he came in right when Bobby left. Yeah,
I don't really know. Well, I mean he kind of
was asked to leave, but I don't know that whole story.
We'll wait till Bobby comes on this show just to
explain it. Brown. I mean, I'm sure they're antics, mum,
(01:32):
So I'm excited for him to come. He's coming on
in just a couple of minutes. But in the meantime,
what has been going on? Turkey Church and you just well,
you had your LA Art show a couple of weeks
ago that to not talk about, No, uh, that was fun.
We did talk about a little bit a little bit.
It was good. You know. This year, I have to
say what, I didn't really enjoy it. No. I usually
go to the LA and it's great, and La r
(01:52):
Show is awesome. It's one of the biggest art shows
on the planet. And I usually find some pieces that
I just are obsessed with that I can't afford, but
I'm obsessed with. I didn't find but maybe a couple
of those. This year. There were a few. But also
we we only saw like I think, like a third
of the art there because all I went through almost
all the know, there were still so many other out
because we had our kids with us, and they were
(02:14):
going a little cuckoo. After like an hour of being there,
they did good. It's like our attention span was just
cut real short. People were loving Alexander like. People were
just coming asking if they could take pictures of Alexander
was like a piece of art walking around. He was
being orner room. He was running up and down the
aisles of laughing. Would not be held, had to walk,
had to run making a scene. Yeah, I'm like, there's
(02:35):
so much priceless art in here, Oh my gosh. And
he's like, watch out, I'm a priceless odd. I'm gonna
walk around like a cool baby. He's getting so ornery.
Now he's dancing. Oh my gosh. We're gonna talk about
with Johnny. He knows how to groove now, keeps the
beat he does. He claps on beat. Yeah, but he's
been clapping on beat for months now. I know he's
(02:58):
gonna be something with Rith. Yeah, maybe a rhythmic dancer
in the Olympics or Chippendale's dancer. I know I will
support whatever whatever he wants to choose. Whatever he chooses.
Pilots not so much. She doesn't respond to music as
much as he does no. No, she's a reader. He's
a music listener exactly. Yeah, she's gonna be the studious ones.
(03:18):
She's very STUDI speaking of studious, we uh, you know,
we've we have our baby classes every once a week
we have Yeah, we usually hosted at our house where
we have a little playgroup where a woman, their teacher
comes in and she sings them so well, it's so
important because we have COVID babies right there, all COVID babies.
That's gonna be fun the rest of their lives. And
so they were born not really getting to mingle with
(03:41):
their babies and kids. So now that you know, we're
all vaccinated and you know, we can be around people. Yeah,
it's important for them to be around kids their own
age and even a little older. I think if they
hang with older kids, they learn a little faster. I
would imagine, I don't know, these our first kids, they
see the bigger kids doing something and they want to
be like, yeah, so we just had to do this
kind of music class once a week. And we have
(04:03):
lots of friends that have just happened to have babies.
I know. It's the same. It's a very boogie baby club.
It is bougie. It's it's very bougie. So and this
is just how our class ended like ended up being.
So it started with us in Pandora Todd, who is
Lisa vander Pump's daughter. So Lisa Vanderpump's grandson is our
kid's best friend. Yes, because she is the godmother to them.
(04:27):
So we decided let's start a class. They because Teddy
doesn't really hang with kids, um, and so like, okay,
we need to really mingle who has kids. So then
we call Darren Chris and his wife who just had
a baby like the months after us. Bluesy the kid
goodest little chairs. So actually, all these kids are so cute.
I don't know what happened, but they all they're good
(04:50):
looking babies. But I mean they're just all like gap
gap models. They are. I thought our babies were cute,
but they guys, I'm cute cut Yeah, So then you know,
we added them, and then uh, our Lisa, you know,
giggles out there. She's friends with what's her name's nanny Halseys,
Halsey's nanny, and they were talking. She's like, oh, they've
(05:12):
been wanting to join a group. So now we have
Halsey's kid. Yeah. And then and the thing which we
can't take pictures of. So yeah, she's very proud. It's
very pride, which I totally respect. But he is a cute,
handsome little credit super handsome kid too, just so cute. Huh.
And then we just added then we have GT, our
friends g t GT, who owns the biggest kobocha company. Yeah,
(05:35):
if you don't know kemp komboocha out there, um it
for me, it's amazing. It really works for me. It's
it's that probiotic Lance loves I do. I drink it
every day because I feel regular. I got just it does.
It makes me feel good. I mean Lance talks about
MBO like the cast of My Big Greek Wedding talks
about because I think it. But I think it helps
(05:57):
people out there. I really do research it. If it
works for you, you don't you know, you don't even
drink much of it. I don't try to. I just
don't like the taste. I don't remind the taste either,
but like, yeah, it'll make you go to the bathroom
very like it. It'll regulate you. Let's see, that's what
I need. Yeah, I trust me. You do oh in
the bathroom like five times a day. I like, did
you drink no? Yeah, But anyway, he owns the toilet.
(06:20):
Say well, I'm toilet saying on air. Maybe I'll get
you to drink your kombucha. Okay. Anyway, his kids are ina,
he has two kids out of the same age as ours. Um.
And then we just added so yeah, Jesse b Yeah,
Jesse Bradford who I'm not seeing Jesse Bradford since the nineties. Yeah.
But him and his wife amazing people. Um. And again
they're kids. It's so cute. It's gonna be the older kids.
(06:42):
He's a year or two years almost two years. Um,
So she's gonna be the good influence. By the way,
I've now realized, Alexandre, you know how you don't want
your kids to hang out with certain kids, and you're
gonna be like, you're not hanging out with that kid. No,
he's that kid. He has that kid. He is that kid,
and he's turning Violet that way. I know she has
a new had but now because of him, where he goes,
she goes into planters in our house. We have some
(07:03):
big trees in our house, and she'll scoop up the
dirt in her hand and just throw it on. She
was the perfect kid until she started copying what he does. Yeah,
so he's that guy. I was talking to Pandora about that,
and Teddy's just the sweetest innocent thing. For long he
started doing some of the things that you know Alexander
was doing. I'm like, I'm that parent of that kid. Yes, no,
(07:24):
Oh he's so ornery. I love it, but in the
best way. Oh what a little scraped his whole face
the other day, just fell right off the thing, right
into a cement cement bench. Yeh, scraped his nose. H.
He's an angel. Good times, good times. Um, whoa, We
need to get to this interview. What are we doing
talking about our babies? Who cares about them? We should
start our own little baby podcast called Scram Kids. Scram Kids,
(07:48):
all right, Uh, let's get to well, maybe take a
little break right now, we come back where you're gonna
have mister Johnny all right, please welcome to the show.
(08:10):
Johnny gil Junior singer actor from Washington, d C. Sixth
and final member of the R and B pop group
New Edition was also a member of the supergroup Lsguh.
Keith sweat Hello. Gil has released eight solo albums, three
albums with a New Edition, two albums with the LSG,
one collaborative album with Stacy let Us All. Gil sold
over fifteen million copies worldwide as a solo artist. Johnny Gil,
(08:33):
Welcome to Frosted Tips, my man, Thank you. I'm an
old lion now and I try to listen to all
that stuff. I'm like, whos you have lived? You have lived?
And I see your sweating your butt off right now
because you're in the middle of rehearsals for the Legacy
tour coming out. When when can we see you on
the tour? We start March and we take off, so
(08:54):
thirty one cities, We're all over the place. So I've
been in there, like trying to use the motor oil
everything to kind of screw, you know, to get into
these joints and stuff. Yeah. Yeah, how are those knees feeling?
I feel, because I mean, you're in the same boat
that I was. You started young. You get into New Edition,
what age what nineteen or something like that? Yeah, yeah,
(09:16):
what was crazy? When when the guys started I was
I just started saying here, but I was I was
from Washington, d c. And it's just ironic. We ended
up starting the same year and then I came in
a few years later after um Bobby left. But it's
it was interesting, how you know, what a coincidence that
(09:37):
you know, I started the same year. So we're all
celebrating now this year. I know it's been forty years,
but we're gonna get into that. So, Okay, you're born
in Washington, d C. Take us back, Johnny, what was
it like growing up in your town? I know you're
a preacher's son. What was your life like as as
little Johnny? Don't say that through that because you know
(09:59):
people start cringe when you say a peak, But were
you that typical preacher's kid though? Getting in trouble? But
you know, it's crazy for me honestly, Um, being in
this business for forty years. Uh, the foundation from from
(10:22):
my dad being a minister and coming from church. There
was a lot of things that I saw a lot
of things that I could have gotten myself into that
I never did simply only because little siege that were
planned and from coming from that from there, and I
think that really really grounded me over the years and
being in this business. I'm not saying I didn't have
my challenges like anyone else, but I just didn't you know,
(10:44):
I knew how far to go. Yeah, I find a
good comma denominator with all of these guy groups out
there is starting in church, I would say, the majority.
That's where they kind of learned how to sing, how
to harmonize, get that soul in their voice. Um, did
all the members of your groups start in church? Also? No?
Just me? Um? You know the other an other guys
(11:07):
were just a little hood rath and stuff. I love. Yeah.
They actually they all from Boston and uh they they
they came from the projects and it's crazy how our
lives just really intertwined. But it was man truly. Um,
I often say it was just state. I mean how everything,
how everything happened, because, like I said, I started had
(11:28):
a few records before I didn't the group. So yeah,
because you were sixteen years old when you started, same
age as me. Um, how how did you get discovered?
Because I know you did a demo and I want
to say Stacy at us all was involved. Yeah, discovering
you tell us that story. Stacy at that time was
(11:49):
the hottest you know. Uh, she was that that that
girl that uh you know at the time that everybody
was you know, it was her and I think in
Janet maybe at the time. Oh and how did you
know Stacy? But we grew up in the say, went
to the same school, went to elementary and JA High.
And we used to sing in a glee club in
(12:09):
the elementary and that's how we actually met um singing
in the glee club. Then then her place was like
the hangout spot, like we would go over there, like
all the kids would go over after school. Like her
place was like Disneyland for us. How do we go?
We would go go card ride, we'd go through the
movies that get the whole gang. We played volleyball, I
mean everything took place over her place. That was the
(12:32):
that was our our meeting grounds. How were you able
to finish school because at sixteen you're obviously on the road.
Did you have tutors and anything like that? Yeah, so
Stacey and I both um had tutors, and after we
we did a couple of years in tutor Junior High
and then we got tutors and I was like, man,
where has this been all my life? Because I can
(12:54):
I tell you, I don't know what it was about
school but I used to dread just getting up, trying
to get the air and then stuff. I don't know,
I just always had this thing about it. But it
was that was the thing that ever happened when we
uh suits, and it was like, I get up, eat
whenever I want. It's so true. I still have nightmares
to this day. I'm having to get up and go
to school, like multiple times a week. That's another common
(13:17):
denominator too. I think artists they just don't care about school.
It was a good place I loved. I loved having
friends and it was a social thing. But school I
just I didn't enjoy it and it was boring to me.
It was just boring. Yeah, I needed more. I need
more action. Yep. That was the same way and a
weird thing about me growing up. I used to wear
(13:39):
suits to school. Give it up, flies. I think I
was dressing for success. Just didn't know it. Yeah, well,
you're dressed for success right now. I need that jacket
that you're wearing. Oh thank you. I just bringing another top.
I was like, I can't go on here looking with
my sweatsuit on drenched. Oh well, congratulations on your debut
(14:04):
debut solo album forty years this year, Yes, take us
back to doing that first album, because I mean, you're
so young. Um, did you know even what you were
doing in a studio at that point? No? But you know,
I was like maybe fifteen when we started recording, and
I worked with a guy by the name of Freddy
(14:24):
Parren who wrote, um, oh my god, tons of hits
from ABC, I want you back for the Jackson nine.
The list goes on the stuff that he did, you know,
But I as a kid growing up and having an
opportunity to work with him, he taught me so much.
(14:45):
And I and as I began to record and began
to learn my way around the whole process, he was
so patient with me. But and yet at the same time,
he was so encourage. He was really really supportive and
uh and watching me because I played different instruments. He
really encouraged me about just playing and writing and doing
those kind of things. So I knew I was on
(15:05):
my way and I was in great, great hands at
least when I first started working with him, you know,
and the rest was just history. And at that age,
who who did you respect? Who influenced you at such
a young age, I mean fifteen years old, knowing I'm
going to be a professional singer. I mean, who who
did that for you? My dear friend and my dear
brother to this day, Stevie wonder h Stevie, Donnie Half
(15:28):
of the Way, Peebo Bryson, Jeffrey Osborne, Luther Vandross. It
was Teddy Pendergrass. It was all of that that, you know,
the influence that that I from all of them guys
that I truly cheerished. And I can imagine you've become
(15:49):
pretty good friends with most of those guys that you
have named. What is it like for for fifteen year
old Johnny Gildville, Like, oh my gosh, I'm actually friends
with my idols right now. You know, it's the craziest thing.
And I've often said this, it's like still to me,
the weird the craziest, the weirdest thing. Actually, it's like,
you know, I've often said, there's so many you know,
(16:12):
you in this business. We've you know, so you know,
gott have gotten so many accolades and over our years
of being in the business, but my greatest rewards are
my friends and people like Stevie. It's like, you know,
sometimes we're on the phone and we're talking and we
just and we most people, it's not pg kind of stuff.
We talk about going at each other elected dozens all
(16:33):
the time, So so funny. Sometimes we're going at it
and everybody's laughing. Uh, and it never I mean, that's
what happens whenever we're together. So it's so funny because
sometimes we would call me and we talk and we're
laughing at some point saying something stupid to hang up,
and then it hits me every now and then and
I'm going, Jesus Christ, um damn, Yeah, what is my life? Yeah? Like,
(16:58):
what did I do to deserve this? I don't know.
All those guys, who's the quickest to return a text?
All those guys it was quick? Um, wow, that's good.
I would say Luke when he was a lie Luther.
But I would say, uh m hmmm. I would say.
I'd say Jeffrey, yeah, out of the group. If yeah,
(17:22):
I would say, oh, Ralph, no, no, nothing, No. Ralph
and I talked the most. Uh, Mike, I'd say, Mike,
he's gonna go on it, you know. At some point,
let's go to nineteen eighty seven. I always say the
best year ever. I just I mean, I was only
eight years old. But for some reason, the music, the movies,
(17:43):
everything that came out in eighty seven just stuck with me.
I just it really changed my life. Michael here was
born in eighty seven, so it like makes me want
to throw up, um, but I know I get told
this all the time. Yeah, so eighty seven you join
you at now New Edition had been going strong and
then how did you get the call? Because I know
(18:05):
Bobby was leaving and I believe another member was leaving too,
but ended up saying if it, Let's think was was
contemplating he wasn't leave. Actually, he was contemplating what he
was going to do a sol right, And I think
the guys kind of was concerned with what was going
to happen with them as far as if Ralph does
a solo. They were kind of panicking that, oh, well,
(18:26):
maybe you won't return if if he does a solo
project and it's successful, ba blah blah. So that's how
I ended up. I didn't know that at the time
when they had asked me about coming to join the
group Ralph. At one point Ralph didn't even know about
it because they were on hiatus. But it was like
they knew that. When they asked me about joining the group,
they was just talking telling me about wanting to go
(18:47):
back to a five member because the choreography looked more
effective about blah blah. So I'm just thinking, oh, okay,
all right, and I was like, I gotta think about
this and and ponder with it. But it's like it
was it was just one of those things where we
where we went to Minneapolis, we was working with Jimmy
jamm and Terry Lewis. We went into the into the
(19:08):
boardroom and man, all hell broke loose because Ralph didn't
know that there was another member and didn't vote it. It
It was like, man, it was I tell you, that
was like that was really a scene out of a movie.
But that has to be such an awkward moment for
you because you, I mean, you came in as like
the oldest member already, so I mean, you know, uh,
(19:29):
and then you were going to be a lead singer.
I could imagine that would like step on. I didn't
know what my role was, but Jimmy jam Terry Lewis
looked at me in the meeting and said, yo, he said, okay,
so y'all gotta new Remember he said to me. He
looked at me and he said, well, you know you
you probably won't be doing any leads on this album.
I said, okay. My process was whatever you guys need
(19:50):
me to do here, well, I'm here to be a
team player, and it didn't matter whatever you know, what's
gonna sing lead or not. I didn't because when I
when I joined the group, I still had, um, you know,
a commitment to the label as a solo artist. So
I was never concerned or worry about, well, how am
I gonna get out there and people are gonna hear me?
I didn't. I just never phased me, baba, did you
(20:13):
have did you have any reservations on joining her? I mean,
you had a successful solo career. Did you have any
reservations going to a group that's already been killing it
immediately the first when we first started talking about it,
it was kind of I was sitting there thinking what
I don't know? But I talked to a few close
friends and everyone kept saying listen, man, and even Gerald Buzzby,
(20:34):
he said, you know this this group, this guy the
guy guys are you know a very popular group and
that you know with my kind of gift and talent
that he felt like this will be a great springboard
for that young audience because I had such a mature
voice for a young kid, that this would help to
really get a lock in that audience. And God bless
(20:55):
the soul, rest is soul. He he was absolutely right.
I have to show you this video. So last night, uh,
as we were preparing for this interview today, we have
a sixteen month old son and daughter, um and so
I was playing a little new edition last night and
I think he got bit by the R and B
bug because he was out. So he's a big fan,
(21:18):
the youngest fan now. So, uh, I can't wait to
come see you one. Now, you guys, you were in
the height of new Jack Swing, and I think especially
a lot of listeners here and the younger generation might
not know what new jack swing is. Can you explain
exactly what type of music that is? Wow? That was?
(21:39):
I mean, new Jack swing just had its own sound
and identity. It was really more of a like AH,
I don't know what would you say, like more like
AH had a little bit edge of a hip hop
sort of speak, but yet R and B mixed and
it was just it had his own identity. Man that
that stood out from the rest, and um and I
and Teddy got you know, bless some he man, he
(22:01):
was at the forefront of it all, you know, like
the Godfather. Yeah, I guess. Uh. More about New Addition,
(22:23):
were you fans of New Addition before you had joined? Uh? Yeah,
you know. The crazy thing is, like I said, ironically,
we started the same year, but we would cross pass
doing shows. We did several shows, you know, and uh
that's how we actually kind of got acquint acquainted and
we talked and saying hi and hung out a little
(22:44):
bit here and there, and that was it. So you know,
but I yeah, definitely a fan. Yeah. And also when
you did finally make that shift to New Edition, Like,
how different was it in terms of like your fans
and performing and going out. Did the fans overlap at
all with your solo and group career? No, it was
really because they were so huge, and you know, I
(23:06):
was still just gonna I listen my first couple of records,
Uh uh ship Platinum and came back Wood and there
projects right out there. I mean, they just came out
and shoot back to the top. Yeah. That's what's great
about these groups, you know, it's you know, the fandom
goes crazy for for guy groups like that. And you
(23:27):
know now the term boy band has really you know,
expanded and I think includes groups like yourself. Um, do
you get offended when someone will call you a boy band?
Or I mean, and y'all get the credit. I mean,
your addition does get the credit of being the blueprint
of the modern boy band today. So when you think
of that at all, I think that it's lesson to
(23:48):
be first and pharmost to be for someone to be
able to identify you and the work that we do
and the work that we you know, nobody works hard
and want their work to go and notice. Um, so
the impact that we've made, that it's been written in
stone can't be rased. And when people can, uh, you
know that they have a great appreciation for what we've done. Uh.
And it's a blessing, it's and we don't take it
(24:10):
for granted. We just don't take it for granted. Yeah, well,
your influence is very impactful, especially for uh, you know,
musicians of my age. You know, your group. Your voice
is what taught us R and B and how to
sing and to harmonize, you know what I mean. That's
that's there would be no InSync without new addition. I mean,
there's just it just wouldn't used InSync fan fans and
(24:35):
of all you guys. So it's like, you know, that's
the beauty of watching something that blossoms, that grows, and
how it's just offsprings and you begin to see the
impact that you've made on others. That's the most I
don't think there's nothing more rewarding than watching the impact
that you had or have had on others. That to
see them just offspring from those things, it makes us proud. Yeah, well,
(24:59):
we thank you very much much. Um. What I love
about your era of groups too, which I don't think
happened today. I could not see this happening with the
end seeing Backstreet one direction ners, but with LSG, Bell,
Bill Da vox, y'all kept you know, switching groups and
making groups and every dam just evolved. I mean that
that would be so great if we were able to
(25:20):
do that today. Was that something? I mean, how did
that all happen? How could you join other groups without
pissing off other guys? And I mean how did that
all work? Well? The thing for maybe when I joined it,
even when I joined the group. Everyone knew that I
still had once we finished the Heartbreak album that I had,
you know, I had to go back and start working
(25:41):
on the solo album. So that was never a secret
to anyone. Everyone understood that. Uh you know when that
happened when I joined the group. So they decided, wow,
I was working on my solum. Uh. Jimmy Damn came
up with this concept for Bell Bill de Vaux and
then said okay, and they came up with this concept
for for Ralph. You know, so it was kind of
like everybody just knew we was gonna take that bag,
(26:02):
everybody's gonna do some stuff, and that we would return
back at the roup. But you know, so I think
it helped really in a lot of ways. That really
gave this group legs and I think even longengevity by
doing that. And I think the own problem sometimes with
groups these days doing it everyone when they're trying to
go solo, they're not trying to come back. Yeah, that's
(26:23):
I mean, it's true, that is true. Yeah, I know
a little bit about that. Yeah, but it's true. And
you know these days, especially bands that are manufactured by
you know, television shows and you know, record labels they
do cho choose lead singers like everyone's lead singers, and
so yeah, a lot of them go off like I'm
not going to go back to this band. The money
(26:44):
is in. This is easier, I get more over here. Yeah,
it was never about that for us, just about the
money too. It was about the whole brotherhood thing. And
that's the other thing that sometimes you can't manufacture, and
you can't you know, nobody can control these guys. They
were all they all grew up together and as kids,
(27:04):
you know, so there's a bond there. And then for
me to come along, you know, it was just like
and I was I'm the oldest, so for me to
come along and join and become I mean, the craziest
thing with Ralph and myself, even when it first happened
where he wasn't really feeling that, we ultimately while we
were there recording started to uh to hang out man
(27:25):
him and we became the closest. It was the craziest thing.
We realized we just had so much in common and
men him would just hang out when we finished a
recording and talking and going to eat and stuff. And
then it was just like things just kind of just
Mesh just came together. Speaking of the money part, you know,
most of us more modern boy bands got really screwed
(27:48):
with our record deals or management. Did you have to
go through that at all, and earlier in your career
having to absolutely, I don't think nobody in that business
at that air that time didn't get screwed over. It
was just a part of the way the business was,
and you had to realize understand that it's still even
through all of that when you look back and think
(28:10):
about what we went through and what we had to
sacrifice when it comes down to the money, the fact
that what you guys have done, what we've done, the
world has seen it and it's been written in stone
and it can it can never be raised, regardless of
what it took the goal to get there. But it
was a big price we paid. But still I wouldn't
trade change trading for nothing in the world. The fact
(28:33):
that we made great music, the fact that we impacted
so many people's lives. It wasn't their fault that the
business was what it was. We had to just live
with that and understand that that's just what it was.
But ultimately being able to be in front of people singing, dancing,
doing what you enjoyed doing the most. God put us
here and getting anointed every teach and every one of
us as far as I'll give you, know, what more
(28:55):
can you say besides that that's what it was. It was,
we learned from it, we grew from and became much
better from it. So still it's a good lesson to
learn at an early age. That's what I always say. Yeah, absolutely,
word yep. Now you have collaborated with many legendary artists,
artists like you said Stevie Wonder a baby face. But
(29:18):
I want to talk about a little Whitney Houston. Um,
what was it like to collab with Whitney? Because of
course you know that that was what I grew up
on in the eighties. It's just Whitney, Michael Janet. But
as huge Whitney fans, can you give us a little
insight of what it's like to work with her? Man?
Just her whole aura energy was so like full of
(29:40):
life and she just I'm telling you what, she just
comes in the room. It's just like she just comes
in with this enescy that just to have you. So
it's so funny because when we started working, Um, she
would call me and she says, um, you know what
you gotta do right, And I'm like, no, what, you know?
You gotta get this gospel album together? And I said.
(30:03):
She goes, you know you know better because she grew up,
and I said yeah yeah. And she kept telling me,
she said, I'll help you. I help you. But and
so at times when we would all get together and
we all hang out, She'll go, I'm not talking to
you and I'm like, why what. She goes, you know
what you gotta do do it? I said, I'm good,
I don't get around to it. We never did, and
(30:26):
I think about that a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we
love her gospel stuff. I mean, we're listening to Whitney
Houston channel right now and it's just all these amazing
just b side you know, and then live performances and
it's just and when she takes you to church, it
is nice. She was just absolutely there's no there's no
(30:46):
one like her ever, and they love being when the
one like And you never got around to the gospel album,
never got around to it, And I kept seeing to
myself that I was going to do it and dedicate
it to her because she stayed on me. Every time
you see me. Well, let's get on this, Johnny. I will.
I definitely will, all right. So here's the frost, the
(31:10):
tip I need from you. To this day, you're still
working with New Edition, your solo music, your own record label.
What keeps you motivated to continue working in this crazy business?
The love, the love for it, the love of it
and compassion for it. Um. You know, it is truly,
um a blessing, especially when you meet people who want
(31:35):
to be in this business so bad and realize how
tough this business is. And when you look back and
think about what we were we were able to accomplish
uh in this business. Um, I don't, like I said,
I don't take it for granted, And I go wow, wow.
You know, have you ever seen if someone once told
me that just for one hit record, there's the odds
(31:56):
of just having one hit record, So imagine when you
can have a string of records, hit records and do
this for a living. This is the only thing I've
ever done all my life, poor living. It's music and singing,
So I don't know any other thing, and it's like
it's just part of my life and I still have
a passion for it. Yeah, well, being on the road
(32:18):
in this business. You know, you're a man of faith.
How do you how do you stay on track and
keep that faith and when you could easily stray away,
you know, being on the road. Well, the reality of
it for me is sometimes life is not always what
we want it to do, and understanding that with faith,
Faith doesn't make things easier, it just makes things possible.
(32:40):
And so yeah, go through the same things that everybody
else go through, challenges, and you do that was challenges
with my faith that I believe and know that it's
possible to get through these things. And that's what I
hold onto the most um, being able to do this,
knowing God put us here to do this. This is
all I've ever done, all we've ever done. And it
(33:01):
tells you quite clearly that this is I'll call him.
So it's like you just can't take it for granted,
because as long as we're here, even forty years, even
at its fifty, even at the sixty, you know, tomorrow
is not promised. So it's like, yo, every time we
step out, I know, I put a mic in my hand.
I don't care where I'm at. It bits in front
of three people or three thousand people or ten thousand people.
(33:23):
I always know, and it's go hard to go home.
Where do you live now? Are you in Atlanta? Los
Angeles rehearsing? But Los Angeles? And the craziest thing when
I was fifteen, when I when I first started recording
in California and I was I'm from DC, my first
thought was I'm moving here, like I loved Californias so much.
(33:44):
And I when I turned eighteen, I ended up in
Los Angeles and I never looked back. It's a look,
it's a great town, great state. You know. We get
a lot of crap, you know, for being in California.
It's just it's an amazing place to live. I'm glad
that we get a lot of crowd because I don't
want to move in here. We got too many people. Anyway,
(34:04):
It's like us living in the valley. Everyone in LA
makes fun of the valley. I'm like, oh, yeah, it's horrible, horrible.
Don't come over here, don't visit. You do not want
very expensive. Oh yeah it's horrible. Oh never mind, Yeah, yeah,
you can't park anywhere. No, it's horrible, don't come over here. Um,
(34:36):
all right, we have some fan questions for you. So
let's get to these. But first I'm gonna play an
interview question from a youth quake nineteen ninety one interview.
All right, so get back to your brain in nineteen
ninety one. All right, So the question is going to be,
if you weren't a singer, what would you be doing instead?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be two things.
An electrical engineer, and at one point I thought I
(34:58):
was going to be a boxer. A boxer. I loved it,
and I was until I one day got hit and
it didn't feel good. Yeah, I know, I always think
about that. I'm like, the first time I get punched
in the face, I'd be like, I don't think could
do this anymore for me? Not for me. Yeah, I
(35:19):
love fixing bangs, and at one point I thought I
was gonna be an be an electrical engineer. Okay, let's
see if you said that nineteen ninety one, if you
weren't doing this, Like, if let's say thing you didn't
pay very well, Let's just imagine if you can for
a moment that you like got that first pay check
and it was really bad. Yeah. Yeah, I didn't want
to be an electrical engineer. That's what I was heading
(35:39):
for before this happened. And I'm still going to go
back to school for that really. Yeah, And that was
something that I've always been interested in, and I think
that that's probably what I would have been in two
by now it matches my back. I like my gig. Yeah, exactly.
(35:59):
Two things from that interview. One, yes, I don't think
you did go to school for that engineering degree. I
love that she was like, you know, your first paycheck,
if it wasn't that great, what would you be doing?
And I'm sure that first paycheck was not that great. No, Yeah,
A golden Nugget ring, the golden Nugget watch, and the bracelet.
(36:20):
It was. It was done. That was the check, Yeah, exactly.
All right. A few more fan questions here from G Pixie.
What has been your favorite decade of music? Oh? My god,
I have to say the nineties. I have to say
the nineties. It was the nineties to me, it was
(36:43):
just I don't know, it was unbelievable to me. I
just thought the nineties, when you had so many great records,
and I love the eighties, two eighties was cool, but
the nineties to me sticks out the most. Well, there
were so much going on in the nineties, Rum the
Seattle grunge to hip hop, exploding R and B, the
(37:04):
biggest thing ever, into Spice Girls and Hanson like it
just kind of the country. It's true. I mean the
nineties had so many different genres of music, like in
the Forefront too, you know, it's all over the place.
I mean it was hard to stand out because it
was so much. And even Aeron too. I think Wayam
(37:25):
might have been in the Yeah. Wam was definitely you know,
late eighties, like early nineties for sure, but even you
know mc Hammer, right, I mean yeah, starting with mc
hammer and ending with jay Z, Like just how that
just that one decade transformed hip hop just right there. Yeah,
it's crazy, all right. What you got some other questions
(37:45):
is from well, I'm no, I'm gonna do one from
Underscore Booze mommy, Oh, Booze Mommy. That's this question. M
I was gonna ask you this question earlier. You had
the new edition of the miniseries you guys did with
bt Um and so a Boot His Mommy wanted to
know how accurate was the new edition mini series and
were you happy with your portrayal very accurate. I thought,
(38:08):
oh my god. You know, of course we had to
condense everything to try to you know, within that. Yeah,
but I mean the stories themselves were actually true. M
James did an incredible job. I met with twice because
I was My mom wasn't doing well and I was
(38:29):
while they was doing the film. In the movie, but
I was. I told him, yeah, a question blah called
me and we met twice and one time he asked
me about something called me. But he did. When I
looked when I watched that movie and watched how he
embodied me, that was scary. I was just like, oh shucks, wow, yeah, no,
(38:50):
that's great because there was so many of these, you know,
movies of groups and artists. You hear like that was
not true, like that it was all b s. I
never had up in that way. Well they tell you, well,
they tell you that they probably just like without that
was very accurate, and I don't want to know that
it was on the whole process of the movie. I'm
making sure stories were being told the group ourselves. We
(39:12):
were hands on involved in every step of it. So
sounds great. Oh yeah, yeah, you gotta get that final
letter for sure. Like I would never do a show
unless add final let it nowhere all right from life
with my low Oh, this is a good tip here.
What is the best advice you would give to someone
young dealing with all the stress and pressures of the business. Oh,
(39:37):
my goodness, man, because times has changed and it's so
tough because you know, coming up in our my era,
um getting a record contract back in the day was
it was huge if you get a record deal well
and you were actually supported by the record label. Now
it's just I feel like record record companies now are
(39:58):
just a pr firm at this point, and they don't
like to develop the artists. They just want you to Hi,
here's the full album already done, just we release it
for us. That's how I feel it is like so
times has changing for them. I thinking for young people
who are in this business, I still want the one
thing that could never change in the business is a
key word. I just said business, Learn the business that
(40:22):
could be the end of all. Tell all as far
as how far to go into business and how you
can recover if you've made some mistakes and it's falling
along the way. It is important to not just want
to sing, dance, and hold the mac in your hand
or make beats, but to also understand the numbers, understand
those things and what you're walking yourself into. Having lawyers,
(40:44):
never walking into situations and taking them for granted, because
you know, you could sign something that could put you
in a situation for years to come guilty. Yeah, a
lot of people, and it's common, it is so many people. Yeah,
and you know people will still do that even with
(41:05):
all the warnings we've all given anyone right for decades
in this industry, that young person is still going to
sign that contract. What else are they going to do exactly?
I mean, you're coming into a business, you don't have
any power, you don't have fame at that point, and
it's like this or nothing. You're gonna you're gonna sign
it anyway. But yeah, it's a shame that can even
just happen legally. You have you're so hungry to be
(41:25):
out there and to be you know, to be able
to showcase your talent. A lot of people do it
even knowing what they're walking into, even if you try
to explain it. So it's just one of those things
that you just have to really be in a place
where you just got to think about what it is
you're doing, figuring out even if you're gonna let them
beat you over, how long are you gonna let them be?
Yeah about renegotiation. Yeah, here's another question from New York
(41:50):
born California dreaming. I want to know this one. Yeah, um, yeah,
this is the big one. We've heard a few people
ask this one for us. Is a new addition a
Vegas residency ever going to happen? Absolutely? We were, we
were close to doing it, yeah, this year, but we
had to make a decision between this year is being
our fortieth and that's a milestone. So we're you know,
(42:13):
let's celebrate this fortieth. Go out here with our fans
and celebrate our fortieth. Then we'll come back, circle back
around and and and get that locked in uh later
on in next year and you know, keep it rocking.
So how's the choreo coming? Oh? Oh lord Jesus, do
(42:34):
you really want to know? They really share the paramedic
standard all year? It was, but you know, it's crazy.
The first week is really really the toughest. Yeah, second
week it's tough, but you go, okay, I can. I'm
starting to work my way through it. Third week it's like, Okay,
(42:56):
I'm starting. It's starting to really wear off me. Now,
way I can kind of get through the process. But
that first week, I don't wish that all my worst enemy.
Yeah yeahs. Last time we before, we did Coachella a
few years ago, and I know I hadn't danced in forever,
especially within seeing, and we were just doing Tearing in
my Heart, which is like the simplest choreography from nineteen
ninety six. Oh my gosh, my knees were killing me.
(43:22):
I mean it's a thing like protect any young people
listening right now. We did not take this advice because
I remember a lot of people are like, oh, don't
do that, don't do that move because you're gonna be
filling it in twenty years. And I do. My knees hurt.
You know, I can't relate. I can't tell me, but
I did though this time. Yeah, the first time I
(43:43):
started we're working out. The first day we got here,
well that's the first day that the fifth ding we
got here, started working out. And the only thing I
do is walk. I walk on I walk into treadmills
for forty five minutes. So that's all we can do
these days. I'm actually, believe it or not, I'm seventeen
(44:03):
pounds lighter than I was three weeks ago. Wow. So
it's crazy because of course it intimate. Yeah, I've been
doing it all like everything, what's the fastest other tricks?
So it's crazy. But what I've learned every day after
I do my walk and an incline and stuff on
(44:24):
the treadmill, I don't let a single day go without
doing light leg presses. I don't do nothing heavy, but
just every single day. And I noticed when I was
it was hurting me the first week to bend down
and go through some of those routines. Now I do
them at ease. Every single day I do the light
leg precess and it made a difference and I was like, oh,
(44:46):
this is the trick stretched stretch. I know. We say
that every day. We're like, we're gonna walk on the dreadmill.
That's what we do. We walk on the treadmill on
an incline, and then it comes to like time to
do it, and we're like, well maybe tomorrow. A lot
of tomorrow. All you have to do is twenty minutes
on a treadmill with an incline and all it is
a phone to ring or something happened anything anymore talk
(45:10):
myself out of working out anytime? Good good, Well. Speaking
of tour, what is your favorite song to perform on
the upcoming tour. It's my favorite, but it's the toughest
one for me because I put some reason you gotta
just if it isn't love has this thing where it's
that being in sync. It's no punt in it. But
(45:33):
yoe me a dime? So are you olu prom on
a dime? Oh beauty when you're watching it and we
watched how when we are locked in and downed in
But it's like you gotta breathe, Like it's you know,
just the different turns and twists and stuff you can
going down, going back up. And I mean it's like
it's a bunch of little movement pieces in that choreography
(45:56):
that makes you go by the time you finish as much.
I love hearing the reaction by the time. I love
it also here and getting to the very end of it.
But it is amazing what the fans, the energy they
give you on stage really just make you not feel
the pain as much. Yeah, um, all right, are we
(46:20):
gonna hear some new music from new edition anytime soon. Yeah. Absolutely,
we've been people have been produced, has been submitting songs
right now. So we're just trying to figure it out
where which one are we're gonna We're gonna gonna dive
in on and yes, keep it rocking. I mean, you know,
we've been able to do this for forty years. And
let me tell you, make no mistake about it, forty years.
(46:42):
It hasn't been no walking apart. We have had some
serious challenges we have had with internal issues with us
as brothers, uh, dealing with life, dealing with business, dealing
with each other. And it was no, it's not a
wasn't no walking apart. But somehow somewhere there was something
that something had happened that allowed us to learn something
(47:07):
which was more important. And I made the first phone call,
and that was to understand that part of our biggest
problems for us, how group, was about everyone wants to
feel a sense of value and need to be heard.
We had the biggest problem with you know how people
talk over you and you when somebody saying something that
(47:27):
you don't don't, you don't agree with, and you cut
them off, and it's all this other stuff and it
was always all that kind of stuff, and so I
made everyone do was become more conscious and aware that listen,
I don't care if they're saying the craziest thing there
is on the planet. We still have to allow every
individual to speak NPR. Then we can begin to start
(47:49):
to figure out what's the next thing here, how we
resolve these issues, or how are we going to go
about it. But everyone got a chance and we still
do it to this day. Everyone's voice is heard and
then we sit down and figure out how we going
to what's going to be the next move. We're doing it,
but we've learned that more everybody came on board and
was more ampt to work together when they just wanted
(48:11):
to be heard their idea and you know, so it
made a world of a difference for us. Yeah, it's
it's so true. Everyone just wants to be heard, and
so many times we just forget to listen. Um, So
that is a very good tip right there. Yeah. Well,
especially with your crew, I know you've had many They've
had many moments over the course of the past decade together.
(48:34):
I can imagine I've been we didn't see it all.
There was time we were in the back and you
couldn't tell. There was bites going on, food on the
wall and stuff was going on, and we're coming out
and go ahead. Yeah. Yeah, they just still haven't gone
to the next steps yet. They're still working on that part. Yeah,
all right, before we let you go, I'd love to
get your opinions on what we should binge here and
(48:58):
watch right now. So what are you listening to right
now that we all need to be listening to? Oh
my god, Harry Lennox, Jasmine Sullivan. Yeah, uh god, I
listened to so much. I like the whole school stuff.
That's why I go back to Steed and Pego Ryanson
(49:19):
and Jeffrey Osborne of those kind of people. But I
listened to everything because I'm a musician, so a lot
of things just intrigues me. So I go from one
end of spectrum to the other. Um. But you know,
I live, love, and live and read music. So yeah.
One one musician that I've just been reacquainted with is
(49:41):
al Green. I've been listening to his music lately. L
V maybe one of my top five songs of all time. Now,
So you can't teach singers. It's just when you got
business of this gift anointing that is just unique. That
God gives every end visual and some stands out more
(50:02):
than others. And al has and have always had this
thing that when he opens his mouth, it's like he's
just going, man, you're just you're you're mesmerized. What's your
favorite movie? Oh my god, there's so many. UM, believe
it or not, I'd have to say, uh, I love life,
(50:23):
but Eddie and Martin and so many of our it
was like, whenever I just want to laugh, that's the
movie I put on. Yeah. I don't know if you
have time to bene TV, but are you binging anything
right now? We need to be watching my brother and
(50:45):
my dear friend Tyler Perry. He has a show called
The Oval. You know what I do to him when
the season goes, when he goes off, he won't he
won't walk for it. I start asking him like, come on, man,
I'm not gonna tell nobody. It's like because he goes
to Hell, goes through his place, and he just and
(51:07):
he starts writing and getting getting. I mean, he just
writes to all this stuff, and so I'll just call
and keep going. Also, what uh, what's gonna happen? Uh?
He's like, man, I'm not gonna tell nobody. And you've
done a lot of acting, and I'm sure you've been
in Tyler Perry productions. Why doesn't he throw you into Oval? Well,
(51:30):
I would love to, And uh, that's one of my favorites.
I remember when he had The Has Having to Have
Not just that was a another show where you just
get like, just get engulfed and I can't, like, I
can't turn from it. And that's what's now happening with
The Oval. I'm just like, yo, what the heck? And
then I'll call him and go, what are you on? Like,
(51:51):
how did you think? Are you serious? But you sound
very creative? Why don't you create your own series? I
would love to do that. I actually would love that. Um,
everyone says I got issues everybody in the name of
the series right there, right there and done. See it
(52:13):
just writes itself. But for me, I love to laugh.
And I've been around you know, my brothers Eddie, who
have been around since I was sixteen, seventeen years at
the age, all my friends that are most of my
friends that are comedians and stuff. So it's just it's
almost a natural thing that I find humor and everything,
and it's always NonStop of something I'm laughing at. And
(52:33):
then I realized later that laughter is the best medicine
on the planets. You just have to laugh to keep
from crying. But it's the there's something out of the
day that I'm gonna find that I'm gonna find, I'm
gonna laugh about that. I just find humor and then
and it is the best medicine on the planet to me. Well,
life itself is humorous. There's a lot of little jokes
(52:54):
going on at all time, but you just have to
laugh at it. Yeah, Johnny gil I love having you
on the show. I loved getting to know you better. Um.
You know, like I said, if it weren't for you
and your guys, I wouldn't be sitting here today. So
I thank you for all the influence that you gave
me and my my brothers. Um, you're a great influence.
(53:16):
And uh, I wish we could have been together forty years.
That would have been God, I tell you. But let
me tell you we broke up for a long period
of time. Yeah never say never. I mean That's what
I'm saying. Walk around doing that and we was like
and something happened yeah, it's like something can yeah, and
(53:36):
life and you know the one. And that's why I
said never say never. But more importantly, we're proud of
what you guys have done, and you guys should be proud,
and even at some point in life, you've just got
to realize that at some point when you put things
in perspective and understand that what you were able to
accomplish that some many others couldn't. Uh to know that
(53:58):
you can't shouldn't take it for granted and learn at
some point. But one word is called forgiveness. But people
have in the right place, in the right space to
do so. But ultimately, let go let God because when
he put you guys together, when y'all created this whole
thing as a group that has been successful, understand it
(54:20):
wasn't through you guys. Is just through y'all, and you're
telling your gift that was through his hands that he
put it on. He put put on you guys, and
he can do anything but fail. And so all we
do is continue to live, continue to appreciate what you
guys have accomplished, but at the same time, understand some
people got more growing to do. And it's okay they're
(54:41):
not going to get to the bus stop at the
same time. We don't all get there at the same time.
But at some point, as you get older, you beginning
to realize and have a great appreciation for the smaller
things in life. You begin to look around and those
things that you start looking around and you start thinking,
you're asking yourself, what am I? What was that mad about?
What was I tripping on? What does it really matter? Yeah?
(55:02):
Really that serious? When you get older, you it really
does start you start looking at the trees and the
things that are that you never really paid much attention to,
and you start having a great appreciation for it and
the reason why we're here at this point, because we're
the old battles in here around here, So Liance, but
you are a wise man, and Johnny Gil, how can
(55:24):
everyone stay in touch with you out there? Real Johnny
Gil twenty two on my Instagram and um and that's
where my and the Real Johnny Guild as well on
my Twitter, um and uh the official Johnny Gil Fan
fan club page you can find find me on so
and I answer all you guys. It's a lot of
(55:45):
you guys. But I do I sit when I have
my time in space. Start going out and answer, and
then they want to ask more questions. I'm going, but
I'm just responding. You gotta take care of the fans.
That's why we have the show right here. We wanted
the fans to have direct access little all these legendary
performers from these amazing groups. UM. Super excited that you
(56:05):
were here and I hope to catch up again one day,
and of course the rest of your members have to
come on the show too. So absolutely absolutely congratulations man,
and keep doing what you're doing. We're all proud of
you two. Man. Well, I'm gonna see you on this
Legacy tour. I can't wait. Yeah, yes, please, man, you
know wherever you want to come, that's done. Deal. You
(56:25):
know that we got you ONLCK. Okay, we'll be there.
I'm gonna hold you to that. I'm gonna hold you.
I got you absolutely all right, Matt. We'll give the
guys my love and uh enjoy the rest of rehearsal.
Get back to this wet No. I thank you for
giving me this break. Yeah yeah, anytime you need an
excuse to be like, well, I gotta talk to Lance now,
I gotta go. Thank you so much, Johnny, We'll see
(56:50):
you later. Thank you so much. All right, Aye, I
love Johnny nice human. I've always been such a fan
right of him individually, of the group. Like I've said,
we can't give New Addition more credit for being you know,
for us being who we were within Sink Back Street.
That's just who we were influenced. We were the kids
(57:11):
that grew up on that music. Oh yeah, they're the
ones who gave White Kid's soul, right, like just some
final likes. Not me, but you know JC justin Yes,
that's they got that soul from listening to Johnny Gill
and New Addition. Yeah, just what it is. What a
nice guy I know. And we're definitely going to go
(57:33):
see that legacy. I would love to see that residency. Yes,
of course they need a Vegas residency. A great. Oh
that was so good. It was just now I have
a huge smile on my face, so that it's just nice.
There was things I just kind of sat back and
I just really digested what he was saying. That was beautiful, Yeah, beautiful, beautiful. Well,
(57:57):
I mean there's nothing else we can say after that
interview like that. No one wants to listen to us anymore.
So we're just gonna leave it right there. Thank you
so much for listening to for roust Tips out there again.
You can review, subscribe and rate and rate five stars
five stars only anything less pretend you can't do it,
and we do love reading and reviews. In fact, we're
gonna start reading some of the reviews on this show.
(58:19):
Oh can we even the bad Yeah, in the bad
one that there's been any bad there hasn't been, so
let maybe start writing some bad reviews. No jk at
the very end to give it five stars a bad
review and then put JK. Yeah, just kidding, No, don't
do most. I love it. No, all right, guys, we
love you out there. Don't drink and drive, be good
to each other. Turket Turchin. It's been a pleasure. It's
(58:41):
always it has been all right. Oh yeah, and we're
gonna end with our new sign off. What's our new
sign off? Stave frosted. Okay, I don't know what that means,
but it sounds fun. I know it can so many
and don't forget stay frosted. Hey, thanks for listening. Follow
us on Instagram at Frosted Tips with Lance and Michael
(59:03):
ursonar and at Lance Bass for all your pop culture needs,
and make sure to write us a review and leave
us five stars six as you can see you next time.
Hosts And Creators
Lance Bass
Langston Kerman
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