February 25, 1999
SKY: Euphoric Ecstasy
By Noy Vongsamphank -- The Nugget
Individuals of all
ages and both genders
got a "Piece of
Paradise" on February
17th. 4,000 + fans
gathered at HMV's new location at West
Edmonton Mall, Phase 4, to catch a
dynamic duo in action. Who was the cause
of all this commotion? No other than
Montreal's SKY.
The word "sky" used to be refer-red to
as the colorful, open surrounding above
one's head; but now, when "Sky" is
mentioned, they obviously mean the band. It
was only a year ago this month that Sky
signed with major record label EMI. Since
the signing, things for the band have been a
non-stop workfest - travelling to Asia,
performing for fans, promoting, now signing
with Arista records in the US, making
videos, and doing interviews daily - have
kept James (vocalist) and Antoine (backing
vocals) very busy.
After watching Sky's in-store
performance, it was evident that
entertaining comes naturally for these two
very talented and attractive males. When
Sky hit the stage, they instantly gave off
immense, positive energy which they say
they get from the fans. Their funky,
R&B-influenced pop groove are danceable,
catchy, and soothing. To add to the groove
are the amazing lyrics. Antoine's
"passionate" while James is "troubled."
With this different combination of
personalities comes beautiful lyrics that are
real.
Sky performed, with much enthusiasm,
several songs off their debut CD, "Piece of
Paradise." A few songs their set included
were "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Love
Song," and my favorite, "Push." Sky was
supported by a full backup band, which
complimented James and Antoine
perfectly. They are definitely an act to catch
next time they are in Edmonton.
Interview.
I got the opportunity to hang out with
James and Antoine. Having to do many
interviews that afternoon probably was
beginning to get these guys annoyed and
exhausted, but when I interviewed them, if
this was the case, it sure didn't show.
James and Antoine were great company
and kept me laughing constantly.
Antoine is the bald, tattooed,
tongue-pierced, 26-year-old who has two
sides to him. He is a great dancer, has
incredible fashion sense, and used to do
odd modelling jobs in high school. Even
though Antoine's known to be active in the
party scene, he does have a very
compassionate side as well. He loves to
cook and, after talking to him, I could tell he
treats his ladies like gold. Antoine is
definitely the more talkative and outgoing of
the two, but he's also the one responsible
for all the sweet, heartfelt lyrics. For
example, "all I need is for you to be holding
me forever, you're my superstar..." shows
that this bright-eyed sweetheart is a pot of
gold.
Then there is the other half of Sky -
James. He's the bleached blonde,
blue-eyed cute boy who used to have his
labret (chin) pierced until it got infected!
Now he has the innocent, sweet look that
puts many girls in awe. James is the shy
one of Sky. During the interview he rarely
spoke, but when he did, it was usually
something intelligent. It was hard to
maintain eye contact with James because
he gets nervous when people stare at him.
It's even a little difficult for him to perform
because everyone's staring; but since they
are performing for the fans, it puts James a
little at ease. James enjoys Sci-Fi novels
and is the one that writes Sky's twisted
lyrics like, "the eyes are freaky and the
horns are there to stay."
Sky is gaining much attention and is
climbing up the music charts rapidly.
Surprisingly, this has not affected the
guys'egos and personalities. They are
really grounded and charming individuals
with direction in their lives. Both enjoy
performing and meeting the fans, but also
really look forward to the 'reality time' after
the shows. Maintaining a private life and
having 4uality time for themselves is really
hard at the moment, but they can't complain
about the wonderful opportunity they were
given to do what they were doing.
Not only are James and Antoine
talented musicians, they can play various
instruments which include: bass, guitar, and
piano. Aside from writing music and playing
instruments though, they also have another
passion producing. Actually meeting back
1992 in an engineering school, James and
Antoine decided that even though they are complete opposites
personality-wise, they do have great
musical chemistry and common goals. The
guys even started their own record label
called Phat Royale Records, and on that
label, they released their first 5 song EP and
Antoine produced Sky's first video,
"America." James and Antoine hope one
day that they can take Phat Royale to
another level by signing, producing, and
writing for other inspiring musicians.
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