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Bliss Mag Interview with Howie and Pollyanna
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Date: Jan 16, 2001 We Never Got to Say Goodbye Howie and Pollyanna Dorough are finally calling it a night at 4am. No, they haven't been out partying, they've been holed up in an NYC recording studio laying down tracks on Pollyanna's new Latin-pop demo. It's the first record to come out of Howie's company Howiedoit productions, which he founded last July. Bliss caught them before they snuck off for some well earned kip. Q Pollyanna, you're first single is called Fly to Heaven, and Howie sings backing vocals. What inspired you to write that song? P: It's a song about our sister Caroline, who died of Lupus in 98. While she was dying, I wanted to keep her spirits up and not say goodbye. So she died without my telling her how much she meant to me. The song says, "There are so many things that I wish I'd said to you. I had the chance and I let it slip away. If I could fly to heaven to see you one more time, I'd fly all the way up there just to say I love you." Q How did Caroline's death affect your perspective on life? H: It made me realise that fame and fortune mean nothing without your family. The day before Caroline died, BSB had just won their first MTV Award in the US. I was supposed to be flying to North Carolina the next day to see how Caroline was doing, but our brother John told me to leave that night because she was getting world. I got to the airport, but I missed my flight by ten minutes. By the time I had caught another flight and got to the hospital, Caroline was in a critical condition. The doctor tried to resuscitate her, but we lost her. I kept thinking that if I had made the first flight, I could have said goodbye. Q Do you ever regret the crazy schedule you have with BSB? H: I did after I went to Caroline's funeral and had to fly to South America three hours later to do a concert. My sister's death made me see that worked was my life. With BSB I have this schedule where I have to go, go, go. We get so caught up in things because we're trying to please the fans and the record label. But now I know our family is more important than success. That's why Polly (sic) and I decided to start our foundation - The Caroline Dorough-Cochran Lupus Fund - to honour our sister. Q We hear you're donation the money you made from Fly To Heaven to the fund. P: Since the song was inspired by Caroline's death, I thought it only right to give the proceeds to her foundation to raise money for Lupus research, and to provide financial assistance for people who have the disease. Q: As executive producer on Pollyanna's demo, was it hard giving directions to your big sis? H: I still think of myself as her baby brother so at first I didn't want to seem like I was a know-it-all because of my experience. But now I'm just blunt! When you're family you have that built-in comfort level. Q how do you think your fame will help Pollyanna's career? H: I've always tried to plug her (In the press and the industry) whenever I could. I was making all of these connections through BSB so I wanted to help her break in to the business. She was singing long before I was. The roles kind of switched so now I'm able to help her. After all she was the one who guided me into my music career. P: When Howie was little I'd take him with me to auditions and rehearsals. I'd also pull him up on stage to sing with me in church, constantly encouraging him to perform. Once he started making his way in the business, I taught him how to enunciate when he sang. But now he's helping me improve my vocals. My strength had always been singing live in obscure stage shows; I had no idea how to sing in a studio. Howie helped me through it. Q Howie, you hosted a benefit in Orlando to raise money for the foundation. What was the event itself like? H: I auctioned off some of my personal items from the early days of BSB, like the stage costumes and suits I'd worn to award shows. Plus Mariah Carey donated the jeans and shirt she wore in her Heartbreaker video, Shania Twain gave an overcoat, Shaquille O'Neal sent shows, and other celebs donated stuff to raise over $100, 000 (£62,000). Q And the two of your sang Fly to Heaven at a benefit concert for Caroline. How was that? P: It was an emotional night, but it was good practise for me and Howie. I performed the song myself for 2 million people at the Popkomm Festival in Germany, and I've also sung Fly to Heaven at concerts in the Dominican Republic and Washington DC. H: We've also been to South America to raise money. Polly was my opening act and I sang songs by Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias with a nine-piece band. We sang Fly to Heaven, I knew the fans would appreciate the message behind the song. And we're sure Caroline was somewhere appreciating her song too. * Watch out for the UK release date of Fly to Heaven in a future issue of Bliss
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