The day before I spoke on the phone with the members of 4Count, there was fandemonium on the other side of the country.
The band had surprised two schools in Ontario as part of an anti-bullying campaign organized by their friend and motivational speaker, Saidat. The smiles on the faces of the kids they surprised said it all – 4Count has their hearts set on making a positive impression.
The group started off with brothers Adam and Kieran Ackerman, who were quickly scouted by none other than Nick Cannon during a music video shoot. Adding Aaron Scott and Ben Robinson to the mix – 4Count was formed and they relocated their base from California to Toronto. Despite the contrasting weather climates, the band has found their stride during their spent time on Canadian soil.
asapmusicblog.ca: What was the first song in your memory that inspired you to pursue music?
Kieran Ackerman: Definitely hearing Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” for the first time – it was just something else. I would have to say that’s probably my favourite song, period, but just the way it was and in the music video and seeing the way Michael just grooved. There’s something that just clicked with me!
Ben Robinson: You know, with music for me, when I was young my parents took me to the Nutcracker. Although it’s a ballet, it’s very strong on the music and the ballet music. I just remember I thought it was a beautiful show as a kid, just the music and the dancing really inspired me and that’s how I kind of got into the entertainment.
Adam Ackerman: For me, I think it was actually “Yeah” by Usher – I just remember that Kieran would just always play it in the morning, I used to wake up to it.
Aaron Scott: I tended to listen to a lot of oldies growing up, I would say Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Usual”.
A: I saw that guys made a surprise visit to a school yesterday. What was the story behind that?
4Count: Our good friend Saidait that runs the anti-bullying campaign, she invited us, actually. She’s been going around to all these little elementaries and teaching them dances to our song “Epic”. So she asked us, ‘Hey I have a couple of schools, do you mind coming in and surprising the kids?’ Well, of course! Especially keeping with the anti-bullying message – we really support that. Yesterday we went there, we surprised a couple of schools and they loved it. It just made their whole year and it was just an awesome feeling overall.
A: On the topic of fans, social media is pretty accessible these days. How does it feel being able to connect with fans at such a direct level?
4Count: It really means a lot, because a lot of artists don’t communicate, they leave it to their team to do it. That’s the thing about us, we want everyone to know that we run all our social media and the best way to relate with our fans is to be talking to them one on one and have that one on one experience.
A: The band is now based in Toronto, making you guys honourary Canadians in a way. What are some of your favourite things about Toronto and Canada?
4Count: We’ve noticed that the people out here are just so nice. When they find out that we’re from America, there’s no rivalry or anything – there’s just nice people out here! It’s really cool that there’s a lot people from around the world that are over here too, it’s not just race, you know? It’s just beautiful people here all the time. The countryside is beautiful. There are so many things we like about it! Even the winter – we know it was a rough winter, there was an ice storm, we weren’t actually here for that but it was something special to us [having] our first white Christmas together. It actually meant a lot to us, and Canada means a lot to us – they’ve shown nothing but support for us. We love it here so much!
A: Your debut album is slated for release this summer. What have been some of the biggest highlights in the process of making the album?
4Count: I think for us, it was just really cool to be able to connect to Canada, to Toronto, and to be able to record out here. We recorded through the winter, so we were recording and looking out and seeing the snowfall. On top of that our producer Jenson Vaughn, him and his whole team are amazing. We’re just so blessed and so grateful to be working with such an amazing producer and an amazing group of writers. It was such a huge thrill – we’re still in shock, we still can’t believe “Epic” is on the radio. We still have to pinch ourselves!
A: If you could narrow down a single message that you could want your music to convey, what might that be?
4Count: Live a positive life, don’t get down on yourself, encourage each other – that’s what we’re all about, being very inspirational and just pursuing whatever you believe in and just making the most of it. Whether it’s being in a boy band to being a doctor to anything – that’s what we want our message to be. If it does happen and works out the way that it’s supposed to, just stay humble, stay focused and your dreams will all come true.
—————-
For more information on 4count, head over to: http://fourcount.com.
