Interview

In this Scribble, a singer who used to be in a very famous band opens up with a reporter about his reasons for leaving the band and his plans for the future. This is based off of Geri Halliwell's departure from the Spice Girls in 1998 and what she felt right before she left. I think I will have a sequel to this where the band reunites with all of the original members some ten years after this. Enjoy!

Gale: Hi, this Gale Riley, field correspondent Top Story. I'm sitting here with Billy Loman, former singer of with the famous boy-band Childish Intentions. He's here to give his first interview since leaving the band and is going to tell us of his future plans. How are you doing, Billy?

Billy: I'm doing great, Gale. Thanks for having me, it's been too long.

Gale: Yes, it has. When did we talk last, wasn't it two years ago at your surprise fifteenth birthday party the band through for you?

Billy: (laughs) Yeah that was it.

Gale: Okay, so, let's first talk about how things are going for you since leaving the band. What have you been doing since you left them in May?

Billy: I've been focusing more on my writing career. You know I published that compilation of short stories a year or so ago?

Gale: Right, very popular compilation wasn't it?

Billy: Yeah, it was. Anyway, I'm now focused on writing a book that I started a few years ago about an alternate reality of the world where select people have the ability to communicate and interact with the dead and with supernatural figures.

Gale: What supernatural figures?

Billy: Well, Jesus, for one, and I created a character that takes on the persona of death, he literally causes all of the deaths in the world and the only people who know about it are the deceased and those with the special ability. The Devil also makes an appearance as the primary antagonist who is set to kill the main character but is ultimately defeated somehow.

Gale: Wow, sounds like an interesting book. When is supposed to come out?

Billy: I'm hoping that it will come out sometime late next year.

Gale: Great, I look forward to reading it. Now, the band just released another single from the Get Back album and it's rumored to be the last single because you left the band. The video, while it doesn't feature any members of the band, it features you all as cartoon characters and it includes you as one of the singers. How did that make you feel when you saw that?

Billy: Well, I was kinda shocked that they used my likeness. I knew that there were plans to make the video before I left and I knew none of us would physically star in it so I thought it would be easy for them to cut me out. I called Jerry, my former manager with Childish Intentions, and he said that they did it as a tribute to me, as a way of saying 'goodbye and good luck with whatever you do; we'll always be friends'"

Gale: And when Jerry told you that, what was that like for you?

Billy: I was touched, honestly. I thought they would be angry with me for leaving them during the middle of a tour and that they wanted nothing to do with me. However, I still get texts from all of them a couple times a week and they say they miss me and they wish me the best and that they will visit me once the tour is over.

Gale: That's great. So are you all still close friends?

Billy: Absolutely! I still consider those guys to be like my brothers. I'm still very much close to all of them and none of them are responsible for my departure.

Gale: Okay, so you've brought up your leaving the band, would you like to talk about it.

Billy: To be honest, no, but I think the fans deserve to know why I left.

Gale: All right, so why don't you tell us what caused you to leave?

Billy: Sure. Well, it was a number of things. The first is the touring was just becoming too much for me. I felt exhausted all the time and I didn't think we were ever going to get a break from it, even though we had days off. The days off, to me, were just days of traveling to do our next gig and not much for relaxing. As time went on, the touring just became monotonous, it was just way too much for me to do. Now, that's just one thing.

Gale: What else caused you to leave?

Billy: The media was partially responsible. They kept reporting that I was being violent to the rest of the band and was constantly threatening to beat them up which really hurt me. All of the guys stood by me when those stories were ran, but I still felt like someone had punched me in the face repeatedly every time a story like that was published and there were always untrue. Not to blame you or anything.

Gale: (laughs) No, I understand, I wouldn't be too happy if the media was reporting stuff like that about me. So did anything else cause you to leave.

Billy: Yes. Rarely while we were on tour did I ever get to see my family or any of my other friends outside the band and I felt that I wasn't showing them enough attention because of my musical career.

Gale: I see, is that all?

Billy: Not quite. Ever since we did the live show at the Holiday Bowl in December, I've been feeling depressed. I felt like I wasn't needed in the band. I felt that nobody appreciated me for what I had done for and with the band, that nobody cared. Ever since that show, I've just been feeling sad and lonely since then.

Gale: Did you tell any of the other band members?

Billy: No, I didn't. I hid away my emotions in front of them and put on a smile. I think had I told them, I might have gotten over the depression and I could still probably be in the band. However, I just didn't have the energy to get over it because I was exhausted from the tour so I left.

Gale: When did you realize that it was time for you to leave?

Billy: Well, the last month or so that I was with them, I had a feeling inside of me growing that was telling me 'it's time for you to go, you've overstayed your welcome. You should leave now.' Ultimately, the moment when I knew for certain that I would be leaving was when we did our last show before I left. We were performing at Albert Hall in London. As we were singing Viva Forever, I realized 'Oh my God, this is the last time I'm going to be performing with these guys. This is my last show ever!'"

Gale: So what did you do when the show was over?

Billy: We had a flight back home to Kansas late that night after the concert and we flew back home. On the trip home, I was kind of quiet. I did talk to some of the other guys, but not much. When we landed in Wichita, I grabbed my luggage and turned to the rest of the guys and said 'Okay guys. I'm going to say goodbye now. Goodbye guys.' And they just kinda looked at me funny and said awkward goodbyes to me, not knowing that was the last time they were going to see me as a member of the band (starts tearing up). That was like the final straw for me, my best friends weren't even saying proper goodbyes to me. But, I don't blame them now. I understand that it was weird for them for me to say goodbye like that because we were all going to see each other again in a few hours anyway to travel to New York for our next show, if everything had gone to plan. So I left and the next day, I publicly announced my departure from the band.

Gale: Do you plan on doing a solo career now?

Billy: No I don't. I'm going to be focusing on my writing for the next while and I don't plan to return to music for a long time, even though I love it.

Gale: Well Billy, thank you for the interview. I know it must have been hard for you to open up on leaving the band, given the reasons behind it. I wish you the best of luck in everything you do.

Billy: Thank you.

Gale: No problem. This is Gale Riley, reporting for Top Story. Thanks for watching our interview with Billy Loman. Goodnight.