Eve: At what age did you begin to play the bass?

Mel: At What age did start playing? I was 11 years old when I started. I was in 6th grade and a music teacher called Diane Beard brought this guitar to school and I thought that I could play. I said, "I can play that." So she let me try it for a little while and I guess she thought I had a little bit of talent. Do, She let me take it home for about a week.

Eve: Do you play any other musical instruments?

Mel: Well ya know, my vocal stylin'. (Laughing) That's my jump for Marc. I'm like, "Man you want me to break off some of my vocal stylin'? He says, "For real we really don't want me singing.

Eve: In the video weren't you singing with Gladys Knight?

Mel: Well uh no. (laughs)
I mess around with other instruments, drums, piano, guitar, drum programming, things like that but the bass is pretty much my instrument.

Eve: You are a very talented musician. You have some very strong marketing skills. You're quite innovative and you produced your own interactive CD-Rom business card. The CD has opened many doors for you. One of which has allowed you the opportunity to work with legendary Gladys Knight. Can you tell us what that experience was like?

Mel: Working with Gladys. Wow, I mean what can you say? Gladys is a legend. The first time that I heard her voice coming out of my monitor I thought, "Oh boy, you really bit off more than you can chew." But she was really nice to me and made me feel welcomed. It was a great experience. I rolled in that band for about 2 ½ years. It was good. It was a really great experience.

Eve: I sense a very spiritual person and a good communicator. Do you feel it's important to teach and guide up and coming musicians.

Mel: No. (said jokingly) I don't consider myself a teacher at all but I do think that it's important to share what you wanted and give the benefit of your experiences not just to up and coming people but to everyone around you. You can always learn something from anyone. Something that you share with someone else may be just the thing they need to get through the day. Ya know.... always share and give back.

Part Two
Eve: Are you interested in pursuing acting?

Mel: The whole TV. Thing is a fluke for me. It was not something that I pursued. It kind of found me but I'm happy that it happened. It's fun and it's a great hobby to have and you know my livelihood doesn't depend on my acting. Thank God. I'd probably lose everything. "Get out of here man. Don't call us we'll call you." I wouldn't say that I want to be an actor. I like it when the opportunity comes up and I've been fortunate enough to be on some good shows with great people and I look like I know what I'm doing even if I don't. So it's cool.

Eve: Well the camera certainly loves you.
Your big break came when Arsenio asked you to be a guest in his house band. You were a complete unknown trying to make it in the business. Can you tell us how this happened and what the experience was like?

Mel: Aresenio Hall was having a contest called The Flavor of the Future Contest and basically you sent a video in of yourself doing what you do and if he thought you were talented and he liked it he would put you on the show. You could win a meeting with a Hollywood executive or money.... $1000.00 or something like that. I thought hmmmm....ya know, I could send him a video and if he liked it he'll put me on but I won't ask to be in the contest. I'll just ask to sit in with the band. If he were to just be like, "No he's not in the contest he's sitting in with the band...that's Mel." That would be a great credit to have on my resume. So I tried it and it worked. I sent in the video and he called me 19 days later and hired me on a whole different day from the contest so it wasn't like I was in the contest at all so I got a credit and he taught me some very important things about the business. He's wonderful. I owe that guy my career. He got me started.

Eve: Mel I've seen you perform several times. You have a smile from the moment you walk on the stage until the moment you walk off. There is no doubt you are having the time of your life. Can you tell us what's going through your mind while you're performing?

Mel: I'm just happy to be here. It's a blessing to be here. For every musician that you see like me that's here playing, who are on stage playing, there is 100 that never really got the opportunity to show their work like I do. For me to be here is a blessing. I'm just happy that God saw fit to let me do this.

Eve: Who inspires Mel Brown?

Mel: Good people, honest people, people that go out of their way to do good things. People that really love what they do and show the world that they are secure in what they do. Love inspires me very much.

Eve: Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Mel: Getting a good nap. Getting some sleep. Having some time off. Just more of the same. I'm actually on a pretty good roll right now and if I can keep it going that could be good. I can be more successful and I could play more shows. I'm anxious to see what comes around for me and for Marc. It's exciting. It will be fun to see.

Eve: In 1993 you decided to pursue professional career as a musician. What were you doing before this?

Mel: I had a couple of jobs. I worked in Human Resources at one point. Then I worked at a phone company and then I worked at a bank. Then both were going to lay me off and I thought if I am going to get laid off every six months I might as well be a musician. Then I'll be doing what I love to do. So that's what I did. I got up from my job one day and walked out. I haven't looked back since.

Eve: Is there one city or venue you prefer performing at? If yes, which and why?

Mel: No. It's just nice when you go any place. It's cool because you can come to NY you can go to Madison Square Ground and play which is unusual and that's a gift to be able to play their. But then you can go to a little club in Toronto or a little club in St. Louis and those people love you just as much. It's really about that more so than it is about where it is. It's the fact that you get to hook up with people that have good feelings towards you. You're there to help them have a good time. I don't prefer where, I'm just thankful that it happens.

Eve: We heard what Marc thinks about Mel, what does Mel think about Marc?

Mel: Marc is my dear friend. It's funny. I think of him and it makes me laugh. It makes me happy. I respect him. He's a tremendous talent. As musicians we all want to get on a really good gig and go play shows for millions of people and have the people love the show that we do. Marc is great because he makes me feel like when I get on stage the guy that's going to be in front is going to come out and really work hard to do a good job. It's just to be respected. He's a great singer. He's a good guy. At any given time on tour you can find him hanging out with the band. For him to be as successful as he is and be so down to earth and a regular kind of guy is wonderful. I love him very much. He's a good friend.

Eve: Would you like to convey a message to your admirers and supporters?

Mel: I didn't know that I had admirers and supporters.

Eve: If you go to the MarcAnthonyFans.com website you'd see that you have some. You need to go check out the message boards because there are actually quite a few people who ask, "Who is the guy playing the bass with the big smile on his face?"

Mel: That would be Erben Perez.

Eve: Erben would be the bass player chewing bubble gum on stage.

Mel: Isn't he a cool one?

Eve: He is, he is.

Mel: Well, if I have any admirers and supporters thank you for coming to see us play. Thank you for supporting Marc. It's a dream come true to be able to get on stage and play for you. I hope that you can keep coming to the shows. I'll keep trying to play better and the shows