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SCMP Reporter

THEY met each other four-and-a-half years ago and their mutual passion for music and dance - and a common life philosophy, ''Express Yourself Clearly'' (EYC) - drew them together.

  When Trey Parker, Damon Eugene Butler and David Ray Loeffler decided to devote themselves to showbiz, they walked straight into the offices of MCA Records, laid their plans on the table, showed the company bosses just who they were and put on a show.

  ''You can't hesitate. You must have confidence and believe in yourself,'' said Butler when they stopped in Hong Kong during their Asian tour of Taipei, Manila, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

  Parker and Butler met when they were back-up dancers in a concert tour. They then met Loeffler and whenever the gang of three hung around together dancing in clubs, they drew a big crowd.

  When they were walking through a shopping mall, digging out names for their newly-formed group, someone muttered, ''express yourself clearly'', and they just felt right about it.

  ''This is our way of life,'' Butler said.

  ''Express yourself clearly, this is our message to our friends and fans. Be a leader and not a follower. Be yourself and enjoy life,'' Parker said.

  The trio share the same attitude to life and decided to express their views for both good things and bad in their music.

  ''We get our inspiration from life. Our music takes you to a lot of emotions. This is the way we look at life,'' said the Alabama-born Parker.

   ''Our life is not always a party. Our life is not always being in love. That is why we have arranged beautiful ballads and we've got some dance songs,'' he added.

  The outlook and the youth of the three 22-year-olds normally give people the impression that they are teen idols, but the group believe they are more than that.

  ''We were lucky enough to open up for Prince and Whitney Houston, who have audiences aged from five to 85. For us to do the opening act shows that we don't only appeal to teenagers,'' Parker said.

  Being always away from home, the love and support within this three-man family remains the prime force that keeps them going.

  It is not always easy to maintain good relations in a band. While some groups just come together to record one album, EYC regard their friendship as the basic element that has kept them together for all these years.

  ''We were friends before, we are now friends and will still be friends after it. When you get on the road, it's hard,'' Parker said.

  ''It's real hard. We fight, but we are family. Every family fights but we communicate. When we have a problem, we sit in a room, talk it out and leave the room with it resolved,'' he added.

  The trio aim to give their best and continue to express themselves clearly by generating the music of life.



EYC Come in loud and clear