Source: Submitted by Keri
JOJO: Ladies & Gentlemen - the mystery guest... The
Backstreet Boys (crowd screams). I've interviewed
you guys like a million times, never had all 5 of
you in the studio together, this is a big night for
me. When was the last time you guys, all 5, did a
radio interview at the same time, together?
KEVIN: Probably been 3 years. We taped some
interviews 3 or 4 months ago, but this is the first
time live that we've been on the air together as a
unit
HOWIE: in a radio station
JOJO: I don't think I've had BRIAN in the studio, I
think on the plane [BSB's 6 countries in 100 hours
tour that BSB did to promote their "Black and Blue"
cd - that JOJO was a part of]
BRIAN: Probably not, and I live just down the street
JOJO: How's the recording of this new album going.
You took a break, now you're back in, how long have
you been back in the studio, how's it going?
AJ: It's been since the latter part of January and
we've been plugging away week after week working
really hard. Its really exciting for all of us to be
back together. We've been having a lot of fun.
Nothing has changed. Its been 11 years. Some things
have changed for the better, but for the most part
nothings really changed. We're still the same goofy
guys in the studio, but we're having a good time
JOJO: Congrats on hooking up with manager Johnny
Wright, who I worked with on Fame, love that guy
KEVIN: He's not new, he's a blast from the past
NICK: We just got our Phil Jackson back
BRIAN: We got our dream team back together
JOJO: HOWIE D. of BSB - we've been talking a long
time, friends for awhile
HOWIE: Yes, haven't had the monthly report in for
awhile
JOJO: Last time I talked to you, you were in NY
HOWIE : Right, we were just up in NY recording a
song with Max Martin
JOJO: Is he the greatest writer you've ever worked
with?
HOWIE: Unbelievable guy
JOJO: When you go into the studio... what happens
with this Max Martin dude?
AJ: Max is interesting
HOWIE : He has a unique way of producing
BRIAN: He's got a complete vision from start to
finish. He normally submits a demo with him singing
on it, he's a great singer as well
HOWIE: He used to be in an `80's hair band back
when we first met him
JOJO: Have you ever had a writer or producer that
sucked... that you guys fired?
KEVIN: We don't want to bring those guys up...
there's people you just don't gel with
NICK: I think it was more in the beginning when we
first started
JOJO: HOWIE, I know your solo project, you've been
working on one... .you put a pause on it right now
as the Backstreet project progresses? Give me your
take on how things are going so far
HOWIE: Everything's been going great... each of us
since we got back together in November, we all
collectively decided in order to make a Backstreet
record and do it properly we had to put our solo
projects on the side which we were all happy about.
We're all still working on them on our down time,
but right now our main focus is the Backstreet Boys.
We've been in the studio since January, about >'s
done with the album. We're really excited about it.
It's a fresh start for us to get back out there in
the world and I think everybody's going to be
excited about the album when it comes out,
hopefully.
JOJO: Do you still have that house that was on MTV's
crib?
HOWIE: I still have that house, I don't see much
of it
JOJO: I could never figure out the fireplace...
there's your bedroom with a fireplace, you can see
through the fireplace into the living room. What if
you're having a romantic night and one of your
"homies" is hanging out on the other side with a
camera?
HOWIE: Yeah, my brother was living with me for
quite awhile and I had finally gotten one of
those... fog things?
BRIAN: Its called a firescreen man (laughing)
HOWIE: Always remember - shut the screen
JOJO: BRIAN...this is old news but I haven't had a
chance to tell ya... .not since the birth of your
baby, so congratulations
BRIAN: Thank you very much... .he's 17 months, his
name is Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell. He's singing
and dancing on Broadway last week when we were in
NY. He loves it. He's full of joy. He's my joy. My
wife's at home now watching him so I hope had a good
dinner. Hey baby, I love you. He's the 6th
Backstreet Boy
JOJO: How does that change your life? Obviously the
music part stays the same. You guys seem tight or
tighter right now at this moment... .how has the baby thing changed your personal life? Your priorities get rearranged...
BRIAN: They do. I'm a believer in God has perfect
timing and Baylee was not planned. God knew when I
was going to have 2 years off so here we are as new
parents. The world's changed in the past couple of
years. Priorities obviously are different, for
everybody. I think me, as BRIAN, I've always tried
to create a fine line between what is work and what
is my life, my true life and Baylee helps me really
stamp that line because a Dad is one thing. Being a
singer and whatever they call us, is just my love,
its what it do. I want him to get a chance to enjoy
that cause I want him to know what Daddy does.
JOJO: Did the break do you good, what was good about
the break from the pandemonium? Did you go crazy?
BRIAN: I craved it. I itched a lot towards the end
because I was excited. I was kinda disappointed
people out there didn't know who the Backstreet Boys
were, being out of our place for 2-3 years, that's a
long time. Having an impact again with good positive
music, I think the timing is great. Its what the
world needs right now.
JOJO: Kevin... you seem to be the glue that holds
the whole thing together... how's everybody doing?
How's AJ going since you were the catapult to get AJ
from a bad situation...
KEVIN: AJ's doing great, I'm so proud of him. He's a
new man
JOJO: You were on Broadway...
KEVIN: I did Chicago on Broadway at the same time
the movie came out which was a dream come true. A
great opportunity. I seized it. I had an incredible
time. It's a dream come true. I had a blast. I did
it on the west end of London as well
JOJO: ... a play on Broadway. What's that like?
That's the pinnacle of acting, some people think
over movies. Broadway is where the real actors go to
show their stuff. How insane is it to be onstage?
KEVIN: The first night, I was so scared. I was
terrified.
JOJO: Even after you've done all the stuff for
Backstreet?
KEVIN: It's a totally different experience. We're
out there singing together. There were numbers where
it was just me and its live theater. You have
dialogue to remember, hundreds of pages of dialogue
to memorize and I didn't want to forget my lines or
flub, but I did my homework and put the rest in
God's hands and it worked out great.
JOJO: How do you think this 2nd round of
pandemonium, how do you think its going to go?
KEVIN: I'm excited. We've had a couple of years to
reflect on everything that happened to us. We had a
great run. We were on the road for almost 7 years
straight and we got a little burnt out. We've had a
chance to recharge our batteries, count our
blessings and be thankful... .learn from our
mistakes. Here we come again.
JOJO: Best is yet to come next
KEVIN: I hope so
JOJO: AJ... you look healthy. I'm proud of you dude
AJ: I feel good. Got a lot of good good people in my
life right now. It's a whole new experience doing
this brand new album completely 100% sober. Its just
so much more fun. My life - I'm very blessed and I'm
very grateful.
BRIAN: And he sounded great before, wait till you
hear him now
JOJO: Except his hairdo's a little funky, looks
worse than yours HOWIE (laughing)
JOJO: Describe his hair
HOWIE: It looks like a cats butt
KEVIN: It looks like a pimps hat
AJ: It was the only thing I haven't done yet
NICK: I like it, its cool
JOJO: How's the recording sessions going?
AJ: There's so many great songs that we've been
blessed with from different producers, different
writers. We actually collectively came together and
wrote a song which turned out amazing. We were up in
NY working with Max again, we haven't worked with
him in quite a long time. Did a really interesting
song with Max that's a little bit different for the
Backstreet Boys. We've been working with a lot of
great producers. Everybody sounds great, looks
great... .having fun again. There's nothing crazy in
my life right now. I'm single, I'm dating... its
been good. Playing golf, enjoying my home
JOJO: Any new tattoos?
AJ: Couple of new skulls on my arms. I'm kinda
obsessed with skulls right now
JOJO: NICK - what's been happening?
NICK: Everythings cool
JOJO: Your take on you guys jumping back in the
studio...
NICK: Its awesome to be back in the studio. Of
course it was me that took the time to do the solo
album and do what I wanted to do. It was something I
always dreamed of, to get on tour, play small gigs.
It was nothing too big or crazy that I wanted. It
was a more personal thing. I did that and I had a
lot of fun at it. Now I'm back doing what got it all
started in the first place, being with my boys
again, getting back in the studio, being part of a 5
part vocal harmony group which is so fun to be in.
To actually step in the back. Harmony is just
something that if you are doing it well, its so
amazing. I think the thing we do together is
magical, so that's why I'm back again.
KEVIN: That was beautiful
BRIAN: He speaks complete sentences now
JOJO: Since you're the first that did a solo thing,
what do you tell the other guys who will eventually
do solo projects, hopefully staying as a group,
what's the pros and cons?
NICK: It is hard. When you do solo, you're taking a
chance. Do you want to come off a certain way? You
don't want to be contrived. I decided to go pop/rock
music. It was what I wanted to do. It might not have
fit with the time and what was going on, but it was
just something personally that I wanted to do.
HOWIE: Anybody can do whats supposed to be right at
the time, but you've got to do what's coming from
your gut otherwise what's the point
NICK: Exactly. I could have put together any type of
record with what was going, but what would it have
done for me. It wouldn't have done anything. So all
I can say to them is just follow your heart, do what
you want to do cause at the end of the day that's
all that matters.
(the winners of "HOWIE's In-Studio Audience" passes
got to listen to an new BSB song)
JOJO: When you guys hear a song that you put a lot
of time into, do you nitpick it?
NICK: The person that nitpicks the most is Kevin
JOJO: What do you think of the song and the overall
direction of the album?
KEVIN: The song is one of the directions we're
experimenting with and that's what we wanted to do
on this record is make sure we explored sonically,
production wise and really push the envelope for us.
So we've done some urban stuff, we've done straight
up pop stuff and we've done some stuff with a rock
edge. I think it sounds like a hit record.
JOJO: Can't wait to play this stuff on the radio...
.end of summer. Thank you guys for hanging out!