For nearly two decades, Howie Dorough has been known predominantly as one-quarter of the international boy band sensation, the Backstreet Boys. With 10 albums to the band’s name, and a recently completed 52-date tour with fellow pop group New Kids on the Block, Backstreet is still going strong, but Howie is setting out to define himself as a soloist. He wants to show his fans that he can hold his own, and isn’t simply a part of a quartet.

But fear not, Backstreet fans! Despite having a wife and son, Howie D–as he is now known–is still one of the boys, and has no intention of following in the footsteps of former band member Kevin Richardson in leaving the group. Rather, Howie is drawing his line in the sand to share his unique sound and style with the fans who have been loyal to him through his time with Backstreet. Listening to him describe what he hopes to accomplish with the new album, it seems as though he wants to thank his fans for what they’ve given him in a very genuine, personal way: by showing them the real Howie D.

Lauren Smith and I had the opportunity to speak with Howie before the last show of the NKOTBSB North American tour about his career thus far, his management of Canadian pop-rockers, Neverest, and more specifically what the world can expect from Howie D as a soloist. Back to Me will be released in November, and will showcase a unique sound for Howie, but also songs that he’s contributed to in a more active way than anything from the Backstreet Boys.

Landmark Report: The Backstreet Boys have been around since 1993, almost 20 years now, and a lot of people in their teens and 20s grew up listening to your music. How does it feel for you guys to be on tour across North America–not only seeing and meeting all of your fans, but also performing alongside the New Kids on the Block, a group that, in many ways, paved the way for the Backstreet Boys.

Howie D: It’s amazing. To think that we’re actually finishing the tour today makes me a little sad, because we’ve had such an amazing time over the past two-and-a-half months–52 dates across America and Canada. We sold out audiences. It just goes to show you just how great a fan base that both New Kids and us have. As well, it’s an honor and a privilege to be sharing a stage with the New Kids. They are truly a class act. Like you said earlier, they definitely paved the way for us. They were the first boy band. They opened a lot of doors for us, but when they took their break, we took the torch and carried on, and made a name for ourselves. There’s a lot of mutual respect for each other on stage.

Landmark Report: You’ve spent a lot of time with New Kids. Would you do it again?

Howie D: Absolutely! They’re a great bunch of guys. They’re very talented; they’re hard workers. They have a great work ethic. There’s talks possibly about us going to Europe next year. Possibly Australia. Ideally, we want to take this to as many countries as possible. They’re a bunch of great guys.

Landmark Report: What’s been the best part for you of this tour. Has it been working with New Kids, or has it been just doing what you love doing anyway–performing for your fans–across North America?

Howie D: It’s a combination of both. Backstreet Boys–we love performing. We’re a bunch of hams, actually. We’ve been going 18 years strong, touring about 7 or 8 times worldwide. We love being on stage, traveling all around the world performing. But, it’s also lots of fun actually being on stage with another group at the same time. Besides looking at four other guys–now three other guys–across a stage, now I’m looking at eight. It brings a little bit of fresh air to see some new faces on the stage with us. They’re lots of fun.

Landmark Report: While we’re on the topic of fresh faces, we wanted to ask you about Neverest! You’re co-managing Neverest, a new Canadian band. How did you find them?

Howie D: I’ve been really blessed to have the opportunity to parlay my career with the Backstreet Boys into several different things. I’m working on a solo record right now. And, at the same time, I’ve been able to use my success, and my black book, over the years to help other artists with the starting of their careers. Neverest is a project I got involved with a little over a year ago–I have a management partnership with a gentleman named C.J. Huyer, who used to be in a group called 3Deep back in the days, and we’ve known each other for several years. We started a management company called 3Deep, and we started the first artist we had in Canada who was very successful, and that was George, about three years ago. Since then, our latest project is Neverest, and I’m very proud to be working with them. My partner, C.J. found them a little over a year ago, and they actually played for me while we were hear last time on tour in Toronto. I just fell in love with their sound. They played for me acoustically, and it almost had a bit of an Eagles vibe with their harmonies. But then, when they add the instruments and the production to it, it almost has a bit of a One Republic-Backstreet Boys vibe.

Landmark Report: How has it been going?

Howie D: I think it’s really cool. I mean, they’re a bunch of talented artists and I’m proud to have them opening up for us right now on this tour. They’re doing really well; they’re onto their third single right now.

Landmark Report: Is there any chance of a collaboration between you and Neverest on either of your albums?

Howie D: We’ve been talking about that recently. It would be an honor for me do any type of collaboration with them.

Landmark Report: We interviewed the lead singer of Neverest, Spee, a while back at Landmark Report, and we reviewed their EP, About Us. We’ve noticed that a lot of Neverest’s fans are also devoted fans of yours and the Backstreet Boys. Have you been trying to get Neverest to emulate the sound and style that has worked for you, or have you been trying to find ways to make Neverest unique, and shine on their own?

Howie D: Actually, when I met them, they had already developed their sound. It’s just a coincidence because of us having an influence on them growing up that we had an influence on their sound. But I think they definitely have their own unique sound. The fact that they all play instruments has a little more of a pop-rock vibe to them than what we do. But they’re a bunch of talented guys and I’m really proud to be associated with them, knowing that I am able to be a part of their success. They look up to me–for what, I don’t know why sometimes–but they’re very humble guys. They’re open to critiques and influences–advice–and I think they’re going to go far because of their humbleness.

Landmark Report: Is that a fondness that you think New Kids on the Block has for you guys?

Howie D: We’ve talked about that before in the past, and we’ve always credited them as being mentors in the early years when we were growing up, and weren’t Backstreet Boys yet. They themselves have said that they may have been able to open the doors for us and pave the way, to a point, but there was definitely a lot of hurdles when they left, at the same time–like the over-saturation–just like what happens to a lot of big popular groups. They realized that there was definitely a bit of backlash that we had to deal with, but I’m sure it’s the same with us as with other groups that have come after us. I think it’s just the nature of the beast. I don’t feel that they had any sort of ill-will towards us. They chose, themselves, to take a break. It’s not like we were out there at the same time as them, riding their coattails. They’ve said in several interviews that we did a lot of things that they couldn’t have done. We had a great team around us that produced and created some amazing songs that the New Kids even feels topped a lot of their songs. The fact that they wanted to share the stage with me definitely makes me feel like there’s a mutual respect for each other.

Landmark Report: But for you, it looks like sharing the stage is over for the time being. You’re coming out with a solo album, Back to Me, so you’ll be shining alone in November! Your single, “100? is already out. What have you been doing to give yourself a unique voice, to shine as an individual, in the songwriting and recording process so far?

Howie D: We all came from individual backgrounds, so when it came time for us to embark on individual, solo endeavors, we all were very supportive of each other. We all knew in the very beginning that we wanted to do some individual stuff; it was just a matter of timing to get our sound established as the Backstreet Boys, and have the fans want to hear from us individually, instead of us pushing it on them. I’m the last one to finally step outside of the box. My three remaining fellows have already released solo records. I decided to take my time with making this record. I really wanted to make a record that truly represented me, and my own identity, my own creativity. The artist who I want to be projected as outside of the Backstreet Boys, as Howie D. When I started the record about five years ago, it went in a little bit of a Latin direction, because I was doing some soul-searching, really trying to figure out how I wanted to present to the world who Howie D is, and I have Latin roots in me. But, over time, making the record in between tours and album cycles for the Backstreet Boys, I ventured into this direction that I’m in now. It’s more of a pop-Euro-dance vibe, which I’m lucky to have stumbled upon, given the timing. There are artists out there like Taio Cruz, Usher and David Guetta, making it really popular right now. “100? is definitely a single that we chose because we felt it was a good representation for me for the first time coming out as a solo artist. But I have a lot of great songs on the record. The next single, possibly, might be a song called “Lie to Me,” which is probably the strongest song album. It even has a bit of a pop-rock vibe to it. But, I took my time making this record, because first impression is everything, and I want people to want to hear more from me, and to be excited for me and not say, “Oh, you should go back to Backstreet Boys.”

Landmark Report: Between when the Backstreet Boys were at their peak and you started working on the album, were you holding off because the time wasn’t right, or because it wasn’t something you were considering?

Howie D: I’ve always had an interest in doing a solo album. We all knew we wanted to do them eventually. It was just, for me, an issue of timing. I definitely didn’t want to come out with a solo record at the same time as one of the other guys. Nick [Carter] actually is the closest one right now; he had a record out at the beginning of this year, and mine’s coming out at the end. We’ve actually been able to help each other. We’ve been doing some after parties where we’ve both been promoting our singles and albums and even doing backgrounds for each other when we’ve been singing at these. We’ve been very supportive of each other. For me, timing is everything. I definitely didn’t want to be the one to hold up Backstreet in any shape or form because I was trying to push out a solo record. So I was the one who always put Backstreet first and when there was a break and I could put my stuff in, I did.

Landmark Report: What do you want people to learn about you, know about you, through this new album?

Howie D: “Wow, that Howie can sing!” [Laughs]

Landmark Report: That you’re not just there to prop up the other guys? [Laughs]

Howie D: [Laughs] Exactly! “He can sing more than a bridge on a song!” No, for me it’s that when people know of us as a group, I’m giving a contribution of 100% but with four of us, my contribution is only 25% of the whole song. Not one of us is across the whole song singing the verses and the bridges, and such. A lot of the times, each of us will have a certain section of the song, and I was joking because of a lot of the times I do do a lot of the bridges in the songs. A lot of the times my voice just fits really well there. But I’m excited to show people that I can sing a song from top to bottom, giving them a chance to hear what my voice sounds like. It also gives them a chance to see where I am creatively speaking. I’m very proud to say I wrote about three-fourths of this album, co-wrote with other people, so it’s definitely personal. Each of the songs I wrote on has a special meaning to me. Songs that I didn’t write on like “100? and “Lie to Me” were such special songs that I wanted to have them on the record anyway, because they truly represented me and where I’m at right now.

Landmark Report: When it comes to putting pen to paper and writing music, where does your inspiration come from? What’s your writing process like?

Howie D: Writing for me is something very special. I take a lot of pride in trying to craft a good song that hopefully can be timeless. When I’m writing–co-writes–a lot of the times, the situations comes from different directions. Sometimes a person will come to me with a track and play me a bunch of songs that they may have started producing, or have fully produced, and I’ll listen and sometimes just gravitate to a beat. I’ll just close my eyes and almost dream what I feel like this beat moves me to. I almost picture a music video in my mind. Then I write from there, pretty much a whole video. There are also the times where I’ll just be looking at something and I’ll be staring off into space or finding a word in a book that has an interesting vibe or brings an interesting thought to my mind. I’ll sometimes try to make a twist on a word. Like, there’s a song on the album called “Going Going Gone.” I was looking through a book and looking through a bunch of American phrases, and one of them said “Going, going gone.” And, it’s referred to a lot in baseball when you hit a baseball, so I took it and made a twist on it about a relationship. About somebody saying, “If you don’t get me, I’m going to be going, I’m going, I’m almost gone, you’re gonna lose me.” There’s a song called “Over My Head,” which is to me like “I’m over my head in love with this person. I’m drowning. It’s taking over me.” So, a lot of times I’ll try to take words or phrases and almost take a twist on them to make them about relationships.

Landmark Report: Best of luck with the concert and the album, Howie. Anything you’d like to add?

Howie D: Thank you very much! I just want to remind people to go to HowieD.com, and the album will be coming out in November.

Source: landmarkreport.com
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