Interviews

Nick & AJ on Kiss 95.7 Denver

Jojo and the boys are laughing about Nick being the youngest in the band.
NICK: It sucks. Let me explain what it's like being the youngest in the group. OK? You get jipped! You're the last on the rooming list. OK? Brian's at the top (laughing), AJ's the next down.
AJ: Brian's always at the top. Brian's always first at the damn hotel. That pisses me off. One of these days I'm gonna pass him.
JOJO: You know their calling it the Mile High Room because, I will bank on the fact, that you're actually at 5280, a mile above sea level in that room, which is cool.
NICK: Are you serious?
AJ: Yes, we are. That's why it's the Mile High City, buddy. That's why tonight during our show were gonna be............
JOJO: That's why you're gonna be drinking all the water, and your gonna say wow, I'm like way out of breath.
AJ: Yep.
JOJO: You know, you guys have had tons of trials and tribulations since you've been together doing this. You guys have had a ton of ups and downs. Let's, before we get to any of the downs, best moment so far? For you guys individually. You go first Nick.
NICK: Well actually, being able to be alive and be able to see the affection and the way our country can come together through tough times. Just to be able to live and see that is one of the most incredible things.
AJ: For me, probably that morning in Boston when me and Kevin got into a fight and I realized that I had a problem and I went and got myself fixed. I so did not want to leave rehab. Not that I didn't miss these guys but it was like the way the world should be. It was so peaceful, so quite, everybody got along, nobody got in anyones ass about anything. It was absolutely perfect.
JOJO: Although you know what's interesting about that is for a lot of people that may be the bottom point. For you it was your high point.
AJ: Exactly, I think that was my high point because that really, I mean I could not see life in a better light than I do now. I mean I'm so laid back now. I'm not stressed. I'm relaxed. I'm 98 days sober today. It's frickin awesome.
JOJO: Congratulations. Two to 100. Don't you get a little something, like a little trinket.
AJ: Yeah, like every 30 days you get like a little coin, I got my 90 day coin. I don't think you get anything for 100. I think the next one is six months. Than it's a year, than it's a whole... bunch of things. I just met somebody who has been sober for 13 years. This fans' mom who's been sober for 13 years gave me her sobriety coin. So I got that in my pocket constantly. It's really, really cool.
JOJO: I thought it was really cool, I think it was at the MTV awards where you announced how long you've been sober...and
AJ: Even though Jamie Fox was a real d---(chuckling)
JOJO: He was, you know, you look at it and realize that's his thing.
AJ: I know. You know what. I sit back and say to myself I realize people are gonna make fun of it, people are gonna crack jokes, but you know what? That's their own ignorance, that's their own whatever. I'm above that. So. I'm not going to worry about it.
JOJO: Very cool. AJ and Nick from the Backstreet boys in the studio. Now let's go to what has been the worst moment since the beginning to now.
NICK: You know, it's kind of weird, I mean you have a lot of worst moments in life but I'm the kind of person where I just take everything that could be worse as a learning lesson for the future so in a way it can actually be good. So say perhaps, the release of our album, well it didn't sell as much as Millennium but you know, we didn't put all the material we wanted on the album, we actually wanted to record even more, do more for that album. Well, we take it as a learning experience, you know? Next time the album comes around, we're gonna take our time on it and we're gonna get really deep into it.
JOJO: Is there pressure to get it done in a certain amount of time, which causes you to maybe cut some corners?
NICK That's what it was. That's exactly what it was.
AJ: There was. But now, I think if we just sit back and tell our record company, say listen, you know what?We're taking a whole year off to go in the studio and work with whole new producers and write some more music again as a group and just take our time with it. I mean there is no real rush to put out an album, you know by the end of 2002. It doesn't matter when the album comes out. As long as we're happy with it, that's what I think is the most important thing. By us putting out Drowning right now and just having a great single, I think it's some good to pass the time for now to give us time to get back in the studio again.
JOJO: I'll tell you one thing about Black and Blue is it's not bad. But you know what, you could tell when you guys maybe said, OK white flag, when you immediately are coming out, correct me if I'm wrong, It's called Chapter One but is it the Greatest Hits, Chapter One?
NICK: It's basically a greatest hits.
AJ: Chapter One, collection of hits, whatever it is but...
NICK: We wanted to call it something different because, normally if you call an album a greatest hits...
AJ: That's the end of it, that's like, we're done.
NICK: We're not finished, we've got a long way to go.
JOJO: There, you walked me right into the next question because there has been a backlash on, and you know I'm bothered by the fact that people refer to you guys, NSync, Otown as boy bands. You guys are not boy bands, you're singing groups. That's really what you guys are. The same problem that you guys had with B&B, NSync is now having with Celebrity. It's doing the same sort of a thing.
NICK: Is it?
JOJO: It is, it is. It's not doing even remotely as closely as it did with No Strings Attached or like you guys did with Millennium. Do you think that is a change in the way music is going?
AJ: Yes, by far. Music is totally, I mean, a perfect example is like, Nick has a studio on his bus, I have a studio on my bus, and Kevin does. We're all writing right now, stuff for each other, stuff for the group. It's like I heard a song that Nick did, Nick heard a song that I've done. We're going in a different way but it's almost like we're taking bits and pieces of every type of music that's out right now or stuff that's influenced us. Pop is never going to go away but I think the sound of the Nsync's and the Backstreets and the Otowns, that sound I think is going away.
DROWNING IS PLAYED
JOJO: Jojo still in the studio with Nick and AJ. Show tonight at the can ( the Pepsi Center). Alright here's a question for you, Do you guys take credit for and have some pride that you really laid all the groundwork for everything that's happening right now? I don't mean the downturn but I mean the success of... you guys were around before Nsync was and before all these other bands that are coming around and you guys laid all the groundwork for their success.
AJ: I think we paved the way for our generation but I mean, there were many groups before us that paved it for us. People like New Edition, Boys to Men, that paved the road for vocal harmony groups, for groups like us. Those were our inspirations, those were our groups that we looked up to and like now it's the same thing happening.
JOJO: But do you look back and see, there is no more New Edition, there's no more Bel Biv Devoe, Boys to Men are gone. Although I saw Boys to Men at the Grammy's this year and they're trying to rekindle their former success.
me: did boys II men break up???
NICK: I'll tell you what's going to happen. We've just got to keep doing what we do and just continuously make our fans happy and stuff like that and not worry about every body else. But, there's gonna be a point and mark my words, there will be a point, because there's this big circle of music man when a new group will be like New Edition or Boys To Men will come around, and it'll be a new thing, ya know. It's always like that. And then to try to be the groups that stay around like, well, you know, Aerosmith, the Stones, you're talking about groups that have continuously gone through the ages. That's what we want to be.
JOJO: Groups that took time off like Bon Jovi are now huge again. Alright, Nick and AJ joining us from the Backstreet Boys. I heard the word buses. Ya'll got your own buses? Each individual one of you has your own bus? Do you not ever all hang out in one bus to get together or is it kind of your away time and time for yourself when you're in your own bus doing your own thing?
AJ: We used to all ride on the same bus way back in the day for probably two or three years and since Millennium, Nick had his own bus, Howie and I had a bus and Brian and Kevin had a bus. They were sharing because Brian and Kevin had their wives that would come out. Nick was on his own and me and Howie were like the little party bus. That's when I was like partying and so was Howie. Now it's like we have out own tranquil little space which is cool, but you know, Nick might hop on my bus one night or I might go on his bus or Kevin might come on so we all pair off and just hang out and play video games. It's not just screw you you're on your own bus, I don't want you on my bus.
NICK: A lot of people think well you know, all this separation, they're not going to be together because they're on separate buses and stuff like that. We were actually just talking about it. If and when we do another tour, we're gonna probably be on the same bus together again. We miss each other.
me: awww! um, what's this about "if and when we do another tour" crap tho?!??! :(
JOJO: Who's got the coolest bus? You each probably think your own bus is the coolest but are they all the same
AJ: Mine is the only one that's pretty much different because the rest of them have a full queen size bed instead of a bunk in the back of the bus and Nick and Kevin have their studios in the front. Me, I have my studio, which is bigger then both theirs because it takes up my entire lounge in the back so I don't have a bed in my bus, I have a bunk which I never sleep in . I sleep in the back in the studio on the couch. (to Nick) Do you have a shower in yours?
Nick: No
AJ: Brian has a shower in his....
NICK: (laughing) I don't need a shower. I could go weeks without a shower.
JOJO: There is always talk about what you guys will do on your own as solo acts, No Name Johnny, obviously been doing his thing, which is awesome. You've been here a couple of times in Denver doing Johnny. Now there's been talk of you Nick doing stuff with your brother, or by yourself, is there any of that going to go on?
NICK: You know, it's like. With my brother, that's just something that I really wanted to do for a while. What I'm going to do is I'm going to get in the studio and actually write and produce my little sister, Leslie, a whole album for her. I'm trying to do that, get on the producing/writing side which is mostly like a rock/folk type of thing.
JOJO: You're parents must just go "Damn".
NICK: (chuckles) Well we have fun, you know. My whole family, they're kicking' it right now. But I don't know man, I might do something in the future when the times right
AJ: Nick's got his own rock band, not in it but that he manages. They're pretty awesome.
JOJO: The bands got their own record label now.
AJ: Well yep, we're trying to expand and I think our biggest goal behind it, especially us having our own label is to not let artists deal with the crap that we've had to deal with.
EVERYBODY IS PLAYED