BSB Answer Your Questions!
-Tiger Beat Magazine- May 1999 Issue
Do you have a question for Brian, Nick, Kevin, A.J, or Howie that you've always wanted to ask? Well, Tiger Beat did the work for you when we queried this lovable quintet. Here's what we learned!
Q: What's going on with the new Backstreet Boys album?
Kevin: We're going to launch the new album in the spring--we'll have a single out in January or February, and then the album by March, or at the latest, the first week of April (I guess they didn't have a release date yet, cause it releases in May!) We'll be traveling around to different places and then we'll be touring again--Germany, the UK, South America, and Southeast Asia. We're definitely coming back to the United States, too!
Q: Has success been all you expected?
A.J: You find that you can do things that you never thought you could do--and not even big things, just simple things that you always wanted to do that you find are a bit easier to do now. And you can kind of get better Christmas presents for your family and stuff.
Howie: When I was growing up, I remember thinking about artists I liked, and I thought they woke up in the morning whenever they wanted to and they did what they wanted all day. But it's a lot more work than that. The traveling, the touring, the press--there's so much going on all at once.
Q: There has been talk about some of the Boys doing solo projects. What does this mean for the future of the BSB?
A.J: This is going to be a long-term thing. The five of us are like brothers and family. That's what the public wants to see and that's just the way it's going to stay for awhile. I don't think you'll ever see four Backstreet Boys or two Backstreet Boys. It'll always be the five of us.
Q: How do you guys get ready for a performance?
Kevin: Before a show we normally do a vocal warm-up to get the chords ready, and stretch out a little bit. And then we all join hands with our production [crew], the management, and our band and we say a little prayer and give thanks for the opportunity to perform and just ask that the show goes well. And then we hit the stage. That's how we do it.
Q: When you're home in Florida, where do you like to hang out?
Nick: I go straight to Tampa, since that's where I live. I've been living there for awhile. I just chill with my family and do normal kid stuff.
Kevin: I like to check out the local music scene downtown [in Orlando]. I like to hear live bands. Lately, I've been checking out this swing band downtown. We like to listen to music and go to clubs because that inspires us as far as new dance moves. Different types of music inspire us to write songs and stuff.
Q: If you could meet anyone from the past or present, who would it be and why?
Howie: I'd like to meet the Pope
Kevin: I would like to have a conversation with Elvis. I would just like to talk to him and just get his feedback on what he went through, and you know, talk about music.
Nick: I'd say maybe an older President from the past, maybe like Lincoln or someone like that. It'd be cool to talk to him.
A.J: I'd say Sammy Davis Jr. He was one of my idols when I was growing up when it came to dancing with his whole tap dancing act and the Rat Pack with him, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and all those guys. They were just really cool.
Q: Nick, do you see any of yourself in your brother, Aaron?
Nick: I definitely see that stride, that urge of him wanting to do it, to be just as successful as I wanted to be back then.
Q: Touring can be very stressful. How do you keep yourselves healthy on the road?
A.J: We just normally try to hit the gym. When we're out on the road and we can't make it into the gym, the stage keeps us in pretty good shape.
Q: What do you miss most when you're on tour?
Howie: Our families. That's what I'd say I miss most. Our families, our home-cooked meals, our own beds. I bring my book bag all the time, which is my house. I have my boom box. Sometimes I bring out my little laptop. And I bring a nice AT&T calling card.
Q: What's your most embarrassing moment?
Brian: I kicked one of my shoes off on stage once during a fast dance routine and had to hop around on one foot until Kevin made his way across the stage to get it for me.
Nick: Once onstage, I almost ran off the end of a runway and had to stop myself. I landed on my rear end hard!
Q: Did you always want to be a singer?
Brian: I think everyone's here for a reason. To do something natural, which for me is singing and being a ham on stage. But to be a singer--to do something I love, to go to work every day and do something I enjoy--that's what I was looking for.
Q: What would be your perfect date?
Nick: I would take her out to the beach at night. There would be a full moon with a bunch of stars out. The sand would be pure white, beautiful, and soft. The ocean would be very calm with the moonlight shining off the water.
Q: What gets you most excited about performing?
Brian: You glance into the audience, and the lights go out, and the lighters come on...It's just a sense of fulfillment inside, seeing all these people. Then you look out and they're singing every word from every song--it's like, they came to see us? Then you're excited.
Q: What do you love most and least about being a Backstreet Boy?
Howie: Getting a chance to travel around the world to see new places, see new cultures, try new foods. Um.. the worst thing is being away from our families.
Q: What do you think it is about Backstreet Boys that the fans find so special?
Brian: What you see is what you get. We're five solo artists put together and we love to do what we do.
A.J: We're real. That's what makes us special, being real. We have nothing to hide.