BSB Interviews

Interview with Kevin Richardson by Teen Beat:

Teen Beat: Which one of you has the worst temper?

Kevin: We each have pretty nice tempers when you get us going. I think Howie has the most control as far as his temper, and A.J.'s pretty good at controlling his temper. Me, Brian, and Nick probably have the worst tempers.

Teen Beat: Who is the most easygoing?

Kevin: Howie and A.J.

Teen Beat: Who is the most ambitious?

Kevin: We're all ambitious. I'm really a perfectionist. I want things to be done right.

Teen Beat: Who is the most girl crazy?

Kevin: A.J. is a big flirt

Teen Beat: Is there anything that you bring with you on your tour for good luck?

Kevin: I always bring pictures of my family. My father, my mother, my brothers, and my God baby.

Teen Beat: Fill in this blank: I love being a Backstreet Boy, but I'd trade it all in tomorrow for ____?

Kevin: I'd trade it all in tomorrow, for...wow. I don't know if I'd trade this. The only thing I'd trade it in for is to have my dad back. That's probably the only thing I'd trade it for.

An interview with Howie D. from Backstreet Boys Rule

BBR: How has life changed for you now that you've become big stars all over the world?

Howie: We're still normal, everyday people. We go shopping, we still have chores at home to do.

BBR: Did you ever think you'd get this far?

Howie: I think we all hoped and dreamed about it. You can never expect it. But I think it's a blessing. We thank God every day for helping us.

BBR: What do you love 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.

BBR: When you're on the road, you don't share rooms anymore, do you?

Howie: Now we've gotten to the point where we've made a little bit of money sowe can finally afford our own rooms (laughs). It's good because we're with each other 24-7 so we sometimes need just a little bit of time for ourselves.

BBR: What do your bring with you when you travel?

Howie: I bring my book bag which has my whole house in it! It is so heavy--nobody wants to carry it. It has everything form my CD player, CDs, cassette player, Spanish books, sunglasses--I have just about everything and anything in it.

BBR: What's the thing you miss most about being away?

Howie: Mom's home cooking, our beds....

BBR: How do you guys go about choosing the songs you record?

Howie: We have a lot of say so, but the record company usually uses its good judgement about what fits for us. Then amongest the five of us, we decide if something is right for us, because we don't want to do something that's not us. You gotta feel comfortable.

BBR: What's it like performing a new songf for the first time onstage?

Howie: It's nerve-racking. Depending where we're at, what the situation is, every situation is different, you know. If you've been in a place that we're performing at several times before, then it's not as nerve-racking.

BBR: Do you read music?

Howie: Yeah. I went to college to study music for two years. I got my Assiciate of aRts degree. I'm learing (to play) the acoustic guitar, too.

BBR: What's your dating status at the moment? You're single, right?

Howie: Yeah. We date and stuff like that. Like meet other artist and other entertainers. When you're in town you want to hang out. It's always good to company out there, especially when we're away from our families. It's very hard to have a serious relationship, but we definitely like girls!

BBR: How would you describe your style?

Howie: I'm kind of a little bit conservative. I'll wear jeans. Sometimes I'll wear slacks, a nice shirt or something like that.

BBR: Who do you admire musically?

Howie: I like Jon Secada, Philip Bailey from Earth Wind & Fire, and Al B. Sure. I like a lot of artist.

BBR: Here are some fun questions. What's the first album you ever bought?

Howie: Micheal Jackson's Thriller.

BBR: Are you a moring or an evening person?

Howie: An evening guy, definitely!

BBR: What's your favorite thing in your room?

Howie: My bed! It's all mine and I can sleep in it when I'm home--which isn't often!

BBR: What's the sweetest thing you've done for a girl?

Howie: A while back, before I got into the group, I was dating this one girl. It was her birthday, so I asked my parents it I could cook at the house. I cooked a grilled dinner, had a candlelight little thing. We ended up going from there over to the airport and there's a strip right near the runway where you can watch the planes take off. So we drove over and I had a sunroof and we just watched the planes go by.

BBR: Sounds pretty sweet! You definitely live up to your nickname, Sweet D!

Howie: Thanks.

An Interview with Brian -Ok Bri, we know you are a bit of a clown, but we also know you are a deep person....-

"Yeah, I guess you can say I am. I think about things a lot and, as you well know, I certainly like to talk! I suppose during interviews it´s a chance to really express yourself because the interviewer is going to write down exactly what you say-not the way u look, or the way you come across, so you have got to make it count. I do think about things a lot and I want people to see that side of me as well as all the mucking about."
-How much do you give away in interviews?- "I think I´m very honest. I don´t really have anything to hide. Of course, there are some things that everyone has to have their private time. You need to keep something for yourself for your own sanity."
-So how much of your life do you think the public should have access to?- "They should definitely know who we are as people. It´s important to me that fans know what sort of person I am and what I´m all about. It´s not that I want them to follow me or do as I do, but I hope I set a good example."
-You really care about people, but do you sometimes find you have to be a bit aloof?- "Yeah, I definitely can´t get as personal as I´d like, but it´s more to do with lack of time than the restrictions of the band. I particularly hate the fact that I can´t spend as much time with the fans now, altough I always stop for a chat whenever I can."
-Are there certain things that being a Backstreet Boy stops you doing?- "In the beginning I was a lot more timid about what I did, but as I´ve got older I think people want to know the real me, so I´m a lot more relaxed in public and if I really want to do something, I´ll do it. It´s not about being a rebel, it´s just about enjoying life."
-Are you good at hiding your feelings?- "Sometimes-it depends what sort of mood I´m in. We are being watched a lot of the time, so you know when it´s the right time to let your emotions go. But if u reach that breaking point it´s time to do it behind closed doors. I get down like everybody else, but I try to keep it in control."
-But say it all got too much, would you go to a therapist?- "Hmmmm, it depends how bad off I was- if I really felt I had things to get off my chest and I didn´t have anybody to turn to then I probably would talk to a professional. Every problem has a solution, but people deal with them differently. I tend to take the more lighthearted approach, but I´m lucky I haven´t experienced anything really bad, and I feel I´ve always got people around me who are willing to listen."
-Do you ever worry about getting too close to people?- "No, I´m a warm kinda guy- I like getting to know people. All the stuff about kiss ´n´ tell stories just doesn´t bother me. You can´t waste your life worrying someone´s going to run off and tell the whole world about you- you´d never enjoy yourself if u did. Those stories happen anyway, wether or not you have actually done anything."
-You are seen as the joker of the band, so are there two different sides to you?- "Yeah, I suppose there are. I think the real me is the comedian, but I have got another side and when I´m talking about my emotions or how I am on the inside, I like to get into more detail. I do try to show my funny side when I´m on stage or whe I´m with the fans because I want people to see the happy me as that´s what I am 99 per cent of the time."
-So do you get days when you just don´t want to be funny?- "Yeah, there are days when I wake up and I haven´t had enough sleep,or I´ve just got out of the wrong side of the bed and I´ve got a huge chip on my shoulder, and like anyone else I can be a real grouch. The guys are like, "What´s wrong with u?" and I´m like (in very grumpy voice and face), "I ain´t in a good mood, leave me alone!" and we´ve been together long enough for them to know when to back off. But everyone has days like that-it´s just that I´m more on the lighthearted side of things most of the time."
-When you´re out, are you always aware of people staring at you?- "I´m the type of person who´s really aware of things that are going on around me-like, I can completly hear the conversation´s Howie having over there. It´s really weird, but I´m totally aware of everyone and everything around me. Like, we were on stage recently and I spotted this person with a video camera way out in the audience and, of course, you´re not allowed to video the show. So I ran to Randy at the side of the stage and told him to grab it. It´s like when I´m out I´m always aware of people with cameras and stuff-we have to be because of the position we are in now."
-Now you´re so successful, do you think you´re drawn to the "beautiful people"?- "I guess we´re kinda put on pedestals and thrown in with some of the more "elite" people. Like, when we were in LA a couple weeks ago, the record company got our names on the door of the Sky Bar, which is the most exclusive club in the town, so I guess just by being in there we were catapulted to this sort of "high position". It was really funny,actually, ´cause Cindy Crawford walked past us and Howie was like "Huuuu, huuuuuuuuu!". He couldn´t breathe, it was really cool. But it is weird because you´re an entertainer-you´re put in that position and we know we´re no different or better than anybody else."
-You always look so at ease when you´re on tv. Have u ever thought about taking it any further?- "I don´t see why not!. I mean, I´ve never taken acting lessons or anything, but I reckon it´d be really cool to be a VJ, or even star in a Jim Carrey flick or something. Actually, we´re already in talks about doing a Backstreet Boys movie. We want it to be kinda off the wall, a bit like the Batman films, all gothic. I don´t wat to reveal too much because we´re still looking for proper funds for it, but it´s based on the comic books Nick´s working on. We will do it, but I just don´t know how long it´s going to take."
-You´re an intelligent bloke- do you ever fancy going back to college?- "I would love to if our schedule ever got more laidback! I´d like to get a teachers´ degree in physical education or something. I love sports and I reckon it´d be fun to help out at schools whenever I had time, as a substitute teacher- I wouldn´t expect to be paid, I´d just like to go into high schools to be involved with the kids. It´d be cool, though, because maybe being the person I am they might get kind of a shock when I walk onto the playing field!"
-What do you think will be the cause of the Backstreet Boys breaking up?- "You know, I honestly don´t know! I suppose it´s just so far from our minds at the moment. Yeah, we have fights, but we all want to achieve the same things. If we ever got to the point where we felt we were so successful that we couldn´t achieve any more, then we´d have to think about it. Of course, there is the prospect of solo careers...We all want to do it at some stage and I must admit, some of us have had offers already. It´s no big deal right now- the main thing for us at the moment is to concentrate on getting this right. It´s going to be a long time before we think about calling it quits...."