Bryan Chan says his life resembles something out of "EDTV"-or more accurately, "The Real World."

"Whenever I want to go out for a carton of milk, I have to call the film crew and tell them so they can follow me," says Chan, born in San Mateo and raised in Pleasanton. "It’s strange." Since last fall, Chan and other members of the O-Town boy band have been filmed by camera crews from ABC’s new weekly documentary series "Making the Band," which airs at 9:30p.m. Fridays on channels 7, 10, and 11.

The series, from producers of MTV’s "The Real World," centers on eight young men culled from thousands of applicants hoping to be the next ‘N Sync or Backstreet Boys. Here, pop impresario Louis J. Pearlman, the man behind these boy bands, tries his hand at forming a new group in front of the cameras. Friday’s broadcast marks the show’s third episode. In the first two, the selection was narrowed down to 25 finalists, then to eight.

Now the young men, living in a rented condo in Orlando (hence the band name O-Town) are spending their days taking voice, singing and dancing lessons-and plenty of life lessons. The group will be weeded down to five. During the next few weeks, viewers will watch and wait to see who makes the cut in the 10th episode. "We didn’t even know what it was we were being evaluated on. We asked ourselves, ‘Am I the shy guy? The bad guy?’ We were asking what role we could fill in the band," Chan says. "We soon saw who learned quick, who took longer. Every week, we thought we had an idea of who the finalists would be, then by the next week, the list had changed." Although, Chan knows who made the final cut, he can’t say who. All are still taping episodes, and all eight flew to New York for an appearance on "Regis & Kathie Lee," that aired Wednesday.

During a recent foray to Costco, Chan realized how much exposure the group’s been getting. "…A woman came up to me and started talking and I thought maybe I knew her from somewhere because she knew so much about me," Chan says. "It turned out she’d been watching the show, which is funny because it’s supposed to be aimed at young teen girls and there are a lot of mature women watching."

Costco?

"I just want to continue to be a regular guy, "says good-natured Chan. "I still enjoy browsing the aisles at Costco and just because I’m on TV doesn’t mean I’m not going to elbow you out of the way for that last sample on aisle 5."

At 25, Chan is the eldest finalist. The others range from 18 to 21, and Chan says he’s taken on the big brother role, something he knows well. His 23-year-old brother Bill is a law student at Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley.

At the end of Friday’s episode, Chan was taken aside by a person in charge and asked to look after his homesick roommate, Ikaika Kahoano, 21, of Honolulu.

He says, "I am the older brother and essentially when we have problems and issues, I bring some perspective…You have these younger guys who have papers thrown in their faces to sign and if it’s longer than three pages, they just want to sign and go. I tell them we need to check this out a little more carefully. This is a business."

Chan jokes that the Bay Area housing boom is responsible for him getting an education. His mom, Anita, is a real estate agent with ERA Golden Hills in San Ramon while dad Robert is a contractor.

"Thank goodness for high housing prices," he says. "It put me through (UC Santa Barbara) and now my brother in law school."

Anita Chan says she always knew her son would do well. "When Bryan hit high school, there was always something he was involved in : leadership, senior class president," Chan says. "We’ve always been supportive and told (our sons) to follow your heart. Bryan has always been an all-around kind of guy and we are so proud of him. We couldn’t be more thrilled for him."

Chan, who graduated from Amador Valley High School in 1992, was captain of his driving team and in the musical "Bye Bye Birdie." "Mrs. Jenkins gave me my first taste of music theater, " Chan says. "I owe a lot to Amador."

Chan worked in finance after graduating from UC Santa Barbara, but says he knew that type of career wasn’t for him. He was working as a special events coordinator in Santa Barbara when he decided to try out for "Making the Band." He says he never thought he would make it this far.

"I thank God every day because it’s been such a great ride and who would have thought I would be doing this?" Chan says. "The adjustment was watching the premiere and seeing how you act, how you appear to others. The camera catches everything."

Chan says he hopes to continue acting and singing. At UC Santa Barbara, Chan sang in the gospel choir.

Chan, who attended St. Augustine Catholic church in Pleasanton, says he is a Christian who believes in praying to God in a number of ways. He says his band mates are also religious.

"Some of us won’t eat a single meal without praying first, and we all pray before rehearsals," Chan says. "We all have our own view (on religion), but it is the one strong bond we have between us."

No matter what happens, Chan says all eight will remain friends. "It’s like fifth-grade camp. You all go through the same things and you bond to each other," Chan says. "No matter who makes the cut, we still will be right with each other like a family."