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Since the Backstreet Boys have been touring the country for over a year now, I met up with them--where else?--on the road. (Columbus, Ohio, to be specific) BOP's photographer Joey and I flew out of L.A. on Monday morning and arrived in Columbus that afternoon. The group, which hails from Orlando, Florida but spends most of their time living on on a large purple tour bus these days, was driving in from Roanoke, Virginia. We planned to join up with them the next morning.
We met the group in front of a radio station in Columbus called WNCI. My first impression of Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson, A.J. McLean, and Howie Dorough was that they were cute, friendly, and a little sleepy (understandably so--it was pretty early). They were there to do an on-air interview with the morning deejays, which was cool because Joey and I got to go into the sound booth and watch the whole thing.
The guys seemed really comfortable chatting on air (the sleepiness factor wen away pretty quickly). They all took turns answering questions about how they got together, their backgrounds, school, etc. They they san an a cappella version of 'Close to You,' and the first thought I had was, "Wow--these guys can really sing." The deejays also seemed genuinely blown away and asked the group to stick around and sing two more tunes. A little while later, we walked to a hotel across the street and had breakfast. After everybody's tummies were full of eggs, pancakes, and has browns (except for Nick, who opted for some kind of deli sandwich), we headed back to the radio station but ended up taking a little detour when the group spotted a grand piano in the hotel lobby. They were on it like ants on an abandoned picnic basket. Kevin plopped down at the piano, A.J. took it upon himself to sing lead vocals, and Nick, Brian, and Howie started doing the harmonizing thing. It was like a mini-concert. Then again, when you're with the Backstreet Boys, you're never without musical entertainment. All five love to sing and they do it almost incessantly--whether they're walking, in the middle of a conversation, tying their shoes, you name it!
When we finally made it back to the station, the guys went into a tiny recording booth to do 'liners,' which are short, pre-recorded advertising plugs. In this case, the group did an abbreviated version of their single 'We've Got It Goin' On,' only they sang it as, 'WNCI Got It Goin' On!' They were really quick and in sync. It was like big bam boom. No mistakes.
Our next destination was Hillard High School, where the students had been lucky enough to score two free concerts by the group.
Joey and I rode with the guys on the tour bus, which is actually pretty roomy inside. I walked past a row of beds that line the sides of the bus and into a little den area in the back to interview Brian and Howie (I spoke with the other members later). Immediately after we arrived at the school, the group began their preparation for going on stage. That included changing into various football jerseys (they're all big-time sports fanatics) and gathering in a circle for a group prayer.
In the meantime, the students were happily filling into the school auditorium. Since most of them hadn't heard the group's music at that point ('We've Got It Goin' On' wasn't released until a short while later), I assumed their upbeat states were the result of getting out of class early. But once the show began, the audience definitely seemed to like what they were seeing and hearing. I'm talking major screaming here--especially when Nick, Brian, Kevin, A.J., and Howie stepped off the stage adn made their way into the crowd.
Unfortunately, the guys didn't seem as thrilled with the performance as their new fans did. Apparently there was a problem with the sound system though the audience members didn't seem to notice. Kevin seemed to be the most concerned. I asked him later if he and his bandmates are perfectionists and his answer was a definite yes!
After discussing how to remedy the sound situation, the goup had another dilemma: Should they change outfits before the second show? Some of the guys wanted to, others didn't. Though there was a disagreement they caem to a decision peacefully and quickly, ultimately deciding that there just wansn't enough time to change.
After the second show the students wanted autographs, and the group obliged them by returning to the edge of the stage and signing eery cassette and picture that came their way.
It was hard to drag the guys away from the crowd, but eventually we all piled back into the bus and headed to a nearby park. Music may be the main force in the group members' lives, but as I mentioned before they're also into sports. This was evident as they took advantage of some rare free time to toss a football and shoot some hoops. They didn't even seem to mind when some students from the school showed up and joined them.
After a healty round of athletic activity, Nick, Brian, Kevin, A.J., and Howie head back to the bus (I suspect that the buckets of fried chicken from KFC that had recently arrived were a motivating factor) and they were off once again, this time to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Though Joey and I would have like to have piled into that bus, too, we had to leave our new palsl behind and catch a plane back to L.A.
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