|x| american Interview
Sutherland making his mark on music industry in Europe
Screaming teenage girls, not going anywhere without a bodyguard, living out of a suitcase -- such is the life of Dublin Coffman High School graduate John Sutherland.
Sutherland, 20, graduated from Coffman in 2001 and is one of three men who comprise a band called B3.
Whereas many people in the United States might not have heard of the group, it is very well-known in parts of Europe, specifically where its record label, BMG, is located -- Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Sutherland has been interested and involved with music and the theater since he was a young boy.
When he was 9, he began performing with the Columbus Junior Theater and has been working in the entertainment industry ever since.
"John was always involved in some type of production," said David Sutherland, his father.
"He never really had any other hobbies."
Before the formation of B3, Sutherland was on a television show on the Disney Channel, was featured in a Starburst commercial and was on the television show Law & Order.
The Dublin native moved to New York a week before his 18th birthday, and joined B3 in the summer of 2001.
"I was always interested in theater and anything in the music business since I was a little boy," Sutherland said.
B3 is what is often called "a boy band," similar to the Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC, but Sutherland said he and his band mates -- Tim Cruz and Blair Late -- prefer to call themselves a "man band."
The group, which does not play instruments but does sing and dance, has released several albums and been on several tours, including a recent tour with figure skaters. They sing their songs in English.
Members of B3 sang their songs live, while figure skaters such as Oksana Baiul and Viktor Petrenko skated.
The group's next album is scheduled to be released in May.
"This will be our next step," Sutherland said. "We're going to release it in the United Kingdom and throughout Asia."
"Crossing over to the UK is a big deal, and depending on how things go, we could possibly release it in the U.S."
He typically spends about one week a month at home in his New York City apartment and the rest of the month working in Europe.
On an average work day, Sutherland and his band mates spent several hours traveling to a different city, doing several interviews with the media, rehearsing, doing several more interviews, grabbing something to eat, performing and then traveling to the next city.
He was able to come home to Dublin to spend Christmas with his family.
Sutherland said his job is a lot harder than he thought it would be, but he would never give it up.
"I've been dreaming of this since I was going to Dublin Coffman," he said.
"I absolutely love this, and I would absolutely never give it up for anything in the world."
Sutherland said it was challenging to get used to traveling around with body guards, adjusting to the foreign food and learning to speak enough German to get by.
"We'd love for John to be home because we miss him, but he's just having a ball right now," said Pam Sutherland, his mother.
"His manager thinks the group is so successful because John thinks of it as a job and understands all the responsibility that goes along with it."
Sutherland said he has many future goals including expanding the production company he recently started, J Productions, and doing more acting.
"We definitely miss him, but it's exciting because he's living his dream," Mr. Sutherland said.
Johnnie at home in Dublin 