Espero que disfruten de unas fotos de Unbreakable tour en Europa. Exclusivas del backstreet boys fans club argentina. + 1 de bsbmarie
IMPORTANTE
STRAIGHT THROUGH MY HEART está en el puesto 12 de RADIO DISNEY!!!!!!!!!! MÁS QUE NUNCA A SEGUIR VOTANDO MASIVAMENTE asi llega a los 10 más votados del ranking!
votar STMH en la disney
tambien podes votar en este link diferente
Telefonicamente: 011 4999 9430 mensajes@radiosdisney.com.ar
Les dejamos una interesante entrevista que le realizarón a Howie cuando estaba disfrutando de las vacaciones en su natal Florida la semana pasada.
Créditos: Access All Areas
Access All Areas.net.au: Hey, Howie. Where are we chatting to you from?
Howie: Hey, how you doing? I’m actually in my home town, Orlando Florida. We had the holidays off and I had the chance to come back and spend some time with my family before we take off on tour again in February.
Access All Areas.net.au: Have you got a lot of Aussie press today?
Howie: Yeah. I don’t mind. I love it. I can’t wait to get down there. You guys are amazing. We’ve always had so much fun there. Australia is one of my favourite places in the world. So I’m excited about it.
Access All Areas.net.au: The Backstreet Boys was actually my first ever album as a kid back when it seemed the music pop culture was taking over the world.
Howie: Wow, that’s awesome. Thank you. I’m flattered.
Access All Areas.net.au: What was it like for you going through that – being introduced to the music biz in such sensational fashion?
Howie: The fact that we’ve been together for 17 years is to me just an unbelievable accomplishment. It’s been like a marriage. A lot of marriages I know haven’t been able to stand the test of time. I’m just blessed that I’m in the group I’m in and we’ve had the success we’ve had. We’re still hungry and strong, looking forward to more and more of the future.
Access All Areas.net.au: Were you only 19 or so when it all began?
Howie: I was. I was 19 believe it or not. Looking back on it, I was just a young wee lad.
Access All Areas.net.au: So what was that like for you being so young with the band exploding onto the music scene like it did?
Howie: I was so excited; I thought I’d won the lottery. I still think I’ve won the lottery. (laughs) It’s amazing. I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity that I’ve had. What guy wouldn’t want to be travelling around the world seeing a bunch of screaming women and having a chance to see the world? It’s just been amazing. My 20s were the most memorable years I’ll ever have.
Access All Areas.net.au: Nsync, Britney Spears and acts alike were breaking round the same time. Was it competitive with those artists or were you fans of those guys as well?
Howie: We all came from the Orlando area. Even Nsync, I went to college with one of the guys Chris Kirkpatrick. We sat right next to each other in choir. We’re all kind of from the Orlando area. It was never any competition. If anything it was more a friendly competition. They’ve always had their fans, we’ve had our fans. Sometimes they were the same fans, sometimes they weren’t. It was always the ‘what’s good for one is good for all’ thing. It was good for all of us.
Access All Areas.net.au: You’ve spent half your life now in this band now. So how would you describe the lifestyle to those who can only dream of it?
Howie: It’s pretty much whatever you make of it. I’m very blessed that I have a very grounded family who have kept me on my feet. They always set me to the ground. It’s made me appreciate and understand the business for what it’s worth. It’s an amazing opportunity I’ve had. I definitely can’t say enough I’ve been very blessed. It’s really amazing.
Access All Areas.net.au: The ‘This Is Us’ tour is coming to Australia in March. After all these years, does another world tour and trip down under still excite you guys like it did?
Howie: We love touring. For me, that’s where I come alive. Touring was where I was meant to be forever. We have a great show. It’s a Millennium type show with a great, amazing stage. We have four unbelievable dancers with us, a DJ and a lot of gags. It’s a 2 hour entertaining show, from beginning to end. We’re going to hopefully offer (the fans) out of their chairs and on their feet from top to bottom.
Access All Areas.net.au: How do you make the shows better each time?
Howie: We come up with most of the ideas for our tours. We just challenge ourselves. We go watch other concerts…we’re all just creative individuals. We’re all an artist in our own minds. We try and top ourselves and think of what hasn’t been done. Or what has been done, maybe having a twist on it.
Access All Areas.net.au: When you have so many songs to choose from, how do you come up with the set list for this tour?
Howie: That’s the tough part. That is really tough. Sometimes we put together medleys because we’ve had a lot of success songs that people want to hear. To fit them all in a 2 hour show, you have to be creative. We even actually re-vamp some of our songs so they’re still fresh and current for us. Some of the songs we’ve sang for over 15 years. I’m very proud of it. I think we’ve done a great job. Every time we do a tour I always just feel, oh boy how are we going to fit all these songs plus the new album? Somehow we did it.
Access All Areas.net.au: Is it a different vibe going on tour without Kevin?
Howie: Yeah, definitely. Kevin was like a father figure for all of us. He was the older brother. We always looked up to him, especially with a lot of his creative ideas. So when he came to us and said, ‘Guys, I’m going to take a break on this run’, we all had to step up to the plate and really push ourselves to make the group still go forward. Being in the studio on the last album, it was the last album he took the break on, we had to cover for his parts. And I think for the live show we had to really do what we could. We brought the stage in and wanted to make sure it was entertaining no matter who was missing.
Access All Areas.net.au: What do you like to do to entertain yourselves in between shows?
Howie: Out there on the road on our days off, which are very few, it depends where we’re at. If we’re overseas, we try and do what the locals do. Last time we were in Australia and we were in Sydney I went all around Sydney for a lot of sightseeing. I saw a cousin of mine who lives in Bondi and relaxed with her for a little bit. When we were in Melbourne we went to the zoo. One time Kevin and myself went out on a boat and we went scuba diving. It just depends where we’re at. Sometimes it’s cultural and sometimes it’s local. Night life – we all enjoy that as well. Restaurants and good food...
Access All Areas.net.au: Do you still enjoy each other’s company like you did back when you were starting out? 17 years together, are you still friends?
Howie: Yeah. We’re family. We’re like brothers to each other. We’ve definitely grown so much and we’re as close with each other to the point where we’re family. We’re with each other all the time. I enjoy the guys’ company so much. We’ve got different dynamics with each other too. If there’s things I want to do, this guy wants to do that. Nightlife – it’s Nick. If it’s going out culturally and seeing a museum or something, it’s Brian. As we’ve gotten older, we’ve learnt to appreciate each other’s good points and bad points. We know how to deal with each other.
Access All Areas.net.au: The title ‘This Is Us’ I guess in a way sums up this brothership that you talk about. So tell us who you guys are with maybe a characteristic or personality traits that gives fans a bit of an insight into each of the band members.
Howie: Wow. We’re definitely individuals. That’s what’s so amazing – we each have individual characteristics that when you put us all together, the chemistry and the bond has gone for 17 years now. Nick is the youngest one. He’s the craziest one. He’s like the real kid brother that sometimes you wish you never had, but he’s just part of the family. He’s probably the one for me that comes up with the most creative ideas. Especially for this tour, he had really cool ideas for the stage design. He’s very creative when it comes to music and the production. AJ is the Robbie Williams of the group. He’s the loose cannon. You never know what you’re going to get from him day to day. But that’s what’s so great…you need that bit of spice in the group. He keeps everybody on their toes. He probably has the biggest heart. I’ve known him the longest, over 20 years. He’s a great person to always count on as a friend. Brian is the most level-headed family person. He’s always the one that’s wanted to start a family early on in life and he knows how to definitely distinguish family time and work time.
Access All Areas.net.au: What would they say about you?
Howie: They’d probably say I’m the best, honestly.
Access All Areas.net.au: (Laughs)
Howie: You know it’s funny, a lot of times people will say…even when they hear me sing, ‘Wow, you’re the glue in the group.’ Really? You think so? ‘Yeah, your voice is the glue that ties all the different sounds to blend together.’ I’ll always be the one that listens. If there’s an argument, I’ll be the first one to be like ‘Hey guys, I understand what he’s saying and where you’re coming from.’ I’m the one that can kind of resolve issues the best in the group. I’m the non stop energiser bunny that just keeps going. Work, work, work. I have a family and I enjoy my time with my family – my wife and my kid and my immediate family. I’m always the workaholic. When’s the next show?
Access All Areas.net.au: What’s been your personal favourite time from being in the Backstreet Boys? Was it when it was all fresh and new?
Howie: Exactly that. When we first started out, even though it was a bit hard because people didn’t know who we were and everything, it was also an amazing time in the fact that everything was so new to us. Everything was a first. Travelling around the world, first concerts, seeing screaming girls for the first time, having a fan club, having our first gold record, our first MTV award…everything was so new and so fresh. Now it’s a challenge of keeping it always fresh.
Access All Areas.net.au: So many bands haven’t been able to last. Why do you think the Backstreet Boys have been able to?
Howie: I hope it’s because of the music. We try to put out the best music we can. We try to put out good quality music. And then I just think we were really blessed. I don’t know how the cards fell the way they did, but they did. We get along very well with each other; we appreciate the business and our fans and we always try and outdo ourselves from the last album. I think fans see that. We’re always up for a challenge. We don’t want to be stagnating in one place. We always want to top ourselves.
Access All Areas.net.au: You would have seen and experienced so many changes in the music industry in that period of time.
Howie: There’s definitely been a lot of challenges. The music industry has done a 360 from what we started out with. We were part of a historical era, before downloading, with record sale numbers I don’t think we’ll ever see again. It’s definitely a challenge but it’s a challenge we’re up for and I think we needed it. It’s a reality…what it takes to struggle and conquer and want to be on top. I think it made us stronger musicians, stronger as numbers to the group, stronger friends. And we had to take a step back and turn our thoughts on the business and how it’s changed.
Access All Areas.net.au: If your son James grew up and wanted to join a band of any sort, what advice would you give him?
Howie: Get a good lawyer! I would definitely encourage him. My mum encouraged me. I had older siblings in the music business. And I’ve always been into trying to help other people. I’m into management right now – I do co-managing other artists, trying to give a helping hand like I was given a helping hand. I’d just encourage my son to follow his dreams whatever he wanted to do, whether that was a musician, a doctor, lawyer, astronaut…just do what makes him feel good.
Access All Areas.net.au: Is there a few sons of the band now?
Howie: 3 boys. Kevin has a boy, I have a boy and Brian has a boy. We’ve got our own little Backstreet Little Boys. (laughs) We’re the Backstreet Bigger Boys.
Interview by Danielle Ralph
