Making The Band has been on the tube for a couple of months now, and if you're anything like us, you can't get enough of these guy. They started out as 25 showbiz newcomers, were pared down to 8 canidates, and now 5 of them are your regular Friday night dates. eteen hung out with the cuties when they numbered eight--and we found out what really makes them tick.
Once the eight O-Town guys were picked, they all got super-close. But from day one, Trevor Penick and Jacob Underwood were friends. They met at the auditions and hung out together through the nail biting narrowing down process. Once they were chosen as two of the 25 semifinalists, they visited each other's homes in california before the finals.
"We went golfing together," said Jacob. "We both live near golf courses, which is kind of ironic. So I went to stay with him for the weekend and we went golfing at his place and then he came down to stay with me." Trevor added. "Then when we both got picked from 25 to eight and my friends threw us a going away party...We've been together the whole way through.
Now they know everything about each other from living together 24-7, but what were the guys' first impressions of each other? For Erik Micheal Estrada it was overwhelming. "Everyone was so talented. My first impression was 'Wow these guys are amazing!' How would they pick me over these guys?" But he was chosen, and he continues to be dazzeled. "My first impression keeps on growing and growing, I have a new impression everyday. But for the most part, its that these guys are incredibly talented."
Erik may have been very impressed with all the guys, but he scared at least one of them at the beginning. Trevor said, "Erik is the cockiest man alive," but now hes quick to admit that he had Erik pegged all wrong. "I got to the 25 and jacob wasn't there yet, so I was kind of by myself. I didn't really know anyone. So I introduced myself to Erik and he's sitting there of the three of the 5 guys from Orlando. They're all singing and he just had this look in his eyes. I was like, 'Whats up man? I'm Trevor.' He's like, 'I'm Erik,' and he started singing again. I thought, 'Okay all right, thats good, thats real good. Who is this guy?' On the 2nd day, I didn't talk to him much. The 3rd day, the day of the auditions, I talked to him a lot. We talked the whole time, saying, 'Man I'm nervous, I'm this, I'm that.' I was, like, 'Oh, he's totally not what I thought he was at all.
Ashley Parker Angel offered his first impression of Trevor. "Some of the choreographers from LFO taught us this dance. And Trevor, out of all of us, stood out, because he is the best dancer in the world. Seriously, I was like, 'What? Did this guy grow up on the cast of KID'S INCORPORATED?' He was incredible. He's so amazing, I was, like, 'This guy has more rythem in his pinky than I have in my whole body.' He just blew me away with the dancing, so my first impression of Trevor was that he could dance for days."
All the guys agreed that Ashley's totally cool: "He's the sweetest guy out of all of us," says Erik. "He's the nicest. He gives you a cavity every time he talks." And who's the sweetest around the ladies? Well, that would be Paul Martin of course.
Talking to the guys, you got a sense of how much they care about each other and admire each other-- especially as singers. They were always singing. "These guys are like all my bestfriends. I've ever had back home, but we all share music. I can sing the main melody of Star Spangled Banner and immediatly, I'll have a seven-part harmony behind me," revealed Ashley. "And the thing I love most in my life is music, so to have seven other people that are, like my best friends and have that music is such a blessing to me...and to be able to live with these guys." Trevor summed it up: "I've got seven new brothers."
Out of all the guys, Bryan Chan seemed to take on the role of big bro. After all, he's the oldest at 25. He always tried to keep the guys in line, but he sometimes couldn't resist goofing around as well. Self-professed crazy guy, Mike Miller, admitted, "I talk a lot."
Like brothers, the boys weren't immune to gentle teasing and arguing. Ashley shared his first impression of Ikaika Kahoano and explained how they were waiting for him to go to the resterant. "All 24 of us are on the bus, but there's one person missing--Ikaika. And everybody's like, 'where's Ikaika? Is he up in his room?' He kept screwing up our bus and we waited for, like, 25 minutes. It's so funny, because each morning out the door, like, sometimes it's me--" "Mostly it's you!" piped in Trevor--"Most of the time it's Ikaika," Ashley threw back. "No, it's not, no it's not!" Trevor Insisted. Finally, Ashley admitted, "Most of the time it's both of us. But it's funny, because my first impression of Ikaika was when he was late and it's still kind of that way." Trevor added, "We work on it though." Ashley said, "I'm late, too, though. I'm not making a judgement." You could see that there was plenty of back and fourth, but that the guys totally respect each other.
That's the main feeling you get from the members of O-Town. They truly love each other--it's no act. Even though they were put together by Backstreet Boys, N'sync, and LFO wiz Lou Pearlman, Erik prefers to say they were "brought together." He added, "I don't understand how Lou so well matched us, but I've never been so in touch with seven guys in my life." And after hanging out with the guys for a short while, we really saw the connection. That's why Making The Band is so engrossed--it's totally real.***
June 2000'
