| How did you guys get together? |
JEFF: I moved from Massillon, Ohio to Los Angeles to pursue a singing career. My first attempts at putting together a group didn't work out until I met Nick [who's a native of Cincinnati, Ohio] through a mutual friend. Our musical chemistry was instant. Then Nick called his longtime pal, Justin to head out to California to sing with us. NICK: Justin and I attended the Cincinnati School for the Creative and Performing Arts so I didn't have a hard time convincing him. The lastpiece of the puzzle was my younger brother, Drew. He was working in Brooklyn as an Emergency Medical Technician but he took a chance and joined us.
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| What makes "Revelation" different from your past albums? |
DREW: We were able to contribute so much to it. I think its going to reflect on the album because we feel so close to the songs. NICK: "Give Me Just One Night" has a Latin flavor, it's very energetic and intense. We've never had an up-tempo single, so that in itself was a departure for us. We also traveled down to Mexico's Mayan ruins with our director, Wayne Isham, to film our video. I rapped in our track, "Dizzy," but it won't be a 98 degrees staple. I enjoy thyming. I wrote that song in five minutes and just put it down. It was something fun to do. "My everything" is inspired by my relationship with Jessica [Simpson]. That song is purely dedicated to her and she knows that. JEFF: The theme of this album is really about us growing musically. We tried not to set boundaries, to try different stuff. The album is so versatile, there's so many different types of songs.
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| What difficulty do you usually encounter when you record an album? |
JUSTIN: When you devote your energies to crafting an album, you need time off from touring. I felt like this album was the first we got to catch our breath, get our creative vibe going. We came back with fresh ideas and fresh ears. The hardest part of making this album was picking and choosing the songs, because there was a lot of material to choose from.
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| What's the secret of your friendship? |
JEFF: We've learned about the business together, also about the hardships. We're like a family. We've dealt with everybody's setbacks. we also have had the highest of highs together.
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| What were those highs? |
JUSTIN: Singing with our idol, Stevie Wonder on "True To Your Heart" for the soundtrack on Disney's "Mulan;" performing a duet, "Thank God I Found You" with Mariah Carey, and performing for [former] president Bill Clinton. I think another exciting thing is the reaction we've gotten from people who've been inspired by our music. DREW: What's exciting for me is being accepted by the people who listen to our music, and hearing what they think about it. NICK: All we ever wanted to do was to be recognized for our music and have people enjoy it. We want people to respect what we do.
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