DAN
Popstar: If you *had* to be one of the other member for a day, which guy would you choose and why?
How good a boyfriend are you?
Describe your first kiss in one word.
What would you name your group if you had to give up "O-Town?"
What will the next O-Town CD be like?
ASHLEY
Popstar!: If you *had* to be one of the other O-Town members for a day, which guy would you choose and why?
What was your opening night on Britney's tour like?
Lots of the fans were there for you guys, not Britney. You were even #1 on TRL with "We Fit Together."
How have you proved people wrong?
Ash, when are you gonna be a movie star already?
TREVOR
Popstar!: If you *had* to be one of the other O-Town members for a day, which guys would you choose and why?
You *are* the heartthrob!
You're always into cereal boxes when we see you. What's your fave?
Do *you* leave your bowls in the sink still full of left-over milk?
On a much more serious not, you guys were slated to perform in NYC on September 11. How did you guys hear about what happened?
How did O-Town react when you first heard "Drowning" by BSB? I mean...it's the same as "All or Nothing!"
Then I heard it on the radio and I was like, "Oh, 'All or Nothing!'" and it was "Drowning" and it was crazy. But they recorded that song way before we did-they weren't copying.
ERIK-MICHAEL
Popstar!: What's something that people think about you that isn't true?
But you *are* always sick when we see you! How are you now?
What can we expect from the rest of this season of Making the Band?
While the cameras are following you, do you know what they are focusing on or it it a surprise to you at the end?
If you had 24 hourse to do anything you wanted, what would you do?
Sure, we'll throw that in there for you.
How did the September 11 tragedy affect you?
Do looks matter in music?
Are you bitter about that?
JACOB
Popstar!: What's the most challenging aspect of being in the music industry?
What's something that you're dying to have but don't have yet?
Has your girlfriend Janie had to deal with a lot of negativity from the fans or have they seemed to embrace her?
Will you ever release "Love Should Be A Crime?"
Dan: Wow, um, I don't know...I would say Ashley. Only for the reason because I wanna see what's going on in his head. I don't care so much about that...I don't care at all about the amount of fan mail. Well, I care about fan mail, but it wouldn't be to get a certain amount of fan mail, or to be on the cover of this or that, it would be to see what he thinks and why he leaves his cereal bowl in the kitchen in the morning. What goes through his head when he does that?
I feel like I'm always a very good boyfriend no matter what the situation is. I don't do anything wrong--I always do the right thing.
It's a tough thing because I'm not around that often and 90% of the relationship is done over the phone. It's not an easy thing for a relationship. But I've always been a big fan of saying, "When it's meant to be, it's meant to be," and things will work out if it's supposed to work out.
[Laughs] One word? Let me think! I'm tryin' to think of a good word...nerve-wracking.
Good question. I'd call us...[never answers] All those decisions were made when I got here. This was my chance and the name O-Town really sucks!
[Yawns] Sorry! I honestly woke up just before I called you. Oh, yeah. The next album is gonna be a lot different than you expect. Everybody still thinks we're gonna do the whole boy-band thing, but I think we kinda went in some different directions on the first album with "Love Should Be A Crime" and "Girl" and I think we'll go more in those directions. But still kinda universal. I've been writing a lot and the other guys have been writing a lot--I think that's very important to us. Just to get our own material on the album is something that I'm really taking pride in and working hard on and gaining a lot of confidence in that. So you can expect to get a different view point from our experience and what we're trying to say, not so much what somebody else is.
It's still gonna be us, though, y'know.
Ashley: [Immediately] I would be Dan.
Because I don't think I will ever know what it's like to...what's the word I wanna use?...to be as anal-retentive, that scheduled and that responsible.
Ah! It was incredible. We came up from underneath the stage, a trap door. We were underneath the stage and we hear these people outside, just this monstrous roar, and we pop up to all these glowsticks. There were so many people it all blurred together. I couldn't make anybody out after the first couple of rows. It was and incredible experience and the energy was so high and people were screaming and it was everything that we wanted it to be.
That's not because of our efforts, that because of our fans' efforts. I think the amazing thing is at a time when all these huge players are on TRL at the same time as us we can be #1. It just goes to show the dedication of O-Town fans. They've gone out and recruited--our street team--and they've had the O-Town attitude, which is prove people wrong and they have and they've grown and now they're makin' it possible that we're #1 on TRL, so we love them for that.
I think the fact that we were out with Britney Spears. The first two tours we did in the US we went out by ourselves and I think that was a testament to the fact that we had the fanbase and that we were a touring act--we did two almost totally sold-out tours on two singles. And on our third tour we were with Britney Spears and she's the biggest thing around. We're at work, we're pushing ourselves constantly to become better.
[With a Little Richards flourish] Whoo! Workin' on it! Pursuing that and what it takes to do it and auditioning. I don't know. Right now my focus is O-Town. I know I'll always be a songwriter, but if there's one think I'll have to do one day, it's definitely, definitely, to be in movies because I am and actor. I don't know when or how, but it will happen.
Trevor: I think I'd either be Jacob or Ashley. I'd be Jacob beacause [laughing] I wanna see what goes on in that kid's mind sometimes. I'd just wanna see what he thinks, what he does. And I'd wanna be Ashley for obvious reasons--to be the heartthrob for a day.
Oh yeah, yeah--of course.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch. That's my favorite.
No, just Ashley. Only Ashley leaves it in the sink.
Well, weirdly enough, we were actually staying in New Jersey. Every time we come to New York, we always stay in the city. For some reason, this time we stayed in Jersey. A lot of us were asleep on the bus when this happened--I know I was--and Erik came into the bus and he like hit me on my bunk and was like, "Yo, a plane ran into the World Trade Center." I was like, "What? How??" I had no clue.
Then I woke up and everyone in our hotel were watching the TVs and it was a weird situation for all of us. It was like, "Okay, I guess the show's cancelled," then it got bigger and bigger and unfolded and you realized what was happening and I was like, "Man, I need to start calling people and make sure everyone's okay." When I looked at my cell, i had like twentysomething messages saying, "Call me and let me know you're okay--I know you guys are supposed to be in the city..." It was just really weird.
All my friends were callin' me and saying, "Have you heard Backstreet Boys's new song? Sounds exactly like 'All or Nothing!'" and I'm like, "Okay, I'm sure it does," like it probably had some little piano lick or something and I didn't think nothin' of it.
Erik-Michael: Oh, I don't know. [Laughs] That I'm always sick. I haven't been sick in a long time.
Actually, not so great....
It's very introspective and it's more about us and what we're doing now--not the personal stuff, like family drama. It's more about what really consumes our life, which is our career right now. It's also going to show us writing the next album and going in and recording and submitting songs to Clive Davis. Also, the process in which a song takes to get on the album. There are personal endeavors that we're all attempting to do now that we're growing that the show is going to be documenting.
We know everything at all times.
Do I have a travel day?
Cool, I'd probably go to New York just because I haven't really been there much since the tragedy happened and I have a lot of loves ones there.
So many ways--it really did. From the career end to the personal end because I'm from New York and we had a show that day. O-Town took it as a personal attack on us because it affected us so much. I know, for myself, it was just something that's an image in my head that I wish I never, ever had.
I think people now are expecting a lot more out of the people they choose to be entertained by. I think they're looking for a more dyanmic person--from looks to personality to natural abilities to talent to charisma. Yeah, it definitely affects it.
No, I'm not bitter at all because I can appreciate good music even it comes from someone who doesn't look good.
Jacob: I think it's that a lot of people want to just take, take, take--more that you're used to when you're growing up. So it's kind of hard to deal with at first. Other than taht, the music industry is hard because it's not always about the music, even though you want it to be. So it's a constant battle.
Respect from the people who I looked up to growing up.
Respect from people in the music industry. I don't think we strive for respect from the public as much, because that's something that 50 percent of everybody is going to hate you and 50 percent is going to love you. You can't really control that. But to get to a point where the music industry and your peers and the people you looked up to can respect what you do as well, that just comes with time and we're working on it everyday.
No, thank God--everyone has embraced her. When we're in venues and stuff they take pictures or they talk to her. She's an awesome person so they have no reason not to like her. I think that because of the show people have insight and because that's my girlfriend they can find reasons, but they've been really good at being nice. We've had no problems, yet. They've been respectful of us. I appreciate it.
That one or "Girl" are the ones we can't decide between if we release a fourth single from the first album.
