I was going to post this with the rest of my long article post, but this was just wayy to long. So I'm making an extra blog post just for it. This is a phone interview with Kevin Jonas. From JP Star [Kevin Jonas On Tour Life]
Kevin Jonas, 20, the oldest of the Jonas Brothers, telephoned Cue recently to chat about his favorite music, his career ambition and what life is like when you spend your days rolling along in a tour bus. Guest reporter Hannah Hilyard gets the scoop:
Q: In the past year you've toured with Miley Cyrus, filmed a Disney Channel original movie, had a hit record and now you're headlining your own tour in big arenas across the country. What has been the biggest surprise for you through all that rapid success?
KJ: I think in all honesty of how fast it appears that it's happened, but then in our minds how fast we've wanted it to happen over the years - we've been a band for about three and a half to four years, you know, on the road, touring. So the fact that right now we're on our own first headlining tour across the country in arenas and playing, you know, to thousands and thousands of people every night is the most amazing and exciting experience I think I've ever, you know, had in my entire life. And I'm just really honored that we are getting these opportunities, and we can't wait to come to your city.
Q: What does it feel like to go from being normal teenagers to such huge celebrities in such a short period of time?
KJ: (Laughs) Well, going to malls can be a little difficult, but definitely worth it, definitely worth it. We have a lot of amazing times, we get to experience amazing cities everywhere we go. I was watching a movie today and I realized, you know what, I can tell where they are because I've been there before. And if I was, you know, sitting in a classroom somewhere in college and it was just like plain and simple, you know, every single day is the same, I would not have those life experiences that growing up on the road - me and my brothers have really discovered a whole new world out there. We've learned places we love and we've learned, you know, how to grow up on the road, and I think the hand-on experiences that we have will stick with us forever.
Q: At what point when you were growing up in New Jersey did you know that you would be in a band with your brothers, and how did it all get started?
KJ: It really kind of started with my brother Nick, he was on Broadway. We all lived in New Jersey and he was on Broadway at the time. And then Joe was on Broadway, and then Nick wrote a song and sang it and recorded it for a Christmas song. And someone heard it at a record label and then he got signed to Columbia Records. Then me, Joe and Nick all together wrote a song and then we were actually all signed to Columbia Records. About a year and a half to two years later we left that label and signed on to Hollywood Records. And that's where we released the album last year called "Jonas Brothers" and then it has now gone platinum.
Q: Awesome. When traveling all over the country, how do you stay in contact with all your friends back home? Is it important to you to stay connected to your hometown?
KJ: It is. We really try to stay, we just try to, you know, stay in touch with all of our friends as much as possible. And it's funny, because we do have a lot of friends on the road with us. Our bands are very close friends, we've chosen really great guys to be a part of our group and our band so that we can stay grounded and stay, you know, a close-knit family on the road. But we really try to, you know, stay in touch with of course like texting and iChat and video chatting and things like that. And of course then we'll fly our friends out, as well, to the road and to the tour and then they'll hang out with us for a couple days and ride on the bus to experience life on the tour.
Q: Is there a downside to fame?
KJ: You know, not many down sides. I really love my life, and people ask me that but I don't feel like there is, you know? You get what you're asking for, for sure, and we really do appreciate every minute of it.
Q: What do you do on the tour bus to pass the time?
KJ: What we do . . . we watch lots and lots of movies. For example, last night we drove from Portland, Ore., to where we are today - Salt Lake City, Utah. And it was a 24-hour trip on the bus. So, there's a lot of movies being watched, a lot of snacking, you know, hanging out, transferring busses - we all roll together in a six-bus tour right now, so that's like our immediate team that's always at the venues first. So, you know, you get to hang out with a lot of people, a lot of different people on each bus. So, it's very fun.
Q: Do you have a favorite song or songs you like to perform in front of all your fans? What is it and why?
KJ: I really love performing our new single, "When You Look Me in the Eyes" - such an amazing song. The reaction to the song has been incredible and overwhelming, we're very excited with the new video and having all the fans' reaction to the video is just phenomenal. And seeing their faces every night light up when we play the songs "Hold On" and "S.O.S" and of course "When You Look Me in the Eyes." And actually on this tour, we're actually playing some of the brand new songs from the record that will be coming out at the end of this summer.
Q: Do you think that playing your own instruments and writing a lot of your own songs sets you apart from other popular teen bands and performers from the past?
KJ: You know, there are bands out there and younger artists that have done this in the past, but I think the fact that we do play all our own instruments and write our own songs and do all those things makes a huge difference in who we are as the Jonas Brothers. I think they can relate to us - our fans can relate to us - because we're going through the same things that they're going through. You know, we range from ages 15 to 20, so a lot of teenagers in there. And of course, you know, I'm 20, but we write about the things that we're going through, that we've gone through. And so, hopefully, the people that are listening to our music can relate to it.
Q: Do you download a lot of music? What are you listening to these days that you like a lot?
KJ: We do download a lot of music - but legally, off of iTunes. We don't like to pirate music because we feel the immediate effects of that and we understand how that can affect a band. But, for us, we really listen to a lot of great things like Jefferson Starship, Prince. Who else do we listen to ... you know, the Beatles, of course. I listen to a lot of country music, I got into country recently, which I kind of enjoy. So I'm having a lot of fun with that.
Q: Given a choice of only one, which would you prefer - being a career actor, or a career musician?
KJ: That's hard to say, they're so different. They're too different to compare, I think. For me, I really do love acting. Acting is a great thing and we got to the experience to do that this year with being in the movies "Camp Rock" and starting our show called "J.O.N.A.S.," that will be hopefully getting back into production this year after the writer's strike gets resolved. But of course our entire life is about music. And so I would really honestly say that being a musician is our first love and my passion is our music. But being able to do both is really, so much, you know, so exciting and such an honor. Not many people get to do that, and being able to include both at the same time is really exciting.
Q: OK, here's the last one. I hear you play Guitar Hero. What level are you on, and what is your favorite song to play?
KJ: I do play a lot of Guitar Hero. I am on expert now. I'm out of practice because I haven't been around my Guitar Hero thing for a little bit but I'm getting back into it. And I think "Barracuda" was the song that I was definitely really all about.
That's my favorite. (laughs). That's awesome.
Well, we shall battle someday.-Naomi [Oh Jonas! Admin]
