INTERVIEW WITH DONNA WRIGHT

Backstreet Boys will never forget the summer of '98 because that is when they conquer America! Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, A.J. McLean, and Brian Littrell have just begun their first major tour of North America, and now everyone can see the show that won them millions of fans overseas. This musical team is a hometown-boy-make-good story, one that began one fateful night in Orlando, Florida.

As you know, it was nearly seven years ago that Howie, A.J., and Nick were making the rounds of acting and singing auditions in Orlando (Howie landed roles in the movies Parenthood and Cop and A Half, A.J. did some Disney gigs and Nick was considering his own Disney deal!) when the guys met Kevin through mutual friends on the movie scene. Before long they discovered how well they could sing together and decided to give it a go as a group-all they needed was one more voice to fill out the sound. Kevin suggested his cousin Brian back in Lexington, Kentucky. Brian said yes and the Backstreet Boys as you know them were officially born!

Their story is an exciting one, filled with all kinds of adventures that landed them a record deal, then success in Europe, and then…but lets let one of the boys managers, Donna Wright, who talked with us prior to this exciting tour, fill in the personal details…

Q: Donna, this Backstreet Boys tour is preceded by Brian's surgery. What was that operation all about?

A: They had to close a hole in Brian's heart.

Q: Did the doctors know years ago that, at some point in his life Brian…..

A: …was going to [have to have this operation?] Yeah… He was getting very tired. Brian chose to [have the surgery and] take two months of…

Q: What did that mean for the rest of the guys?

A: Mostly, they spent the time writing songs with different producers.

Q: Can we go back to the group's early days? What made you take them out on a school tour right off the bat?

A: We felt they needed to be seen… While we were on the school tour, during one of the shows…I was on my cell phone leaving a message on [the answering machine of a record company executive named Bobby Ducket]. I said, 'I can't believe that you haven't come out here. You're missing something incredible.' That's when I put the phone behind my back and said 'Howie, tell 'em to stand up and scream.' And Howie did. But when he did that the fans stood up and came running towards the boys. I got scared. I started screaming for the bus driver and everybody to run so we could get to the bus, because it looked like a stampede. Meanwhile, the whole time I'm running with my cell phone, this all being recorded in Bobby's machine. So the next day, he and David McPherson came out to Hickory, North Carolina…and heard [the boys]. Next thing I knew we were signing a deal. That was Mercury. Then when the label decided against getting involved with a teen group-which they are right now with Hanson-we got dropped. But David believed in the boys so much, he said, 'I'm going to another record label with this group.' …And then we ended up doing the deal with Jive.

Q: And you've been touring ever since! What is life really like on the road with the boys?

A: Life on the road is like an everyday routine. Usually, if we have a long haul, something like eight hours, we will travel overnight, get to the hotel maybe very early in the morning, check in, sleep until maybe noon, get up and get ready to be downstairs somewhere around 1 or 2. From 2-5 they do Meet 'N' Greets and press interviews. The boys stop around 6-7, then they have dinner, relax and chill out. The opening act usually goes on somewhere around 8:00 and around 9:00 the boys usually hit the stage.

Q: How do they travel now?

A: They seem to be doing more flights. Nicky will stay on the bus, because he loves to play his Nintendo games.

Q: So they don' t they always travel together?

A: Not if one wants to get to another city sooner. They may go off with one of their bodyguards and travel ahead… But the majority of the time they're together.

Q: Describe the boys' personalities.

A: Nick [is] very quiet, enjoys his time alone. He enjoys being in his room. If we all go to a nightclub or something, Nick goes very seldom. Brian [is the] same way. Brian really loves his down time, he loves his days off. He also enjoys staying in his room and either talking on the phone or watching a movie, but he's changing. Kevin and Howie are very much the ones that would be taken out to be entertained….maybe one of the big clubs….but Kevin has slowed down now; Kevin pretty much stays in all the time. It's more A.J. and Howie now- Howie loves to go to clubs. Howie loves dancing and meeting new people. A.J. the same thing! He's very much into going to a late night movie or going out to one of the clubs with Howie.

Q: Any change in Nick when Aaron opens for the boys?

A: He spends a lot of time with his brother. Nick enjoys having a friends or family member out on the road with him tremendously. When that person is out there, they are like glue to him. They stick with him on a 24-7 basis. Nick enjoys that company. I think Nick really misses his family terribly when he is away from them.

Q: Do they boys fly friends and family in to the cities when they are performing?

A: They do. Howie flew his parents in when they were in Spain, and his sister. Nick flew his family in. Brian had his family in Spain. Yeah, they all did and they had a really good time.

Q: What do they do when they have free time together?

A: Usually they go out shopping together, they go to the movies together, they go to nightclubs together. Sometimes, Nick will run off on his own. He'll just take one of the bodyguards and go shopping in the mall. He enjoys shopping…..

Q: How do they get along?

A: Pretty well actually. Kevin and Nick will kind of go at each other every once in awhile because there is such a big age difference between the two. I think Kevin expects Nick to act a certain way and Nick gets very hurt if Kevin is mad at him….Then there are times when Nick needs to confide in Kevin and help him come in and be the peacemaker. Kevin is a perfectionist….

Q: Earlier you mentioned things were changing with Brian, how?

A: …..The one thing that's changed in these boys is that…they understand about publish and writing their own music and the benefits that it can give them. Brian is writing incredible songs! He has worked very hard and now, instead of [watching] the movies and [making] telephone calls, he's up in his room writing music with the keyboard player in the band or something. A.J. is the same way. He came home and wrote three or four songs and was in the studio putting them all down on track….he's doing a good job.

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