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DJ: 104.5 CHUM FM. I'm Dan Freeman. On the phone, AJ from the Backstreet Boys, a very very good friend that we haven't talked to in a long long time.
AJ: Yes, we haven't.
DJ: ..And and a lot has changed for you and for the guys. For a long long time we have uh known each other, many many moons, right from the very beginning when you broke in Canada when uh when the United States wasn't even playing you.
AJ: Yup. You guys were... were- were kicking it off way before the US caught up. The US is so slow. We're just so slow, we're so behind the times.
DJ: (laughs) OK let's talk. When you look back, how do you feel?
AJ: I can look back now, and say that I have no regrets. I think everything happened exactly the way it was supposed to. Ya know, we have a lot to thank towards Europe because Europe is where we broke first. and then everything kinda leaked through like, France and then France got to Montreal to and then to ya know, Toronto, then to Vancouver and then all through Canada and then to finally it kinda started to rain down on the US and yanno finally was it '96 or '97...finally the US was like 'ok, yanno what? i guess these guys are as legit as they say because they're- they're doing fantastic everywhere else except here.' so....
DJ: Right. 73 million albums. I couldn't believe it when I- when I heard that. I was just like... I guess you guys aren't driving the rust buckets that you used to have.
AJ: No, I- we're all very blessed, we're very fortunate. Everybody's doing quite well. I moved to- I moved out of Florida. I'm not even in Florida anymore. I live in Malibu, CA. I live right by the beach. I- I don't surf, I should, but i don't. the water..the water is WAY too cold. I still play golf, uhh yanno I see my family as- as often as I can. Yanno i've got 2 1/2 years sober now and life is just GRAND. It's absolutely grand.
DJ: Is that what you needed the 5 years for?
AJ: I think we all needed that break to just kinda recharge and regroup. I think after the Black & Blue tour, everybody was just taking everything for granted, whether it was us, 5 our families the industry..yanno, I went to rehab, 9/11 happened, uhh I lost both my grandparents, yanno.. Nick was dealing with his family.. uhh there was just a lot of negative energy going on on that tour. and when we decided to take a year off, that was the- that was the first attempt. We said yanno what? we're gonna take a year off and then we'll come back together, so that year became 2 years. 2 years became 3 years, and in the 3rd year Nick was doing a solo record and a solo tour and the rest of us got back in the studio and started writing and we still didn't know if we were gonna do it or not..yanno and uhh Brian had a baby who is now 2 1/2 and that changed his life drastically, Kevin did Broadway, uhh Howie did some film and tv and did a... yanno started working on a solo album...Nick was doing his tour...I was working on my golf game, a solo record, and my sobriety.
DJ: Right.
AJ: ....and then uh I think the catalyst for us to get to where we are right now was when I did OPRAH with my mom, and uh the rest of the fellas flew out from wherever they were across the US and the world, and uhh they came to support me..and uhh yanno that same night we all went back to the hotel to Kevin's room and we're like 'so, here we are again as five sitting in the same room...are we ready to do this again?'
DJ: Does it feel cathartic, this whole process that you're going through?
AJ: It does! It feels just..It's like a rebirth, man. I mean it's just..so many people thought that we broke up, and we never broke up. We just took a well deserved break to recharge our batteries and to kinda step outside our own lives and look back and recminisce and kinda accept humility and be humbled.
DJ: By the way, I got a number of emails. One of them was Lynn Mccauley (sp?) and she actually said 'please tell them how dissapointed we were that they didn't include Toronto in their mini tour uh coz we were the ones that yanno had them before America and we'd really like to see them. Are they planning on a larger tour, or more small venues, and will we see them here?'
AJ: You will definitely see us. We are looking at doing some more promotion for the album, which is coming out June 14th, um the end of may, beginning of June we are definitely looking to come to Toronto and all through Canada to do some promotional stuff as well as definitely touring through there over the summertime. I mean we're..we're looking at doing probably the US and Canada over the summer and then going over to Europe and/or Asia in the fall...so uhh we're definitely going to come back to Toronto. I mean I- If I had to pick my favorite place in the western hemisphere uhh yanno out of the US or Canada..I would take Toronto as my favorite place. I love it there ..the city is beautiful...it's clean...the people are sweet and kind...It just...I've had a lot of great experiences there. I mean..I've gone bowling there...
DJ: That's right.
AJ: I've gone to that..that big.. that huge like cineplex that has the like, outdoor mountain climbing and the basketball...and all that stuff.. I mean-
DJ: You even did a snow angel in my backyard.
AJ: Yes I did. (DJ laughs) Yes I did. And I probably did other things back there that I don't remember, but...
DJ: Do you? I've got another question here from Mandy (?)...Now by the way, what they did on Live Daily.com They actually set up a link so that people around the world could listen. I've been getting emails from Switerzland and like everywhere-you name it- they've been emailing me and saying 'Dan, I can't believe you're gonna talk to these guys'...and what she said, Mandy said- 'Thanks so much for doing the interview with Backstreet Boys today. I was wondering if you could ask a question please. How is the group and Nick dealing with the negative media attention that Nick has been getting with his recent DUI arrest, and his nasty split with Paris Hilton?'
AJ: Well..uhh...for one..the Paris Hilton thing was an experience for all of us. (DJ laughs) It wasn't just an experience for him because yanno when she's around, everybody's watching...yanno and uh just like with my drugs and alcohol, I would compare her to a drug. She's addictive, but yet yanno when you get rid of her and you get sober from her, your life is much better...Umm, she's just...she's probably a sweet girl when it comes to being alone with her, but when it comes to her stepping out of her door, she just dragged Nick around through the mud, and I think he made a mistake..He did truly care about her, but uhh his relationships just don't...I mean he was just telling me the other day..he's like 'man, i could be like the next Dr. Phil about relationships when I ..when I finally get married and I look back at all of the relationships that I've had to encur(?) through the last 12 years but...' and then the whole DUI thing...yanno.. we all make mistakes.
DJ: Sure.
AJ: ..I mean hell, I am so fortunate out of being a... yanno I mean I am still an alcoholic. I will never lose that title even though i'm sober..i'm not an active alcoholic, but I- I have to constantly remind myself that I am an alchoholic... and how many times I drove drunk and didn't get a DUI..and I'm so fortunate and blessed that I didn't kill someone or myself..I.yanno, the hand of GOD had to be on me at all times because..it's..it's amazing how I got away with it..and Nick unfortunately, didn't...and yanno, I don't know the entire story and until it officially goes to court, if it's going to...none of us can really talk about it, neither can he..but I mean I really think it was kinda wrongfully accused, that's my personal opinion, but...
DJ: OK, I've got to run, sadly. We will definitely keep in touch. I think this has been amazing, and just (*Incomplete starts playing*) amazing to hear how much you guys have changed. AJ, say hi to everybody for me, why don't you introduce the song?
AJ: This is our new single from Backstreet Boys, this is AJ..check it out, this is Incomplete.
Thanks to Fel for typing this up!
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