by Sadia
There were five winners for this thing and they were each allowed to bring one guest. It was sort of based on the questions that were asked. One girl didn't show up so there were only eight of us. We're waiting...and waiting...and waiting... Finally, one of the DJs comes out at 3ish and gives us mailing address labels to use as nametags. At some point, maybe around 3:20, we're escorted to this tiny conference room with a very round table. The guys show up a little after 3:30, essentially an hour behind schedule.
I decided that I would have to kind of be a jerk at this thing since this was my first and probably only time meeting them. I sat in the first seat, closest to Brian & AJ and Britt sat next to me. I'm also a journalist so my first question was kind of serious. I asked them about what their expectations of success are now that the 1 million albums/one week days are over, but then it came out wrong and sounded like I was underestimating their ability, I wasn't. I also asked if they've ever thought about quitting, and they both talked about those moments. It was a long answer. AJ pronounced my name right, which was exciting, and he was also proud of himself.
They were SO open the whole time. I'm not going to go through all the questions since you'll hear them on the audio, but here are some highlights to watch out for. This is just what I remember. A LOT of new information here, I think.
º AJ mentions his girlfriend quite a bit. She's Italian.
º They say they have no expectations for success especially because of Internet sales/downloading, AJ says he misses when people bought records and it also is weird for him to do photo shoots now for album artwork.
º AJ says he definitely will do a solo record and perhaps a club tour following the BSB's tour (between a break, AJ might just do his own tour after SE Asia -- which is apparently going to be in January). He is not working with Timbaland (someone suggested it), but he wants to, I think.
º Someone asked about disguises, and AJ says it's hard for him now and Brian joked and said he never goes out with AJ if he wants to be unnoticed.
º They said they both don't like to be bothered when they're eating, but AJ says he generally likes the attention.
º He seemed sort of irritated but he talks about how someone on LD posted the address of his old house and people broke in and stole four boxes of stuff. He had planned on moving the following year, but then more and more people kept showing up from LD so he moved to a new place (he's been living there for a year, now with his girlfriend, I believe).
º Apparently, now he's going to move to a new house (perhaps in Nashville because he LOVES it there) because they've found out where he lives again...also joked about how Brian lives in an intensely guarded area.
º When asked by the DJ to tell us something no one knows, AJ says his biggest fear is failure...and that he never has sex without socks on. Yes, he said this. He lost his virginity with socks on, and he hasnt taken them off since. He even gets up to get them if he's not wearing them. THEN, Brian gets in on the conversation and starts asking about traction and hardwood floors...you can hear I'm dying and I make some comment about it being like the first time, every time.
º Brian talks about his surgery in 1998 when asked the same question. We know that the boys were not supportive, but what I didn't know was that NO ONE visited him in the hospital...except Kevin, and Brian ASKED KEVIN TO LEAVE. He came with his mother, so it already seemed obligatory, he says, and also, he realized that he had gone through enough alone and that he didn't need him them. And then he looked at me and said "That's when I really wanted to quit."
º AJ said that only Kevin and Brian visited him in rehab and it bothered them because they had both just gotten married and they made the time whereas Howie and Nick just called and they weren't really doing anything.
º Talking about rehab...AJ said he PERSONALLY contacted Lindsay & Britney's managers about speaking to them and figuring out what's going on, but neither have contacted him back. He said he doesn't go to clubs anymore because all anyone does is hook up and do blow, not even dance anymore.
º Brian added to this by saying how it upsets him that we all even talk about it. He says that no matter how successful the boys are, the day he drives drunk is when they'll get the most press, and that's upsetting.
º They were approached to do a reality show to REPLACE Kevin. They declined. But they didn't rule out the possibility of doing a reality show in the future at some point, just nothing like House of Carters.
º This one girl Chrissy said she could sing, and they brought her up to sing Kevin's part in IWITW...it was HILARIOUS. Also, AJ hit on her a lot after the interview portion. But anyway, she was so lucky.
º Brian didn't think he was going to do BSB, but he declined a $40,000 scholarship to a bible school to become a minister. He said he always thought he was going to go back to school to be a teacher or something.
º I asked them about If You Want It To Be Good Girl...pretty hilarious answer, but sorta serious...they HATE that song and it represents the time they had no rights. Apparently, they used to skip studio sessions just to get the point across that they wanted to write their own material. They have written a few songs for the new record, but there's no telling if they will make the album.
º AJ had sex without his socks on with his current girlfriend and he didn't know...but that may mean something.
º Keep asking for Kevin when you call Nick/Howie.
After the formal interview, we did autographs. Essentially, we got to spend a lot of one on one time with them. I asked Brian if Leighanne ever makes fun of him when she sees photos (sometimes, if he's not being himself) and AJ just about general things. When Brian wasn't busy, I asked him for a brownie. As you can see from the photos, he came across the room to serve me, which was awesome and I got a good shot of it. We weren't really supposed to take photos outside of the formal ones, but whatever.
They really are great, great guys. Sometimes I forget.
All photos are copyrighted to Sadia. Do not use without permission.