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AJ on XL 1076 FM-Orlando
<source: www.backstreet.net >
Chad: His first radio interview since leaving rehab, its AJ from the Backstreet Boys. What's up?
AJ: (singing) Heeelllllooo. What's up man?
Chad: Doing good. You sound great.
AJ: I don't want sound egotistical but I think I look great too. I'm feeling better.
Chad: How many days?
AJ: Today would be 78 days.
Chad: Congratulations
AJ: 78 days sober, loving it. Living for it, it's been so awesome.
Chad: OK, first question. I saw this, I think it was on 20/20 or dateline where your mom did an interview.
AJ: Yeah, 20/20.
Chad: Yeah, 20/20. She was talking about the theory of AJ versus Alex and almost the split-personlatity situation.
AJ: Hmm
Chad: Explain that to me.
AJ: I think it was like a matter of you know never really differentiating between being on-stage and off-stage. It was a lot of you know, taking the character onstage and you know living every single day through that person. It was just really, it was really not the way to do it. When you are off stage, you are not acting anymore, you are not a Backstreet boy, you are being a normal human being and you are supposed to do normal things and have fun and just be a normal 23 year old. But, I wasn't. I kept that same character going all the time. Partying and using my name to get close to girls and to do things and party and drink. And it was you know, I got caught in the hype, you know, and I could never really separate the two. But now, now its like as soon as I am off-stage I'm just relaxing I'm normal I'm going to meetings, I'm writing in my studio, on the bus. I'm actually writing on a house record, you know, just trying to do stuff more creative, now that my head is so damn clear. Its like all this creativity is gushing out of my head.
Chad: What did you do in rehab?
AJ: Um, basically, we did the usual primary groups in the morning, talk to a counselor with a bunch of other people. Went to a couple of AA meetings, a couple of narcotics anonymous meetings. It was set up really well. It was like one giant community. Every, all the people that were there were like family. It was very close, we had the weekends off. We played volleyball, I became very good at Ping-Pong (Chad laughing). I don't know how exciting that is but I mean, everyone there was so real, when my day came to leave I didn't want to leave. It was so the way I wish the real world could be inside there. And then when you come back out you come back out to this world of destruction, violence and, freakin' stupidity. But when you are in there, it's so quiet, peaceful and everybody listens to everybody. There is no racism, there's no second guessing anybody. It was so wonderful. I'm actually considering after this tour is done, just going back for like a week, to clear my head, just kinda, just for peace of mind. Just to have people to meet, new friends, talk to people. I know many other artists who have gone to the place I went to who have been sober for 25 years who go back just for 2 weeks just to talk and relax.
Chad: When did it become too much, enough was enough, you needed to confront the guys.
AJ: I think what ended up happening, we had a day off in Boston and we were to throw the first pitch out in some, I think it was some Boston major league game, I'm not sure who the hell they were playing, and I was hung over from the night before and it was our day off and I didn't think it was mandatory and we had just said yeah some of us would and four of us went and I was like, "Well, screw it, I don't really like baseball, I don't feel like going". Kevin got upset, Kevin came and broke my door down and tried to, there was two separate doors to my room and I had the bedroom door locked and he couldn't get in. He basically yelled and screamed, "You know what, you are a worthless piece of crap. I hate you, you're not reliable, all this stuff, you are a drunk and just all this stupid stuff that didn't really click in my head until he left the room and I sat there, kinda sat by myself and thought about it and broke down and cried and said, "you know what, I think he is right, maybe I am a worthless piece of crap and all this stuff, it just really hit hard. I was upset at the fact he did it that way, but I was thankful that he actually, he was my wakeup call. I called my security, my Mom and said, you know I had a counselor out on the road with me but that wasn't enough, I was still partying and drinking and dabbing into drugs here and there and I was still depressed, and talking to someone isn't enough. so, I said, I think I need to go to the next level which is to go to rehab. Everybody was freaked out and the fellas were like listen you know, if that's what you got to do, then that's what you got to do and we'll come visit you and support it. And when I went in there, the support from the fans was just overwhelming, unbelievable. I give so much back to my fans now, they have the utmost respect from me because they were so supportive which I think it absolutely amazing, you know, God...God bless them really.
Chad: You know who your fans are, they stuck with you all the way and when this first happened we did the whole get- well card and everything and its amazing how many fans..
AJ: I heard about that, my mom told me, and I think she has it. I haven't seen it yet, but I heard about it, I guess you guys had it at the what, Florida Mall?
Chad: We did it at different malls around town, we also took it to the House of Blues and did some teen nights. Its amazing how many poured out to sign this card. You would be so surprised at how many fans you have, just reading this card and looking at this card and the words of inspiration, its incredible.
AJ: I tell ya, its so good to go home and to like, when I was home after I got out I went home for my mom's birthday and I bumped into a couple of fans at Cafe Tu Tu Tango on I-Drive and they were just all like its good to see you out, you look great, you sound great. They were like can we buy you a glass of water (AJ laughing). I was like yeah, go ahead. I was drinking my Sprite and orange juice. Now, that I'm clear minded, I've gone to bars with my girlfriend and sat with some of my friends that might be drinking and I see how people are acting drunk and I'm like God, what idiots and I can look back and think that's how I was acting? It just wasn't worth it. I can go to clubs and restaurants and not be tempted, its absolutely amazing. There have been a few times where it has been hard, if I get stressed out or we are under a tight schedule or I freak out. There is a guy out here on the road, that's kind of like my sponsor, who goes to meetings with me, talks to me when I need to talk, plus I've got so much support from everybody out here, its really getting easier and easier.
Chad: The MTV Video Music Awards. The comments that were made, I don't know if you saw this or not, Jamie Foxx I guess was trying to be funny and when you guys walked off stage he was holding a champagne bottle.
AJ: Yeah, Brain was actually the one he was talking to and you didn't see him on camera, Brian got really pissed off with him and exchanged words with him and that's when he basically said it's apple cider and stuff. But you know, if I'm going to get pissed off about all the stupid crap that's going to be said about it, cause I realize when something like this happens to anybody in any group or in any line of work where they are in the public eye constantly, there is going to be a backlash, there are going to be jokes. If every person got pissed off about it, they would be back in rehab cause they would probably relapse.
Chad: Right
AJ: You know, it just shows his immaturity about it. I've seen him out before and I've seen him drink and I've seen people like him drink and they don't get it. I got it, they don't, I don't have anything against him personally, but I think it was wrong but oh well.
Chad: It just shows you are the bigger person..
AJ: Exactly, that's what my mom said. When she saw, you know what, there were a lot of things that I wanted to say because it was live, I was like I can say whatever the hell I want and no one can do anything to me because they can't bleep me out, you know what I mean. Then I was like, screw it, if I do that, that's what they would expect. So I said screw it, I'm just going to be proud of myself, and just say this is how many days sober I am and screw you, ya ya ya...
Chad: Good for you, congratulations. I know that you guys uh, lost a crew member on one of the planes that went into the WTC. Your thoughts on that.
AJ: I didn't really know what was going on and we pulled into Canada, actually we were pulling into Toronto the morning that it actually happened. I was awakened by my mom and my mom's friend that there had been this big mess of destruction in New York and I'm like what the hell, I mean this is what I'm waking up to.
Chad: Right
AJ: Then I, I got back to my room and watched the news and it was devastating and i went shopping that afternoon and there was talk about one of our crew members being on the flight flying home to see his wife, she was having there 2nd baby, it really wasn't confirmed yet, and then my the end of that evening it was said he was on that flight. There were a lot people we knew who were supposed to be flying to L.A. and it just happened to be Daniel Lee, who was one of those unfortunate, unlucky souls that happened to be on that flight and we dedicate Show Me The Meaning.. to him every single night and show his picture on stage, so its like, we are doing as much as we can, we set up a trust fund for his kids and his wife. We are donating .50 cents every night from each of the tickets towards the Red Cross towards the relief fund. We also just did this big AIDS benefit song like 'We Are The World" thing with Bono and Jermaine Dupri producing it and a bunch of other artists we are taking some of those proceeds and putting it towards the relief fund.
Chad: I was actually in NY and saw it happen, I was there the morning it happened, I was there the night prior for the Michael jackson concert
AJ: Really?
Chad: Its amazing how people will come to the aid of someone whenever something uhh....
AJ: You that's, even though it was so devastating, to like watch it on TV and to see people on the street who would never even say 2 words to each other, helping each other, that was really amazing. To see so may backgrounds, races, cultures coming together helping each other. That's what's gonna keep this whole planet together, that it what's so cool about a bad thing. If that's the right way to say it. I really don't know how to say it but..
Chad: Lets talk happier thoughts, Hits: Chapter One the album coming out in October next month.
AJ: Oct 23.
Chad: The new song. Drowning, if you ask me is a hit song its already on the Hot 9 at nine, it was number 4 last night.
AJ: Really? Wow, cool.
Chad: You guys are moving up the countdown. Tell me about that song and the album itself
AJ: That song was actually recorded for Black & Blue. And when we had the big A&R meeting at JIVE records, we decided to save that record, it was too good of a record to throw away, because there were a lot of other good records on B&B that could be good singles. And we really didn't want to lose it, it was between Drowning and More Than That to go on B&B album and MTT was little bit more acoustic and a little bit more powerful we thought then, now we think otherwise but uh, it was written by some of the guys in Sweden, not Max Martin thought, it was Rami, Andreas and David Foster's wife. The album itself is just a compilation of every single we have ever released since 96. Its 10 years of music almost, we have been together for almost 10 years. Its a decade of hits, its so cool for even us to sit back and listen to it and go from QPG and We've Got It Going On to Drowning, its totally changed but its us. To hear a sort of greatest hits album.
Chad: I know when some groups release a greatest hits album that's there way of saying out 5 minutes are up.
AJ: Exactly. Well, we're, in a weird kind of way, we're actually ,you know, releasing this album as a greatest hits, just to give back to our fans our whole life with them. And also a decoy, if you will, to buy us some time to have some time off and go back to the studio for 6-8 months and work on a brand new album. Hopefully, we'll drop something at the end of the summer time, we are going to take our time with this next record. We are not going to rush it. With B&B we feel we kind of rushed because of the pressure from Jive and our management to release the album in a certain window and all this crap you but we are going to take our time with this one and hopefully our best yet and do a lot more writing, different producers, duets maybe, some collaborations with other artists, just really broaden our horizons, maybe change our song up a little bit, who knows. Kev, me and Nick, we all have studios on our buses out here. Like, I'm working on a whole new house record that I'm going to do hopefully, solo wise, just for clubs and radio. We are also working on like rock and roll alternative type stuff for us and all kinds of different stuff.
Chad: Well, I think I speak for myself, and the rest of the BSB fans when I say, we're extremely proud of you, we really are. You stuck to it and you sound great. You do.
AJ: Thanks man, I just want to say to all our fans back in O-Town. Love you guys, I'm sure I'll see you at the Florida Mall, just don't bother me while I'm eating (Chad and AJ laughing), Again, to you guys, XL is the bomb, you guys have always been there for us. And uh, I'll talk to you guys later.
Chad: Take care all right?
AJ: All right buddy, you too.
Chad: Thanks a lot, all right?
AJ: Bye