By Christina Radish

Kevin, Nick & Joe Jonas at a press conference held at Million Air in Burbank, Calif. on February 23, 2008.

The Jonas Brothers spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about making their first film, working on their upcoming Disney Channel TV series, recording their next album, and this exciting fan-friendly endeavor.

MediaBlvd Magazine> What made you decide to do something like this, and be so up-close and personal with your fans?

Nick Jonas> We’re so excited about our 3D movie, and being able to see our fans is very close and personal to our hearts.

Kevin Jonas> We are all about our fans. We try to go above and beyond, with anything we can, for our fans. This idea came when we really wanted to do something special for everyone that was going to be in the theaters for opening weekend. We thought, “What better way to get with our partners, Marquis Jet and Net Jets, and find a way to travel around the country, from coast to coast, and surprise our fans, enjoy every single minute of it, and show up in theaters, when no one’s gonna know where we’re going.” We want them to have the excitement that we feel. We cannot believe that this film is actually here. It’s our first film. We were part of Miley’s film, and it was amazing to be part of her 3D Concert Experience, but now, to have our own, and to have an entire tour that we built around knowing we were doing a 3D movie, is so exciting and we can’t wait to share that with our fans.

MediaBlvd> What are the logistics of this 3-day tour? How many cities will you go to, and are you all three of you going to all the cities together?

Nick> We’ll all three be going. We can’t give too many details as to what cities or how many cities we’ll be going to, but it will be a coast-to-coast tour, and it’s really all about our fans and being able to experience this with them. This is a concert experience, not only because you’re watching a show, but because you’re a part of it. You’re a part of our family in the movie, and we want to be there with them when they see it.

MediaBlvd> Are you guys documenting these surprise visits?

Kevin> We will be. We have an amazing team around us, and we will be traveling with some select press as well, who will be attending the different events or meeting us there, and we really are excited about that. We really want to capture this moment. It’s our first film, and we really want to kick it off with a running start. We’re just beyond excited. We got to go to one surprise screening recently, and they didn’t know we were coming. We showed up and all the fans were wearing Jonas Brothers t-shirts. It was like a concert. And, we watched the film with them, and they were standing up in their seats and dancing around, just like they were part of the concert, clapping when they were clapping in the film. Those moments, for us, were like, “Wow, it actually works!” With the Disney digital 3D, it’s a whole different experience. It’s really amazing!

MediaBlvd> What was it like headlining your own tour, with Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift?

Nick> It was a lot of fun! We did the “Burning Up Tour” with Demi, this past summer, and we had an amazing time. For us to be able to go and play our new record, and have the fans sing along before it was even released, was really an amazing thing. We built the tour around this idea that we would be doing this 3D movie, so the crew came on and looked at the stage and said, “These are some cool things we could do with the 3D elements.”

Joe Jonas> The exciting thing for us was that they started filming, from the beginning of our tour, in rehearsals, so this movie is a lot like a documentary, and you get to see our lives from when we start a day and when we finish a day, to how we travel and how we tour. It’s very exciting for us to watch and to look back, and it really makes us really want to go back on tour.

MediaBlvd> What were some of the challenges you had on stage, having all those cameras around? Did it, in any way, change the way you perform?

Joe> It did change the way we perform, a little bit. Some of us did some more moves into the camera. They asked us to play to the camera a little bit, and we went overboard a couple of times.

Kevin> I didn’t realize they were going to put every single one in the film.

Nick> Kevin looked into the camera, every time. For us, it was a lot of fun. Performing is our number one, as is being able to play our music for our fans and make them feel that they are a part of it, with whatever we can.

Kevin> Especially with this film, we really wanted to take the extra step and we brought those cameras on stage with us. For this film, we really wanted you to get the experience of what it’s like on stage with us. So, there are a lot of shots where you get to see what it’s like, from our perspective and our view. We wanted to share the experience of what the fans are giving us, with them.

MediaBlvd> Were you worried about all this exposure, having the cameras around you all the time? Was there anything you didn’t want your fans to see?

Nick> We became really close with the director, Bruce Hendricks, and came to a place where we were comfortable with saying, “You know what? Now is not a good time. Let’s just have a minute of head space.” And, that’s very important, when you’re filming like this. We did a TV show for the Disney Channel, that was a reality show, in short episodes, and it was the same thing. We had cameras around us all the time, but we took those moments to say, “You know what? We need a second right now,” and they were very respectful of that.                                       

MediaBlvd> Is there anything you would have preferred to put into the movie that didn’t make it?

Nick> There were definitely a lot of songs that we filmed, during the process of making the movie, that we wanted to showcase in the movie, but we didn’t have time. But, we’re really proud of it, and we’re really happy with what got in the movie. Some of our favorite songs are in there. It’s really exciting. Hopefully, during the DVD process, we’ll put more songs in.        

MediaBlvd> Do you have any favorite memories or funny moments from the tour?

Kevin, Nick & Joe Jonas at a press conference held at Million Air in Burbank, Calif. on February 23, 2008.

Joe> On the tour, we had this big pyro sign with our logo, that would light up, and it set off the fire alarm one night, which made it start raining on stage. We thought it was kind of cool, except that all the lights and the equipment was frying.

Nick> And then, we remembered that we don’t have a rain gag in our show.

Joe> It was a little scary, as we were running off stage, but it was a really funny experience.

MediaBlvd> Is there some of the fan pandemonium in this movie?

Joe> You definitely see the pandemonium of what a Jonas Brothers concert is like.

Nick: We tell people that it’s not always like that, with the screaming and crying, but we did capture some of that in this movie. So, bring ear plugs!

MediaBlvd> How much is the economy playing into this, where there are kids whose parents can’t afford to have them go see you on tour, but maybe now they can see you in the theater. Was that in your minds, when you created this?

Kevin> Absolutely! We try to do things like that for our fans, and for the people that can’t even get into the theaters because the tickets might be sold out. You never know where we might be showing up.

Nick> We’ve gone and done free shows before, after our regular shows, just to provide for the ones who aren’t as fortunate and can’t make it to the show. That’s something that’s in our hearts.

Joe> But, definitely the price of a movie ticket is cheaper than a concert ticket, on most occasions, so this will be really great for the fans that can’t go to the regular tour.      

MediaBlvd> As  you guys go along, are you always going to have a major role in picking your clothes, where you go and what your fans see, or are you going to back off a bit, at some point?

Kevin> I don’t think we’ll ever back off. From day one, it’s been number one for us to have our hands in everything, including the process of this movie. We worked with an amazing director and he worked hand-in-hand with us, with song choices for the film, the mixes to the songs and the cuts for the movie. We’ve seen this movie, no less than 10 times.

Nick> Also, you could’'t ask for a better partner than Disney to work with. They’re one of the best in the world, and we’re honored to have the opportunity to work with them.

MediaBlvd> For the Grammys, you got to collaborate with Stevie Wonder, and you recently did Saturday Night Live and got to work with Andy Samberg. What were those experiences like? And, who else would you love to collaborate with next?

Joe> There’s definitely been amazing collaborations for us, over the past year. We’ve been able to do some amazing things. We were looking back and saying, “I don’t think there’s anything else. We’ve done a lot!” We’ve been blessed to do a lot of really cool things. For us, going to the Grammys and performing with Stevie, that definitely was a win for us, to be up there with such a legend. But, there are a few other people that we’d either love to write with or perform with. Prince is a big one. We’re huge fans. To be able to, one day, write with someone like him, or perform with him, would be amazing.

Kevin> And, working with Andy Samberg on SNL, the whole idea of Property of the Queen was very exciting for us. We had that idea come to us a long time ago, with our band, and we had written these 80's hair metal songs, so we thought, “What better place to showcase them than Saturday Night Live?”       

MediaBlvd> You’re professionals and you do this every day, but do you get nervous when you are on stage with a legend like Stevie Wonder?

Joe> Oh, yeah! When we walked into the room for our first rehearsal, we were all just standing with our jaws dropped, saying “This is not really happening.” We didn’t know what to do.

Kevin: He walked into the room, sat down and started playing the keyboard, but he started playing a piece that is typically a soul song that is a very beautiful, intricate piece, and he played it like 700 miles per hour, and we were blown away. We were just like, “Wow!”

Joe: It was very humbling.

Kevin: It was the most amazing experience!

MediaBlvd> What’s next for you, movie wise? Do you want to do something scripted?

Nick> There’s always a lot of things in the works. There’s Camp Rock 2, coming up next summer. We’ll probably start filming that soon. We have the TV show that we’re working on, right now, for the Disney Channel. That’s going very well. We’re in our last two or three weeks, so it’s coming towards a close. And then, we’ll be doing some touring this summer.

MediaBlvd> What are you most looking forward to with Camp Rock 2?

Nick> Reconnecting with the cast. We all became very close when we shot that, and we brought Demi Lovato on tour last summer. She’s in the movie, and it was an honor to have her there. We’re looking forward to just reconnecting with the cast and going back up to Canada. We loved our time there. The last time we went, it was an interesting experience. We were up in Haliburton, Canada, which is in the middle of the woods and, at the time, I don’t think we were as grateful as we are now about that kind of solitary, alone time that we had on the golf course and things like that.

MediaBlvd> What can your fans expect from your Disney Channel series?

Kevin> The show is going to be very exciting. We are in the midst of finishing it up, right now. It’s a single-camera show, so it’s not a sitcom. It looks more like a movie. We’re just really excited about it!

Nick> It’s like scripted reality. We do play ourselves, but it’s heightened versions of all of our personalities, and we’re having a lot of fun with it. We’ve learned a lot. We’re new actors, so please forgive us. We’re just trying to learn as much as we can. It’s a humbling experience to walk into something you’ve never really done before, and try to learn as much as you can.

Joe> It’s very helpful not to have an audience because, if you mess up a line, you can just do it over again, and there’s not an audience laughing at you. We’re having a good time, and it’s definitely something that we like, but it’s very nice to have the music to fall back on, in the television show, because that’s what we’re used to and that’s so easy. Whenever they ask us to do a music video piece for the television show, that’s the easiest part. When we have to act, it’s a little more difficult, but it’s a lot of fun.

MediaBlvd> What is the status of your new album, and will you go on a World Tour?

Nick> The new album’s coming together. We’re working on it right now. We’re about five songs in, and we’re very excited about the way it’s sounding. It’s a back-to-the-roots sound for us, just going back to who we are and the real musical side of the Jonas Brothers. It’s a lot of fun and the songs are sounding cool, and we’re excited to share them all with you soon.

Kevin> And, the tour dates will be released very soon, but right now we’re focusing on this very exciting surprise tour.

MediaBlvd> Do you have a favorite song so far, on the new album?

Nick> We’re always very cautious with releasing song titles before we get the actual track listing, but there are some songs that are really sounding cool to us. We’ve been inspired by some music out of the U.K., like the Zutons, and Kings of Leon is a big one for us. There are a lot of different inspirations and a lot of new sounds, and we’re just trying to continue to grow as musicians and songwriters.

MediaBlvd> So, it will be different than your other albums?

Kevin> It will sound like a Jonas Brothers record, but at the same time, it’ll show a little growth in our music and our songwriting. If you really get inspired, and you tour almost 300 days out of the year, you’re able to really connect with the fans and listen to what they like to hear when you’re touring, and you see that some songs work better than others, so you try to lean toward those songs a little more.