Jonas
Bros Reveal
Surprise Tour Details and More!
by Lynn Barker
 We
got to go to a hangar at the Burbank Airport in California to learn what
special treat the Jonas Bros. have in store for their fans. In the hangar
with a sleek executive jet by Marquis Jet and Net Jets, we greeted the
brothers as a Disney exec announced that the popular trio had made a suggestion.
"What if we went on a three day tour, multiple cities, into multiple
theaters to surprise our fans?" and Disney said "what a great
idea"! So, now you can listen for the roar of a cool jet at your
local airport and hope it just might be the boys dropping in from the
friendly skies!
Here is what
the guys had to say. Most of the time, we were so busy taking fabulous
pictures that we didn't have time to pick out which Jonas said what but
this is the exact conversation.....
Nick: We're
so excited about our 3-D movie releasing on Friday. We have the premiere
tomorrow night and we're prepping up for that.
Kevin: We
are so excited because we are all about our fans. If you're learned anything
from us yet it's that we try to go above and beyond anything we can for
our fans. This idea came when we really wanted to do something special
for everyone who was 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 and enjoy every single minute of it and show up in theaters where
no one's gonna know where we're going. We're not gonna tell you today
either because we don't want to give it away but we want them to have
that excitement that we feel. We're four nights away from the premiere
of our movie and we can't believe that it's actually here. It's our first
film. We were part of Miley's film and it was amazing to be part of her
3-D Concert Experience, but now, to have our own and to have an entire
tour that we did be built around knowing we were doing a 3-D movie is
so exciting and we can't wait to share that with our fans.
Q: What was
it like headlining your own tour with Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift?
Jonas: It
was a lot of fun. We did the tour with Demi this past summer, the Burnin'
Up Tour and we had an amazing time and 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. Like we said, we built the tour around this
idea that we would be doing this 3-D movie and so the crew for the 3-D
movie came on and looked at the stage and said 'these are some cool things
we could do with the 3-D element.
 Jonas:
The exciting thing for us was they started filming from the beginning
of our tour in rehearsals so this movie is a lot like a documentary so
you get to see our lives from when we start a day to when we finish a
day to how we travel and how we tour. So, it's very exciting for us to
watch it, to look back. And, it makes us really want to go back on tour.
It's exciting for us to be able to share it with our fans.
Q: Could you
talk about the experience of being on stage and some of the challenges
you might have had, having all those cameras around you and whether it,
in any way, changed the way you perform?
Jonas: 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.
Jonas: Kevin
looked into the camera very time. For us it was a lot of fun. Performing
is our number one and being able to play our music for our fans and make
them feel that they are a part of it whenever we can.
Jonas: Especially
with this, we wanted to take the extra step and we brought those cameras
onstage with us and most of the time in concert films, you feel like you
are sitting in the arena watching the artists. 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. We wanted the experience of what the fans are giving us.
We wanted to share that with them.
Q: Were you
worried about all this exposure? Was there anything you didn't want your
fans to see?
Jonas: I think
we became really close with the director and came to a place where we
were really comfortable with people 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,
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.
Q: How is
the economy playing into this, where there are kids whose parents can't
afford to have them go see you on tour but now, maybe they can see you
in the theater. Was that in your minds when you created this [surprise
tour]?
Jonas: 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.
 Jonas:
We've gone and done free shows after the show 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 but definitely the price of a movie ticket is cheaper
than a concert ticket on most occasions and it's really great for the
fans that can't go to the regular tour.
Q: Can you
talk about the logistics of this 3-day tour, like how many cities and
are you all three going to all the cities together?
Jonas: We'll
all three be going. We can't give too many details as to what cities or
how many cities but we can tell you that 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 and you're a part of our family in
the movie and we want to be there with them when they see it.
Q: Is there
anything you would have preferred to put into the movie but didn't make
it?
Jonas: There's
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 don't have time.
Yet we're very proud of it. We're happy with what got in the movie and
some of our favorite songs are in there. I think, hopefully, during the
DVD process, we'll put more songs in.
Q: As you
guys go along, are you always going to have a major role in picking your
clothes, where you go, 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, the cuts for the movie.
I think we've seen this movie no less than ten times.
Jonas: Also,
you couldn't ask for a better partner than Disney to work with. As you
all know they're one of the best in the world and we're honored to have
the opportunity to work with them.
Q: Do you
have any favorite memories or funny moments from the tour?
Jonas: A lot
of good memories, a lot of good times with our band. We're very close
with the four guys that play behind us.
Jonas: One
night, on the tour, we had this big sign that would light up like a pyro
sign and it had our logo that, I guess, set off the fire alarm and it
started raining on stage and we thought it was kind of cool except all
the lights and the equipment was frying.
 Jonas:
And we remembered that we don't have a rain gag on our show so it was
a little scary as we were running off stage but it was a really funny
experience.
Jonas: It
was your birthday too.
Jonas: Yeah,
it was awesome.
Q: Are you
guys documenting the surprise visits that you are doing for the fans?
Jonas: We're
traveling with some select press as well and they will be attending the
different events 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 getting reports back. We got to go
to one surprise screening recently and they didn't know we were coming
and we showed up and all the fans were wearing Jonas Brothers tee-shirts
and we watched it with them. And, they were standing up in their seats
and dancing around just like they were part of the concert and clapping.
Those moments, for us, were like 'wow, it actually works!' With the Disney
digital 3-D, it's a whole different experience. It's really amazing.
Q: Can you
give us an update on the status of the new album that you're working on
and plans for a World Tour?
Jonas: 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
kind of a back to the roots sound for us I think. Just going back to who
we are and the real musical side of the Jonas Brothers if you will. It's
a lot of fun and the songs are sounding cool and we're excited to share
them all with you soon.
Jonas: And
the tour dates will be released very soon, but right now we're focusing
on this very exciting surprise tour.
Q: For the
Grammys, you got to collaborate with Stevie Wonder and you were on SNL
and got to work with Andy Samberg. What were those experiences like? And,
who else would you love to collaborate with?
Jonas: There's
definitely been amazing collaborations for us over the past year. We're
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 and being 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. I think to be able to, one day, write with
someone like him or perform would be amazing.
Jonas: And
working with Andy Samberg on SNL, the whole idea of Property of the Queen
was very exciting for us. We had had that idea come to us a long time
ago with our band and we had written these 80's hair metal songs and what
better place to showcase them than "Saturday Night Live"?
 Q:
What will your next movie be like? Do you want to do something scripted?
Jonas: There's
always a lot of things in the works. There's "Camp Rock 2" that
will be coming up next summer I believe sometime. We'll probably start
filming that and then we have the TV show we're working on right now for
Disney Channel. It's going very well. We're in our last two or three weeks
so it's coming towards a close and we'll be doing some touring this summer.
You never know. But, the minute we know, we'll let you know.
Q: Do you
have a favorite song so far on the new album?
Jonas: We're
always very cautious with releasing song titles before we get the actual
track listings but there are some songs that are really sounding cool
to us and we've been inspired by some music out of the U.K. like the Zutons
is one of the artists and Kings of Leon is a big one for us so a lot of
inspirations; a lot of new sounds and we're just trying to continue to
grow as musicians and songwriters.
Q: So it will
be different than your other albums?
Jonas: It
will sound like a Jonas Brothers record but, at the same time, to me it'll
show a little growth in our music and our songwriting and I think, if
you really get inspired and you tour almost three hundred 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, some songs work better than others.
And, you try to lean toward those songs a little more.
Q: What are
you most looking forward to with "Camp Rock 2"?
Jonas: With
"Camp Rock 2", I think we connected with the cast. We all became
very close when we shot that and we brought Demi Lovato on tour last summer
and she's in the movie and we were glad to have her there. But just reconnecting
with the cast, going back up to Canada. We loved our time there and the
last time we went it was an interesting experience. We were up in Canada
in the middle of the woods and, at the time, I don't think we were as
grateful as we are now about that and that kind of solitary, alone time
that we had on the golf course and things like that. So we're looking
forward to going back.
Q: Do you
get nervous when you are on stage with legends like Stevie Wonder?
Jonas: Oh
yeah. When we walked into the room for our first rehearsal, we were just
standing with our jaws dropped like 'this is not really happening'. We
didn't know what to do.
Jonas: He
walked into the room and sat down and started playing the keyboard o a
piece that is typically a soul song but it's a very beautiful, intricate
piece but he played it like seven hundred miles a hour! And we were blown
away. Wow!
Q: Are we
going to see the fan pandemonium in this movie?
Jonas: You
definitely see the pandemonium of what a Jonas Brothers concert is like
but 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!
Photos
courtesy of and copyright Lynn Barker, 2009
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