even months after splitting up, is the JoBros mojo finally drying up?
In the wake of the Grammy-nominated teen pop act's break-up, all eyes have been on the trio of Jonas Brothers for their next move.
Well, if the fate of Sunday's interactive fan show "Off the Record with Kevin and Joe Jonas" in Wilmington is any indication, it might be a rocky road for some.
Kevin and Joe Jonas' Delaware show was announced in April as part of a limited three-date weekend chat tour for hardcore Jonas Brothers fans that will kick off Friday in Freehold, N.J. and continue at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, Pa. Saturday night.
But earlier this week, just days before two-thirds of the Jonas Brothers were set to bring "Off the Record" to the 1,200-seat Grand on Market Street, the show was moved to the 300-seat baby grand instead and declared a sell out.
"We moved it to give the fans a more intimate experience since the goal of this event is to get up close and personal," according to AEG Live, the show's promoter. Tickets for the show started at $40 and reached $120 for a VIP meet-and-greet package.
In the break-up aftermath, we learned that youngest brother Nick Jonas initiated the split and it's understandable why. Not only does he have a film, "Careful What You Wish For," expected to be released later this year, but he will also co-star in the new DirecTV drama series "Navy St." In addition, he'll appear again on CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" and has a promising solo musical career ahead of him.
Before "Off the Record" was moved to a venue a quarter the size of The Grand, Joe Jonas talked to The News Journal about the tour and life post-Jonas Brothers.
With Kevin Jonas' E! reality show "Married to Jonas" on hiatus, he was offered a speaking engagement that soon involved Joe and turned into this show, which will feature a Q&A, never-before-seen video footage and behind-the-scenes stories about their years as Disney stars and members of the monster teen musical act.
Actor and Jonas friend Rob McClure, who starred as Charlie Chaplin in "Chaplin: The Musical" on Broadway in 2012, will be on stage and moderate.
"We're pretty excited. We've come up with something a little different that's more like a variety show," says Joe Jonas, 24, who lives in Los Angeles. "It's a way for us to tell an audience some stories and hopefully get a lot of laughs."
Before his baby grand Q&A, The News Journal had some questions for Joe Jonas first, starting with what life was like when the Jonas Brothers mania was at its height with screaming teenagers everywhere they went.
In those early years when you guys were young and before you really hit it big, did you dream about what it would be like to be a big star? And did it match up once you were in one of the biggest musical groups around?
Growing up, we had a pretty normal childhood and then we became teenagers and went into the band. If I have a day off now, it's very exciting. But it was surreal. We would do multiple countries in a day. Crazy, crazy stuff -- and doing it while we were young.
There have been plenty of young musical idols before your band, but guys like Elvis and The Beatles weren't doing it in a TMZ/tabloid world filled with iPhones. How did you navigate through that?
It's out of your control. You just have to accept it and realize people will say what they want to say. There are going to be people who feel 10-foot tall behind a computer somewhere in the world. Lionel Ritchie had a great quote about his daughter [Nicole] in her party days, saying something like, "If people could see what I was up to at her age, they would think what she is doing now is nothing." For the most part things are blown out of proportion, but there are a few out there who make choices that are pretty terrible regardless of when they made them.
Is this new event with your brother a situation where where you two go to Nick and ask him if he wants to do it if he's not busy?
Nick's busy right now shooting a new TV show, but it kind of actually makes it more fun for comedic reasons. It will be interesting. We've come up with a few fun little schticks for the show.
Is that because after you broke up everyone is wondering what the relationship is like and whether you two still buddies with him? You'll be playing with all the rumors and innuendo?
Yeah. It's a bit of a different situation for us. Being a family in a band makes it a little bit easier. It can make it a little bit more difficult, I guess, to be cool with each other. But we're actually really happy for each other. After 10 years of doing something together, eventually it's going to get to you. We're thrilled now that we all have our individual separate careers that we're focusing on.
For this "Off the Record" show, do you and Kevin sit down and hash out some fun memories and stories to tell or are you just going to go up there and let it fly?
A lot of it is going to be improvised, but we did get together to game plan this. I met a fan out on the street yesterday and she asked me what to expect. She asked if she was going to cry during it. It told her, "I hope not unless you're crying from laughter." That's our goal. We're not trying to make this too heartfelt like we are talking things out or anything like that.
When you got up with Kevin to talk about this tour, did any stories pop out that you thought we definitely have to include this in the show?
We have a lot of stuff we can talk about. We want to show pictures, break it down and talk about what we were thinking, whether it's funny or serious.
Can you give me an example?
Playing Madison Square Garden three times sold out or performing at The White House for the president. Actually, a few former presidents were there, too. It's those surreal moments that hopefully I get to do again. If not, I'm still very pleased I got to do them.
At that age are you able to absorb the enormity of what's happening? Or are you on such a fast track that you're not able to take it in the way you would now?
I think what you appreciate and what you like changes over time. So being at The White House now, I'd probably be more interested. But sometimes it was just so exhausting and you'd have to make decisions like, "Would you rather sleep right now or go see the Eiffel Tower for the first time?"
Are these three dates it or are you going to see how these go and maybe do it want to do it on a bigger scale?
We both have quite a bit of stuff going on and this is something that just kind of happened on the side of everything else. This is not necessarily something that we've decided we are doing from now on, but if people want more, then maybe we'll try to do some different cities.
I know there have been plenty of screaming fans at Jonas Brothers shows over the years. Do you think you'll be able to have a normal conversation with your fans at these shows?
The first show will be a tell tale sign of what it's going to be like, but I think it will go over smoothly. I think people know what to expect -- it's not a concert.
IF YOU GO
What: Off the Record with Kevin and Joe Jonas
When: Sunday, 8 p.m.
Where: The baby grand, 818 N. Market St., Wilmington
Tickets: Sold out
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