Nick's FLZ interview, 7/10/01
*Phone rings*
Nick: Hello.
DJ: Hey, Nick, it's MJ. How ya doin', man?
Nick: Wuzzup.
DJ: Are you OK, guy?
Nick: Yeah, I'm all right.
DJ: All right, we saw you on TRL yesterday. I know you guys were kinda broken up about this whole AJ thing.
Nick: (sadly) Yeah.
DJ: Where are you guys now, you guys at a... at a TV thing, or what are you doing?
Nick: Yeah, we're getting ready to get on, ah... ah, the Today Show.
DJ: Oh, so are you in Boston, or are you at NBC in New York?
Nick: New York.
DJ: OK. So, uh, I mean... let me ask you a question, Nick, real quick, before you have to go to the Today Show. Um, yesterday, early, it was announced that you had broken your hand, and you guys were postponing the tour. And then, just a couple hours later, the whole AJ/rehab thing broke. Explain... what was the timing? I don't understand why you guys didn't come out with the AJ thing right away. Why was there a delay?
Nick: Well, it wasn't really anything other than his decision. Kind of all came to a head.
DJ: All right, so he finally said, 'Guys, it's OK to talk about the problem'?
Nick: Yeah. I mean, he, no, he decided to go... to... to the place.
DJ: OK, so...
Nick: So, we were like, ya know... OK, well, we have to... we have to let everybody know.
DJ: So the rehab thing happened very quickly.
Nick: Yeah, it all happened within 24 hours.
DJ: Nick, do you think the band's gonna get back together? Do you think this could signal, you know, at least the end of AJ?
Nick: Nah. Nope.
DJ: No what?
Nick: I believe that this, this only makes it better.
DJ: So you think that AJ will do his 30 days in rehab and he's... he, hopefully, will come out clean and then you guys can get back together and resume?
Nick: Yeah.
DJ: Now, uh, some reports this morning are saying that you guys are canceling the entire rest of the tour. Is that true, or is that false?
Nick: No, everything's still up. We just postponed it for, like, three weeks. Three or four weeks.
DJ: Now, the problems that AJ has, I guess, Nick, there's the alcohol problem, and, uh, he's very depressed, and part of that is due to a grandmother dying?
Nick: Yeah, I mean, it's been an on-going thing. I mean, it's a lot of things, dude, you know, it deals with a lot of the stuff I... I go through, too, now, ya know? We grew up in this business.
DJ: Yup.
Nick: And I grew up in it. Ya know? And it's really hard to get a grip on reality---
DJ: (interrupting)---Hey, Nick? How do you answer the question, when somebody says, 'How could you guys have a rough time? How can you get a... how can you guys have problems when you're on top of the world, you're twenty-something years old, you're probably worth fifty, sixty, eighty million dollars?' How do you answer someone that says, 'How can you have problems?'
Nick: Well, because, you know, if you think about it, you know, the problems come from... hold on, I'm around people.
DJ: It's all right.
Nick: You know, the answer to that question is, basically, ya know, we... ya know, we have to deal with a lot of things that a lot of people don't understand. Ya know, like, when it comes to having to live up to people's expectations, having to... ya know, just... deal with a long road life, and stuff like that. Ya know, I mean, it's... I mean, there's a lot of things that are involved. Like, you can't hold a steady relationship, ya know... sometimes, ya know, I mean... we've come to learn that, ya know, money... money just can really screw up people's lives and stuff like that. You know, when it comes to, when it comes to, ya know... 'money can't buy you happiness,' and stuff like that. You know?
DJ: Don't you feel like, you know, financially, that you're SO set, though, that you don't have to worry about the rest of your life?
Nick: I mean, there's... I mean, you gotta understand, you know, he... he's been in this group since he was, um, 15.
DJ: Right.
Nick: I've been in it since I was 12.
DJ: Right.
Nick: Ya know, this is all he... this is all he knows, ya know, this is all he knows. He told me... he did not... I was fortunate to grow up with both of my parents -- my mom and my dad. He was, ya know, unfortunate. Ya know, he didn't have a dad. **Sniffling** He didn't have a dad, through his whole entire life. He only lived with his mom. **Sniffling** Ya know, and, I mean... there's a lot of things that lead up to different things, ya know. I mean, I'll tell you one thing is relationships, ya know, he... **sighing** Not being able to trust people, not knowing who your real friends are---
DJ: (interrupting)---And---
Nick: (interrupting back)---So many things... It could just go into everything.
DJ: And women trying to, ya know, kick up a relationship. Not because they really love you as a person, just cuz they wanna sleep with one of the Backstreet Boys.
Nick: Well, not necessarily that, but it can be because they want something. Because they... they... their real motives, ya know, a normal, every-day relationship, ya know -- usually, they don't want anything, ya know what I'm saying? They just wanna be with somebody, ya know. Something that runs through the backs of our minds is that, ya know, they could want, ya know, us to make them better or help them out in some way, or, ya know what I'm sayin'? There's always something that somebody wants from someone in our predicament.
DJ: Now, I understand that, ya know, you guys are the Backstreet Boys, and ya know what? I do understand, Nick, that you never know... you know, and you said it well a minute ago: Who's really your friend, and who just wants some? But I understand that's a problem, but that's something that comes with the fame that you guys have achieved.
Nick: Oh, well, yeah, of course. Of course. I mean, now, you can't -- you can't, when it comes to people in your family dying, ya know, when it comes to, ya know, situations, to, I mean, to... the thing was, his grandmother, who just passed away, she was like his mother. She was there for him like his mother.
DJ: What did she die from?
Nick: I really don't know, exactly. I think it was old age.
DJ: And did you see even more of a downward spiral after she had passed away?
Nick: Um, I mean, ***clearing throat*** I saw, at first we saw something happen, but it's always hard to tell, because AJ -- AJ's the kind of person, you know, he won't show it, you know, and it's really hard for us to see it, because he, he... you know, he holds things inside. I mean, I do the same thing.
DJ: How often did you see him drink, uh... Nick?
Nick: ***sighing*** Every day.
DJ: Did he ever show up on stage? Was he ever intoxicated or liquored up when he was doing a concert?
Nick: No, he would never. No, he never... He, I mean, first of all, he was definitely over 21. Second of all, he was, ya know... he was always professional when it came to performing on stage.
DJ: So, after the show, he would kind of bury himself in the bottle?
Nick: I really can't -- I can't say exactly what he would do.
DJ: And Nick, to the best of your knowledge -- any drugs involved? Whether it's prescription painkillers, or anti-depressants, or any narcotics?
Nick: I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell you, I don't know.
DJ: All right, well, Nick, listen, I appreciate you comin' on with us. What time are they slotting you on the Today Show?
Nick: We're gonna be on in, like, the next 45 minutes.
DJ: OK, so sometime in the 7:00 hour, eastern time.
Nick: I think so.
DJ: All right, hey Nick, thanks a lot, buddy, and, ah, I really appreciate you comin' on with us this morning. How's your hand? So what, what actually happened to your hand?
Nick: I broke it.
DJ: How'd you break your hand?
Nick: Playing basketball.
DJ: All right. Well, we know you love to play basketball, man.
Nick: ***laughing***
DJ: All right, well, I hope your hand gets better, and you do anticipate the tour resuming in about---
Nick: (interrupting)---The tour, I will guarantee, will continue. I mean, of course, nothing in life is guaranteed, so I'm sorry, I can't say that, but, I can... I deeply believe, in my heart, that, ya know... the tour is definitely gonna go on, and it's gonna go on with AJ.
DJ: With AJ?
Nick: Yes, because, I mean, you guys have to realize, I mean -- we've been through worse stuff than this. I mean, maybe not worse, but possibly equal in certain tenses to this situation. You know, when it came to Brian, you know, way back in the day, well, two, three years ago... he had open heart surgery.
DJ: Right.
Nick: He had to go in, had to. I mean, there's just, there's so many things that this group has come across, you know. And I can tell you right now that ***chuckling*** this is just one of those things that makes us stronger. And everybody has to realize, the only reason that we came on yesterday and told everybody the truth and why we told them is because, ya know, we didn't want rumors to get around. We didn't want people to think that, you know, we were gonna hide this, or you know, lie to our fans. We wanted everybody to know the truth, and we, I mean, the one thing that we've always stressed is to tell the truth and to be real, you know what I'm sayin'? And if people are gonna ridicule us for this, you know, then we... we understand that.
DJ: Well you know, what Nick, I don't see how anyone can ridicule you guys for coming out and telling the truth. I think that was a very bold move.
Nick: Yeah, I mean, I mean, it wasn't even a -- it's just, I think, you know, our fans, the people who... who like the Backstreet Boys, care about the Backstreet Boys, ya know -- I think they just deserve to know, and that was the main thing. You know, and they deserve to hear it from us. We talked to AJ about it. And they also deserve to -- to be there every step of the way.
DJ: Are you gonna come home to Tampa during the break?
Nick: ***laughing*** I've been debating, man, I don't know, man. I'm, like... ***sighing*** I'm thinkin' about it. I mean I looooooooove... I miss Tampa. I freakin' miss it.
DJ: All right, Nick, give us a shout when you're back in town, OK?
Nick: Arright, I will man.
DJ: And we wish you the best, and good luck.
Nick: Thanks, man.
DJ: OK, thanks, Nick, buh-bye.
Nick: Bye.
*Phone hangs up*
Clickhere to hear this interview.
Home