O-Town Direct

Ashely Parker Angel
August 1,1981
Leo
Redding, CA
mom(Paula), dad(Ronald), brother Taylor(34), sister Annie(21), sister Emily(19)
Third Eye Blind
Illusions by Richard Bach
Friends
The Matrix
Robert De Niro
Susan Surandon
Cold Cereal

Go To The Movies
Third Eye Blind
Harrison Ford

    I think the judges saw that I had all the skills, I could dance. sing, play guitar. But I think they wanted engaging personalities, too. They needed people with enough character to make a great television show. I think they saw potential in me, plus a drive and a hunger. I was willing to shoot above and beyond everybody's expectations.
     This is what I've wanted to do my entire life. And now that I'm here, I'm not going to let aything stop me from going as far as I want to go. And that goes for the rest of the guys, too. We're doing it as a team.
     If I didn't make it, I would probably be doing the same thing I was before, which was writing music, singing, playing guitar and piano, doing theater. Somehow I think I would have eventually hit it in the acting or music.

    We're the first band that has had everything documented from the start. The viewers go through all of our triumphs and challenges with us, and, because of this, they're more connected to us since they watched it all happen from the beginning.
     We watched the episodes every Friday night as they come out, and the hardest thing for me to watch, personally, was when I went home and talked to my dad. I relived some of that pain all over again, even though it's better between us now.
     Each week we'd have to sit down and have an interview with the camera, just one-on-one. For me, a lot of healing went on during that time, because I could get things off my chest. They'd see little things and bring them out and discuss them openly, so it helped me with a lot of things.
     It helped me grow and the whole experience helped me learn a lot about myself. I learned about how I interact with a group, the way I handle stress, and the way I handle pressure. Because of these experiences I think I'm a lot more responsible.

    The worst part of being in O-Town is being away from home and not being able to see my family. They miss me a lot, and I miss them, so whenever I go home, I try to see all the family I can.
     As more and more people come up to my dad and say, "We're really proud of Ashely", I Think he realizes this experience is not such a bad thing. But I don't think he will ever support me a 100% in doing this, jus because he has to stand up for what he believes in, too, and he believes me being so far away from home and being in the entertainment industry will open up a lot of temptations.
     But as time goes on, our relationship gets better. Our relationship has never been bad, it's just we have never really shared the same interest in performing. We've only budded heads on this issue. And we have always talked - we still talk on the phone when I call home. But I just can't say " Hey, dad, we're performing at the House of Blues!" I don't talk to him about things like that.

    Having a long-distance relationship was no fun. Things started getting really tough between my girlfriend, Shelli, and me because she was used to me having so much time with her, and suddenly I was in Florida and she was in California.
     I finally told her that we should take time apart, and we decided to break up, but still talk to each other. I thought it would be good to have things be a lot less commited because while trying to deal with everything that was happening with the group it was hard for me to be the boyfriend I wanted to be. And I'd always thought of myself as a really good boyfriend up until then.
     The only reason I wanted to take a break was not to meet a lot of different girls but I knew that if I stayed with Shelli, she'd continue to be unhappy. I started to fell responsible for her unhappiness, and her happiness is important to me. She deserves so much because she is such an incredible person - she's smart, sh'e beautiful, she's funny, she's awesome, and I have a lot of respect for her.
     I miss Shelli a lot, but I've always thought that if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Right now in my life I have to focus so much on this projectthat it would be hard for me to be a good boyfriend to anyone.

E-MAIL THE BAND AT :
[email protected]

OTown
c/o Trans Continental Companies, Inc.
7380 Sand Lake Road, Suite 350
Orlando, FL 32819
USA

PHONE: 407.345.0004 - FAX: 407.345.0888
Online: http://www.t-con.com

Mail Lou Pearlman, their manager:

Louis Pearlman
3722 Player Dr.
New Port Richey, Florida
34655-2019