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MARCH 2012
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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
HEMISPHERES:
These days, a lot of per-
formers build up a certain amount of fame
and then make a big play for Broadway,
but in your case it’s the opposite: The
stage is a familiar place.
JONAS:
I did four Broadway shows, from
when I was 7 until I was about 11. It was
my school and I learned a lot. It was
great to be around like-minded people,
people I related to, because they were
passionate about the same thing I was
passionate about. Plus, I got to perform
on a Broadway stage every day, which
wasn’t so bad.
HEMISPHERES:
The title track from your
solo record,
Who I Am
, as well as the
video that goes with it, gets at the issue
of identity and being OK with all kinds of
people. Two things that you personally
emphasize the most are being a brother and
being a diabetic. Why is being a diabetic an
important part of your identity?
JONAS:
At first I didn’t have any diabetic
friends, and didn’t really know too much
about diabetes in general. Once I learned
how to manage it myself, I wanted to
be able to speak about it openly and
encourage and inspire other people
living with it.
HEMISPHERES:
I was at the White House
correspondents’ dinner after the Obama
inauguration, and at the afterparty you
and your brothers came into the room and
it just about tipped over, so many people
ran toward you. What was that like?
JONAS:
At that time, it was still kind of
shocking, but we always looked at it as a
positive thing because it meant the work
that we were pu ing in was paying off.
But it did take some ge ing used to.
HEMISPHERES:
I’ll bet. Care to share any
especially harrowing boy-band moments,
when you thought your personal safety
was at risk?
JONAS:
A couple of years ago we were
in Madrid, doing a signing outside this
big department store. They thought
there would be 2,000 or 3,000 people
there. Our head of security thought that
more people would show up and that
we needed more barriers and a be er
setup, but the department store people
said, “Look, we think we got this under
control.” Sure enough, when we showed
up, there were more than 10,000 people.
There were clearly too many for the
space we were given, and it got out of
control very quickly. In the middle of
the signing, the police came and shut
us down, saying it was unsafe. But they
made this announcement while we were
still onstage. We had to make our way
out with probably 3,000 fans literally
chasing us through the shopping mall.
It was like a horror movie. We were just
booking it for the car. Then when we
finally got to the car, it wouldn’t start.
Just in the nick of time the car started
and we je ed up this alley and got out of
there—but it was scary.
HEMISPHERES:
All these people, girls
mostly, they love you and they care
about you, but they don’t really know you,
do they?
JONAS:
You know, what I would say
about our fans is that they really do. The
thing that I think is so amazing about
them, and that sets them apart from
other fans of other artists, is that they’re
really aware of who we are. Jonas Broth-
ers fans are a force to be reckoned with.
HEMISPHERES:
Do you think part of that is
because you’ve made careful choices and
haven’t been—how to say it?—sleazy in
your approach to celebrity?
JONAS:
As far as our values go, I think
the thing that really connects with our
fans more than anything is the fact that
we’re a family first and we always have
been. Even in this past year, when we’ve
all gone and done our own things, at the
end of the day we’re a family. As far as
not being sleazy goes, we’re not perfect,
we never have been and never will be,
but we do try to be good guys.
HEMISPHERES:
You’re a big advocate of
Broadway as a family experience, but the
cost of tickets can be mind-boggling.
JONAS:
I understand that it’s an
expensive thing to do, and financially
it’s a stretch for some people, but I’d say
it’s just something you have to experi-
ence at some point in your life. There’s
always something incredible about a
story being brought to life, where you
have singing and dancing and acting all
in one place, and there’s really a limited
number of places where you can go and
see that kind of spectacle.
HEMISPHERES:
For all your love of stage
extravaganzas, you’ve also been doing
some TV work, including performing with
Anjelica Huston on “Smash.”
JONAS:
Working with Anjelica was a bit
of a nerve-racking experience. She’s such
a legend and I was definitely nervous
going into it, but it turned out that she’s
one of the friendliest and sweetest
women I’ve ever met.
HEMISPHERES:
You grew up in New Jersey,
and now you’re spending a lot of time in
New York. Let’s say you have a night off.
I’m guessing that doesn’t happen much,
but what would be a good New York night
out for you?
JONAS:
I’m a huge baseball fan, so once
the season starts up, a perfect night for
me would be watching the Yankees beat
the Red Sox, with a hot dog in hand.
That would be a brilliant night out. I’m
hoping that a er the run is done I’ll get
that chance.
DAVID CARR,
who covers media and culture
for the
New York Times
, went through a boy-
band phase himself—back when the Monkees
were a big deal.
A er one appearance, “we had to make our
way out with probably 3,000 fans literally
chasing us through the shopping mall.
It was like a horror movie. Then when we
finally got to the car, it wouldn’t start.”
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