Back in 2012, the members of former boy band 98 Degrees saw their contemporaries New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys reunite after extended breaks for successful records and tours, and it got the wheels turning, Drew Lachey says.
When 98 Degrees took a hiatus in 2003, it had insisted it was a break, not a break-up, and now it was looking like there could be life again for the vocal group, which Lachey formed with his brother Nick, Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons in 1997, as the boy-band craze was heating up.
That opportunity came with the Mixtape Festival, an event at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pa., that included both Backstreet Boys and New Kids, as well as Kelly Clarkson and others.
What was intended to be a one-time performance blossomed into the Package Tour with New Kids and Boyz II Men, then another.
Now 98 Degrees is four years and a third tour into a full-blown comeback. In a recent telephone call from a rehearsal studio in Los Angeles, Drew Lachey talked about the reunion, the upcoming tour, and the future of 98 Degrees. Here's an edited transcript of the call:
Q: The Mixtape Festival: How did you guys decide that was when you were gonna reunite and do that? How did that come together?
A: Uh, it was just kind of a process that had been happening over several years. You know, us talking about getting back together and if we did, what would it look like. And so we just had this opportunity come up with Mixtape, and, you know, we thought if we're ever gonna try and get back together, that was a good show to come back for. I mean, obviously, it's a great bill. So we were excited to be a part of that, and that was kind of what led to the package tour with us and New Kids (on the Block) and Boyz II Men. And then the Package Tour is what led to this tour happening again.
Q: How is touring different now than it was back in the day.
A: Um, in some ways it's completely different. You know, like back in the day you had no other responsibilities other than the shows and the music. And you have your family out there, you still got bath time, bedtime, playtime _ you got to keep your kids entertained while they're out on the road as well. So your focus completely, during the day, completely shifts from being just one hundred percent about just you and whatever you want to do to, obviously, life and your other responsibilities.
But also, it brings a lot of different positives to it as well. One of the big perks of having your family on the road, obviously, is not missing your kids. The time you get to spend with them; you don't miss them. They're experiencing this adventure with you. But from a more logistical point of view, you actually see more of the city that you're visiting _ 'cause, you know, you take the kids out to museums and to parks and things like that, as opposed to you go to the venue and you're there all day.
You get out _ you adventure out a little bit more. But there's definite pros and cons to both sides of it. But this time we're going to go out just the four of us and our band and do it the way we did it back in the good old days. And then the way we have the tour scheduled and routed, we have a couple of days off every week or so that we can go home and see our families.
So, um, a little different than the last time we went out, but we're thinking it's the best way to manage it this time."
Q: I want to touch a little bit on the album "2.0." Now with a couple of years hindsight, what do you think of it, and what were you looking to do when you put that out?
A: I think there's some great songs on there. Unfortunately, not as many people heard those songs as we would like. But we're still very proud of it. Obviously, you can look back on any record and be like, 'Ohh, we should have released this and we shouldn't have released this one. We should have signed with a different label, we should have done this.'
But we as artists and as a group are very happy with that album and the material that was on it. And for us, it was great just to get back into the studio and do new music. We hadn't performed together or worked together in a decade. But for us to get back together and go through that process again and created new music for our fans and have that out there as we were going out on the package tour was great.
We do a couple songs from '2.0' in this set and the fans and audience, they seem to enjoy it.
Q: Do you expect that you'll ever record _ or that you'll record as 98 Degrees again?
A: Oh yeah, I would like to think so. We didn't record for this tour just because it didn't work out, but the fact that we're getting together, we're gonna be on the bus together for so many hours on the road _ when we're around each other, that's usually when new material comes out, gets created. So there's a very good chance that after this tour, we'll head back to the studio and maybe record some stuff _ whether that's a full-length CD or whether it's just a sampler, or whether we release just a couple of songs and release them online _ who knows? But we enjoy making music together, so I don't see any reason why that would stop.
Q: How long do you _ do you guys think about how long you might continue as 98 Degrees? Or are you just sort of riding the wave and not thinking about it right now?
A: Uh, I mean, honestly, for us it's kind of a (laughs) 'Once you're in 98 Degrees, you're always in 98 Degrees' thing. 'Cause I don't think we'll ever stop being 98 Degrees. Whether we're actually touring and recording or whether we're taking a break and exploring different adventures individually, that's _ why knows what the future's going to hold?
But there's always going to be the possibility of us touring and making new music together. We're a very close group of guys _ we enjoy what we do, and we enjoy being in a group together. So, yeah _ we don't think 'Oh, I see us as The Eagles and we're going to be doing this ... ' or 'We're just gonna have this one last run.' No, we're just gonna go with it this time, and if this brings other opportunities down the road, great. If not, who knows what happens? We make new music or go back to the studio or go on tour next summer? Who knows?
Q: You won 'Dancing with the Stars,' you were on Broadway in 'rent' and "Spamalot' and then you're a father. Is there anything you liked doing more than another, or you intend to do in the future? Or what's your sort of career plans beyond 98 Degrees?
A: I mean, a lot of what I've been able to do has been because of 98 Degrees. Obviously it's given me a great platform to expand, you know, who I am as a performer. Um, I've enjoyed every aspect of my career for the most part. I would love to do more Broadway, more theater. It's a passion of mine and I really enjoy it.
My wife and I, we run a non-profit out of Cincinnati for arts education, so we have a summer program and teach year-round. So that's something that we're very passionate about and I invest a lot of time I when I'm not performing myself or hosting or anything.
So, you know, I've been fortunate that my career has been very varied in affording me a lot of opportunities, all of which I've enjoyed.
Q: So clearly there is still an audience for you guys. So I'm just wondering, when you go out there and play, are you seeing more of your fans from the 1990s, or are there new fans _ new younger fans? What are your audiences like?
A: Uh, it's kind of varied. Of course, our fans from the '90s are still there. If they were 15 (then), now they're 30 to 35.
Q: Yeah.
A: So it's _ the look of the audience has changed a little bit, but the energy hasn't changed, the enthusiasm hasn't changed, and a lot of times, our fans will have kids of their own _ and they'll bring them. So our music is being introduced to a new generation of 98 Degrees fans. And also through our individual ventures we've expanded our fan bases as well. So people who were, maybe _ you know, on the Package Tour, fans of New Kids on the Block or Boyz II Men became fans of ours on that tour and are now coming out to support us, as well.
So, you know, we've got a lot of the same consistent fans for the last 20 years, but I'm proud to say that fan base has grown and expanded, as well.
