Thu, Feb 3, 2011 (8 p.m.)
Joey McIntyre, of New Kids on the Block fame, is teaming up with singer/songwriter Emanuel Kiriakou for a new weekly show at the Lounge inside the Palms
Whew. Now that we have the required New Kids on the Block song reference out of the way, have you ever wondered what Joey McIntyre is up to these days? Did you know he has two kids and one on the way—or that his 3-year-old is a fan of King Kong? Do you care what McIntyre thought about Black Swan? Well, now that you’re thinking about those things, check out our interview with the pop icon, who answers all that and more.
You have a new weekly show called One Too Many at Midnight debuting at the Lounge inside the Palms this Saturday. You’ve performed this before, just not in Vegas, right?
Right. The show isn’t totally new. My buddy Eman(uel Kiriakou, singer/songwriter) and I did this tour a long time ago—years and years ago. Recently we decided, hey, let’s find some time to do it again. So, we did a show last fall in New York, a couple in San Fran. That ended up on YouTube and our friend at the Palms, Zoe Thrall, who runs the studio and is good friends with us, saw it and thought it was awesome. She thought it was a good fit for the Lounge. It all came together on its own.
The press release says you might be leading the audience in a sing-a-long of a Taylor Swift song. Sounds fun.
Yes, the audience is part of the show sometimes. It’s a lot of fun.
I’m intrigued. Tell me more.
It’s very irreverent. It has covers, some of my stuff, a New Kid song here or there. It’s at midnight, that tells you a little about what it’s like. It’s fun. We take it seriously, of course. We want to sing great songs and give good interpretations of them, but there are also times where we just talk a lot of trash to each other.
Do you think Las Vegas is a good fit for the show?
I think a show can work anywhere if it’s done honestly, with integrity, and with confidence. Eman and I love what we do, so … In terms of Vegas, I think it does have a throwback essence to it. It’s not a Rat-Pack thing at all—that’s the golden goose, everyone tries to re-create that, and you can’t because they’re legends. Still, they performed in small rooms. People got to see Frank and Dean and Sammy up close, and I know Dean would play until 2 or 3 in the morning for the people that worked there. That’s really cool. So at least we can share that intimate setting.
Was figuring out what songs to perform difficult?
You just have to try out different things. We’d decide, oh, we need a certain up-tempo right here. We do a Taylor Swift song, “You Belong With Me.” I don’t know if there’s another song that’s played more. It’s a great song, a modern-day standard. We tried to pick things that were out of the box. That’s what this kind of show is all about: getting out of your comfort zone. You just go for it and see what works. There are no rules.
Has Taylor or any of the other artists you cover heard you cover their songs?
Hah. I don’t think so. (Laughs) Maybe we’ll have to get better recorded versions to show ‘em, but so far no messages from Bono.
How about you? You’ve surely been on the receiving end of hearing another artist cover your work, right?
I think Barenaked Ladies did a New Kids medley. Remember Faith No More? I remember a long time ago they did “Right Stuff.” It’s fun to be a part of pop history. Anytime you can be referenced in that respect it can be cool.
Speaking of, this summer you’ll be busy with the New Kids on the Block-Backstreet Boys tour. What is it like going from an intimate setting like the Lounge to big arenas?
It’s awesome. It’s the best of both worlds. There’s nothing like having a big arena with the stage and the lights and the production value. It’s so big. You can’t replace that, but I live for the intimate moments. I think that’s where you get the most out of it. It’s kind of magical.
What’s the dynamic of that tour like?
It’s very cool. We get along great, that’s the best part. I never would have thought we would have toured together, so it’s an awesome opportunity. We both have great fans and these two acts had a big part in pop history. It’s a blessing.
What is your life like outside of performing?
My 3-year-old and 1-year-old. Being a dad. Having a family. Taking care of stuff around the house. I’m kind of hands-on in that way. I want to be involved as much as possible. I travel a lot. So I want to be at home if possible.
What are your kids into?
My 3-year-old loves Mary Poppins. He also loves King Kong, which is kind of weird. We’re trying to avoid him seeing the stuff that’s too violent. The first musical he’s liked is Singing in the Rain, and he’s into all the Disney movies and whatnot.
You’re about to have a third child this May. That’s a lot of young kids all at once.
Eh. My father had eight kids by the time he was my age. Nowadays people are having kids into their 40s. My wife will have three kids before she’s 33. It’s nice to get them out of the way, so to speak. Plus, they’re all close together in age, so they can have fun together. It’s the greatest blessing in the world.
So, do you want eight kids?
I don’t know about that. Three is the new nine.
What music are you currently listening to?
I dig a lot of current music. I lot of singer/songwriters. Kelly Clarkson, I think she’s a great singer. Mary J. Blige. I love the records that Katy Perry makes. I think they’re fun and they have good melodies. Then I like the standard stuff—Frank, Nat King Cole. There’s a lot of that in my iPod. There’s some U2. A little bit of everything, I guess.
Any surprises?
Hmm. I can’t think of any. One of these days I am going to get into classical music, though.
Are you a reader?
Right now I’m reading The Best and the Brightest. It’s about Vietnam and how the best and brightest screwed it up. It’s fascinating and well written. It’s nice to learn and do research on something. Good to keep the brain active, but I’m not a voracious reader. My wife reads a lot of books. She kind of gives me the heads up.
What about television or movies?
I don’t watch a lot of TV. I saw a couple movies recently, though. This time around I saw The Fighter, Black Swan, The Social Network. I tried to see as many award-nominees as possible. I want to see The King’s Speech next.
What’d you think of them?
I think Christian Bale is awesome in The Fighter. As for Black Swan, I didn’t know it was going be this psychological horror show, so I was taken aback by that. It was uneasy to watch, which I guess is the point, but it was a little much for me. I didn’t really dig it that much. Social Network was great. I can’t believe that dude (Andrew Garfield) is going to be the next Spider-man. Those English and Scottish know how to do accents. His accent was crazy.
Can you do any accents?
My whole life is trying not to have a Boston accent. (Laughs)
LINK: http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2011/feb/03/chatting-joey-mcintyre/
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