Boy Bands Series: New Kids On The Block, Part 2

We're back with more NKOTB -- and this time, we're diving into the personal lives, careers and minor controverises surrounding the five boy band members of New Kids on the Block.

Also - Katie was right about something from the LAST episode so tune in to see what that was all about. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello everyone and welcome back to Generation in Between, a Xennial podcast where we remember, revisit, and sometimes relearn all kinds of things from being 80s kids and 90s teens. I am Danny. Hi, I'm Katie. And uh you have joined us on a part two episode. Um, we are in a boy band series currently, and of course, we had to start with New Kids on the Block because we were both big ol' fans. And our almost two-hour episode last time was just on the band itself. Yes. So today I have more 10-page notes that is on the members individually. Okay. And I kind of went in order and I kind of didn't. Y'all, this was a lot of research. So much. I and doing I because we usually swap off like who's researching. Doing two weeks back to back is so much. You'll see when you're about, yeah. I kind of started mine. I'm scratching the surface, but it's gonna be a lot. It's gonna be a lot, yeah. It's a lot of information. And so I feel, and listen, I was just telling Katie, I was telling my husband, like, this is why people who like make money on podcasts have like a designated team to do research. Yeah. A team, guys, not a one-person show like we are when we research. Sometimes we both do, but usually we take turns. But anyway, lots of hours, everybody. So when I tell you that I probably missed something, probably happened, and I can't dig into everything. Yes. So, I mean, even people with whole teams, at some point, you have to edit something information. Yeah. So, and also before we get going, I have something funny to say. So, this morning, and I hope this morning, I was like, I was like about to leave the door. I had to text Katie. This was our text conversation this morning. Because everybody will totally understand. They will get it. I said, I was okay, I'm on my, I was a few months later. I was like, I'm on my way. I was literally about to walk out the door. I had to go back in and poop. And she texted me back and she said, same story here this morning. So I don't know how much I mean it's not really TFI, but like we have three bathrooms and five women getting ready. Oh my god, that's so much. So we do all leave different times, and some mornings I don't leave right away. So those mornings I stay out of the bathroom till everybody's gone. But Thursdays I come here. So I'm getting ready too. So my high schoolers had both left and they share a bathroom. So my thing is, I'll go in their bathroom. So I do. I go in because my middle schooler's going back and forth between the other two. It's a whole thing. If I try to use it, it's the one she needs something out of every time. So I wait, I get them both out the door. Love ya, bye. I have to go to the bathroom. Make a beeline for their bathroom. Well, one of them comes back. No. So I'm in there and she opens the door. I am going to go back out. She goes, Oh, I didn't because I do it when they leave. So she I didn't know you were gonna be it. So you didn't even have an uninterrupted. And I was like, Oh, sorry. And she like grabbed whatever off the off the counter and left. And I was like, Well, listen, they figured they figured it out. Now they know. Listen, every everybody poops, guys. And sometimes when you're in a rush, and then I was like, I could make it to Katie's studio, but I don't want to like poop at her studio. I mean, it's gonna take the same amount of time. True. No matter what. Might as well do it in the club. Might as well do it before I leave.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Also, speaking of shit, speaking of, okay, so we went to Gaga. Which was not shit. It was the most amazing thing ever. So good. And our two friends, Jen and Sarah, were coming with us, and we were chatting in the car about something. I don't know how we started talking about the podcast. And Sarah said, You give Katie so much shit on episodes. And then I was like, oh my God, am I an asshole on the show? So let me take a moment to apologize to Katie. No, you're not giving you so much shit on the show. That's funny. I mean, I mean, you do. I do. But I'm like, am I, but am I mean? Like, does it? Like, here's the thing. Y'all are only with us for a snippet every week. That's true. So you may not know that I'm not really an asshole. I'm just an asshole on air. Okay. But then I felt bad about that always. Oh no. So anyway, my I'm gonna say it like my stepdad do when he lets me do it. My apologies. My apologies. My apologies. Okay. So my apologies for being um a shit to you. Um, I will do better. I mean, I will tease you. Like, don't worry. Yeah, of course. That don't worry about it. But I mean I tease you back. True. Maybe just not as much. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know how the listeners perceive it. I only know how like Well, I feel listen. Sarah don't haul back. She goes, No, she don't, she don't. She said, You give Katie so much shit. And I was like, I do. And I said, but then I said, Well, it's out of love. Because here's the thing. I grew up in a house where sarcasm and teasing were kind of a language of love. So if you were not doing those things, that's is that weird? Probably. That's probably, but I feel like a lot of people are that way. Like you only tease the people that you can tease, right? Totally. Because I'm not gonna actually, I probably do it at an appropriate size. But you should only. Maybe I am an asshole, everybody. Well, maybe that's it. You know, write to Danny. Let her know. Let me know. Am I the asshole? The qu the thing I always say to people though is if you have to ask the question, then the answer is probably yes. If you're asking it out loud, yeah. Maybe. I don't know.

unknown 5:39

Okay.

Donnie’s Boston Roots And Music

SPEAKER_00 5:39

I love it. Okay, anyway. So anyway, we've got that taken care of. My apologies. Um, we're gonna jump now. Now that we talked about our poop, um now y'all know we are sitting here refreshed. We are good. We are not gonna be running out. And I think you already said this, but this is part two, just a reminder. So if you found this first, you probably want to listen to part one first. Yeah, I would say I would say you don't have to listen to a lot of our episodes in order, but this one definitely go to part one first. I agree. So, because I'm gonna I'm just gonna reference things that we already talked about. So we're gonna start with the first member that joined New Kids on the Block, and that is Mr. Donnie Wahlberg. Yay! All right, so he was actually born Donald Edmund Wahlberg Jr. Okay. On August 17th, 1969, in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He is the eighth of nine siblings. Dang. So he's the second to youngest, right? Is Marky Mark the youngest? Um, because I thought he was younger. Okay, so it's him and then Mark. Okay. So they have Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracy, Michelle, Debbie, and then Donnie, and then Mark. Okay. So many. He also, though, has three half siblings um from his father's first marriage, Donna, Scott, and Buddy. Oh my god. So there's a lot of siblings. And I'm like, that's fun. That's fun. And I think they all get along really well. It seems like it, yeah. I mean, maybe they don't, but I don't know. I'm sure there's at least one in that bunch that they don't get along with. Oh, probably. At least. At least one that's an asshole. Yeah. There you go. See? They're they're everywhere. They are. So his father, uh Donald Edmund Wahlberg, obviously, he was of Swedish and Irish descent, and he worked as a truck driver and delivery driver. He died, though, in 2008. Um his mom, her name was Alma Elaine. She was also Irish. She was also English and French Canadian. I say that because um that kind of is in relation to like their background that we talked about in the first episode. So uh she actually worked as a nurse's aide and a bank clerk, and she died in April 2021. I know. So they lived a long time. Yeah. They had to have if they were having their babies. Lots of babies. I know. Uh there he they were together when they had all their kids, but they divorced in 1982. Oh. So we'll talk more about that in a second. So here's an interesting thing that Donnie has talked about a lot. So in the 1970s, this this is kind of a controversial topic, but Boston was kind of embroiled in the mandatory busing of school kids to enforce desegregation of public schools. Okay. So this was kind of a nationwide thing, but Boston was a big city that was doing this pretty prevalently during this time. So what they were trying to do was because of, you know, redlining and gentrification and all these things and racism in the real estate market, um they were trying to bus kids of different backgrounds to other schools and various areas. So there was more diversity. Which for Donnie, he said that was a positive thing in his life and like really changed, like set his life up for his career. Because he has said that um, whoop, guys, I'm on Katie's computer. She's back. Um, he was bused more than half an hour each way to William Monroe Trotter School, and this was a mostly black elementary school in Roxbury. Um, but he said going to school there really put his life on a course towards fame ex fame and success because of the people he met there and the culture he was exposed to that he wouldn't have should would he have gone to a school in a predominantly white neighborhood. Um he said that is where he was introduced to soul music and rap music that his um the his classmates and and of course they became his friends, um, exposed him to and taught him about. So, because of that, he said that laid down the foundation for him musically of what he really loved and enjoyed. So there's a lot of different opinions on busing, and we're not gonna get into that today because it's a whole long conversation that needs its own research and backup, and I don't want to give it any disservice to both sides of the coin there. But um, so anyway, he said that is when he discovered his musical idol was Michael Jackson. Oh okay. Um, he taught himself the moonwalk, or his friends taught him the moonwalk, and um he refined it himself. Let me put it that way. There you go. He saved all his allowance to go out and buy a red leather jacket, like the one he had in Thriller. That's so cute. Yeah. Um so this is also where he became friends with Danny Wood. And him and Danny uh both began spending their afternoons together comp um composing rap lyrics instead of doing their homework. They decided to start writing making raps together. Um Donnie has said being busted to school in Roxbury was the greatest thing that ever happened to us as kids. So they have a very they had a very positive experience. That's where they started rapping together. Um when they went to high school together, they went to Copley High School, they actually formed a rap group and named it the Kool-Aid Bunch. Okay, that's okay. That's great. Which I'm like, oh, I wonder if he helped Marky Mark come up with Marky Mark and the funky bunch. Yeah, probably. Um, yeah, and he said they kept rapping, and Wahlberg says, not because we thought we'd be rap stars or dance stars someday, but because it was really fun and we love the girls screaming for us at parties. I mean, that's your teenage boy. Like, that's reason enough. Reason enough. Um, his parents did divorce when he was 12, so him and Mark went to live with their mom, and the rest of their siblings either moved in with their dad or they were already grown-ups. Yeah, if they were the younger ones and he was 12, that makes sense. Yeah. So, um, but he still went to the same school, but his living situation just changed a bit. So that was kind of like his beginnings, his schooling, how he found music, what he um was doing with his time when he auditioned for New Kids on the Block. Okay. And remember, I said in the last episode when he auditioned, it was his rap skills that impressed Maureen Starr.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Yeah.

The Hotel Fire And Consequences

Donnie Becomes A Serious Actor

SPEAKER_00 12:14

So um that where was I? Sorry. Okay, so that was in 1984. Again, check out part one for all the deets on that. I'm not going into all that. So during his heyday, um, Donnie like had the persona of like the edgy one or the bad boy or whatever, and he actually had several run-ins with the law, and Katie was correct. I was right, you guys. There was a fire. I don't know how it didn't come up in my research. Yeah, it's kind of weird. Because I as soon as I looked it up, it popped right up. Yeah, I don't know. But he had he was convicted of an alleged arson at the historic Sealbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. So this was in '91. Um, he was partying with Danny Wood and fans, it said. Oh. In the early morning hours when Donnie dumped vodka on a hallway carpet and ignited it. Now, why? Who knows? Who knows? So he was actually facing up to 20 years in prison for this, and um the charge was later reduced to misdemeanor, criminal mischief, and then eventually it was dismissed after he agreed to appear in PSA videos about fire safety, drug abuse, and drunk driving. Yes. Now he wasn't drunk driving, so I don't know, but they just I guess they just that's what he had to agree to do. And do you remember? I found when I was looking in photos, like I saw so many pictures of him saying that of shirts that said like say no to drugs. Yeah. Yeah. The article I read about it, um, he was quoted as saying he was really excited to do the PSAs. I'm sure, because that meant you weren't going to fucking jail. Yeah. I'm so pumped to do this PSA because then I don't have to go to jail. Thank you. And no one got hurt. No, nobody got hurt. Still, I mean, damage of property is is an arson is not great. But thank you. Well, he would have been what, 22 or 23 if he was born in 16? 91. I don't know. So yeah, he would have been 23. 22, 23. I mean, that's still he's under 25. That final lobe, not fully putting it. I mean, listen, I did dumb stuff in my early 20s. Me too. I didn't set anything on fire. I'm surprised I didn't, but no, I didn't. You didn't do anything dumb in your 20s? I mean, I'm saying I didn't set anything on fire. And that's what I'm surprised about. No, there were so many dumb things, but not knitting things on fire. But I feel like that's like a male thing. I was kind of just thinking I need to say that. I hate to do stereotypes, but like, yeah. Like, I don't know that even in my like drunkest state, I would ever think, oh, fire. I'd be like, like, I just don't think I would. So I don't know. I don't know. All right. So Katie had that right. Fact check correct. Humble pie eaten. Um, I don't I swear, I don't, I don't even remember that. And you remember that from being like, I remember it from being young. Yeah, I don't remember that. I don't know, but I do. So, all right, let's talk about what happens to Donnie in his life after the new kids break up in '94. Okay. So 94, they break up. Um, and he decided he was gonna follow his younger brother Mark's path and pursue a career in acting. Okay. So Marky Mark, I always say Marky Mark, even though he has not gone by that instead of I know, I do too. I think everyone's um he had Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, but then he also started acting, I think at the same time, and he was modeling. Remember those Calvin Klein albums? Okay, okay. Anyway, um, so he he was also at that time when he decided to start pursuing acting, he was working on producing albums for Mark in '91 and '92. And he also helped produce the solo albums for Jordan Knight and um Joey McIntyre. Okay. Jordan um and Joey both had solo albums in '99. So that was later. But he was acting at this time. So let's talk about his little journey into acting, which he's a good actor. He's a really good actor. Like, we'll talk about it when we get there, but even Troy said that. He was like, Oh yeah, he was really good in that. I'm like, I know. Okay, so his film debut was playing a tough guy thug in the movie Bullet with Tupac Shakur and Mickey Rourke. So Mickey Rourke is the one um who gave him the opportunity. So it's pretty crazy. Like crazy. Those are big names. That's serious. For your first movie. It was filmed in '94, but it wasn't released till '96. So I I didn't realize how much time can go by before a movie is released. Um, but anyway, two years. He then, after that, was cast in '96 as part of a gang of kidnappers and the Ron Howard film Ransom that starred Mel Gibson. Do you remember that? I don't remember that one. I don't remember this one. And then he was cast as a drug dealer in the goth indie horror film Black Circle Boys in 1997. So he was kind of typecast, the first few roles he had, which happened. But that's what he wanted. Like he wanted that bad boy image, I think. You just get well, I don't know if he wanted it, but he wanted to get into the film world. Yeah. And, you know, you play on what your strengths are. Absolutely. And then once you're in, you can challenge, which he did. So he also did a couple of made-for-tv movies at that time. And then in 1998, he got cast in the film Southy, where he played an Irish American prodigal son who returns to the streets of Boston. Yes. I was like, okay, right. I was like, that sounds like they write the movie for him. For him. I don't know. It probably came very natural. Like he done, he can have his accent, you know, whatever. And I'm like, I need to look that up because I don't remember that either. And it seems like I would have. I don't think I've seen that one. Yeah. Southie is the name of that one. But the role that really got him noticed was also his shortest one. Do you know what it was? What year was it? It's like 99, 2000 or later. When did I not write the year? Oh, is this um was he in The Departed? No. That might have been it before The Departed. It was his role in Sixth Sense. Holy card. Okay, so it he was cast to play, um, deranged ex-patient Vincent Gray. That's right. Uh Bruce Willis's psychiatrist character. He was only in the film five minutes-ish. And then they had flashbacks to him later. But he was in the first few minutes, if you remember. I do. Um, and uh he lost 43. I had to look and find the number. He lost 43 pounds to play this role, and he was almost unrecognizable. Yeah. Like he does not look like himself. 43 pounds for five minutes. I would not do it. Did they tell him to, or he just wanted to be so convincing? Because well, he he kind of did some method acting for this. Okay. And it said um he went entirely method for this role. I mean, with the weight loss, but then also it said to enter like the mindset of his character, he stayed in New York without money or credit cards. Yes. Um, he fasted, he ate only like fruits and vegetables, and then he went weeks without showering and even had some nights where he would sleep alone outside in a park. Holy shit. For five minutes on screen, guys. But it worked, it worked because that got him noticed big time, like as an actor, you know, and not just like the bad boy guy from Newcastle. Yeah, but like actually, like this guy has some like depth that. Yeah. And so the role my husband was like, oh my god, he was really good in, was the one he did next. Because he was cast in 2001 in the critically acclaimed 10-part HBO series Band of Brothers. And he played World War II Paratrooper, second lieutenant, um, C. Carwood Lipton. I didn't watch this show, but I remember Troy being obsessed with it. Like, he loves those kind of war like things and um historical.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Whoa.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

Whoa, Katie's tummy today. I told you. Did you eat to the breakfast? I tummy's been off the last couple days. So you need to run out. No, I'm okay right now because I didn't eat, so I think I'm all right. Oh yeah, I'll be okay. Oh, we're just talking about all kinds of digestion things today. I'm all right. That was loud, though. Usually it's my stomach that's probably gonna come back because we're early in the episode. He's gonna be talking a lot. Um, so that was like a big deal, and his acting was extraordinary. Apparently, I never watched it. So um, but then after that, he had several big TV and movie roles, um, including a short-lived TV series called Boomtown, which was on in 2002. Um, the writer of that show also worked on Band of Brothers, and he was so impressed with Donnie's performance that he wrote this role specifically for him. That's cool. That's how you know you've made it as an actor when someone wants to craft like their creativity around you. Yeah, I think that's amazing. It's like getting precast for things, which doesn't happen to us. But hey, you know, maybe there will be a time. One day. Um, he was also in Trigger Man in 2002, Dreamcatcher in 2003, Annapolis 2006, several movies in the Saw franchise. He played a detective in those. Um he was in Zookeeper in 2011. And then, of course, one of Katie's favorite TV shows Blue Bloods. Ugh. Love. Yeah, she loves that. He's so good in that. She's like, are you gonna watch one of what did you ask me? So he has his own spin-off now, right? Called Boston Blue. Okay. I think so. Blue Bloods is in New York City. Oh, okay. And it's this big Irish Catholic family. Gotcha. And my husband and I always laugh because somehow they all end up in this giant city on the same. Same cases. So like one's beat cop, but um Donnie Wahlberg's character is a detective. Oh gotcha. But then the dad, Tom Selleck, is the commissioner of police. But then the sister, Bridget Moynihan, is an attorney, or she's in the attorney general's office. And somehow they all end up at the same murder scene. Ironically. Yeah. And they're like, oh, you're here? Oh, you're here? Oh, you're here? Okay, let you know. But I mean, that's kind of the shtick. So the act show's over now. So what they did was they spun it out that he then moves to Boston. And now he's a Boston detective. Got it. So it's just him, not his family. Right. And they do make a cameos, like one of his sons from Blue Bloods is now a beat cop in Boston. Got it. So they sometimes like work together. Got it. It's okay. It's I like Blue Bloods better. Better. It's okay. So Katie was like, Are you gonna watch an episode of one of and I was like, I do not have time? Like, I'm frantically finishing this. I I had to watch our Dawson's Creek. I for fucking forgot. And I was like, shit. Yesterday I was like, I have to watch Dawson's Creek. It's on while I'm cooking and it's so loud. And like I'm trying to cook dinner early because like I had to go teach a class and I had anyway, Cooper comes in and he's like, Why is this so loud? Like, because I'm cooking and washing dishes, and like I'm I'm thinking of like the one scene too that for this week that we watched was really loud. Oh, yeah in the car, and that's what it was. Yeah, anyway, okay. We'll get there. We'll get there. Different episode, but we'll get it. Different episodes. He also was on a reality show that I used to watch back in the day, um, called Wahlbergers, and he was in it with his two brothers, Paul and Mark. It ran for 10 seasons, which I didn't realize it was not that long from uh 2014 to 2019, and I always get so confused with TV seasons because I always think it's a year, but it's not. And yeah, that would have been two per year, I guess. It's like two a year, right? It's like spring and fall or something like that. I always get so confused, but then streaming's totally different. I think Stranger Things at first came out like once a year, right? And then they took like three or four years off, and there's another year. So yeah, streaming kind of has it all screwed up too. Yeah, it's all confusing, but anyway. So that show focused on the brothers expanding their family-owned burger restaurant. And so, have you ever eaten at one? Yeah, there's one in downtown Orlando on Orange Ave. It's really good. I've never been there. Yeah, it's yummy. But I'm not a big burger person, but every now and then, you would like it. I think I would. I think I would. Um, so let's talk a little bit about his personal life as well. That was his basically his career stuff after New Kids. So he married um Kim Faye in '99, and they had two sons, Xavier and Elijah. They were together for nine years before they divorced, and then he married Jenny McCarthy in 2014. Did you know her and Melissa McCarthy, the actress, are first cousins? No. Right? But they I and they have the same life. Weird. I ran across this in the research and I was like, what? How? How? Like moms, dads, I didn't have time to doubt. How dare you, Katie? How dare you? No, I just knew 11 pages. You know, all right. No, I mean I'll I'll look that up later. But that no, I did not know that. Yeah, isn't that wild? Yeah, okay. They're both. But you really thought about it, and I'm like, okay, they do kind of look alike. They both have these big blue eyes. And they're both hilarious. Yeah.

unknown 25:07

Right?

Jenny McCarthy And Vaccine Controversy

SPEAKER_00 25:08

You're right. They have those eyes. They have those eyes. Yeah. Okay. So, anyways, that's a fun little tidbit that has nothing. Well, I mean, he's related to her by marriage, so there you go. There you go. Um, they so him and Jenny McCarthy actually met on Watch What Happens Live in 2013. Oh. Now, Watch What Happens Live actually pops up with a few of these new kids members. Hmm. So, interestingly enough, this is the first time you're gonna hear about it. And they met in 2013, and then the following year, they announced their engagement on the View. Okay. So they know they're they know they know. They know, yeah. They do a lot of things like for the public still, I feel like people, for the people. Yeah. So here's here's some controversy with Jenny McCarthy. As we know, I know what you're gonna say. Y'all may not know, but so in 2014, uh, 15, uh, Donnie actually joined the board of director directors, direct directors of Generation Rescue, which is Jenny McCarthy's anti-vaccination nonprofit. And it's known for perpetuating the myth, because it is a myth, um, that vaccines cause autism, and uh it also promotes pseudoscientific cures and treatments for autism. Now, I am not against alternative treatments for anything if that is your decision, if that's what you want to pursue. And sometimes that might work for someone, but also like you shouldn't perpetuate myths where science is telling you this is not true. Now, I I will say, I think when she formed this, there wasn't a ton of scientific research at the time, but now there is now there is, yeah. Well, the original study's been retracted and correct. Um, the uh the doctor who I helped do her podcast, we were just talking about this recently on one of their episodes on autism. Yeah. And she was saying that that study had 12 kids in it only, the one that was retracted later. Right. Like that's unheard of for a scientific study to have 12 people in anything. You have to have a large group, not it's not enough enough, it's not enough to to make that big of a statement about how it affects bodies, right? So, anywho's that's that. So he actually like held several concerts as fundraisers, um, specifically to raise funds to create an integrative health clinic, and then that actually that project was just eventually abandoned. And I don't know if once that study was disproven, it I don't know this for sure, but it does feel like she's become quiet about that. Yeah, I could be wrong, maybe but I'm just not seeing it like in my own algorithms, but it does seem like she's sort of backed off. Well, they did formally dissolve in December 2019, the organization. Okay. So now her son she had with Jim Carrey. Right. Right. And that's the one who has autism. Yes. And that's her only kid, I think. Question mark. And they do not have kids together. And he had the two. I don't know if either, but I I remember because when she was saying that stuff, I feel like Jim Carrey was not agreeing with her publicly. I didn't know that. Like way back when, like 2014 or whatever. That he was like, I'm also like, Jim Carrey is neurodivergent. Oh, yeah. He may not be on the autism spectrum. I have no idea, but like he's a neurodivergent guy. Yeah. So if you had a child who is that way, like that, I don't think it was a vaccine that maybe caused that. I don't know. I can remember, and we won't go too in the weeds here because we could talk about it forever. Right. Um, I remember when she came out with her book. Yeah. And I read it, and part of me was because I mean I had a young kid at the time. I mean, it's scary. But and it was before 2015 when she came out with the book. Because I remember Caden was little. I think I could be really backwards on this. No, I think you're right though. And I rem my sister, everyone, is a nurse practitioner, and she is pro-vax, okay? And she even like it took her until this year to believe in chiropractic care, okay? Because she thinks everything is woo-woo, that is not medical. Okay, so she was like, and she's a science girly, like she's very, very smart in ways I am not. And I remember being like, I don't know if I should, you know, do it. Must have been for Cooper. I'm like, I don't know if I should do like the vaxxer. And she was like, do not you get that baby vaxxed. Like, but what I did, I just kind of slowed them down, but I made sure we got them in the time window. Yeah, like you can space them out, um, which I think is pretty prevalent now. Yeah, I think it's pretty common now. And um, but she took she she sent she would send me like all these scientific studies and like research, and she's like, this is like for real. Like, this is real science, Danny. Like, I was like, Right. Get out of it. But but to your point, it's not like you're like a Jenny McCarthy super fan. No. But you it made you think about it, and it's a good thing. And also, like, I think now people have a even from 10 years ago have a better understanding of the autism spectrum, and it's not bad. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, I think it's never been bad. It's never no, but I think like the general like framing of it is different now than it was. Yeah, well, there's more understanding, I think. Absolutely, because there's been more research and more science on all the things. Okay, well, get off of that and talk about something totally unrelated. Okay. So Donnie is a huge Boston Celtics fan. Yeah. Okay, he wears the stuff all the time. Um, again, they wrote that one they wrote Hangin' Tough because they wanted it to be a theme song for them. Um, he's seen frequently at games. Um, he actually narrated the association Boston Celtics, a documentary about the team's 2010 season, and then he co-narrated alongside Ice Cube the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary um about the Celtic. Oh, it says Celtics slash Lakers best of enemies about the rivalry between the two teams. Right. So Ice you said Ice Cube must be uh Lakers fan. Okay. So um see, and I know none guys, I know no sports information. So like I was like, oh, there are rivals, and my household was like, hello. I'm like, what I don't guys, I don't know. Um also he said, um, he has said he always makes an effort to engage with fans on social media and in person. They call him like the selfie king, like he's always taking selfies. And if you look on his socials, he's very, very active.

SPEAKER_01 31:41

Yeah.

Deep Cuts And Offbeat Tangents

SPEAKER_00 31:41

Um and his blue blood's co-star, Will Estes. Is it Estes or Estes? Estes. Estes, I knew I'd say it wrong, has called him one of the most engaging people I've ever seen with his fans. Oh, I believe. And I believe it. Will Estes, little little Easter egg, he was Stephanie's boyfriend on Full House. Oh, that's fine. That's him. Oh, fine. Yeah, okay. Yeah. I didn't know he did this, but in 2021, Wahlberg uh he worked on season five of The Masked Singer, and he was the rooster Cloudled Doo, and he gave exclusive clues to the viewers. Um, after performing Mark Morrison's Return of the Mac in the semifinals, he was unmasked. Um, he even stuck around when Omarion was unmasked as the wild card contestant Yeti. That's hilarious. Do you watch The Masked Singer? I watched like season one and two, and I did really like it. It's so weird. It's weird. It's like you can't look away. And it is fun trying to guess who it is. I do it really is. It's somebody on drugs came up with the premise for that. Oh, definitely. And I think Jenny McCarthy's a judge on that show. Oh, really? Yeah. No, I don't know if she was the season he was on, because that that would be a con like because the judges also don't know who it is. Oh, I see. So I'm sure she wasn't a judge that season, of course. But um maybe that's how she got to be a judge. Yeah, maybe. Maybe it was after. Everybody out there that knows is like, no, no, she wrong. Listen, we get things wrong here. Isn't that our tagline? We we do things wrong. We do things wrong. Yes. It's not just it's not just information, it's everything. It's pretty much it's all wrong. Yes. Okay. So here's some random facts I found on a super fan web uh site. Oh, I love it. Random things. Okay. I'm just gonna I'm just gonna like lightning round it. He has a nipple piercing and a nose piercing. Okay. He can only wear t-shirts once and then he gives them away. Something about the fit, he doesn't like it. Okay. I don't know, guys. Uh he's afraid of flying on large airplanes, but not small ones. Okay. Uh he loves bass fishing and playing chess. And he reads the newspaper every morning, like an actual newspaper. Like that you touched. Which one? Boston Globe? I don't know. A newspaper.

unknown 33:56

Okay.

Jordan Knight Origins And Heartthrob Era

SPEAKER_00 33:56

Why are you asking me? You asked me the hardest question. Katie's like, your 11 pages of research left out everything. I need to know which newspaper is in his hands every morning. It didn't say. I love that for him though. I like reading newspapers too. I like to I like to read newspapers, but you know what I don't like? I don't like to touch them. It is weird. It's a weird texture. I I think I have like sensory stuff and I don't realize it because, well, definitely with my ears, I can't stand sounds. Yesterday, my cat, I was like, because I I was sitting at my kitchen table because we don't have like an office, so I like sit at my kitchen table and do all my things. And my cat has like a water fountain, like a constant like circulation because he's he's extra and like has to have special things. And when it needs more water in the fountain, it's really loud, like the trickle. And I was sitting there and my one of my kids walked by. I was like, Can you please like I can't stop what I'm doing? Please put water on that. I am about to murder somebody. And Troy was like, you know, some people use that sound to like relax. And I'm like, no, it was bugging the shit out of me. Because you know, once you hear something, yeah, you like cannot stop. And it was like the trickle. Oh my god, it was so annoying. I um I kind of had a sensory thing yesterday, so I hate painting like rooms. Oh, I love it. I I and and I I'm just now admitting that I hate it because I it takes me a really long time. I've been painting my daughter Erin's room for almost a month now. Oh my god, that's too long. I just I I'll do a little how do you hate it? I get instantly overwhelmed. And I and I actually tedious. I broke it down yesterday in my head and I was like, I think it's because of the sensory stuff. It there's a smell, it's wet, I'm I feel claustrophobic, even if stuff is out of the room. I just feel like and the tape. And the tape and just the multi-step process. I don't know. I just it is a teddy is. I actually like had to apologize to my kids yesterday because I was like so bent out of shape. And all I was doing is painting. They're like, Are you okay? I hate it. Yeah, but then it's also like I just gotta get it done. And they were helping me, and it's almost done. I think I'll have it done tomorrow, definitely by this weekend. But I was finally like, I need to sit with my feelings for a second and figure this out. Okay, these are the reasons I don't like it. Okay, let's get it done. I mean, it's a tedious thing. Yeah, I was like T D And every time I'm like, oh, it's just like a and her room's small, the one she's moving into. And I was like, Oh, this will be easy. No, no. Every time I'm like, why do I do this? It's a nightmare. And I love to paint rooms. My husband doesn't let me doesn't usually let me help. I say that like he's some like domineering person. No, he prefers that I do not assist because I am a sloppy painter, yeah, and he is meticulous. And I mean, y'all, and and it looks great, of course, but like I just get lazy and I'm like, throw the paint up, whatever. That's kind of what I was doing too. And he one time we were painting. I for like for some reason years back, I wanted a red kitchen. I don't know why. I just did, and so I finally convinced him to to like do it, and we were doing it together. I was in there for 20 minutes, and he was like, Okay, you have to go. Like, he was like, You cannot be in here. Well, I kind of felt like that too. Like, my kids want to help, and I don't want them to. That makes it worse. Yeah, that's what he was. Even though they're like, You are making this take longer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, fine. Okay, so here's another random tidbit uh from Joey McIntyre that he said in an interview about Donnie. He said, Donnie leaves his underwear in the dressing room whenever he takes them off. Okay. He said, if you want to know if Donnie was in the room or somewhere close, just look on the floor. And if there's underwear, that's where he was. That's hilarious. It's his calling card. Just leave his on. I wonder if it's like t-shirts where he can't wear them more than once. I'm sure it's like, especially if you're like performing and you're sweaty, like he probably just wants all the sweaty things off. Yeah, sure. Cause I do that, like for shows. If we have a two-show day, I change everything. Yeah, me too. I change my drawers, my bra, my pantyhose, whatever. Everything. Well, that goes under your costume. I change it all because ew. Yeah. Ew. Cause y'all, you be sweating on a stage. Okay. And then you're wearing it so much longer. Oh, and it's so gross. Okay. So that brings us to the end of Donnie. All right. So now we're going to talk about our favorite. Okay. Jordan. Oh, Jordan. I know. Jordan Knight. Uh, he was born Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight. I don't know why he has two middle names. On May 17th, 1970, in the Worcester area of Massachusetts. His parents are actually both from Canada. So he has dual citizenship. That's where the Marcel came from. Maybe. He has uh dual citizenship. So um his parents, Marlene, who is a social worker, and Alan, who was a carpenter, turned into an Episcopalian priest. Okay. All right. Um, Jordan is the youngest of six, like we mentioned before. So their order is Jonathan, Allison, Sharon, David, and Christopher. And then Jordan is the youngest. Um, like I said, he holds dual citizenship for Canada and the US. And speaking of Canada, he spent a lot of time there as a kid traveling to go see family and stuff. Um, he said they traveled there at least twice a year, um, spending every summer at his grandpa, uh his grandparents' lake house on Lake Erie. And it was in a cottage that his grandpa built himself. Oh. I know. So cute. And um that is gonna be important when we get to John next. Okay. So remember that the grandpa built the cottage. Okay. Okay. Remember that for John. We'll reference that again. So um Boston's All Saints Episcopal Church is where um his their dad was did I say a priest? I can't ever remember in denominations. Priest. You said pre-I think Episcopalian is a priest. Priest, yeah. Um, but they are allowed to get married. They're the priests who can get married because they're Protestant. So that is where they went, and that is where a choir master gave him and Brother John vocal lessons, and that is where they developed their love of music and of singing, was at church, which happens a lot, I think. That makes sense, yeah. Um, Jordan actually started teaching himself how to write music, which is mind-boggling to me, and how to play piano and keyboard in his early teen years.

SPEAKER_01 40:21

Wow.

Jordan’s Solo Breakthrough Years

Surreal Life And Getting Healthier

SPEAKER_00 40:22

So he taught himself, which is crazy to me. And this was before like YouTube, guys. Right. Because now I feel like it's much easier to go find a video and take lessons online. But he taught himself to play like one song or whatever. Yeah. Right. So Jordan said one of his top music influences was the stylistics, who were a Philadelphia soul group from the 70s. Um, and they're they have basically pretty much all ballads, and they were characterized by the falsetto of Russell Tompkins Jr. So you would probably know some of their songs, you know some of their songs just off the top of your head. Uh-uh. You would if I I went to play some. Um, you may know the song, that song, You Make Me Feel Brand New. Okay. You make me feel brand new. And then when you listen to their songs, you can totally hear the influence of Jordan's voice. Definitely. So that was that made the biggest mark on him vocally. So let's talk about his time and because on the block, that was his beginnings. Um, Jordan and brother John were the next people to join after Donnie. Um well, and his brother Mark, who ended up leaving. But well, yeah. Yeah. So during their big heyday, are you okay? Yeah, I'm just feeling comfortable. No. It's it's everything else. It's my back, it's my hips, it's not, it's not my stomach. We got we got uh we good middle middle-age problems, guys. Yes. Um, but we're regular, so look at that today. We are never known, never know. All right, during his heyday, he was known for his dance moves, his signature high vocals, and being in the heartthrob of the group. Yes, notably sending girls into literal hysteria during his almost shirtless moment during Baby I Believe in You. Now, I had to look this up because I wanted to remember exactly what he did um during that song. So he had a wind machine that was on high speed. He had a button-up white shirt that was just flowing and billowing. Um he also had some super gyrating hips and some suggestive little uh body, what do you call rolls? Yeah. Like I basically said to myself, this is like Magic Mike Jr. Yes. I didn't remember it being that in your face. Yeah. I was like, no wonder we all liked that. You said Magic Mike. I meant to tell you this um sometime last week. One of my teen girls made a joke about Magic Mike. They're like, oh, it's like Magic Mike or whatever. And we all kind of giggle. And then Tegan, my youngest, she goes, What's Magic Mike? Oh no. And we're like, oh, it's nothing. I was like, it's kind of inappropriate. These guys, and I always say that the movie was good because it was a really good movie. Did you I didn't watch it? It was a good movie. And I was like, Arcadie, I scared my family. So my family's saying all that. And they're like, and Brant's like, sure, sure. And I was like, no, like I really okay, listeners, if you liked that movie for not just the obvious reasons, let me know. But so we're all kind of talking about it, and she doesn't know what we're talking about. And then um, she's like, Oh, it's like that guy in Imagine Dragons who sings with his shirt on. And we were like, Yeah, it's kind of like that. We were all just having a good little giggle. She's like, She's so sweet. Yeah. I didn't watch it because I mean, unpopular opinion. Besides, I enjoyed Jordan Knight back in the day, and I'd enjoy it now if I saw it again. Um, I think male strippers are hilarious. Like, they don't make me be like, ooh, I think it's hilarious. I thought you were gonna say you didn't like that they were objectified. No, it's not like that movie they're objectifying themselves. Like they're choosing it. That's the point. Right? And I just think there's like it's just comical to me. Like it just seems now. I don't think like that for female strippers. Like I mean, it's a different power balance, I think. Maybe so. I don't know. I just think it looks silly. And then they're like in there, like their wangs popping around. And it's just, it doesn't do it for me, guys. Okay. Anyway. Well, but but Jordan Knight. That did. And honestly, it would do it again now. But that's he's taking he's keeping his clothes on. So maybe that's what I don't need to see your wang flopping. Uh no, no, you don't. Not as a child, and not now. I lost my place in my notes. Oh dear. Talking about floppy wings. Okay. So after Nuke is on the block, he actually did pursue a solo career. So you'll notice that some of the members did and some did not. So Jordan is one that did. He pursued a solo career. So um, oh wait. Oh, okay. So this was something I found, and I I had to look him up because I remembered him, but I also didn't remember him. Like he sounded familiar. So, do you remember Tommy Page? He came out with a song called I'll Be Your Everything, and I swear if you heard it, you would remember. Okay. So you don't remember. Okay. Well, he was he was around, and he was he even had like a cameo on 90210, and I think he sang when his album came out. Okay. But this is important because while on tour um with new kids in 1989, Jordan noticed somebody playing piano in their hotel lobby, and that person was Tommy Page. Oh wow. So they played piano together for a while. Um, Jordan actually played him some of a song he was writing, which was I'll be your everything. So I I do and I wrote, I wrote, I remembered it being on 90210. Um, so later on, the two actually collaborated on finishing the song, and Tommy Page asked Jordan if he could use it on his upcoming album, and he said yes. And he co-produced the track, and then um Donnie and Danny actually helped a little bit, respectively, co-writing and co-producing. So they kind of all worked on the song, and that became a hit single for Tommy Page. That's awesome. So, but Tommy Page died um in 2017, which I didn't know. I know, I don't know how it just popped up, but yeah, that was a hit single for him in 1990, so pretty exciting. Okay. Um, and because they met in a hotel lobby, yeah, because he was in there. Was he already famous then? Or we know he wasn't. I think he worked in the record industry. Okay, but he was not right now. That was like the that that was his debut single. Okay. Um, so anyway, speaking back to Jordan, he um made a comeback into the music world with his solo single, Give It to You, in February 1999. Maybe you know I can give it to you. I can't do it right. Oh, it's a good song. And is that the one where he's like dancing at the carnival? Yeah. And it's very like grease-esque. Oh, it's so good. It's good. It's a bop. It is I I was jamming to it yesterday. I was like, okay, I need to put this on my playlist because it's so good. It's really good. So that song actually reached number 10 on the Billboard Top 100 and was nominated for an MTV VMA for best dance video that same year. The dancing's good in that video, but you know what actually won? Living La Vita Loca. Oh, okay. So I mean, fair. Yeah, if you're gonna lose, lose to Ricky Martin. Okay. You know, and the dancing in his videos. Oh, good, good times. Um, so his self-titled album was released in May of 1999 because that was just a solo single. Um, it peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Top 200, and later he actually won an Aspire Music Award for Best Male Album Pop. Okay. And it is a good album. Yeah, it is a good album. I it's still enjoyable to me. Um, he actually released a remix album, which is not the best, in my humble opinion, called Jordan Knight performs New Kids on the Block, the remix album in 2004. Basically, it's just him singing the new kids songs by himself, uh, and like the back, like all the different parts he like he had recorded himself. Y'all just go take a few pieces. I don't know about that. I would just like you to listen to it because his solo stuff's good, yeah. But like that music's supposed to be for more than one person, yeah. And it just didn't land. Yeah, he's got a great voice, but it just didn't land right. Yeah. So I was like, oh, it was a little cringy. I feel like it was kind of just a shot in the dark. I agree. Um, so then in 2004, and I did watch this, he was a third season cast member on the VH1 reality TV show The Surreal Life. The people who were on the show with him were Ryan Starr, Bridget, Brigitte Nielsen, Flava Flav, Dave Kouye, and Charo. Oh my gosh. Did you watch? Did you remember that season? I don't think I watched it, but I remember all those people on a show together. So I the early 2000s, I was was like such a time in reality TV because I feel like it was before it became scripted. And I was I watched all of them. I loved, I loved them. And um this I do remember watching, and I remember watching it thinking, oh my god, Jordan is so cringe. Like it was he was very uncomfortable. He would say uncomfortable things. Really? Well, turns out um he has admitted during that time he had a drinking problem and was not his full self. Okay, and um there are rumors he tried to have that season completely removed from public access, and let me tell you, it's hard to find clips of it. Like on YouTube, it's not there. They have other seasons of surreal life streaming on other platforms, but not that one. I feel like that season there were several problematic things and people, but you think the next season there was the Peter Brady and uh oh yeah, top model girl. Okay, who ended up they ended up getting together. Yeah, but he just made it very uncomfortable now. Brigitte and Flavaflav got together during this, which was so unexpected. And I remember being just riveted watching that. Um it was just the wildest, like so wild combination of personality. I mean, imagine the lowest I know the lowest time of your life. Oh, for sure. And again, like he agreed to be on the show, but again, if you're not in a good place, you're not making decisions from a good place, and now that's forever immortalized. And even though, to your point, reality TV wasn't as scripted back then, it was still edited. Well, and it was edited and it was set up for drama to happen. Totally. So, you know, I can see why you wouldn't necessarily want other people to see it, and you certainly wouldn't want to re-watch it or relive it. I mean, they were providing tons of alcohol, like they want moments. They wanted it, and I get it, it's good TV and it's whatever. But um, oh, I just remember how uncomfortable it was. And but then it's like, yeah, I mean, he was in a bad place, and that one part of your life doesn't define the rest of your life. Absolutely not. And so I I get it, but anyway, if you try to find it, it's really hard to find that particular season. Um, okay, so moving on to when he got into a better place, 2005. He released an EP. Remember, that's not a full LP titled The Fix. And this was supported by a lead single called Where is Your Heart Tonight? And that reached his peak at number 12 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. So he took a turn. I know, I know. Oh he uh toured extensively in uh 2005 and six promoting that EP. And then in 2006, his next album, I mean, he's busy. His next album, Love Songs, was released, and that first single was Say Goodbye, and that was a duet with Debbie Gibson. I remember that one. You do? Yeah, I don't remember that one, but that peaked at number 24 again on the adult contemporary chart. Was that you remember it was like a love song or whatever? Yeah, I I can't remember the tune right now, but I I remember it, yeah. Um, okay, so in 2007, he went did it again. He went on the surreal life um spinoff called the surreal life fame game. So it had people from the different seasons of the show competing, kind of like when they did like the Road Rolls Real World challenges. Um, but he abruptly left early because he had a death in the family. So there was like all these rumors that like something else was going on, and but he had a grandparent die and he left. So um it was also rumored he just wasn't doing well emotionally, which I could understand, like because you already knew like you filmed this other season, it was a bad time in your life, and then you're kind of revisiting the same environment, and then you had a death in the family, like that's not a good place to be in, right? So, anyway, so the new kids reunited in 2008. Check out put part one for all of that, because we're not going into all that. Um, but even though they reunited, Jordan continued to work on solo stuff at the same time. So in 2011, May 2011, he released his third solo album, Unfinished, and this is kind of a banger. I went on there and listened to it. It's good, yeah. He although he has a song called O Face. What? And it is exactly what you think it is about, and I was cackling. It's so good.

SPEAKER_01 53:29

Okay, I have to listen to it. It's so good. Just go look it up.

Later Albums Nick And Knight

Jonathan’s Anxiety And Leaving NKOTB

SPEAKER_00 53:31

O Face by Jordan Knight. But the album's good, it's got a lot of good, like it's not adult contemporary, it's more pop, dance. Um, it's good. And go listen to O Face. It's good times. All right, the album actually reads number eight on the US uh Billboard Independent Albums, so I don't know what that means. Uh number 48, though, on the Billboard 200. So it did pretty good. That's not horrible. Uh, he began his live and unfinished tour on December 11th, 2011, and it was right after the NKOTB BSB tour finished. Okay. So he finished that tour and then went on his own tour. Like this may be working, y'all. He'd be working. Um, he performed the announced dates with Boston-based band Elevation Theory. So he um took a Boston band and brought them on tour. Okay. So in two in 2014, he teamed up with Nick Carter and they had an album called Nick and Night. I do not remember. I don't either. And they toured throughout the fall of that year to support the album. And okay, the vocals and the beats on this album are good. I bet they're really good. Good. Because these these boys can sing. Yes, they can. Okay. And dance. They can dance. Like, it was good. I check it out. I because I tried to make sure I looked, I listened to at least some of this before I came in here today. I was like, okay, Nick, Nick and Knight. Nick and Knight. That's adorable. It sounds like Nick at Knight. Like Nick and Knight. But it's still a cute, cute name twist. Um, so he's actually made numerous appearances on his brother John's um HGTV restoration series, Farmhouse Fixer. We're gonna talk more about that in a second. Um, as well as the 2024 spinoff, Farmhouse Fixer, Camp Revamp. And that show actually follows Jonathan Jonathan's purchase and renovation of a rustic camp compound in New Hampshire. So we're gonna talk more about that later. They also appeared as guest judges together on season three of the HG TV competition show Rock the Block. Okay. Do you watch HGTV? Not really. I don't either. It just makes me feel bad. Does it? Yeah. Why? Because everything's cute and fun and nothing I own is it makes you like I'm like, geez, like I don't, I think they're boring. So I don't, but Troy used to Troy went through a phase where he watched HGTV like all the time because he said it was calming and he thought it was interesting. And I get I get why people like it because it is interesting to see if you're into like architecture and home reno, I don't care. Like, I just am not into it, and I think it is boring. But now I want to go check out John on there. Yeah, for sure. So I probably will, but anyway, so let's talk about Jordan's personal life just a tad bit, and then we're gonna move on to John. So he married Evelyn Melendez in 2004, and they are still together. Oh uh, they kind of maintain a low profile, and neither one of them have personal social media accounts, so it was hard to find shit about like find more in-depth stuff about him personal life, except like just his basic, like all his discography or whatever. Right, his professional stuff. Yeah, they don't neither one of them, and so good on them. Yeah, like there's a lot of fan pages for him, and he appears on like you know, the new kids page and stuff, but he didn't have his own personal one. So, um, also he sang to her um one of the new kids' songs at their wedding. Somebody uh was playing the piano and they're like, Oh, you should play, you should sing. And he sang to her, which song was it? Um Shit, it left my brain, and I forgot to write it down. What's one of their um it's not Please Don't Go Girl. I was gonna say, is it that one? No. Um, I don't know. I'll be loving you forever. Oh I know. And like you, I know. Yeah. So they have two sons together: Dante, who was born in '99, and Eric, who was born in 2007. Um, he's also talked about uh having issues with severe anxiety and panic attack panic attacks. Like his brother John, we've we've heard more about John, but Jordan also admits to having problems with that too. Um, their father, they've said, also has similar struggle struggles, so it's probably a genetic thing. Yeah. Um they're coupled with being incredibly famous and recognizable. I mean, and you have triggers, of course. Uh Jordan and John actually talked about it um with Oprah back in 20 uh 2001. So they they were on her show and talked about it. There, this is just some more random things. I didn't realize he wore um clear braces for two years during the height of Nukes on the Block. Really? Yeah, okay. Yeah. So I think if you zoom in on some pictures, you can probably see them. But yeah, he sure did. I mean, I get it, Jordan. You wear those braces. I've had braces way too many times. You still can. Um, he also collected hotel keys as mementos while on tour. That's fun. That's fun. Back when we actually had keys and not like swipe cards. Um, he lives currently in Milton, Massachusetts, where in 2016 he became a partner in a local Italian restaurant called Novara. Okay. So there you go. That's all I got on Jordan. That's a lot. It is, but you know, my phone just rang out. So I'm just glancing at it while you scroll to um we're moving on to Jonathan now. Jonathan. Um, Jonathan Knight, um, but his name now is Jonathan Knight hyphen Rodriguez, because he is married. Oh, love. And we'll talk about that in a few minutes. Are you okay? Yeah. I'm just double checking something. Okay. Um, so they do they have any like um Hispanic heritage or anything? Because they both married people uh well, like Hispanic last names. I don't know. I was just curious. You mean them personally? I mean like Jordan, but I don't know. I I don't I haven't come across that. Um probably no because they're Canadian. Because they're Canadian, but who knows? I don't know. Who knows? So, okay, he was born Jonathan Rashley Knight. It's spelled R-A-S-H-L-E-I-G-H. Okay. Rashley. Rashley. Okay. I guess so. On November 29th, 1968, he was the first in the line of many knight siblings, as we already talked about. Um, y'all already heard about the parents and all of that, so I'm not gonna revisit any of that history. Um him and his dad and his grandpa, they all have a love and a talent too for um old houses and home renovation. And that led to his current career. So I thought that was pretty interesting. He's now like a pretty well-known HGTV personality. That's great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:02

I love that.

Coming Out Pressure And Healing

SPEAKER_00 1:00:02

Um, so he was the oldest of the new kids on the block. So we'll talk a little bit about his time there. And he was known as the quiet, shy one. Uh, he was suffering from crippling anxiety and panic attacks at the time. He had um undiagnosed generalized anxiety disorder, which a lot of us have. And it's very difficult if you're not getting treatment or in therapy or on meds for it to manage on your own, especially if you don't have a name for it. Well, and if you don't know how, yeah. That's right. You don't have the strategies, like you said. Yeah. And that became part, and some of his was situational as well, which we'll talk more about in a sec. That was the reason for his decision to leave the group in 1994, which we talked about in our first episode, but now we're gonna dig a little deeper. So during the band's heyday, he dated tour mate Tiffany for two years. So they dated for two years. Wow. We already talked about that, and it was during this time that he said he had his I don't want to say realization because he probably already his confirmation that he was gay. Okay, he kind of was came to peace with it and was like, okay, yes, like this is I I am gay, and that is why they broke up. And he said, even though she understood it was still a really hard breakup. Well, yeah, you know, um, he said it was painful and difficult for probably many reasons for both of them. And his management at the time, you asked me about this before, they advised him to keep his sexuality a secret. They did tell him that, and they said uh it will ruin your career, it will ruin the group, and the record label will suffer. Wow. So don't be yourself for all these reasons. If you're already dealing with anxiety and panic attacks, and then you're told by the people who are in charge of you, for lack of a better term, right? Well, you better just keep that to yourself. Yeah. How hard is that? Like, so you're trying, you're in the spotlight, you're in the limelight, you're performing, and of course, you're young and attractive, all the the tabloids want to know your love life, but you're told to lie. So that's really hard. And it's very, very heartbreaking and sad. Um, what he said, he has been quoted. Um, I found a lot of interviews with him um because he was on Lance Bass's podcast. Okay. And so he had a really like pretty deep, heartfelt conversation with Lance Bass. Right. He was also gay and also told some of the same things after after InSync. Or after the like height of InSync anyway. Yes. Yeah. Um, so he had a pretty good conversation with him. So I have a lot of quotes from that interview. And he said this: he's like, there were a few reasons on leaving the group. Number one, being a young gay kid, I was frustrated and I wanted to get on with my own life. And the other reason, it just felt like New Kids was not going anywhere, and I just wanted to be home. So I just wanted to be home. I felt that before. I know. So when the group reunited in 2008, Knight was relieved when all his bandmates said they had figured out he was gay long before and it wasn't a big deal to them. They said that to him then when I had this. I mean, obviously, him and his brother probably did, but well, no, because and I'm gonna talk more about this in a second. Okay. So after leaving New Kids, he very rarely made public appearances right away or gave interviews, and he said he spent several years after just frequently spending days in bed, um, avoiding the outside world because he just didn't want to deal with it. And if you've ever had depression, you understand there are I I've been there. Um, so he had a few years like that. Like it was just really hard. So eventually he sought out therapy to start his like coping and his healing journey. Um he started working after at that time after that um in Massachusetts as a real estate developer. And for some reason I typed developer twice. So it says developer developer. Developer developer. Uh he started restoring all old farmhouses in Massachusetts um to their former glory. And it all began when he got a call from an acquaintance who actually had worked security for new kids. And he, after that, he started successfully flipping houses, and so he called John and he was like, Hey, you want to team up? Because he knew he was into it. And so he did, and that was his job for a while. Um, he didn't feel the need to hide his sexual identity anymore, but he also didn't want to like come out publicly and make a big deal out of it. And this is what he has said about that. I didn't about quote unquote coming out. He said, I didn't want to. I was just living my life. You know, my brothers and sister didn't say, Hey, mom and dad, we're straight. You didn't have to announce it. It wasn't something I was hiding, but then it was like, no, you have to make a statement, and that whole process was horrible. What do you mean it was like, no, you have to make a statement? Well, I'm about to tell you. Okay. Um, and and and we'll talk more about this in a second. My sister and I talk about this a lot, like the whole coming out thing. While yes, it it should be celebrated when it happens, but it shouldn't be expected. Right. Because, like you said, straight people don't nobody nobody places that expectation on you. So if you want to, great. If that helps you on your journey, and great. And and you think maybe other people will be seen by doing it, but even then you're putting that's other people putting an expectation on you. So here's some more about that. So we chatted before about Tiffany's interview um on Watch on Watch What Happens Live. Here it is again. Um, inadvertently addressing his sexuality, and then the ex boyfriend who leaked photos to a tabloid. Um, so in 2011, Jonathan did make an official. Post on the new kids' website saying this. Apparently, the prerequisite to being a gay public figure is to appear on the cover of a magazine with the caption, I am gay. I apologize for not doing so if this is what was expected. My belief is that you live your life by example and not by a caption on a magazine. If there ever has been any confusion about my sexuality, then you are someone that doesn't even know me. Oh okay. But valid. Like I think it was frustrating for him. He's like, I just want to like let me live. Why do I have to live? Let me live. Why do I have to like just because I'm a celebrity, you I have to like say? Like, can I just I mean he's not wrong? I know he's not. That's a really good perspective. So that's why he was saying it was horrible. It's because he did it because he felt like he had to. Yeah. Not because he wanted to. I got you. So okay. So that's more on that. I just felt like it was important to share his words about the possibility of that. So um, again, um, anxiety, panic attacks are part of his his story. And in 2011, he actually appeared on the MTV reality series True Life. Remember that show? Oh, I used to watch this too again. Reality shows True Life would just talk to people who are going through struggles, like with addictions or whatever. But he actually went on there and talked, and they kind of helped them get help. He talked to a fan uh that was also suffering from panic disorder. Okay. I thought that was really nice. He was kind of mentoring them. Um, in 2015, him and his partner Harley Rodriguez um competed on the amazing race together and they placed ninth. I know. I know I remember that. We'll talk more about how they met in just a second. Um, in 2021, like I mentioned, he became host of the HD TV show Farmhouse Fixer. And he is joined by interior designer Christina Creston, and they breathe new life into old farmhouses, some of which are like hundreds of years old. Wow. So I think that's kind of cool. Um, he has said restoring the American farmhouse is not just a hobby for me, it's my passion, my obsession, and I've been doing it for more than 25 years. So wow. Oh, did you see that news article about um Dawson's house from Dawson's Creek just sold? 3.2 million. Woo! It's a huge property. There was like an aerial view of it, but it was saying that it was that house was built in like 1870. Crazy. Isn't that crazy? Crazy. I saw that yesterday. I meant to send it to you, but I don't want to live in an old house. I'm just like, yeah, that old. I mean, the property's gorgeous, but I was like, whoa, that is so much way older than I thought. Have to fix stuff all the time. And it's only a 2400 square foot house. Oh, for some reason I would have thought a lot bigger than the yeah. Well, I think to them the important part was the land. True. True. But anyway. Um, okay, so like I said, he's also up here on other HGTV shows and specials, including Rock the Block and the Spinoff Farmhouse Fixer Camp Revamp, which is just a cute name. I don't know. I love that. Oh, sorry, I meant the house on Dawson's Creek, not James Vanderbeek's house. Oh, I thought you meant James Vanderbeek's house. No, the house he lived in. Did you say that? I said the house from Dawson's Creek that Dawson lived in. For some reason, I thought James Vanderbeek. So in North Carolina. How did I pick that up? That was weird. That was weird. So in North Carolina. So the Wilmington House. Yes. Got it. Wilmington. And it was it was built in 1870. That I believe.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:10

Yeah. Yeah.

Farmhouse Fixer And Life With Harley

Danny Wood Fitness Music And Charity

SPEAKER_00 1:09:10

It was only 2,400 square feet. Yeah, I believe that. Yeah. Okay. Anyway, moving on. So John uh married his husband, Harley Rodriguez, in 2022 after being together since 2008. Okay. So they've been together a long time. Harley is a personal trainer. Hey. Okay. Um, but he got a start in acting. He played Manny Lopez in the 1997 TV show Sweet Valley High. Stop. Oh, I love it. So look at him being in the 90s uh Starlight. Starlight, Spotlight. I like Starlight though. That's kind of fun. Starlight's fun. Um, so did you watch that show? I never watched it. I mean I know I know the characters, obviously. But that's where he got his start. Okay. Before he went into the fitness land. Uh the couple actually uh tried for several years back to have children by Sarrogate, but it just it never worked out. Um so they are now proud for parents to lots of animals on their property. Um they own a 260-year-old farmhouse in Massachusetts. See, I'm telling you. Yeah, they're constantly renovating it, obviously. Yeah. And they're very close with um Jonathan's extremely large family. Good. And they call their place the gathering farm because so many loved ones um I put father, what does that mean? It should say gather. I don't know why. They fought their uh oh. Those are two different things. So many um loved ones gather and kind of contribute to the goodness there. So that's called yeah, and maybe because of how big it is, maybe they can host family things there. Yeah, and they say like their their their nieces and nephews come and like help with the bees and like the animals, and like it's just a cute little so they don't have um you know their own kids in their house, but they have plenty of beautiful fur fur babies and beautiful family members that are their part of their lives. I love that. Um, and also because of his love of animals, he actually became a vegetarian in the mid-2010s. Okay. So he said he had a huge weight loss after that, which I find funny because I gained weight when I was vegetarian. Me too. Because then I was like, I'll just eat more peanut butter and cheese. Yeah, peanut butter, cheese, potato chips, carbs, like you know. By the way, I'm on a hook with some Trader Joe's snacks. They are doing me wrong. Those spicy Cheetos, those are good. Listen. Have you had the ranch talkies? Yeah, well, I've been eating those together. Yeah, the combination, nobody else in my house is eating them. And I'm like, well, thankfully, everyone in my house eats them. So I'm lucky if I get one here or there. Nobody likes them but me. So I just be chowing every day. All right, moving on to Danny Wood. Um, I didn't find a whole lot on him, but we'll chat. Uh, he was born Daniel William Wood on May 14th, 1969, in Boston, Mass to Daniel and Elizabeth Wood. He has siblings, again, another big family. Uh, Brett, Bethany, Melissa, Pam, and Rachel. So three boys, three girls on that family. Yeah, they all these people got less. Was he the youngest also, or if you didn't say? I didn't say. Again, he was another one that was kind of hard to find specifics about. Um so speaking of his mom, he was always extremely close to his mom, Betty. That's she went by Betty. She died of breast cancer in 1999, and um, he actually founded a charity called Remembering Betty in 2008. We'll talk more about that in a few minutes. The mission of this charity is to help minimize the financial burden associated with breast cancer for patients and survivors by providing direct financial support to them so they can focus on recovery and quality of life. Yeah. So he has said that like so much charity fundraising goes to research, which is great, but he wanted his to go directly to families for like immediate cost. The other thing because it's expensive, it is, it's like stressful enough, right? And then you've got that added stress. Yeah, like the real life day-to-day struggles is what he wanted to help with, which I thought that makes really great. Like I love when celebrity, I mean, obviously it was in memory of his mom, but he wanted it to help families going through what they went through. Totally. And I love the name Betty. I know, that's really sweet. So let's talk about his time, a new kids on the block. Um, he was actually the main choreographer of the group. Okay. So let's go. All those little moves we know. Thanks, Danny. Thanks, Danny. Um, he was known as the athletic member, which we talked about, noted in the cartoon. Fitness man. Yeah. And he's actually always just prioritized health and fitness, even to this day. And he looks great. So the sporty spice is forty spice, Danny Wood. Um, during New Kids' uh hugely successful tour of the UK, something really crazy happened to him uh in 1990. He slipped on a toy car that a fan had thrown on the stage. Now, people in theater know little bits that are not supposed to be there when you're doing choreographed moves is a danger. It's that's why if you're ever watching, if you're not a theater person, if you're ever watching a show and see somebody randomly pick something up, it's probably because it's not supposed to be there, like something flew out of a head or fell off a set piece. You gotta get it out the way because if you're dancing or you have blocking, somebody may not know, and then they're gonna go down and hurt themselves. Well, that's what happened to Danny, because some dummy threw a toy car, like a matchbox car, and it made him slip. Uh, he damaged his ankle ligaments, and uh he had to return to America early to get treated for that. I don't know if he had surgery or whatever, but yeah, yikes. Okay, I need some water. I've been talking about it. Yeah, you have. I need water just because you've been talking a lot. So here I'm gonna go. It's exhausting listening to me. So I mean, valid, random. Okay. So Joey McIntyre has said in an interview, this was a fun little thing to realize, that Jordan, Donnie, and Danny uh were the three amigos when it came to being the biggest players with the ladies. So who was it again? Jordan, Donnie, Danny. Okay, which yeah, that checks. I mean, they were all school friends, like they they knew each other. They were the bros. Yeah, okay. Because then you think Jonathan, you know, well, first of all, he's gay, so he's and he's a little older and a little more. He was older, and he was shy, letter like yeah. Makes sense. So anyway, they were they had plenty of of time with the ladies. Oh my goodness. And Johnny just leaving his underwear everywhere. Yeah, I mean, come on. So after Nuke is on the block, he actually did a lot of solo work, which I did not know. Me either. Um, for a few years in the early 2000s. He, but other than album work, he was vice president and part owner of how Houseon Jets, which was is a private aviation company. So it's one of those companies where rich people hire private jets to like go places. Um, fun fact, Troy's dad worked for one of those companies they don't as a pilot. Okay, but he was like one of probably the probably the best and the worst person because I would be like, what famous people? Did Jay's like, uh, like yeah, he just didn't care. He didn't care. He just he just wanted to fly. Which is why I said he didn't make as much money as I thought you would make. Really? Yeah. Anyways. Surprising. Um, but anyway, uh the new kids actually no, they did not use those jets for their reunion tour. Um, but because what? It's just funny the way you said that. But I told you I don't know. I didn't I didn't ask that. You're like, and no, they did not. But then again, sometimes I'd be asking questions like preemptively answering a question because I knew you know you were gonna say I wouldn't. They fly on those jets. Yeah, you're right. Preempre. Preemptive no. You're like, and no, they didn't. I'm like, they didn't. I even typed it like that. It says no, no, comma, Katie, comma. Um, he said they used uh buses because they were more comfortable and they slept better on the bus than the plane. You probably have more room, I don't know, or not, whatever. So no, they did not use those jets. Um, I didn't write how long he did that for, but he was only with that company for a few years. So um he said that his passion when not on the road touring with new kids is songwriting and recording his own music. He plays a guitar, and I don't know if he may play something else, but I know for sure he plays guitar. Um, he's actually had several solo albums between 1999 and 2016. Okay. They're not my jam because a lot of it is slow songs, okay. Just like him singing, you know, with a guitar, like whatever. It's just that that's not my favorite type of music. Right. But I was surprised at the vocals. I thought they I hate to say that, but they were better than I thought they would be. Right. Because we're not used to him being kind of the lead of that. Yeah. So that doesn't mean, especially all those years of like touring and being with the group, I would imagine your voice would get pretty good. Yeah. So this um he got started with a solo venture that was a one-man, all instrumental project, meaning uh wait a minute, because he had vocals on that. So if it's all instrumental, that would mean nobody singing. Right. So that's not right. That's not right. I don't know why I write that. Because I looked, I went and listened. Anyway, I guess maybe it was just a one-man project. Or maybe they mean acoustic. It wasn't acoustic. It was like maybe it was like electronic, because that's what it sounded like. It wasn't anyway, who knows? I don't know. I messed that up. We don't know. Um he he had this project called D fuse, D hyphen F-U-S-E. Okay. And okay, she's like, and what happened? What is it? Uh it had um two albums, one in '99 called Room Full of Smoke. And then in 2003 called Room Full of Smoke Volume 2.

unknown 1:19:07

What?

SPEAKER_00 1:19:08

And y'all, it is some sexy music. Like he also had some like guest vocals on the one song I looked up, and I was like, Okay. Like it was like like the sexy lady being like, Yeah, whatever. And I was looking at the U2 comments and dying. Like, people were like, Who knew Danny had it in him? And somebody wrote, Okay, I'm pregnant now.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:33

So listen to that. Yeah, you got to.

Joey McIntyre Theater And Solo Career

SPEAKER_00 1:19:36

I was like, Oh, oh, all right, okay. Um, so then after that, his first solo album that wasn't this project called Defuse, it was like his album as Danny Wood. Um, it was under his own name in 2003 called Second Face, which this had more of like a rock sound. Um, he had an acoustic tour that followed that where fans could purchase the exclusive CD officially from Dorchester. Okay. Okay. So that's that. In 2008, he had an album called Coming Home, and then that was immediately followed by Stronger Remember Betty, an album that dealt with the loss of his mom. And that was when the charity was launched. That album was Remember Betty in parentheses? No. Oh it was Stronger Um Colon, Remembering Betty. Okay. So I had to think what that was called. Two dots. Some sort of some sort of punctuation mark that's not parentheses. I had to take a second. Yeah. It is a colon, right? Yeah, it's yeah, yeah. I was like, used to parentheses when new kids on the block is. I know. Okay, where am I at? Lord, this research. All right. In 2016, uh, what began as just a solitary song called Shine, inspired um by memory of his mom. So you can tell, like, he he's really affected by his mom. Like she was very important to him, and it like his grief journey was very long. I mean, I don't grief never stops. No, but I think that's probably been the biggest catalyst for his work alone, um, was all about his mom. Um, but anyway, it started as just that song, and then it just became kind of like a diary for him, and it launched into like um a very, very personal album that had 17 tracks on it. Wow. And I I did listen to some of that, and it's beautiful, it's it's very sweet, and you can tell it's very from the heart. Um, and the main motivation for that album was to raise money for her foundation. Okay, and you can tell it's just a very personal. I think to him, like the writing the songs is part of his grief handling. Look, I get it. I know, I get it, I know, yeah. So, anyway, in late 2020, this was so fun to find. He launched a YouTube lifestyle channel called The Woodworks. What? Oh my god, and it highlighted his daily life, like cooking and workouts, of course, and the banner on the channel um says a music and lifestyle channel, family food, fitness, fun. I was like, Family food, fitness fun. He doesn't post on there anymore. Um, it looks like the new videos stopped in 2023. Okay, but he there's a lot of concepts. There's a lot there, yeah. And he also had a hot sauce line at this time called Torch Bear Sauces, and they look delicious. That sounds good. Like he has some like promos for him and he's like talking about them like, okay, that looks really good. He's a good cook, like he's always good and he's really healthy, you know. Yeah, I did watch some of his workout videos. Some of them just are like look like kind of like Rocky montages where he's like in the gym boxing. I can't, but dang he's in good shape. Yeah, he works hard. Did you say is he like married or anything like that? Or we're gonna get to that. We're getting there. He is currently not married, he's the only one that is single right now. Okay, okay, you hey ladies, ladies out there want to know. Um, ironically, that is the next section we're gonna talk about. This is family life. He does have a son uh from former girlfriend Elise Stevenson. Um, his name is Daniel William Wood Jr. He was born in '92. He was married to um Patty Alfaro from 97 to 2006, and they had two daughters together. So he has three kids. Three kids. Okay. Um, they had um chance, who was adopted from Russia, and she was born on May 8th, 1998, and then Vega, who is their biological daughter, was born March 19th, 1999. Okay. So they have two, so he has two daughters and a son, and in 2019, he became a grandpa, the first of the new kids to be a grandpa. Yeah, because if he had a kid in '92, yeah. That makes sense. Yeah, and it was from his son. Yes. And he had a little granddaughter by the name of Rose Elizabeth Wood. Cute. Oh Elizabeth. I know buddy. I know uh was born to his son Daniel. And she's actually in some of those YouTube videos. Cute, which is adorable. Um, and then he now has three other grandkids. So I couldn't find all the details on them. And at this point, I was very exhausted. I'm like, shit, I still have one more person. It's okay. It's okay. So that brings us right into Danny. Yeah, Grandpa Danny. Yay. Um, so now we're we're up to the baby of the group, new kids, uh, Joey McIntyre. So he's had quite the career since as well. And man, it's so fun to watch his clips of singing Broadway stuff. And I saw him on Broadway, and we'll talk about that. Okay. I think he was having a bad day that day. But anyway, so Joey McIntyre was born on New Year's Eve. Oh. It's a New Year's Eve baby, 1972, in Needham, Massachusetts, to Thomas McIntyre, who is a union official who passed away in 2018, and Catherine, who was a community theater actress. That's what it said she was. Okay. Um, and she died in 2014. So his mom and dad are no longer with us. He's the youngest of nine kids. All these, all these, all these men. I know. He has seven sisters and one brother. That is Judy, Alicia, Susan, Trisha, Carol, Gene, Kate, and Tommy. Oh my gosh. I know it's wild. So he's the youngest. So they had all these girls and then two boys. Okay. Yeah. Um, like Donnie, he had an Irish Catholic upbringing, and like Jordan and John, he grew up singing in the church choir. So him and his sister Carol have the same day of birth, different years, of course, which would suck to share a birthday with one of your siblings when there's so many of you. It's like, really? Especially that. Yeah, it's like you can't have your own day. One day. One day. A friend of mine has twins and then an older daughter, and they well, obviously the twins have the same birthday, but so does her older daughter. Oh my god, really? So all she has three kids and they all have the same birthday. That's crazy. That's not fair. I know. Come on, universe. Um, and his sister Judy uh is also an actress. So he is an actor and she's also an actress. So, no, I did not look up stuff she's in. I did not have the time. Judy McIntyre. So remember, he was the one of the group that did not grow up in the same area. That's right. As the other four of the group. He grew up in an area called Jamaica Plain. It was like a lower middle class neighborhood. He said, now it's very different. Excuse me. It's more um, they put a lot of money into that area. It's kind of a gentrified place. It's not what he grew up in, but he loved it there. He got his start with performing in community theater because of his mom. Probably went with mama, probably with mom, um, at the Footlight Club in Boston, which is America's oldest community theater. That's still operating. That's so fun. I know.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:33

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:34

Um, so he had his first role at age eight. He was Winthrop and the Music Man. Yes. Uh, he auditioned for new kids when he was 12, y'all. And the way he found out about the audition was just through local people in the talent world. That's all it takes. That's all it takes I mean, that's how Cooper and I got a commercial. Yeah. To someone somebody in the community theater had a brother that did a thing, and there we were. So you never too early to start those connections, performers. Um, so let's talk about his time of in New Kids. So, since the other four members were older, not that much older, but we talked before, like it was at such a pivotal time in your development. When you're 12 and you join a group and these kids are 15, 16, that is huge. Oh, it's huge. Yeah, huge. It it wasn't so much of a factor later, but and plus they all knew each other, and he didn't. He said it did take it, take him a while to like mesh. Sure. You know, they kind of ragged on him for being young, and and plus they already had a bond and he was kind of the outsider and kind of looked at differently. So he said it did take a while, you know, to mesh with them. Um, the fun fact I found about this time of his life, you know, that topless black hat we were talking about with the curls, yes, where his curls were he still has it. Oh, I know. I love that. I was like, that's so crazy. Um he also He also said uh it always frustrated him when he was like meeting girls and stuff because they always thought he was so much younger than he was. Because when they were introduced to him, it he likes that video, he was young, but he wasn't really young. Like, you know, and he has a baby face, even still in his 50s. Yeah, he has that baby face. But I I know as it's like I have a kid who has a baby face, he's a teenager, it frustrates him to no end. It's so hard, especially when you think he's younger than he is, yeah, especially when you're with older people, which again, my kid is also with older people a lot. It is annoying. I get that, it is annoying. Um, so he said that was that was a frustrating point of contention. He's like trying to hit on the ladies and yeah, like, you're so cute and little. Yeah, because they would be like, Oh, little Joey. And he's like, No, I'm like 16, bro. Joey, look at these curls.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:53

Yeah, come on.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:54

So, after New Kids on the Block, um, Joey busied himself with songwriting and pursuing an acting career. Uh, this was kind of fun to revisit this piece. In 95, he was cast in the movie version of the musical The Fantastics. Um, have you seen this? I've not seen the movie, I've seen the show.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:11

Okay, yeah.

Drunk Broadway Dash And Lessons

SPEAKER_00 1:29:11

The movie's really fun. I've never seen the show, I've only seen this movie. Okay. And I'm pretty sure I saw this in the theaters. Um, he played Matt and Gene Louisa Kelly played Louisa. She was the teen daughter in Uncle Buck. Okay. Okay. Yeah. I was like, where do I know her from? And I was like, oh, Uncle Buck. Yeah, yeah. Um, so here's a summary of the Fantastics for those of you who do not know. Uh, a mysterious fair that comes to a small community in the countryside could make the re could make real the illusions of two teenagers. So it's a love story. Yeah. Yeah. And it has some little magic in there and it's good. The music's fun and and they do a good job. This movie was made, but then it was put on a shelf for five years. Ooh. Yeah. Um, until Francis Ford Coppola uh got his hands on it and re-edited it at the permission, um, with the permission of the director who was Michael Ritchie. And then it was released in theaters in 2000. Okay. So yeah. Yeah, gosh, five years. Five years is a long time. I wouldn't I would lose hope. I would too. I'd be like, oh, well, that one's just never happening. So something I I found that was really interesting was the actors actually sang live during the shot when they were recording the shots. Okay. They had music coming in through an earpiece. Okay. Which I love because usually guys and they listen. Yeah, they don't sing live. Right. They're they're they record the vocals first. Right. So, but they did not for this one. Okay. So I thought it was really interesting. So if you ever do go watch it, know that they are really singing. Okay. Um, so, anyways, uh, during this time, he he got kind of disenchanted because he kept looking for a solo recording contract. Um, so he's like, you know what? I'm gonna use my own money and I'm gonna record a solo album by myself and sell it on my website. And he did. Look, I feel that. Yeah. The album's called Stay the Same. Um I love that song. I know. He chose uh the album's title track as a single and he started taking it himself to local Boston DJs to play on the air. Um, and so the combination of that airplay and the website sales led him to signing a recording contract in 1999. Um, ironically, uh he signed with Sony Music USA under the C2 label, which was a subsidiary of Columbia Records, which had previously been home to Newgies on the Block at a certain point in time. So that's just kind of a fun little fact. Um, the album actually ended up selling more than a million copies around the world. And the single Stay the Same peaked at number 10 on the Hot 100. I remember it. It's a great song. I remember it too. It's a great song. He sounds good on it too. Oh, yeah, he really does. Also, that same year in '99, he recorded the song Remember Me for the film Southie, which Donny Wahbrook released. Yeah. In two 2001, he released his second solo album, Meet Joe Mac, but it did not chart. Oh uh Rain. Rain was the only single released from this album, and I remember this one because it's good. I don't remember it. Yeah, it's a good song. Listen to it. Okay. Um, he also got involved in some theater work, as we in the theater world know. But I didn't realize this. But he played John in Jonathan Larson's Tick Tick Boom for I know for the Off-Broadway um and National Tour. So Off Broadway, he was John in the fall of 2001 and the National Tour 2003. Wow. Okay. And that Tick Tick Boom is so good. It's so good. It's so freaking such a good musical, and then the movie was really good. Andrew Garfield did great. I know he was great. He was Vanessa Hutchins. Oh gosh, so enjoyable. So good. Um, in 2002, he appeared for one season on the TV show Boston Public. Um, I did not watch that show. No, I re I I have a vague recollection of it, but I don't think I ever watched it. Uh in 2004, he starred in the film Tony and Tina's Wedding alongside Mila Kunis. And also he played Fiero in on Broadway in Wicked. Uh he got rave reviews in that role. And go watch some of his clips. He was really I didn't I didn't realize he did that. Cooper showed me, and I was like, damn, he was good. Um, great role for him. He replaced uh Norbert Leo Butts, unfortunate name, on July 20th, 2004, and he stayed with the show um until January 9th, 2005. Okay, and he did perform opposite Adana Menzel. So wow, I know amazing. Dang, I know. Uh that same year, so while he's on Broadway, he released his fourth solo album, 809. Now, why that title has uh those numbers have significance to his life. He met his real estate gent real estate agent wife, Barrett. I love her name. Cute uh while he was house hunting in LA during his brief run on Boston Public. 809 is the date he met his wife, which a year later became their wedding date. Oh I know. And it's also inscribed in Joey's wedding band. It was also the address of the rental she found for him, and in that rental is where he wrote that album. Oh. So it's I thought that was really sweet. That's really fun. Um, he also was on the very first season of Dancing with the Stars. Yep. I just remember that. Yep. He plays third with his partner Ashley DeGrasso. I never watched that show, so but he's a good dancer, so I'm not surprised. Uh, he appeared as Arthur Fonzi Fonzarelli in Happy Days, a musical based on the hit TV show at the Falcon Theater in LA from February 15th to March 12th, 2006. And then they had a second run from June 23rd to August 13th the following year. Uh, he played the role of Gary in a Hallmark Christmas movie, Katie. Let's go called Christmas at Cadillac Jacks. Let's go. Is it in the mountains and is there a lot of snow? I have no idea. I just had to put that in there for you. Either that or it's on a ranch. Um, I didn't know he did this, but in December 2006, he took part in Dancing with the Stars The Tour. Okay. And he went on with Joey Lawrence, uh, Drew Lachey, and Lisa Renner and our husband Harry Hamlin. Oh. I know what a crowd. That would have been fun. What a fun thing to watch. Um, this man's busy, you guys. I'm not even done. In 2006, again that December, he came out with another album, and this was just cover versions of songs called Talk to Me. Um, 2009, he released a single and a video for Here We Go Again. Um, I don't know what that is. I forgot to look that up. He came out with a Christmas album in 2011. Yay, Christmas album. It was titled Come Home for Christmas. He's got a collaboration on there with Jordan on Peace on Earth slash not parentheses, little drummer boy. Okay. And then he had like holiday classics on there too. Um, on February 4th, 2019, he returned to Broadway, and this is gonna be important because I have a story. As Dr. Jim in the musical Waitress. Yes, and he continued until April of that year. I saw him in one of his last shows there. Or wait. No, I guess it was towards the beginning of the run. It was February, and it was not good. The whole show or just him? The whole show. Okay. Now he was not as good as I expected. I am thinking he was sick or something. Could have been. Like, I think he was just having an off time. But let me tell y'all the brief story of me and Bessie, Amber, going to see Waitress. It was our last day there. We had a weekend trip in New York. Our goal was just to hit shows. Okay. We also wanted to go see a drag brunch, um, which we did earlier in the day. She had two friends that she was stationed with in Korea that lived in Pennsylvania at the time. So they took the train over to have drag brunch with us because we weren't going to the show till that night. Okay. So we were like, okay, drag brunch at like 11, and then we have all this time. Except, let me tell you, you know how a day goes in New York? Will we go to the drag brunch where it's bottomless mimosas, and we were definitely the oldest people there. And we sat next to these young girls. It was somebody's like 21st birthday. It was a bunch of young girls and young gays, and it was so much fun. The drag queens were amazing, and it was in this small restaurant. So we had bottomless mimosas. Well, of course, we made friends with these people sitting next to us, and they're like, Hey, come with us to this gay bar. We're like, Okay, yeah, let's go. So we go, we're having so much fun, and it's like a Sunday at lunchtime, so there weren't a lot of people. So we just took over this gay bar called Blazing Saddles, I think is the name of it. I text my friend Ryan, who lives in New York, but he had gone out of town. I was like, Hey, look where I am. He's like, Oh my god, I love that place. I was like, good, okay, so it's a fun place. So we stayed there drinking, making more friends. Okay. There was dancing on bars, not by us because we're old. And then we're like, we made this new friend, and he's like, Come have dinner with me. And we're like, oh yeah, we have time. So we are so many sheets to the wind sitting at some random ass restaurant in New York. And I'm like, oh, let me check our tickets to see how far the theater is and realize that shows on Sunday start earlier than they start earlier. Half an hour, half an hour earlier, which can make a huge difference. Oh, yeah. So I look down and I was like, Amber, we have to be there in like 15 minutes. So we like hurry and pay, like run out, like when I and it's raining. Okay. And it's February. So she had on, I had on like Uggs or something, and she had on cute shoes, and she was like, just go, I'll catch up. So I'm laughing my ass off, getting rained on, drunk to the wind, darting down the street. We I get to the door right when they're closing it. I was like, wait, and whoever was working at the door is like, Don't worry, you made it, you made it. I was like, Well, my friends got so we get in, we're soaking wet, we get to our seats, like literally right when the lights go out. Okay. Now I do not know what we smelled like at this point because the amount of alcohol that was in our bodies, plus I was sweating because I was running, plus I was wet.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:23

We have a selfie of us that we took right before it started, and there's this older lady next to us giving us the evilest eye, and it is the best picture I've ever seen. She's literally like, ugh. So we fall asleep 15 minutes into the show. Okay. The music I find very boring. I know people love waitress out there. No offense. It's Sarah Borales. Her music is beautiful, but it's kind of slow. So we fall asleep. The only reason I woke up, because guys, I can't, I'm a light sleeper. Yeah. So how I fell asleep in the first place is beyond. I fall asleep. I only wake up because Amber's snoring. And I wake up and I'm like, shit. And now, great, we were only asleep for like 20 minutes. It wasn't if that, maybe 15. But that's embarrassing. So it's just a factor. She wakes up and she does one of the like, we were asleep. She was like, oh my god, but literally, it was so bad. It was not good. So we were awake the whole rest of the show at intermission. We get caffeine. It was awful. Like, guys, it's so embarrassing that like we were waiting so long to see Joey McIntyre and then this is how you show up, and then you fall asleep. The disgrace we brought to you, Broadway cast, apologies. Oh my gosh, that's so funny. That's oh, that's so funny. So, anyways, he was not that great when I saw it, but to be fair, I don't really like the show. And uh I think he was just having a bad day. So, anyway, moving on. That's that story. Uh 2020, he returned uh with his solo career called Own This Town, and that was his first solo release since 2011's Christmas album. And he said of the song, um, I wrote this song years ago with a totally different intention. To me, it's about taking your shot, swinging for the fences, going for it. And I think it really takes on a new meaning now because it was pandemic. Yeah. Um, this was followed in 2021 by a single titled Prolific, and that was released the week of his wedding anniversary, and he dedicated it to all the amazing daughters, sisters, and mothers, especially my wife Barrett. Oh, yeah, let's go, Barrett. Uh, in March of 2022, he originated the role of Johnny in a new musical production, The Wanderer, at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Melbourne, New Jersey. Uh, he continued this role for the duration of the show's run. So uh they stopped at the end of April that same year. So look at him. Look at him go. About your originating roles. Now I told you about his wife. Uh they have three kids together. They have a son, Griffin, who was born in 20 uh 2007, a son Reese, R-H-Y-S, which I love, born in 2009, and they have a daughter named Kira who was born in 2011. Now, Reese was born with severe hearing loss, and Joey has used his um his fame and his platform to raise awareness for early screening for hearing stuff. Because early intervention is good. The sooner you know, the better because you can help your kiddo. Um, in 2017, the family actually appeared as themselves in a short-lived sitcom called Return of the Mac. They were all in it. Didn't know that happened. It was short-lived. Um, they actually he used to own this. Is now we're getting into random stuff. He owned a house that was part of the Underground Railroad.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:42

Wow.

Work Ethic Big Families Farewell

SPEAKER_00 1:42:43

I know uh he sold it um a while after he moved to LA, and the house was actually featured on MTV, um, MTV's cribs. I was like, what word am I looking for? Because of the Underground Railroad. Well, I think that and him, I mean it's Joey McIntyre. Their whole thing was shit, she's about to ask me a hard question. I don't know the answer. I don't know the answer, that's why I'm asking. All right. Underground Railroad, like it was just regular buildings, though, right? It was just secret. Right. So there's nothing about the house that would be like there's not like tunnels or anything except. Oh, I don't know. It's just no, because there wasn't people stayed there in secrecy. It was like a safe house. Like it was like a yeah, it probably was like a stopping house. And that's still really interesting. You know, they had like different quote unquote depots where um, yeah. Um, where am I at? Okay, this is just random shit that I found. Remember, I told you fan facts about Donnie. Yeah. Random shit. His favorite actress was Geraldine Page, who he said inspired him to become an actor. This is Geraldine Page. I don't know. Oh, but somebody out there will. Someone tell me. Um, he said the song he sings in the shower the most is the national anthem. And he said, he said, it's always a good way to find out where my voice is because you gotta start really low and then get really high. I mean, it's true. So I was like, okay. I don't know why he told somebody this, he just did. Okay. Uh when he was asked if he had any superstitions about performing, we have something else about underwear, guys. Wow. He said, from about 2008 when we got back together, talking about new kids, until about 2015, I wore the same underwear at every show. They were washed, but finally they gave out. But that was quite a streak. Okay, because he he just thought if I just keep wearing this, this will go on forever. I don't know. Who knows? Who knows why anyway? That's a lot of laundry station. He ain't doing his own laundry, let's be real. So no. Um, in the past couple weeks, I saw him share on Instagram that um he has just celebrated Two Years Sober. So that's exciting for him. So good for him. So he's pretty open about talking about things, and he is on social media. So uh that I am at the end of my long ass MFN research. That was a lot, but I mean also I can't skip any of it. You can't, and and like you said, well, they became famous when they were young, right? And then they just kept at it. They kept at it. So there's a lot to say. All five of them has have not just like said, eh, right. Honestly, not even John, who like took a pivot, is still in the public eye. Well, that's what I'm saying. He's still working his ass off, and so I kept like as I'm typing, I'm like, well, I have to include all of this. Like, there's so much to include because they busy dudes. And it's like they're also, I don't know, it just makes them feel very normal too. I know they're not, I know they're like huge superstars, but the fact that they keep working and keep having to reinvent themselves and and they have a great work ethic. They really do. I mean, and it feels like in that respect, and I I don't know, we'll see as we get into more boy bands with our research. You don't always find that in groups, and that's why sometimes there's drama or they break up or whatever, because not everyone's pulling their weight the same, but it seems like they always have. Yeah, I think so. And like you said, it's at work, it's coming from those big families. I'm telling you, actually, you're probably not wrong because it's like you have to step up, you have to be very independent, probably very young, and like find your niche, and also like no one's more special than anyone else, right? Like, which is maybe a a pitfall to being in a big family, but like you have to like even this week, I noticed my littlest, because my husband's been um helping my in-laws with something, so he's been gone. And dogs and diapers, guys. He's taking care of dogs and diapers. While they're in Ireland and they're having a great time because they're not worried about it, because he's handling the dogs and the diapers. How do you change a dog's diaper? I can tell you, but they're not like we need to know. Okay. So they're like little belts that go around them, and you put a maxi pad in it. And for like boy dogs, you just pull it around the bottom and like velcro it on their back. So it's not like a full diaper, like their butt isn't covered or anything. It's literally a maxi pad. Yeah. And then you take it off when they go outside to go to the bathroom, and if it's dry, you just put it back on. If it's wet, you gotta change it. Look, boy dogs, because it's not that they're I don't think anyway, I don't think they're like incontinent. It's just that they they want to mark on everything. Are they fixed? Uh yes. Yeah, and they still do that, uh-huh. Well, she has three boy dogs, and they're little dogs. Little dogs are notoriously worse about that stuff. Like our little dog, she's a girl, and she she'll try to mark on stuff all the time. Add to list of why I don't like dogs. Yeah. That that I have diapers. Yeah. Yeah. So you don't have to like you don't have to like wipe them and change them and send them. No, they don't poop in them. It's just pee. Because the poop you can find and clean up. The problem with pee is if they pee on like a rug or something, it's so bad. It's so bad. So he's been gone. So my littlest has been sleeping with me, and I had a couple nights I got to bed kind of late because I was at rehearsals or whatever, and she's been getting up before me, and it's just it's cute. But I'm like, mornings like my thing, like to do with my kids. But I've been laying in bed, and like she got up the other morning. I could hear her in the kitchen like making some breakfast, and then today she's like, Mom, I'm gonna get totally ready for school and then come lay back down for a little bit. So I stayed there a little longer. I could hear her like making some toast, and it was really cute. And I mean, we have five kids in our family, but just not as many as some of these families. Well, but she's just kind of like she just does whatever she needs to do because she has to. I mean, I can't always do it. My kid be sitting there waiting for me to make him breakfast, and I'm like, You were 13? What are you doing? Like, I don't like making them breakfast. Oh, I but I was also kind of like had that moment where I was like, Well, she's fine. But he'll literally just sit there and stare at me. I'm like, um, sir. Well, and he's the only kid in the house now. Oh, right. So that's I was like, sir, you were 13. Like, and not an only butt every day, but usually I am up before, especially because school starts. Of course, yeah. So so I will make him something. Like, but sometimes, you know, I have shit to do, and it'll just be I was like, no, sir. Sir I know, I know, I know, but kids are. Again, we only have two kids, not five. So yeah. So I think there's something to, I'm not saying people who are only children or whatever can't have a good work ethic, but it makes sense that you would have to sort of fight for everything you have and take ownership of everything that you personally need to do to accomplish things. Yeah. I just think and and I I mean, they're all maybe equally diva, but I feel like there's no divas in the group in the new kids. I mean, there probably are. You don't hear about it though. Well uh listen. Maybe, but I can only research so much. Part three. Finding the diva. Does Kate's Kate's turn the next time? It's my turn next week, next two weeks. I'm excited. So much. Because like there's like you can't leave anything out. I couldn't, like I love it. I feel like it's been um a very comprehensive look. We deserve an award. Then now all the things. I said we. I deserve an award. I just sat here and asked you questions on the one thing you didn't know. It's coming back to you. I'm gonna do that next week. You're gonna do just do it on purpose. I know that's like just the whole time actively think of what you can ask. I'm gonna throw me our ahead of time questions. That makes no sense. Hold, please. Pull out your little note card. But what if I had answered some of them? What if you're about to ask me and you're like, oh wait, you already said that. Then I'm the asshole again. So look, I can live with that. Awesome. Well, thanks guys for joining us on part two. And we'll be back with more boy band fun next time. And in the meantime, listen to our Dawson's Creek rewatch as well. We're almost at the end of season five. We're almost there. We're almost there. And then we'll be in the final season. Okay. Well, thanks for listening to Generation in Between. We'll see you next time. Bye. That was literally so that we've been the last one.