Tour Confidential

Act: 98º
Location: Cleveland, OH

Q&A WITH 49º
Yup-you read it right-we interviewed half of the fabulous foursome better known as 98º (do the math and you'll see how we came up with 49).
    Popstar! sat down with Drew Lachey and Justin Jeffre during some down time at their tour stop in Cleveland to get the scoop on what's life like on the road during a tour as super hot as their Revelation tour.  These guys proved that although they had been MIA from the touring scene for several months, their stage show certainly hasn't cooled off.
    Here's what Drew and Justin had to say!

Popstar!: How would you describe your new stage show?

Justin: I think it's a lot of energy.  We now have a lot of hits under our belt so we don't have to do a whole bunch of covers to fill time.  And we have a lot of material that's really solid that we feel really, really good about.  And for the people who have seen our shows in the past, it's a different look and we've even changed some of the arrangements so it's fresh.   Sometimes you go to a concert and you hear a song that sounds just like the record.   I mean, that's good-you want it to sound as good as the record-but I always like to go see a show with a fresh little twist in it.  So we try to do that.   We try to mix it up and keep it fresh for the people who have seen it a thousand times.

What's the best and worst thing about being on the road?

Drew: The best thing hs got to be the fan reaction.  No matter what you're doing, whether it's just promoting or whatever, you never get that relationship with your fans-that contact-unless you're onstage.  You have to get out there and get to see your fans, see their reaction.   I'd say the worst thing is it just gets you tired.  It's physically tiring.   You've got weird hours, it's physically taxing on your body.  But, I mean, it's a good rush.

Where has been your favorite place to travel?

Drew: I think Hawaii is always great.  We have great fans in Hawaii.  It's beautiful-it's paradise!   We were just in Chicago and, I mean, that was a cool city and the fans were just louder than anything.  I mean, it was just a great reaction.  Anywhere we have good fans makes it okay.

What's the best concert you've ever been to?

Justin: Wow, that's really tough.

Drew: Honestly, I haven't been to that many concerts.  Most of the ones I've gone to have been more jazz-oriented.  One of the most amazing concerts I've ever been to was seeing Bobby McFerrin-just one man on stage carrying an entire hour-and-30-minute-show with no band.   But then you've got Janet Jackson -her show was completely opposite.  I mean, it was this huge spectacle.

Justin: I guess I would have to say Take 6 because it was probably something that inspired me enough to really want to be a singer-it's guys up there singing.  They don't play instruments or anything.   But they have this incredibly cool sound that keeps you entertained for such a long time.  And we know how hard it is to sing acappella and do a couple of numbers and keep an audience's interest.

What's your favorite song to perform live?

Drew: Mine would probably be "Yesterday's Letter."  It's just a moody, emotional, darker song.   It's a lot more unpolished and raw than a lot of other songs.

Justin: To actually perform, I would say when we do a cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish."  It's one of my favorite songs.  It's got a really funky groove to it.

Was it hard to get all the dancing into the tour?

Justin: We didn't add any more choreography.  Now, we have more dancers and we have a lot of things going on to keep the show full of energy.  We do move, we do dance a bit, but now we sort of vibe more and have less choreography. 
    I've always felt more comfortable just singing and being ourselves, interacting with the crowd.  We wanted to focus on that-our strengths.