What’s On TV catches up with the Jonas Brothers to find out about life on set of their new Disney Channel series, Jonas. Just like The Monkees and The Partridge Family back in the Sixties, the series mixes comedy with music, with Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas playing the fictional Lucas brothers who live with their family and go to school in New Jersey, but also happen to be rock and roll superstars… You’re used to performing in front of thousands of fans. Was it weird to change from a life on the road to recording a TV show? Joe: “It was definitely weird for us to switch our brains because we're so used to staying up late when we're on stage. With the TV show, we had to wake up early, which can be a little tough – but it was fun.” Were you scared about fronting a TV show? Joe: “We're so used to doing music that this gave us a great opportunity to work on something involving acting and music together. We're natural musicians, but acting is something that's totally different for us, so we were pretty nervous about it.” Which of you finds it the hardest to act? Nick: “Let me answer this one! I'm kind of a perfectionist in a way. I'm very hard on myself when it comes to acting and that kind of goes hand-in-hand with your question about who finds it the hardest to act. I don’t find the acting too hard, but finding my personality in all this and trying to capture my own personal sense of humour can be tough. In real life, I have a very dry humour – but sometimes I can't quite master that on camera. Like I said, I'm still learning. At least I’m enjoying every minute of it!” Is it difficult to be funny? Nick: “Well, we're real big on making YouTube videos and the show’s creators always said they wanted to incorporate that part of our humour into the show. I think we’ve incorporated ourselves into the script really well.” How different is acting to performing your music on stage? Joe: “It's really different. When you're on stage and you make a joke, the audience laughs. But when we film the TV show, we don’t have an audience, so we just have to hope that everything is funny.”
Kevin: “It's like a movie set rather than a sitcom set – and that’s what we like about the show. It adds a different element to Disney Channel as well. We get to do crazier things than you could do with a live audience because we have time to set things up. I was going to say we have time to blow things up, but we haven't got that high budget yet. Maybe next season?” Do you like the show’s set? Kevin: “I love our bedroom on the television show. It has three different sections: one's for each of us reflecting our own individual personality and tastes. For example, in the show I can't sleep in anything but a tour bus bunk bed. So when I hit a button, you hear the horns and flashing lights and it looks like I'm on a tour bus.” What does the rest of the bedroom look like? Kevin: “Nick has a bed with a drum-set on top of it. It’s amazing! And Joe's area looks like a stage, which is very cool.” What’s it been like to work with your little brother, Frankie Jonas? Joe: “It’s really cool.”
Nick: “He’s the little star of the show!”
Joe: “He surprises us every day with how well he does. He's in and out so quickly, but it’s a lot of fun to have him around.” Have you seen any of those old television comedy shows involving musicians – like The Partridge Family or The Monkees? Kevin: “Absolutely! We were actually on vacation one year when a storm came in. It rained for three days and the only thing on the TV was re-runs of The Monkees.”
Joe: “We watched every episode!”
Kevin: “For literally three days straight. It was amazing.” Did any musical movies inspire the show, too? Kevin: “Definitely! We've seen The Beatles' movies and they are a huge inspiration to us. At the end of the day, we’re just really excited to incorporate our music into this process. Music is where our original passion is. It’s in our heart. And to combine that with acting and a TV show is very exciting.”
Nick: “We can’t wait to hear the audience reaction, so make sure you tell us how much you like it!” Jonas begins on Disney on Friday, 11 September at 6pm
