EXCLUSIVE: Nick Jonas Hasn't Met Prince, Doesn't Watch "Jersey Shore", Does Rock A BlackBerry

Much is being made in the media over Nick Jonas and his new project: Nick Jonas and The Administration. How successful will they be? Are the Jonas Brothers no more?

The chatter is growing louder after E! News reported that Joe Jonas is now writing songs off on his own, with other musicians that don’t share his last name. However, the man the brothers refer to as “The President” told me exclusively on “The Ralphie Radio Show” that his brother Joe did recently talk shop with one artist – U2 front man Bono.

“The main thing that Bono was saying, was to just be honest with your music,” revealed Nick on his second-hand account of the conversation. “Yunno, when you write your lyrics, write things that are real to you. And don’t be afraid to be too honest.”

It seems the youngest of the 3 musical brothers already picked up on those traits though. Nick wrote a bunch of honest songs – and honestly believed they weren’t for the Jonas Brothers. He told Joe and Kevin how he honestly felt. Now Nick has an honest chance of breaking the stereotypes of an artist cultivated by the Disney machine and to be perceived as well, an honest musician.

Jonas offered up, sorry last time here, honest answers during our conversation, which lasted over 10 minutes. Apparently, the inspiration behind “Stay” – a song written after the initial recording process of the new album – is quite authentic.

“I actually wrote that song in (Washington) D.C. on a day off that we had, a couple weeks ago,” said Jonas. “I was going through some things in my life and that kind of inspired the song and it’s always good when you can pull from real inspiration and real stuff in your life.”
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Part 1: Influences - Prince, Stevie Wonder, U2's Bono


Part 2: President Obama, Blackberry, "Jersey Shore", "Stay"

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Nick seemed equally surprised and impressed that fans already know the lyrics simply from YouTube videos of the live performances. Jonas said the band recorded a studio version of the track recently in Boston, and that it will see the light of day somehow – possibly in an album repackage or as an iTunes bonus.

It’s also been reported that at one show recently – fellow Disney star Selena Gomez was crying as Jonas played the song. The two were recently photographed together in Chicago and ended up on the front of TMZ.com. I reminded Nick that while I’m sure he’d like to keep his personal life just that, he should still be happy that he’s relevant to the point where people care.

“Well, thank you – that’s very, very nice of you to say,” he responded with a chuckle. “Yunno, it is what it is.”

The conversation did not stray from music-related topics often, but the TV show “Jersey Shore” did come up. The Jonas clan was raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Nick heard of the MTV show, but has not seen an episode.

“I did see the YouTube video of Snooki, I believe it is, getting punched in the face,” he admitted. “For me personally, I feel like, coming from New Jersey, and going from that area, which, if you’re from that area, you just know that that’s kind of what it’s like. And so for people across the U.S., they’re thinking, ‘Wow, this is crazy, I’ve never seen this.’ But for me, it was like, ‘Man, that’s home.’”

Jonas still has a couple friends from Seaside Heights.

That album by the way, Who I Am, hits stores February 2. Jonas is in the midst of a 22 date-tour – a trek that he admits is much more scaled down in venue size and production from the massive schedules he embarked on with his brothers. Nick says it’s not a coincidence – as the group tries to center each performance on the music itself.

“This project in particular for me was about just being able to express myself as an artist and as a musician,” he said. “Hopefully, people will respond well to it.”

Where I've Been...

I clicked on my blog, and I can't remember being so taken aback. The amount of posts, or rather lackthereof, in the past few weeks were beyond disappointing for me.

Not that I offended anyone or anything by this, but still, let me apologize. The past few weeks were riddled with lots of news, lots of work, and little time for blog posts. Plus, the five days I spent on vacation/in Los Angeles, along with the holiday, didn't help any.

All that aside, I enjoyed my time off and am quite happy to return to the grind. My 4th was spent in a traditional sense, balancing afternoon siestas and all night benders with BBQs, frosty beverages, and the occasional viewing of fireworks. I almost drove back to Niagara Falls for the latter part of the weekend, but decided against it, as I needed to rest/pack/prepare for my cross country trip later in the week.

The synopsis of my trip to Los Angeles is probably not what you would expect: no VIP, no Hollywood, no downtown LA, no beaches, no celebrity sightings. Although, when I arrived at the airport, there was a guy with a sign that read, "R. Aversa."

Trust me, I'm perfectly okay with that. Honestly, the only thing on my to-do list that didn't get checked off was to finally meet TMZ's Leslie Harris. But I'll catch her next time, all good.

I did meet a lot of great people - saw Burbank (NBC, WB), Pasadena, and chilled in sunnier Whittier, where I befriended a number of my friend's sorority sisters from Whittier College.

Like I said, I was perfectly okay with my trip.

However, while my health, happiness, and dignity traveled to and returned from the west coast, my BlackBerry did not. Thankfully I didn't lose too many numbers, and Verizon allowed me to upgrade to the new Tour (which btw, is amazing). But, I utilized the BBerry camera as my primary memory keeper for the trip - and the memory card on which those pictures were stored is now gone. Lesson learned.

To see the few pictures I did manage to upload before my BlackBerry was misplaced/stolen (somewhere between the Radisson LAX Valet Driver taking my rental and the shuttle to the airport), check out my Facebook page.

Oh, and what did I think of Los Angeles? The trip brought me the furthest west I'd ever been... but I'm still an east coast guy... even if my BlackBerry preferred to stick around.

Facebook Mobile Uploads....

I'll be snapping most stills on the road with my BlackBerry now and uploading to this gallery on Facebook.

Why haven't you added me? BTW, that's a very grainy picture of a one DJ AM spinnin' at LAX last Wednesday.

RALPHIE REPORT: Rod/Office, Barack-Berry, New Music

The following will appear in The Weekender, a weekly arts and entertainment publication in NEPA with a circulation of over 175,000.
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Rod Stewart watches “The Office.”

TMZ caught the “Forever Young” singer outside a restaurant in Los Angeles with his wife, model Penny Lancaster. When Stewart’s spouse went to snag the car, he told her, “Pull it out just a little bit.”

Then Stewart quickly added, “That’s what she said.”

“It’s pretty cool that we got (on camera) Rod Stewart,” TMZ’s Leslie Harris told me on The Ralphie Radio Show. “But he did his own joke! It was awesome.”

Usually when TMZ cameras are rolling, the joke is on the celebrity. But this time, the subject provided the laughter, without any bait.

Maybe it makes a little bit of sense considering Stewart is usually regarded in a class of his own. Both Elton John and James Brown have referred to him as the best “white soul singer” alive.

BARACK-BERRY TO STAY

Last week you read in this column about the new barrier that President Barack Obama attempted to break down: the first President to e-mail in the Oval Office.

Well, it looks like President Obama will officially become wired.

The Associated Press reported last week that the Secret Service and White House lawyers will allow Mr. Obama to keep his BlackBerry. He will use the device to keep in touch with family, close friends, and staff members.

“Anything Obama’s thumbs tap out into the ether is of historical value,” said one presidential historian to The AP.

No media outlet has yet to report on if the President uses BlackBerry Messenger, or what is PIN is.

NEW MUSIC ABUNDANT

A number of previously-unreleased songs and demos by A-List artists leaked on The Ralphie Radio Show within the past 7 days.

Last week, a new track from The Black Eyed Peas emerged. The hip-hop quartet hasn’t released an LP since 2005’s Monkey Business. Lead emcee will.i.am. told Billboard that he finished recording The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) last October. The album is due out sometime this year. “Rockin Tha Beatz” is an uptempo, synth-heavy club banger, laced with an auto-tuned Will on vocals.

Also on the Internet is a demo of a track called, “Hologram.” The beat is a Dr. Dre production, and Chris Brown guests on the track. The Backstreet Boys purchased the song. It’s the first single from the band’s new effort – which hits shelves this spring.

Finally, a new Lil Wayne song hit the net Monday. Weezy gets his ‘Yeezy on, singing with autotune on “Prom Queen.” The track is from the rapper’s rock album, to be released this April.
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Listen to Ralphie Aversa weekdays from 5-10p on 97 BHT.

OFFICIAL: Barack-Berry To Stay

President Barack Obama - The first Black President and now, the first Wired President. Details here.

Barack Still Rocks The Berry

This is a Getty Images photo, taken after President Obama was sworn in. Hell yes, good for him.

RALPHIE REPORT: The Cab/Demi Lovato; Obama

The following will appear Wednesday in The Weekender.
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Surely it was uncomfortable enough in the back of that Posten Taxi, even before I asked the question about his alleged girlfriend…

Don’t get the wrong idea, nothing shady going on. Just another genius (read: cliché) idea conjured up by the 97 BHT staff (shout out Adam!): Let’s interview Alex DeLeon and Ian Crawford of The Cab… in a cab.

So Alex, Ian, and I piled in to the backseat of the yellow taxi waiting outside T.G.I. Friday’s, where we just ate lunch with a lucky 97 BHT listener and two members of The Academy Is… . We chatted about the band’s relationship with label-head and Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz (Alex says they go back and forth over text messaging, with light-hearted jabs like “asshole”), and the shows planned for this spring (We The Kings, Forever The Sickest Kids among the tour-mates). 

Then, with a bit of guilt looming (and I NEVER feel guilty about this kind of stuff), I asked the singer of “Bounce” about his personal relationship with Disney star Demi Lovato. On-line forums and Wikipedia pages were filled with rumors about the couple – from dating to not dating, joint statements, and more.

“Me and Demi are really, really close. I mean, we’re great…” DeLeon said before catching himself, presumably trying not to out themselves but also not tell a straight-up lie on camera (the segment can be viewed at 97bht.com).

“We like to hang out, we’re really, really close,” he reiterated. “I actually just got off the phone with her.”

I quickly asked him to send our regards to Lovato, as well as to rag on her a bit… she almost missed her show this summer with the Jonas Brothers at Montage Mountain due to not catching a flight.

BARACK-BERRY TO STAY IN OVAL OFFICE?

While the country is swept up in the inauguration of our 44th President and first black Commander-In Chief, Barack Obama, the new leader of the free world, attempts to keep a freedom of his own: the use of his BlackBerry.

CNBC quoted Mr. Obama as saying the Secret Service would have to “pry (the BlackBerry) out of his hands.” The financial network estimates that a figure of $10-15 million could be placed on our new president’s endorsement of the device.

Both sides of the argument seem to hold some validity: Obama contends that a president should not have to rely solely on others to receive information and contact others on the outside. However, The Secret Service worries about security breaches, especially with the e-mails the President could be sending and receiving.

The President is aware of such issues, noting that he realizes anything in these e-mails could end up in a newspaper, and would compose the messages with this in mind.

And if you’re wondering, CNBC also reports that President Obama enjoys Planters Trail Mix, Honest Tea, Ray-Ban sunglasses, Nike training clothes, and Asics running shoes. He may be attempting to cut government spending, but don’t call the man “cheap.”
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Listen to Ralphie Aversa weekdays from 5-10p on 97 BHT.

Endoresed By: Barack Obama

Interesting report by CNBC that includes the president-elect's admiration for BlackBerry, Ray Ban, and Planters, among other brands:

new hair dooooo...

bye bye fohawk. thoughts?

you know what i did last weekend...

if you look at this facebook album...

don't discriminate against berries of any color. btw - my first time trying pinkberry - delish. chose a small original with blueberries.

also met one of my childhood heroes and favorite yankee players ever, the captain, number 23, don mattingly.

i am jealous of john mayer...

not because he can sing and play guitar. not because of his known conquests with jennifer anniston and jessica simpson, or his other conquests not known. certaintly not because he kissed perez hilton.

but because of this.

click here to read john's blog on the new blackberry bold. i'm going to crawl in to a corner and weep.

madonna sleeps with blackberry, husband...

madonna admits to a british tabloid that hubby guy ritchie is amazing in bed. oh yeah, and they sleep with their blackberries.

think they have nomophobia?