Interview with Jordan from cleveland.com

Here is an interview with Jordan from cleveland.com:

New Kids on the Block went their separate ways in 1994. Now they're back with a new album, "The Block," and a tour. Jordan Knight, 38, gave us a call this week from aboard the group's bus.

Q: How does it feel to be together again? Is there a sense of deja vu, or does it feel different?

A: We're feeling both new and nostalgic. And I think the crowd is also getting that same vibe. We are reliving memories, but we're also doing new songs and doing new things onstage.

Q: Who comes to the shows?

A: Definitely lots and lots of old fans. . . . Also younger fans [who] have seen our videos and stuff on VH1 and MTV and heard the stuff on the radio. And old fans who are married now, their husband and their brothers are coming. Before it was very uncool for a male to come to our show. Now, people are more mature and grown-up, where they don't have to be as cool, really. They can say, "Hey, I like the guys. Whatever. I'm going to the show."

Q: Presumably, your individual musical tastes have changed over the years. How did you find common ground when recording the new album?

A: We knew what worked for us in the past, and that was pop music that leans R&B and urban. . . . We just stuck with what worked.

Q: Is it fair to say you couldn't have done songs like "Grown Man" or "Sexify My Love" 15 years ago?

A: That's probably safe to say. We couldn't use some of the lyrics that we're using now. And rightly so, I think. We were young. We weren't as mature, obviously, as we are now. . . . We were just figuring out sexuality ourselves. To sing it to a younger audience, that wouldn't be good. We knew that. We knew the age group that we were singing to, and we were cognizant of that, and respectful. Now, we're just naturally singing about where we're at it in life and where we believe our fans are at in life.

Q: When NKOTB had its heyday around 1990, the U.S. was in a recession. Now you're back and the country is once again in the midst of a financial crisis. Coincidence?

A: I think it's a coincidence. It may not be, but I don't have that wide view of things. New Kids do good in recessions. It's a joke that we throw around. Another joke is that we're trying to do our best to kick-start the economy by going out here and touring and getting money flowing around. . . . That's our part in trying to solve this problem.