Damian Westfal, Interia Muzyka: It’s been over 15 years of Big Time Rush! How are you feeling after the last intense months?
James: We are in a great mood! We had a short break after the first part of the tour in the United States – we played almost 40 concerts. Now we’re really looking forward to getting into full swing and playing in Europe. We love these places, the fans there, and we will also visit several countries we have never played in before. We are really happy.
Carlos: I think the guys and I will eat really good food, meet some amazing fans, play some great shows and just have fun.
Kendall: Yes, Krakow will be amazing. We’re excited about it. And you’ll have to teach us how to pronounce “Kraków” correctly. (laughter)
Logan pronounces it very well, so you already have a teacher with you.
Kendall: I’m going to start pronouncing it this way to make it sound like I know what I mean. (laughter)
During the concert at TAURON Arena, you will perform all songs from the Nickelodeon series. Is it true that there will also be songs that you have never played live?
Logan: One of them will be “Blow Fingers Out”, and we also have a list of songs that we have reinterpreted, so we will play them in a completely different way than before.
Will there also be any songs from the previous album “Another Life” or only songs from the series?
James: On this tour, we only focus on songs from the show. We’re a little sad that we won’t be playing new music, but there are 43 songs from the show alone. Somehow we managed to condense them into a really cool, energetic, two-hour set. Due to this, we couldn’t add any new songs, but we will definitely add them in the next tour.
Kendall: They will be with us in spirit. (laughter)
Logan: This gives us another reason to come back to KRAKOW. (laughter)
I’m lucky to be able to talk to you today because just before the interview you announced your new single – “Blow Your Speakers”. Premiere on October 30. So far I’ve only heard a sample, but I already like the old school vibe.
Kendall: Well, you know this vibe well because it’s actually one of our old songs. (laughter). Now we simply decided to refresh it, breathe life into it and give fans something they have been asking for for over a decade. So it was a little surprise and a thank you to our fans. We hope they really, really like the way we performed this song in the new version.
Logan: Yes, the original song came out in 2011 as a bonus track to our second album “Elevate”.’
Carlos: And only on the European version of the album “Elevate”.
James: Right, so much of the rest of the world has never heard it, and now everyone will be able to hear the new version.
Kendall: And I must admit that she is much better now!
You recently finished the American leg of your tour. How was the summer concerts?
Kendall: Ah, amazing.
Logan: It’s been a crazy summer. We had the best time ever. A lot of fans showed up, we played in so many new places for the first time… and it’s so nice to have a little break and then rekindle the atmosphere in Europe.
Kendall: We give 110%. At every concert, we always give 110%. I really feel like we gave it our all on stage this summer. And now there’s another surprise, because it’s just been announced that after Europe we’re coming back to the States with the show and playing more shows this winter.
Great! This won’t be your first time doing a winter US tour, right?
James: We organized a large, one-off event for fans last year. “Big Time Rush On Ice” gathered fans for a first-of-its-kind skating spectacle and concert on ice. I don’t think we’ll have time this year because we’re playing in Europe until mid-December, but this allows us to focus on the current project and expand it with additional dates. Simply because we had so many fans who still wanted to see us and couldn’t get tickets.
The concert will also be attended by Katelyn Tarver (aka Jo Taylor) and Stephen Kramer Glickman (aka Gustavo Rocque), known from the series. What will their task be on stage?
Logan: Steven is opening up more and more… I mean, it’s so funny – I’ve talked to a lot of people who know Steven and have never seen him act or sing. The truth is that he is a really fantastic musician and a great singer. During the tour, he will create a kind of support, he will rock the show with Katelyn, who is a great songwriter. We are just lucky to have long-time friends and amazing artists around us.
This won’t be your first time in Poland. Did you remember this country in any particular way during your last visit to Warsaw? Do you have any memories related to him?
Logan: This was our first stop on our European tour.
Carlos: The food was amazing. I remembered the dumplings.
James: We ate some really surprisingly good meals. I remember being very surprised at how beautiful and clean it was where we stayed for the night.
Kendall: We definitely went for a charming walk and the Royal Łazienki Park was beautiful!
Logan: So, as you can see, we try to explore the cities we come to.
Some time ago, Miranda Cosgrove, also known from the Nickelodeon series “iCarly”, announced that she wanted to make a film to recall and officially end the series’ story. You never thought the same thing about the movie Big Time Rush?
Kendall: We actually thought about it for a long time. It’s a long way to get there and we’re keeping our fingers crossed, but if everything falls into place, we’ll make it happen.
Not all artists have fond memories of being child actors. How is it in your case?
James: Absolutely great. We had a lot of fun.
Carlos: Yes, it gave us all a boost in the career we always dreamed of. Moreover, the series forced us to mature in life. I lived with my parents and then suddenly, as a teenager, I had to move to Los Angeles, live on my own, pay my own bills and taxes… I think there were good things and bad things, but the good definitely outweighed the bad and I wouldn’t change a thing. Moreover, I think we should have done one more season and just wrapped up the story, because everyone keeps asking what happened to the show? The ending was never actually shot. I felt bad leaving the plan for the series, but on the other hand, people could simply come up with the best ending for themselves.
James: We could end this story with a modern movie. Or make a movie with a cliffhanger!
Kendall: (laughter) I think, Damian, that you started the inspiration machine with this question. We’ll see what comes of it.