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"Backstreet gets all the wide-back panties. Johnny gets all the thongs." - A.J. McLean/Johnny No-name
Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean is leaving the back streets behind for a short tour as the man with no name. Or to be more precise, McLean will adopt the identity of pop rascal Johnny No-Name. No-Name - pronounced Chris Gaines - is a not-so-distant relation of Johnny Suede, the solo persona McLean unveiled in January at a benefit performance for VH1 Save the Music. McLean's solo tour will again benefit Save the Music, which campaigns for funding for school music programs. "Music has obviously played a huge role in my life," the singer told Rolling Stone. Obviously. "Being involved in supporting VH1's Save the Music Foundation and helping to provide the same opportunities I've had, to the less fortunate schools in our country, just seemed like the natural thing to do." McLean's mother and manager, Denise McLean, told MTV that the hour-long sets will incorporate covers of songs by Eminem and see A.J. debuting some of his own original compositions, like "If You Knew What I Knew." The Backstreet Boys band will back him, with Mindy Abair and the group Nobody's Angel as support. At his first solo gig, McLean performed hits like Brian McKnight's "Back at One" and Stone Temple Pilots' "Down." Dressed in a homburg and not much else, McLean seemed to be channeling Kid Rock at certain points of the Orlando concert, especially when he was led off the stage in handcuffs as a part of the act. Still, his knockout performance raised $42,000 for Save the Music. The tour begins in Los Angeles on March 27 after the Backstreet Boys' sell-out Millennium tour ends in Toronto. The itinerary will take in major metropolitan centers like Chicago and New York. Will McLean find himself consumed by his solo persona, like Ziggy Stardust? The levelheaded lad said he had a better chance of becoming consumed by his immaculately trimmed beard. Instead, he will be pouring his remaining energy into the next Backstreet Boys album. "We have some ideas, collectively as a group, about doing something really different for this next album that has never really been done before, which will kind of display each of our solo abilities," he told MTV. Salivating yet? Then make sure you pick up a ticket to see McLean at one of the following dates: March 27 March 28 April 1 April 2 April 4 April 5 April 7 April 9
By C. Bottomley
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