BS: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I hear you are Brownie Bytes.
Joe: Yes, we are huge fans, Kristin!
BS: Thank you! I asked my followers to submit questions for you and the most submitted question was, “what was the severance package Nick provided Joe and Kevin when he laid them off in 2013?”
Kevin: Well, in some aspects it was more like a divorce and Joe and I negotiated different terms in our settlements.
Joe: That is right, I got the house in West Hollywood and front row access to Milan, Paris and London Fashion Weeks for the 2014-2018 seasons.
Kevin: And I was allowed to use the Jonas name for branding purposes in any business that I pursued, so long as I submitted written notice of use 90 days in advance to Nick and received his approval.
BS: Were there any ideas of which he disapproved?
Kevin: Oh, the vast majority. I thought about writing a children’s book, but Nick had a strict policy regarding any creative endeavors with the Jonas name. The policy was that he needed to exercise 97% control.
Nick: And I was far too busy starring in a TV show, films and on Broadway to ghostwrite a book for Kevin.
Kevin: I was largely limited to pursuing interests related to carpentry.
Nick: They were both well taken care of.
BS: Some of the frustration you experienced before the breakup was documented in Married to Jonas. It appeared Nick was thinking, “it’s time for me to fly.”
Nick: That isn’t cute.
BS: Speaking of the OG “Time for Me to Fly,” were you ever nervous about your voice dropping?
Nick: No, I refused to Billy Gilman. When I eleven, I wrote a 57-point plan to ensure that my vocal transition was as smooth as possible. Puberty can be largely controlled by the mind, you know.
BS: No, I don’t think that is true.
Nick: Perhaps not for the weak.
Joe: But if there were any vocal difficulties outside of Nick’s control, Kevin and I were employed as distractions.
Kevin: It is why Nick hired us in the first place. Well, that and my dad made him.
Joe: Why do you think Kevin spun so much?
Kevin: And why do you think Joe occasionally picked up and posed with a keytar? “Is he going to play it, or just hold it? Is he going to play it, or just hold it?” The suspense was palpable.
Nick: Ultimately, my 57-point plan worked and I did not actually need them as distractions; however, I let them twirl and pose on stage alongside me for several years.
BS: Nick, is it true you wrote “S.O.S.” in ten minutes when you were fourteen?
Nick: Yes, and that song was our first big hit.
Kevin: That song only broke us out of the Radio Disney bubble because Joe accidentally tripped at the AMA performance and everyone talked about it the next day.
Nick: I am sorry, have you two been under the impression that was an accident?
Joe: You did not force me to trip at the AMAs, Nick.
Nick: Okay, Joe. Okay.
BS: You know, I was actually invited by your team to perform alongside you at the show!
Nick: In what capacity?
BS: Umm, unimportant… Another question fans want answered is why the name of your Disney Channel show was Jonas when your last name on the show was Lucas?
Joe: Well, the show was originally called J.O.N.A.S., which stood for Junior Operatives Networking as Spies and we were going to play a band who secretly worked as government agents.
BS: Yeah, duh. Everyone knows that, but when the show concept changed, why continue to call the show Jonas? There was no one on that show named Jonas!
Nick: …
Kevin: …
Joe: Hey, did you know Scheana Shay from Vanderpump Rules played the pizza girl on the “Pizza Girl” episode?
Nick: What is a Scheanashay? What is a Vanderpump?
BS: Yes, it is one of my favorite TV show crossover events! Last question, if you could star on any TV show now, what would it be?
Joe: Julie and the Phantoms!
Kevin: Cobra Kai!
Nick: Insecure.
BS