More than 30 pictures of the Boys’ concert in Rotterdam have been added to the Gallery. Some of them were shared by Hester. Thanks, Hester!

Posted: April 7th, 2008 under Photos.
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I’ve added a lot of pictures from the Boys’ German soundchecks and concerts. They were all taken by Maddie, so a big thanks to her. They’re really great, check them out!

Posted: April 5th, 2008 under Photos.
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Howie will record a duet with Sarah Geronimo that will be featured on her upcoming album. Go behind the cut to find out more…

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Posted: April 5th, 2008 under Howie, News.
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I have added a number of new icons. Check out the Goodies section, there are new ones for the Boys as well as for each Boy seperately. Enjoy!

Posted: April 2nd, 2008 under Goodies.
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The first European concert will be tonight in Stuttgart, Germany! Some candid photos of the Boys have already been added to the Gallery. Thanks to Weird World.

Posted: April 2nd, 2008 under Photos.
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Is money and power a free license to act like a spoiled brat?

Always has been and always will be.

In a goofy fantasy moment on reality TV last week, singer Trace Adkins was given a taste of the asinine demands that celebrities routinely dictate to hotel workers and service staff.

Adkins, whose song “You’re Gonna Miss This” currently sits at No. 2 on the Billboard country charts, played the role of errand boy for the Backstreet Boys - a metrosexual pop band representing his musical antithesis. The hilarious exercise was staged for the season finale of Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice.”

The Backstreet contract rider requires that their dressing room be stocked with an ample supply of wheat grass juice. Adkins, who’s clearly more of a beer guy, claimed he had never heard of the stuff and seemed annoyed that he had to go look for it.

Whether the wheat grass tension was real or manufactured for television, obscure snack scavenger hunts like this happen all the time. The most comprehensive collection of celebrity contract riders is posted at TheSmokingGun.com (click on the “Backstage” icon).

Some requests, such as buckets of “clean” ice, seem reasonable. Luxury hotels must occasionally get rusty water in the ice machine for this stipulation to be so common. Others, such as the mandatory cereal schedule for Clay Aiken’s backup band, go off the silliness charts.

In case you want to sync up your breakfast menu, the Claymates are fed Kellogg’s Raisin Bran (Mondays), Lucky Charms (Tuesdays), Life (Wednesdays), Oatmeal Raisin Crisp (Thursdays), Honey Nut Clusters (Fridays), Cream of Wheat (Saturdays) and Honeycomb (Sundays).

Stars, regardless of where they are on the fame spectrum, aren’t bashful about vocalizing their arbitrary dislikes. Weird Al Yankovic asks for bottled water, but cautions “NO DASANI BRAND” in screaming caps. Sheryl Crow won’t drink Evian, but no matter what kind you serve, she instructs “PLEASE DO NOT CHILL THE BOTTLED WATER.”

Metallica has a mandatory bacon policy: VERY IMPORTANT THAT BACON BE AVAILABLE AT EVERY MEAL AND DURING DAY.

After being bombarded with capital letters, it is no wonder that so many hospitality workers leak these contract riders to The Smoking Gun. Minor embarrassment is their only option for retribution.

The so-called comedian Carrot Top says he’s sick of carrot cake and doesn’t think the gesture is clever. Bill Cosby wants Cottonelle toilet paper. The Pittsburgh Steelers can only use Heinz ketchup on their burgers.

During his “Celebrity Apprentice” exercise to take care of the Backstreet Boys, Adkins found himself running out to the drug store to buy a bottle of black nail polish. One of the band members wouldn’t perform without it.

Adkins’ incredulous reaction seemed genuine. He devotes a chunk of his new biography, “A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions From a Freethinking Roughneck,” to his early days constructing oil pipelines in Louisiana. It was a job that didn’t come with manicures.

The Smoking Gun’s archives contain the petty wish lists of 220 celebrities. Adkins isn’t one of them, which means the odds are high that he treats his concert workers and hotel staff with respect and flexibility.

For the sanity of errand boys and gophers everywhere, it would be wonderful if more rock stars voluntarily switched roles for a day.

Like Adkins, the rest of us do our jobs just fine without nail polish or an endless supply of bacon.

[Source]

Posted: April 2nd, 2008 under In The Press.
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