While Robin Leach takes his traditional summer vacation under the Tuscan sun in Italy, many of our Strip and Las Vegas personalities have stepped forward in his absence to pen their own words of wisdom. Our thanks to them all. We continue today with 98 Degrees hit-maker and singer Jeff Timmons, who became a Las Vegas resident after his Chippendales guest run at the Rio and is now headlining at Green Valley Ranch.
I am sitting in my rental house at my computer, which is smack dab in the middle of my kitchen on a table, sipping on a cheap glass of champagne very stressed and content. My new show has just started at Green Valley Ranch. I’m looking at a red mountain enjoying the dry, warm air.
Where am I? Is this Las Vegas? It might as well be anywhere. I might as well be a thousand miles away and not 20-something-plus miles away from Sin City. This is what I love about life.
Las Vegas represents a total metamorphosis for me personally and professionally. After experiencing the whirlwind of the behemoth known as 98 Degrees -- a group that had collaborated with Stevie Wonder for a Disney soundtrack and Mariah Carey and Joe for a #1 Billboard hit, sang for presidents, toured the world and had many Top Five hits -- everything came to a halt.
The media and public were over the pop explosion of the late 1990s and early 2000s. I went from having groupies hiding under room service carts, making fake press passes, sneaking into our tour bus when we were onstage, being ushered to the front of lines at clubs and getting meals comped to, well, nothing.
It was amazing, albeit depressing at the time, to see how things can change so quickly. There was never a time when I took anything that happened to 98 Degrees for granted. I loved and appreciated it with the utmost sincerity, which is probably why the shift seemed to sting even more.
On top of that, my personal life was a disaster. My young marriage was already failing; calling that experience tumultuous is an understatement. I went through a divorce, and I became obscure in the entertainment business. I lost everything personally, professionally, emotionally and spiritually. Make no mistake: I am not crying poor me by any stretch. I knew what I was getting into when I started pursuing this dream, but that didn’t stop it from hurting all the same.
After years of fighting to be a dad, and doing makeshift gigs to support my family and be a dad and never really dating, I met the woman of my dreams. She changed everything for me. She encouraged me to quit covering my 98 Degrees tattoo (a symbol of success, not embarrassment), rebuilt my confidence and advocated my jumping back into my career.
Enter Las Vegas. I was offered an emcee/hosting gig with Chippendales of all things. In my mind, there was no way in hell. My wife had a different idea; she insisted that I give it a shot. Plus, she is in the demographic of my fan base, which gave me some reassurance about doing the gig.
I had so much anxiety up until a week before the show’s opening night that I almost pulled out. Then I did the show, received great reviews and was given love from Las Vegas all around.
Everything rocks in Las Vegas. It’s big, it’s beautiful, it shimmers and gleams, it’s larger than life, and it’s still a small town. The people are amazing. The locals are incredible.
The folks who work in the casinos, run the clubs, the security and doormen at parties, the local press (of whom I know all by name) -- everyone looks out for one another. Hollywood doesn’t come close to doing that. New York is a bit more family-oriented than L.A., but it still doesn’t have the vibe Las Vegas does.
Because of my successful run with Chipps, I’ve been offered record deals, tours, TV shows, you name it; so far, I’m just happy being here in Las Vegas and working. Instead of me touring the country, the tour comes to me. If I want to get into trouble or host at a club or a bikini contest, I drive 20 minutes to the Strip.
Then I can go home and do homework with my kids, coach flag football and compose music in my temporary-turned-permanent home studio in my kitchen. I’ve got five kids; with my kids, my stepkids and my newborn, I’m happy with the balance that Las Vegas gives me.
For me, Las Vegas is a symbol of all that’s good. Quite the irony considering it’s Sin City. For me, Las Vegas is the best-kept secret in the entertainment business. That’s ironic, too, with it being an entertainment Mecca. I was supposed to be here for four weeks and ended up staying. They’re gonna have to run me outta this place!
BTW, check me out this summer in my new show “Wired” at Ovation Lounge in Green Valley Ranch. I gotta smokin’ band. Just sayin’. Oh, and thanks, Vegas. Sincerely. Our congratulations to Jeff on becoming Las Vegas’ newest celebrity resident. Be sure to check out our other guest columns today from chef Hubert Keller, who spins the wheels of steel and excels in the kitchen, and two amazing ladies from “Ka” who keep the trickiest of Cirque du Soleil’s shows in shape. Join us again Wednesday for Angela Stabile and her sexy, topless “X Burlesque” dancers, along with Tom Zaller, the man who brought the Venetian’s Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit to town.
Buff, bronzed and hairless hunk Joey Lawrence made his Chippendales debut in Vegas this weekend ... a year after buff, bronzed and hairless former 98 Degrees member Jeff Timmons did his stint hosting the man stripper fest.
Question is ...
May 30, 2012
It was so hard to keep the MIX Summer Spectacular a secret. But now that’s it out, we are excited that you can’t wait to come to the show! You should already have your calendars marked off for August 18th! MIX Summer Spectacular will be at the Halfway Jam location, just off Highway 10 near Royalton.
Tickets go on sale Saturday (May 12th) at 9A.M. for the general public, but since we know you are smart and are aMix Insider, you can get them starting Friday (May 11th) at 10 A.M. Click HERE to be a Mix Insider to get your tickets early!
THE EVER IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON PRICING:
- First 1000 tickets General Admission $24.94
-After first 1000 ticket price on G/A jumps to $35.94
-After July 1st G/A tickets price goes to $45.00 (Day of $50.00)
-Mix Insider Circle (Gold) $60.00 includes reserved seating in front of the stage
-VIP tickets $150.00 includes (2) meals + 6 drinks of your choice (one of the meals served is a steak dinner), air conditioned restrooms, sit down dining and preferred viewing
Show some pride at the 28th Annual Sacramento Pride Festival Saturday, June 2. The festival, which celebrates and commemorates the achievements that have brought lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans out of the shadows and into mainstream society, runs throughout most of the day—opening ceremonies are at noon—on Capitol Mall between Fourth and Seventh streets.
One of the day’s highlights, the Gay Pride Parade, starts at 11 a.m. at Fourth and N streets. (The parade runs east on N Street to 10th Street and ends on 10th and N streets.)
Entertainment—which starts at 12:30 p.m.—includes Phi Phi O’Hara, star of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (Season 4) and Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees fame. Or, be your own entertainment and strut your moves in one of the festival’s two Dance Pavilions. Children will have fun in the Kid’s Zone with a jump house, face painting, and art projects, and the Kennedy Gallery Art Zone will highlight the work of local artists.
Tickets to the festival are $10, with children 5 and younger getting in for free. Proceeds from the event help to fund programs and services of the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center. source
Former 98 Degrees boy-bander Jeff Timmons made his half naked debut at Chippendales in Vegas last night ... but unfortunately for the crowd, the only piece of clothing he removed ... was his shirt.Source-TMZ Click on Source button to watch
Jeff Timmons is in for a thrill when 400 women rush the stage Thursday during his debut performance at Chippendales inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It’s a feeling he hasn’t experienced since his multi-platinum boy band 98 Degrees last performed together in 2001.
“I was nervous,” the singer, 38, tells me. “I didn’t know how people were going to receive it, but everybody loved it. It was crazy – the women rushed the stage. I haven’t had that happen for a long time. The whole audience crowded up towards the front. They’re originally seated there, so I came to the front of the stage and I was like ‘OK, good, this is good!’”
Despite feeling reluctant to undress last month (“I don’t know if I’m in the shape I was in the 98 Degrees days,” he confessed.), Jeff is in the spirit now.
“I took my shirt off,” he says. “We did that in the group anyways. Now I was a little nervous because compared to those guys, I’m not big and giant and ripped like those guys, but that’s part of their thing to do these tear-away t-shirts and get the crowd going. I was like ‘I’ll do it.’ The crowd loved it. They thought it was cool. It was funny. I had a ton of fun doing it.”
To prepare for taking his top off, Jeff has given up his bad habits and adopted good ones.
“I stopped drinking beer - no more alcohol,” he says. “Back to lifting heavy weights and working out in the gym, cardio and P90X.”
He adds, “I want to be in good shape and I’ve always tried to be in good shape. All of us in the group did. I’m doing P90X some days. I’m doing heavy weights other days and lots and lots of cardio. I’m mixing it up to confuse my body and it’s definitely confused!”
How has giving up alcohol changed his body?
“I would drink beer occasionally in the studio when I’m working on music and now I don’t do that anymore,” Jeff says. “Even if you drink once a week socially, you can definitely see a difference in your body as far as holding water and body fat when you stop and cease from drinking altogether.”
For Jeff, who emcees the show and performs a medley of songs, the highlight is showing off his musicality.
“The crowd was familiar with the 98 Degrees songs, but when I sang one of my new songs, Emotional High, they’ve never heard it before, and they got up out of their seats and started jamming and dancing to it. Afterwards, I got a lot of compliments about the song. I think that was gratification.”
Still, becoming part of Chippendales took some coaxing from his old manager, Mike Caprio, who represents Chippendales.
“He approached me about doing Chippendales and, of course, I was like, ‘Hell no, I’m not doing the Chippendales!’ I’m not a male stripper, but he coaxed me and enticed me to come check out the show. Those guys are not male strippers. It’s a multi-million dollar production. It’s at the Rio in a $10,000,000 facility. Those guys are singers and choreographed dancers. I was impressed with the entertainment level that that show provided.”
Wait … they’re not strippers?
“The guys take their shirts off and they’re big old muscle-y guys,” he says. “That whole thing’s involved with it still, but they’re not doing lap dances and getting single dollar bills in their g-strings. It’s a seriously well-put-together show. You know how Vegas is now. You’ve got to have serious entertainment, and that’s what goes on with that show at the Rio.”
One source of encouragement is his wife Amanda, who cheers him on to go for the Chippendales gig and attends the debut performance.
“She said, ‘You should think about doing it.’ She actually encouraged me to do the gig and I think for her, she thought it was something that’s a good opportunity for me. She’s a fan of my music and for me, it’s a good way for me to get the new music out there and show people a different dimension as far as the entertainment factor of me as a solo artist.”
Despite his growing contentment with the all-male revue, he doesn’t see himself growing so comfortable that he would bare all in the pages of a men’s magazine.
“They put some photos from my first solo album, Whisper That Way, in Playgirl. I would never do Playgirl naked. There’s no way! I’m way too shy for that. There’s no way!”
Hm, he doesn’t want to embarrass his family?
“No, it’s more about myself,” he confesses. “I think I have so much support with my family and everybody knows how the entertainment business goes. I think that for me, I’m very private about my private parts. I’m shy about that stuff. I’m even shy about taking my shirt off. They had us taking our shirts off in every photo shoot for 98 Degrees.”
Thanks to the Chippendales gig, one bonus is the month he will spend in Sin City.
“I like Las Vegas, but I don’t gamble too much,” he says. “I like to go and see the shows there. I went with my wife. Recently we went to see Peepshow. I like to go there and socialize. I have a lot of friends in Vegas, so for me it’s a good time to get away from the family and go out there and enjoy time on my own. We always have a fun time when we’re in Vegas.”
Another bonus? He’s staying at the Rio.
“It’s a beautiful suite,” Jeff says. “They’re taking care of me for this. It’s new for them. They’ve never had a celebrity guest go in there and they’re trying to revamp the image of what people think the Chippendales are all about and if you go see the show, it’s totally different than what you expect.”
He continues, “The Rio is awesome! It’s a beautiful casino. It’s got three or four pools and the staff is accommodating. It’s an enjoyable time. It’s fantastic.”
Source
Jeff Timmons, the former 98 degrees singer made his debut at Chippendales in Las Vegas. Chippendales is best known for its male erotic dancing and striptease performances. The news of Timmons joining Chippendales came as a shock for some when it was announced back in April. Timmons was not the most well-known member of the group, overshadowed by Nick and Drew Lachey. So it is understandable that the singer would join Chippendales once the checks stopped coming in.
Timmons can be seen stripping his shirt off while the crowd lets out a huge cheer. The crowd is filled with seas upon seas of women screaming for Timmons. Arguably the band's name has not been relevant since the "Thank God I Found You" collaboration with Mariah Carey and Joe. 98 degrees is no longer touring and making records so going to seeing Timmons at Chippendales in Las Vegas may be the next best thing.
Calling all boy band groupies! Jeff Timmons, former member of 98 Degrees, is spending one month in Las Vegas guest starring in the sizzling hot show at the Rio, Chippendales. Timmons begins a guest engagement Thurs.-Sun. May 12 through June 5 in the famous male revue where six-packs reign and grown women scream for more. Timmons acts as an emcee and performs some of 98 Degrees’ beloved hits. He recently chatted with Las Vegas Magazine’s Emma Trotter on what he loves about Las Vegas. Dining Tao. That’s probably my favorite place to eat here. Nightlife Rain and Pure, and sometimes I go to Ghostbar, VooDoo Lounge and the Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip. Chippendales, The Show The show is a multimillion-dollar production. It’s not that connotation that it’s a strip show and people put dollar bills in—the guys are so talented, they sing, they dance, it’s choreographed. Atmosphere I’m a night owl and one of the cool parts of Vegas is it never shuts down. There’s always something to do here. I will just hang out and have drinks and conversation, and not really have a whole lot of responsibility. I blow off steam. Gamble a little bit, have some drinks, have some fun, laugh, don’t worry about any of the businesses I’m working on, let my kids have fun at the pool wherever we are at and go shopping. Entertainment I’ve seen Blue Man Group, which I thought was incredible. Carrot Top is funny as hell; he’s awesome. I have seen Barry Manilow here. A lot of people don’t know how well the shows are produced here, too. Great outdoors A couple of my friends have places in Lake Mead. They have boats, so we go hang out sometimes. Lake Mead is really nice and beautiful. Shopping CityCenter has good shopping at Crystals, and at Tom Ford there. And any Louis Vuitton. The kids and my wife love to shop. Suite life I stay at the Palms quite a bit, and Rio and Hard Rock, most of the trendier, younger kind of hip spots. The best suite I ever had was at Bellagio. It was crazy; it was really nice. We presented here for an awards show and they put me in this huge room with a Jacuzzi in the middle, and marble—and I was by myself!
Across the table sat Jeff Timmons, a founding member of 98 Degrees and, for a time, a guest star of the adult male production Chippendales at the Rio.
Yet somehow, the conversation started not with how and why Timmons decided to spend some of his on-the-clock time with a bunch of oily dancers donning leather trou.
Instead, the ’90s era pop sensation bemoaned LeBron James’ inflammatory exit from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat. This conversation started without warning because Timmons hails from Canton, Ohio, and Tricia McCrone is from Cleveland. And McCrone is in play here because she co-hosts “Kats With the Dish,” which gives her a suitable platform to ask a member of 98 Degrees about NBA free agency.
Thus, two-thirds of those in the conversation had an interest in how and why James left the Cavaliers and signed with the Heat last off season, and McCrone swiftly asked Timmons if he is still a fan of the Cavs.
“I was, I was. But I am not,” Timmons said. When asked about James, he said, “I am disappointed in LeBron James. … I am in the entertainment business, and at the end of the day, fans think that you owe them something specifically, and you do -- great entertainment. But the way he left was very arrogant, in the way he presented it.”
Timmons, who said he understood James’ desire to win an NBA title with a better cast of players, also assessed James’ performance in last year’s NBA playoffs by saying, “He quit. He quit.” Never mind that James and the Heat just whipped the Celtics 4-1 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals of the NBA playoffs.
As the sports talk indicates, it was a pretty freewheeling, lacking-in-focus, interview segment, which you can link to at LasVegasSun.com/katsreport. We did get around to why Timmons is onstage with Chippendales beginning Thursday and running through June 5. We learned that Timmons is not actually applying the body oil and dancing with the troupe, but he’s slotted in the show to sing to the largely female audience and add some star propulsion to the 9-year-old Las Vegas production. The first three years were spent at Club Rio, then the show moved to its own theater at the Flamingo Road parking garage entrance to the casino.
Timmons will sing 98 Degrees’ hits (the band has sold 15 million albums, so there is plenty to pluck from), uncork some of his own new solo material and also emcee the show.
“I would never have thought of doing this in a million years,” said Timmons, who assigns responsibility (or, maybe, blame, depending on if he is buried under an avalanche of women during the performance) on Chippendales PR man Michael Caprio. “A lot of people might not remember me from 98 Degrees, and I have my own material out there. It might be a good way to get my name back out there. … It’s a multimillion-dollar production, I checked it out, and the elements that I would be providing would bring another sort of entertainment to a show that is already entertaining for a lot of fans who hit my demographic already.” Which is, mostly, amped-up women.
“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity,” Timmons said. He might well be the one performer to take this team to the next level, something LeBron James himself would certainly understand.
Jeff Timmons is a founding member of the platinum selling singing group 98 Degrees. He along with members Nick Lachey, Drew Lachey and Justin Jeffre have sold over 15 million albums worldwide and are responsible for such hits as “The Hardest Thing” and “I Do (Cherish You).” After the group went their separate ways, Timmons focused on a solo career and appeared on the VH1 reality show Mission ManBand where former pop group singers (*NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick, LFO’s Rich Cronin, and Color Me Badd’s Bryan Abrams) joined forces and worked on creating music together. Timmons is currently using new technology and social media to get connected to and share his music with his fans. He is also getting ready to join the men of Chippendales at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas as the show’s emcee and special musical guest from May 12 through June 5 (Thursday through Sunday nights). TheCelebrityCafe.com’s Michelle Vaccaro spoke with the talented singer about his former band, new music, and his upcoming stint at the Rio.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: The New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, and even O-Town have gotten back together and created more music. Is there any chance that 98 Degrees will do the same?
Jeff Timmons: You know what? We threw out the idea for a while. Earlier in the year we got together and…I’m friends with some of those guys in the different groups you spoke about. I know they’re having a tremendous amount of success so far traveling and touring. We talked about it as a group…got together, discussed it, threw it around..but I just don’t think right now it’s going to happen. Everybody’s got their own things going on. So…maybe in the future.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: So you still talk to everyone else from the group?
Jeff Timmons: Yeah, I mean we’ve remained friends. It’s not like our group’s one of those groups that had a falling out or kind of broke up, on bad blood or anything like that. We were all friends. We kind of just had our run and kind of wanted to be with family and friends and do our own thing in the industry and so that‘s why we kind of just split up for a little while so…But yeah, I talk to them all the time.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: You were on Mission ManBand. Would you ever consider doing another reality show?
Jeff Timmons: I would if the situation was right. I was pretty reluctant to do Mission ManBand. VH1 had been asking me for years and years and years to do it. I kind of had a feeling that they would kind if skew the show to make us not look so good and it’s what they did ultimately, but...the four of us actually had a bond and had a great time together outside of the show. I mean if they would’ve filmed some of the stuff outside of the show, they probably would’ve had a pretty crazy show, but they had their own plan and sort of a script for what they wanted to happen. I think that if the premise of the show was right and it was well written and sort of had a cool message or reached the right amount of people in the right way, I would definitely do it again.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: Do you have any good stories from that then since you said it was a crazy time?
Jeff Timmons: Oh yeah, we had more fun…they had turned the cameras off at 11/12 o’clock at night. We had more fun after that…crazy times, people coming over, parties, and us screwing around and actually doing music. The show didn’t really revolve around us doing music, but we actually did music and nothing in particular, I mean the whole thing was great. I could give you stories, but you’d probably have to write another story.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: Is that why the group never release any music…because of the show?
Jeff Timmons: Well, no, I think that…none of us were really taking it seriously. I think we all kind of did it because we all had things we wanted to promote. When we got into it, they were talking about one thing, regarding the seriousness of the group and us seriously doing music and we were putting a record out and stuff like that. I think all of us were into it just because it’s an interesting, kind of weird thing. But when we got there and started filming the show, the show wasn’t about that at all. The show was about putting us in situations that tried to make us look uncomfortable, feel uncomfortable, and more vulnerable. It wasn’t about the music so we just said, ‘screw it, we’ll go back and do our own thing, we’ll make friends…’ The premise of the show of the whole show put a monkey wrench into the whole process of putting music out.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: Being in what many consider a “boyband,” do you think you have some training as to what the audience is going to be like at Chippendales?
Jeff Timmons: You know, I think the audience is just going to be an extension of what my old audience, the group’s old audience is. It’s going to be females. I mean the majority of our audience in 98 Degrees were females anywhere from 10-years-old to 42-years-old pretty much. I just think over the course of the past few years, I’ve always stuck with music so I still have a fan base. I gave away a record last year online in exchange for people’s email addresses and the album had over a million [and] two downloads. So I know that there’s still a fan base out there. I just think that they’re a little bit older now. Instead of being 12-years-old, they’re in their early twenties up until the late forties. I think it’s going to be the same kind of thing. I’m just ready to have fun with it. Anybody that knows me knows I’m not too serious of a guy so I think that it’ll be a good time. I’m looking forward to it.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: You’re going to be singing and emceeing. Are you just going to be doing any dancing as well?
Jeff Timmons: If you’re talking about striptease dancing…absolutely not. You don’t want the Chippendales to start losing their fan base and people start going in different directions… No, I think I’ll get up there and stick with what I know best and that’s just pretty much entertaining and having fun..
TheCelebrityCafe.com: You have a new album coming out. Can you tell me a little bit about it?
Jeff Timmons: Yeah, I had produced all my music myself. I do it with some of my friends. I have been doing production since the group. A lot of our notoriety didn’t come from producing, arranging, engineering records, but we all did that stuff. This record is kind of a little bit different than 98 Degrees. It’s got a lot of high energy, high tempo songs. Of course you’re going to have the ballads like we had with 98 Degrees, but we have a lot of up tempo dance stuff. I’m going to be releasing the music in a very unique way. I’m going to be releasing songs exclusively through different popular social websites and entertainment websites…a site like yourself. I’d like do a song with you guys and release it exclusively through you guys and through some very, very unique technologies as well. It makes it a little bit more fun and interactive. Every song will have a music video attached to it…and a high level one, an MTV ready one. So I think that’s going to be quite unique with this project.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: That’s really cool. Now, you like to stay connected to your fans through the social media stuff. You also use VMS. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Jeff Timmons: Yeah, you really did your research. VMS is a new technology that’s very interesting. It hasn’t really caught on here in the States surprisingly. Some of the founders of VMS, they’re a Swedish group that I got connected to through an old producer of 98 Degrees… They met with me and said, “Will you promote this VMS for us?” Basically, it’s just video messaging. The fans can go to VMS, sign up for my channel. They download an app called VMS by Ironroad Technologies. They sign up and I can send them a video message and it’ll go right to their phone. And if they sign up, they can send me one back. I can go into my inbox and see…It’s sort of like a Twitter on steroids. Instead of instant microblogs, it’s instant video messages. I can pick and choose who I want to reply back in a video fashion. It’s pretty, pretty amazing.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: So are you going to release some of your music through that too?
Jeff Timmons: I don’t think that they’re capable of that…I can send a three minute video like that, but I want to make it so that the other technologies that I have…make it so…if I want to put…let’s say that you’re magazine was a real, physical magazine, not part of the virtual world. I could put a code in your magazine, people could snap a picture of it with their phone…I could do it on your website too…It could go right into the phone, but then they have the option to take it out of their phone and then stick into the computer and interact with it, with VMS it would just strictly be stuck into the phone. I think they’re working on the technology where they can take the videos out of your phone and into your computer, your iPod, your Zune, whatever.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: Do you have any other upcoming projects…well, you’re doing a lot actually… Chippendale’s, the CD coming out...are you going on tour?
Jeff Timmons: You know I probably would do a few dates after the Chips. But right now I’m just really focused on getting the music out there. I want everybody to come to the Rio, check me out. We’ll have a good time. As you know… I’m very interactive with the fans and hands on. I just want everybody to check the music out and if they get a chance, I released the first single for free at sharefuze.com/JeffTimmons-itfactor and all you got to do is share it. If you share it once on one of your social networks, you can download it for free. A lot of the music will be free too this time.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: Your whole CD is going to be free?
Jeff Timmons: Everything’s free. The whole thing’s free.
For more information on Jeff Timmons and his music, check out his official site, Facebook page or follow him on Twitter.
Nick Lachey says the countdown has begun to his wedding with Vanessa Minnillo, but his former band mate Jeff Timmons says he hasn't received an invite.
"I would love to be there when the time comes," Timmons, who performed with Lachey in the boy band, 98 Degrees, tells RumorFix exclusively.
Timmons, who just accepted a gig to perform at Chippendales in Las Vegas, says, "I've known Nick and Vanessa for a long time ... I got to see their synergy and what their relationship was like last summer and fall/I just think they're incredible and I think they're going to make a great couple."
The 30-year-old is "just a beauty and a wonderful person to be around," he says.
When Nick and Jessica Simpson wed on October 26, 2002, 98 Degrees performed, but will the group reunite to perform this time around?
"I think it would be cool," Timmons says, "but I think sometimes you want to separate business from personal and I could see how he maybe would not want that to happen."
RumorFix has learned exclusively that the band members of 98 Degrees were in serious talks to come back with a reunion tour, but the plan fell apart.
Jeff Timmons tells us when News Kids On The Block started their tour he, Nick and Drew Lachey and Justin Jeffre discussed getting back together.
"I think that now would have been a great opportunity for us to get back together," Jeff says of the boy band group from the late 90s famous for such hits as "Because of You," "The Hardest Thing" and "Invisible Man."
Jeff, who is 37 now and about to embark on a four week gig with Chippendales, says there's no bad blood between the band members, in fact he says, "We were like brothers ... we were very close as a group."
Jeff says the timing wasn't right for the group, Drew just signed on to return to the Price Is Right at the Bally's in Las Vegas April 19-30 and of course, Nick, is about to get married to Vanessa Minnillo.
But the singer still holds out hope, "Look if the opportunities not now, hopefully it will be later."
Media outlets everywhere have been reporting that 98 Degrees founder and member Jeff Timmons has joined the Vegas show Chippendales as a stripper at the Rio Hotel and Casino from May 12th to June 5th . Celebuzz had the great pleasure of chatting with Timmons to set the record straight.
Sit tight Degreers. Jeff revealed he will NOT be stripping down to his boxers. We know. Sad face. But on a brighter note, he WILL be lending his beautiful vocal stylings to the show’s already extravagant and provocative line up. His role will be as a guest performer and M.C..
Jeff chatted with us about everything, including his gay following and what that means to him. He even revealed that talks about a 98 Degrees reunion have taken place (hooray!). Read the entire interview and get the entire story straight from Jeff himself after the jump — and check out a chance to WIN four VIP tickets to the show!
For the latest on Jeff Timmons become a fan on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @jefftimmons_98, visit his website JeffTimmons.com, and don’t forget to download his latest single for free HERE!
When did you first decide to team up with the Chippendales?
My old manager, Mike Caprio, is the PR guy for the Chippendales and he actually approached me about a year ago about doing it and I thought Chippendales? What do they want me to do? They want me to become a male stripper! He said that’s the old school Chippendales — you gotta come check out the show. A lot of celebrities are going and doing these shows in Vegas now. It’s becoming a miniature Broadway. Vegas has always been known as a haven for entertainment. I went and checked out the show and was pretty blown away. It’s a multi million-dollar performance in a $10 million performance facility and it’s a real deal show. Did the guys in the show take off their shirts? Yeah, that’s what they do. Do they strip naked and do girls shove dollar bills in their pants? No, it doesn’t happen like that anymore. They do musical numbers. It’s an entertaining show and it also hits my fan base, which is the female fan base. So, I was asked to come in and, not dance with the guys cause I cant hold a candle to those guys as professional dancers, but to come in and MC the show basically. I sing a couple older numbers and some of my new stuff, and get some new fans acclimated with my new music. It sounds like a fun thing to do.
Is there anything that you’re most nervous about in regards to performing with the Chippendales?
Well, those guys are extremely well-built studs. I’m just the guy next door from Ohio. It’s intimidating to get up there with them. I don’t know if I’ll be performing with them or exactly what they have in mind as far as the musical numbers that I’m going to be doing with them. But it’s an intimidating thing to get up there with a bunch of guys that look like the Incredible Hulk. Just little old me from Ohio hanging out with them. Although, I am really comfortable I my own skin, I think the biggest part of the whole thing that bothers me is that I hope people don’t get the misconception that I’m becoming a stripper. None of those guys in that show are strippers. It’s a very professional show like I said before. At the end of the day I’m excited to get up there and perform and introduce new stuff and get out there again. So, I’m not really nervous about any of it to be honest with you.
What has life been like post 98 Degrees stardom?
Well, I’ve been married before and I have two kids from a previous marriage, so I’ve been spending a lot of time just being a Dad. That was great — but I’ve never gotten out of music. I released my solo record on my own that was a very small project but made some noise on the adult contemporary charts and overseas it did pretty well. I’ve always been producing new artists, up and coming artists, and just been in the studio working on some of my new stuff. I’ve always hung around music and stayed with the music.
You also released an album that you put up as a free download on your website.
Yeah I did. I think at first people didn’t know what to do. I just wanted to experiment and see if it worked. What I wanted to do was put it up and everybody that submitted their email address would get a chance to download the record. I collected over 1.5 million email addresses in a matter of months. It worked out. I was nervous at first. People were asking why I was giving it for free, they didn’t understand. Here people are downloading music and movies for free on the Internet anyway. So, I figured if you cant beat them, you might a well join them. So, I gave the record away, had millions of downloads of it and got the music back out there. Now, with this new album I’ve been working on, I’m going to be doing a similar kind of thing. Starting today actually, I’m releasing the first song. I’m sending someone an email, blasting all million and a half emails. I’ll be sending a link. They can take this link and download the new song. The catch is, they have to share the link with at least one other person on their social network. So you can blast the link on your Twitter or your Facebook before you have access to the song. All that’s doing is helping me get my music to more possible fans.
The next release and subsequent releases on the album all will have music videos attached to them. Real music videos. So, every song on the album will be released over the Internet for free, virally, and with music videos attached. It’s pretty cool.
You talked about your female fan base, but you also have a huge gay following. How do you feel about that?
I’m flattered to have a following at all. The way I was raised, we didn’t discriminate against anybody. Sexual orientation has never been something that intimidated me whatsoever. Having a gay following, straight following, female following, alien following! I’m just happy to have people liking music. If I have a huge gay following I’m totally cool with that. 98 Degrees had a big gay following. We would go overseas to places like Germany and go to a club that was an exclusively gay club. It’s all about getting in front of your fan base and performing. In fact, my first solo show was for a Chicago Gay Pride festival. I’ve never had a problem with it. I’ve embraced it. I’m pretty sure everyone has good intentions, regardless of what they look like or what they prefer sexually.
I grew up in a small town. Not everyone has an open mind about things like that. I was raised a certain way, and if I behaved any differently my parents would kick my butt.
Are there any plans for a 98 Degrees reunion?
You know, we had talked about it for the first time in a long time a few months back, but we just couldn’t get it together. Everybody had different things that they wanted to do still. It’s still out there but I don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon. I think we have seen what New Kids and Backstreet Boys are doing, and they’ve had a fantastic run tour wise. It looks like it could be a great opportunity but we just couldn’t pull it together this time. But it’s not off the table. Just not right now.
Want to meet Jeff in person and catch the rest of the Chippendales action? Tell us in the comments section what makes you the ultimate Jeff Timmons or Chippendales fan and you will be entered to win the Chippendales Ultimate Giveaway package. Including 4 VIP tickets (front row), a round of drinks, Chipps gift package (calendar, t-shirt, coffee mug, poster, playing cards), and a meet and greet with Jeff and the Men of Chippendales with a picture of you, Jeff and the boys! Remember, you must comment to win!
Hold on to your singles ladies ... and gentlemen ... because ex-98 Degrees star Jeff Timmons says he WILL NOT be stripping down to his banana hammock during his upcoming Chippendales gig.
