(1) We are sure you are a household name and face, but for anyone (especially those millennials) who may not be familiar with you, tell us your story, How did your path lead you to *NSYNC and how did that journey change your life? Well, I used to sing in quartets and do acappella when one of the guys in my quartet introduced me to Lou Pearlman. Lou said he was looking for a band like my quartet...so I brought him the quartet. I made changes throughout the years. Guys would quit and find replacements which led me to Justin & JC and we brought in Joey and then Lance and that became *NSYNC.
(2) We love that you have chosen Nashville to settle and raise a family in the past decade. Tell us what you love most about living here. The people are amazing! We love the topography. It's a great place to raise our son. It's also a good hub since I travel a lot so it's convenient to almost everywhere I have to go. A lot happens in Nashville, especially in the music scene. It just made sense that we would be here.
(3) We are honored that you welcomed us into your home to photograph your beautiful family. Tell us a little bit about how you and your wife met and your favorite things to do as a family. My wife used to work for the Orlando Magic when I lived in Orlando. I asked her out for 2 years before she finally said yes. I used to make a joke; I would say to her, "If you go out with me one time, we will be together forever." She went out with me one time and we're still together forever. We just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary!
We have a few family traditions that we love; at Easter we rent out a cabin in Gatlinburg and at Christmas we go to New York and do all the fun New York stuff.
(4) We love that you are so involved in the communities here revolving around children and pets - can you tell us more about your involvement with these organizations? I have loved visiting the Boys and Girls Club and am currently in talks with Notes for Notes to do something together. My family and I are also very active with Wags & Walks, which is where we got our dog. Other than that, I like to go to a lot of charity events that are around town.
(5) We have loved seeing you tour the country with the recent Pop 2000 Tour. Tell us a little bit about that and what town has been your favorite to visit so far? The Pop2000 Tour is definitely different than the old *NSYNC days because I get to play a lot of venues I've never played. Every week the venues that we're at are completely different and I love showing up and seeing the venue for the first time and getting to experience that town. As for my favorite city on this tour, there's really not a favorite for me.
The fan response has been amazing. It's been great to go out and sing the old songs with a bunch of bands that had hits back in the old TRL days and watch the reactions of the fans who used to be kids but are now bringing their kids to the shows.
When you have great people on the tour that you enjoy spending time with and hanging out with, it's the old cliche, "When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life."
(6) If you could share your journey with someone who is aspiring to be in a similar career, what piece of advice would you lend? Anything hard you learned from that you hope to share to help others? When it comes to gigs, don't say, "no," because you never know when that gig that you thought was a little birthday party or whatever it is, could have someone there that is like, "Hey I have this opportunity."
Practice your craft whenever you get an opportunity. Don't treat it like it's just another little gig. Treat every gig as if you are performing at the Super Bowl.
Social media is a great outlet now too if you've got great songs and ideas. It's a great way to be seen and noticed, for someone to find interest in what you do. You never know what shape your career could take.
(7) 5 quick questions:
- Favorite*NSYNC song to perform
"Pop" is my favorite song to perform because its high energy
- Favorite restaurant in Nashville?
Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse
- Favorite vacation you've taken with your family?
Disney World - getting to perform at Disney and then getting the backstage experience with our son
- Favorite Drink?
Flow water
- Favorite sports team?
Nashville City Soccer
(8) Anything else you would like to add? We record and broadcast my Name Drop Podcast from Nashville. We've highlighted a lot of huge superstars, but also a few local Nashville names too.
We love Nashville. We think it's the best city in the world to raise a family in. It's so family friendly.
Follow Chris Kirkpatrick on his socials for continual updates on his life and career Instagram: @iamCKirkpatrick & @NameDropShowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NameDropShow
"When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life."
Practice your craft whenever you get an opportunity. Don't treat it like it's just another little gig. Treat every gig as if you are performing at the Super Bowl.