PHOTOSOn the Road with Jesse McCartney
June 4 2009, Published 8:55 a.m. ET
While many may fantasize about being a rock star – traveling the world, maybe trashing a hotel room or two, hearing thousands of frenzied cheers, feeling the love – the truth is, touring is no cakewalk.
Just ask Jesse McCartney, actor (he's had a recurring role on Greek), songwriter ("Bleeding Love") and teen idol, currently on tour with the New Kids on the Block through July 12.
The good? "The best part is being able to perform in front of the fans and watch them grow up over the years," Jesse tells OK!.
But then there's the bad, the "grind" of the tour, that's both "monotonous and repetitive," he says.
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The worst is having to do promotions and make appearances at TV stations.
"I understand how that's effective, but it can be gruesome and tiring," he admits to OK!. "You get up at 8 in the morning, go to a radio station until 9 or 10, sing, do an interview or a meet and greet, then you go to sound check at 1 ad grab a bite at catering if you're lucky. Then you can get ready for the show at 8 or 9 and get on the bus and go to the next city... If it wasn't for that hour and a half performing live, I would probably be miserable."
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Sounds exhausting just hearing about it! So how does he stay sane on the road with all of that?
"I usually bring my own pillow and different seasons of Dexter and Six Feet Under," he says, adding that he listens to musicians like Adele ("She's amazing) and "John Mayer, only because I grew up listening to him and I jammed with him in Australia. We ripped through an entire minibar of snacks and drinks and played guitar for two hours straight in his room."
See, being a rock star isn't all that bad!
