How to Start a Band With Siblings Like the Jonas Brothers

The Jonas Brothers is pop-rock band consisting of three brothers, Nicholas, Joseph and Kevin, from New Jersey. There first album, It's About Time, was released in 2006 and their second self-titled album was released in 2007. They join a long list of successful bands made of siblings, such as Hanson, Chevelle and VanHalen.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Perform in a barber shop at age 6, like Nicholas Jonas, so that you can be discovered. Then write your own song and perform it with the Broadway cast of Beauty and the Beast at an awards ceremony so that Columbia Records will give you a record deal by age 11.
2. Collaborate with your siblings to write songs for your solo album so that the record company will later decide to sign all of you to a record deal, as Columbia Records did for Nick, Joe and Kevin. Be sure to come up with a catchy band name that identifies you as siblings. Nick, Joe and Kevin toyed with the band name "Sons of Jonas" before finally deciding on "Jonas Brothers."
3. Play for small clubs and small audiences as a band, loading and turning on your own equipment, so that you will grow as individuals, siblings and as a band. According to Nick, "We were playing in the smallest clubs in front of 10 people every night, and it was tough loading in our own gear, turning on our guitars and doing everything on our own. It was great training for what we're doing now, and it's really helped us grow. We're so thankful for our past and all that because it's just really helped us today."
4. Open for various popular singers/bands like Kelly Clarkson and The Backstreet Boys so that people will buy your first album, which you release around the same time. The Jonas Brothers' first album, "It's About Time," was released in 2006.
5. Team up with Hollywood Records/Disney Music Group when your first record deal falls through. Immediately open for one of the most popular concert tours in the nation, like Hannah Montana, so that the crowd goes crazy about your band too. According to Nick, Jonas Brothers had been playing for two and a half years before signing with Disney, and their relationship with Disney has made all the difference, providing a well-established and built-in fan base.
6. Start headlining your own tour immediately following a successful tour as an opening band. Be sure to have a lot of bells and whistles for the tour, such as LED screens, Plexiglas ramps and a metallic jungle gym, like the Jonas Brothers did for their Look Me in the Eyes Tour which began January 31, 2008.
7. Keep the love between siblings strong through it all. Joe Jonas explains, "It's really cool being on tour with your brothers because you kind of have a different respect for each other. You get on stage every night and you play a concert, so you can't really start arguing and throwing guitars at each other. If we ever do get in little arguments, it's usually about the smallest things, the smallest details: What song are we going with? Or why is Nick wearing my socks? Things like that."

Tips & Warnings

• Not every sibling band is successful, so be realistic in your expectations.