JC Chasez Develops A Personality Disorder, Talks Dirty

02/17/04 5:00pm

Most pop fans know JC Chasez as one of the four members of *NSYNC who isn’t break-out superstar Justin Timberlake. Not content to only be known as a lion-maned boy-band member, Chasez is striking while the iron is hot by following in Timberlake’s footsteps and releasing a solo album. Chasez’s debut album, Schizophrenic — which features songs mainly co-written and co-produced by Chasez himself — hits stores next week. Chasez worked with producers Dallas Austin, Rockwilder and the ultra-hip Basement Jaxx to produce Schizophrenic. As the album’s unsubtle title suggests, the songs are all over the place — we get to see JC rock out, croon, bust a move and basically do all that he can to stray as far away from the signature *NSYNC sound. "It's just a whole different animal, this record," Chasez says. "When you're dealing with *NSYNC, you're dealing with a group vision and you're dealing with a collaboration representing five people instead of just one. So there's always compromise involved in that and this is just an uncompromised effort on my part on making a record." So what exactly was JC Chasez compromising all of these years while he was in *NSYNC? Well, apparently — in addition to the freedom to perform folky ballads and reggae-inspired dance songs on the same album — he’s been dying to talk about sex. Lots and lots of sex. Schizophrenic’s dirty talk ranks up there with Kelis’ fantastically suggestive "Milkshake" — only without the pesky metaphor. Schizophrenic has JC musing about girl-on-girl action, doing it in every room of his house, indulging in one night stands and jerking off in bed when his lady friend isn’t around, all without euphemism. Seriously, it’s like the guy just took leave from a five-year stint in the Navy. Despite his lyrical, er, frankness, Chasez downplays the explicitness of his album, claiming his horn-dog ways are just in the name of good fun. "You know what? Some people say it's a really horny album," Chasez says. "I don't know, I don't see it that way. I mean there's a million records that have a million songs about sex on them and not every song on this record is about sex. "It's not like I'm taking myself seriously when I'm singing ‘All Day Long I Dream About Sex’ [from the song ‘All Day Long’]," Chasez continues. "You know, people are going to come up to me, ‘Do you really dream about sex all day long?’ I mean, give me a break, you know? So yes, I definitely have fun with it. You know, some of the songs were a goof, but that's what's great about them and some of the songs are serious — that's just the way it goes." Of course, all of this talk of gettin' it on can get a boy-band member in trouble. Following the Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson debacle at the Super Bowl earlier this month, Chasez was cut from the half-time show at the NFL Pro Bowl. Following his axing, Chasez spoke out about censorship issues and is still holding fast to his belief in his right to talk smut. "The musical climate right now — three weeks ago it was amazing. Today, it's a shame," Chasez says. "I think that the only thing I'm worried about are the censorship issues. I just don't necessarily agree with maybe some of the things that are going on. I feel like that for people to be attacking cable television is just wrong. People have to pay for that in the first place. If you don't want it, don't pay for it. "And I don't think that you should inhibit artists and I don't think you should inhibit their creativity," he continues. "If something is on their minds or if they think something's fun, I don't think they should have to second-guess themselves because they're worried whether somebody's actually going to physically give them a chance to be heard or not." Well, Chasez will be heard all over the place in the next few weeks. He’ll make at least a half dozen TV appearances in the days leading up to Schizophrenic’s release — check your local listings for specifics. Schizophrenic hits stores next Tuesday, February 24. —Elizabeth Chorney-Booth