Joe Jonas Wants To Be A Cowboy

Joe Jonas says he’s “pretty excited” to be returning to RodeoHouston alongside his brothers, for several reasons.

The fans. The fair. The wardrobe.

“I can wear my cowboy boots that I just bought,” he says. “That’s just the appropriate thing to do.”

The sibling trio moved back to Texas just under two years ago, so western wear makes sense. But the Jonas Brothers haven’t spent much time at home.

The group is still pushing its fourth studio album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times; and will soon be seen in new episodes of the Disney Channel’s JONAS series and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (alongside fellow Texan and RodeoHouston performer Demi Lovato).

Nick Jonas and the Administration (a side project) will release Who I Am next month, and Joe guest judges during the Jan. 26 episode of American Idol.

The middle Jonas took time to talk revolving stages, carnival food and “stalker girls.”

Are you really planning to cowboy it up for RodeoHouston?

I’ve got cowboy boots and a cowboy hat I like to wear when I’m home in Texas. I can’t promise that I’m going to be in boots. We’ll see what my brothers say about that. If they’re for it, I’ll be rocking it full-on. I’ll even have the NASCAR sunglasses — I’m going to go there. You’re not even going to recognize me. I’m probably going to ride bulls while I’m there, too, just to fit in.

How about at least a big buckle?

They gave me a huge buckle last time we played (RodeoHouston), and I was pretty pumped. It’s actually in my bedroom, sitting on my mantle, because I love it so much. I’ve just got to figure out how to put it on my belt. And I’ve got to buy a belt.

What’s your most vivid memory of being on the revolving stage?

It is bizarre because they push the stage out, and you’re a little bit away from the audience. I need to connect with the audience, and sometimes I just need to touch them and high-five them and stuff. I jumped off the stage and ran to the audience. I think that might happen again. It’s just a cool thing to be a part of. Being able to say that we’ve done it before and we didn’t get booed off the stage by any cowboys — that makes us happy. That comforts our spirits a little bit. Now we’re just excited for the fair food and leather chaps and stuff.

What’s your must-have carnival cuisine?

Churro-nation. My trainer might hate me the next day, but I will indulge. I go the route of the corn dog and maybe end it with a churro. They have the 8-foot long corn dog that’s just ridiculously good. It’s just such a great thing to be able to go there and see the fair and see the rodeo. It’s so Texas. You feel so proud. You just want to run around wearing an American flag.

Your 2009 show drew 72,475 fans, ahead of Beyoncé and Alicia Keys — and just below Miley Cyrus.

It was very surprising when we heard even the presale numbers. You always wonder, is everybody going to one day be like, ‘All right, I’m done with this band. Let’s move on.’ We are genuinely surprised. Everybody’s in a good mood and wants to just yell and scream and yeehaw.

What advice would you give fellow tween idols and RodeoHouston first-timers Lovato, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber?

Just kind of remember this moment, because it could only happen once. If you get lucky, it can happen twice. You need to really know that what you’re about to is something that thousands of musicians dream of.

Have you found that everything is really bigger in Texas?

The malls are bigger. You can’t even walk the whole mall. You have to come back the next day to finish the other half. I spent like three weeks there for the holidays. We had a routine where we just woke up, I would go to the gym, we would go to the mall and go see a movie that night. I saw Sherlock Holmes the day it came out. When you have those opportunities, it’s great.

Don’t you still get mobbed by fans?

There were a couple of stalker girls today that followed us into a fast-food place. But we like to have a normal life. We’re not pampered at all. We are from Texas, so there’s a big portion of us that’s just good ol’ boys. All we want to do is drive our cars and trucks and do what we want. If it gets a little crazy, we know how to handle it.

What was it like sitting next to Simon Cowell for a round of Idol auditions?

I’m an Idol fan. My favorite episodes to watch are the first five and the last two. I like both sides of it. There are some situations that people walked in, and I couldn’t stop laughing. I felt horrible, but you can’t help it. America’s going to die laughing. But I did see a couple of people that I had to ask their names. I just would tell people what I learned: ‘Be good to the people on the way up, because there’s always a way down.’

RodeoHouston tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at all Ticketmaster locations (excluding the Reliant Park Box office until Jan. 18), at rodeohouston.com or by calling 800-726-1313.