*NSYNC's court jester on getting laughs, making music, and creating his new clothing line.

   Chris Kirkpatrick is pretty much the opposite of the shyer members of *NSYNC. The oldest and wildest of the group, Chris has been known at different times as Crazy, Psycho, Lucky or Puerto Rico. His ever-changing hair, clothes and accessories help showcase his court-jester personality.
   Born in Clarion, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, this class clown loves to goof around, whether it be with his band mates, family or even online during a chat session. His humor is broad and chuckle-inducing. This was proven when a fan mentioned she had a dog named Cheeseburger, to which Chris replied, "I have a dog named French Fry and a rock named Large Coke, but they're dead now."
   Or when a fan admitted to having been abducted by aliens. "Hmmm," he replied. "So have I. Let's go seek counseling together."
   Then there was the story about the pet tree: "I used to tell everybody I had a pet tree and I used to take it for walks in a wagon and it used to go pee on dogs.."
   With a mind attuned to the hilarious nonsense of Monty Python, Chris keeps the other *NSYNCers on their toes with his clowning around - and the occasional prank. "There have been a lot of those," he said online. "One time, when JC fell asleep on the plane, I put all sorts of stuff from the plane all over his head and everywhere else, and took pictures. I never told him about it until I sprang the pictures on him."
   Speaking of Chris' humor, Lance told him during and interview, "When you're crazy, you're funny and that makes people laugh, and that's really cool."
   Maybe his humor is a psychological response to the fact that his father died when he was very young (webmaster note: his biological father is still alive). His mother, Bev, found the strength to move on and remarry, eventually giving Chris four half-sisters: Molly, Kate, Emily and Taylor. It takes a certain kid of strength to recover from such a terrible loss, and Chris did.
   He eventually joined a Christmas caroling group, an experience that built on his love for music. When the family moved to Florida, he signed with Universal Studios to be one of the singers of the doo-wop group The Hollywood High Tones. Chris sang tenor at the 1950s-style restaurant called Mel's Drive-In Diner, performing under the name Spike.
   Chris befriended a fellow performer at Universal named Joey Fatone, who was playing a vampire in the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue a couple of stage doors down. Joey knew JC. Who was working at Disney, and they eventually gathered together settling down the path that would lead to *NSYNC.

The Thrill Of Victory
   One of Chris' biggest thrills is to meet people everywhere he goes. He admitted to Smash Hits magazine that he sometimes gets "more homesick when I'm at home - I miss all the touring." At the same time, while on tour, he told an online crowd that his family is what helps keep him grounded when trying to deal with fame. It's not a matter of wanting a normal life.
   "I think *NSYNC is my normal life," he said. "It's kinda crazy, but we have as many good things as bad thing. You just have to deal with it. We have our families and each other. I can't say that it hasn't gone to our heads, because in a few ways it has, but we try to stay as grounded as possible."
   Fame, he points out, has both positive and negative qualities about it. "My sisters don't like fame," said Chris. "They stay away from it. I love seeing different places everyday... meeting new people. Yeah, sometimes you get tired of it, but it comes with the job, so you deal with it."
   The business itself offers plenty of diversion, such as having to remember key dance moves and when to be on stage. "I've actually forgotten dance moves on 'I Want You Back,'" he admitted online. "I get up there and get so comfortable and stop thinking about it. Then I forget to do a move or something. There was a time I did a flip, but didn't flip all the way... and I landed on my head on stage. That wasn't comforting."
   Chris has constantly thanked the fans for their interest and approval of *NSYNC. He respects them and doesn't judge by age groups. "I can tell you when it comes to littler kids," he said online, "we never talk down to them. Kids are smart. We don't treat them like kids. We treat them like human beings."

Fu Man Skeeto
   The love of the fans has translated into great success, but as with the other *NSYNCers, Chris often looks at the future. Teen People reported that Chris is involved in clothing, visual art and music production via his company Fu Man Skeeto. There is a New York showroom to attract distributors of his clothing line that consists of brightly colored T-shirts and sweatshirts, all skater-inspired. This line will initial be sold on the Internet and then be moved into retail outlets. Chris is also producing the first effort of musician Ron Irizarry, who opened for *NSYNC on their "Ain't No Stoppin' Us" tour, and now has an album in the works.

   Ironically, singing wasn't always Chris' first career choice. Dancing and being a musician (he learned on the trombone, keyboard and guitar as a youngster) were among his first choice, but he intends to keep music in his life. It always has been, going back to his great-grandparents, who were both in bands; his grandmother, who was trained as an opera singer; his country and western-singing grandfather; a rockabilly and jazz-oriented aunt; two uncles, one who is a little bit country, and another who is a little bit rock and roll; a cousin with a rock band, and his mother, who teaches voice lessons.
   With all his musical talent in his family, was it preordained that Chris do what he does? You decide.
   "Music of any kind will definitely be in my future," he said online. "Producing, writing, arranging, sleeping... maybe becoming a Play Station Game Tester. That's a good one."
   Chris will go wherever fate takes him, which should be a pretty fine trip. "I definitely believe in fate," he has said online. "I also believe in karma. That's why we treat everyone with respect, because the people you meet on the way up are the people you meet on the way down."