Even though he’s only 19 years old, Adam Hicks is already kind
of a show business veteran. By that I mean he’s appeared in feature films like
Disney’s 2006 “Shaggy Dog” remake and New Line Cinema’s “How to Eat Fried Worms.” Not to mention played Luther Waffles on “Zeke and Luther,” which is now
in its third season on Disney XD.
Adam Hicks performs his hip hop holiday jam, “Happy Universal
Holidays,”
following “Zeke and Luther” ‘s holiday special. Photo by Craig Sjodin.
Copyright The Disney Channel. All rights reserved
But there’s show business (i.e. starring in a cable sitcom)
and then there’s SHOW BUSINESS !!! Where you’re standing onstage in front of an
arena full of screaming fans with fireworks exploding directly behind you.
Which is Adam got to experience last summer while he was working on Disney’s “Lemonade
Mouth,” a new TV musical from the Mouse that debuts on the Disney Channel
tonight at 8 p.m. ET / PT.
“I’ve never been part of anything that big before,” Hicks
recalled during a recent phone call. “We shot ‘Lemonade Mouth’ ‘s Madison
Square Garden scene for almost an entire day. We got to rock out in front of
this huge crowd. And there were these 50 foot-tall monitors and 12 back-up
dancers. I even got to jump off the stage and body surf the crowd. It was wild.
My Dad – who was there while we were shooting this scene at the Star Center –
said this is just what it’s like at a Rolling Stones concert.”
Mind you, before Adam and the rest of the cast of “Lemonade
Mouth” were allowed to go onstage & make like Mick and Keith, there were
rehearsals. Two weeks of rehearsals to be exact.
(L to R) Nick Roux and Adam Hicks walk the ‘yellow carpet’ at the ‘Lemonade Mouth’
premiere. Which was held this Tuesday at Stevenson Middle School in Los Angeles’
Boyle Heights section. Photo by Rick Rowell. Copyright The Disney Channel.
All rights reserved
“Chris Scott (i.e. ‘Lemonade Mouth’ ‘s choreographer ) worked
us real hard. But he kind of had to,” Hicks said. “You see, what was challenging
about this movie is that we had to play Lemonade Mouth at all of these different
points in their career. When they first came
together in detention and then they played their first gig at school. Plus
Lemonade Mouth’s big arena show. And people who are just getting started playing
together obviously move a whole lot differently than a band that’s been performing
together for years. So Chris had to teach us how to move awkwardly – which was
easy – as well as jam like we’d been playing together forever. Which was a lot harder
to do.”
Of course, given that Adam has been playing sweet-though-easily-distracted
Luther to Hutch Dano‘s Zeke for three years now, Hicks obviously has the
awkward thing down already. But playing Lemonade Mouth’s loyal keyboardist Wen
Gifford was something of a stretch for Hicks.
“Wen is a lot more serious than Luther. He has some tough stuff that he’s
dealing with at home and trouble fitting in at school. Which is why Wen is so
quick to embrace the idea of being part of a band,” Adam explained. “I just hope that the people
who like ‘Zeke and Luther’ are ready to see me play someone that’s as relaxed
and chilled as Wen is.”
Adam Hicks autographs an electric guitar at Tuesday
night’s premiere event for Disney’s “Lemonade
Mouth.” Photo by Rick Rowell. Copyright The
Disney Channel. All rights reserved
And as if having to learn all of this choreography and/or
prepping to play a somewhat serious role wasn’t a big enough challenge for
Hicks, things got REALLY interesting for Adam on “Lemonade Mouth” when the producers of
this new Disney Channel Original Movie asked Hicks if he’d like to help out
with the songwriting side of things.
“I’ve been rapping for a few years now. Which I’ve done on three
music videos for Disney XD,” Adam stated. “But I never expected that the guys
who were handling the music for ‘Lemonade Mouth’ would then text me and ask if
I’d be interested in writing the rap lyrics for three songs on the soundtrack.”
That – when you get right down to it – may have been Adam’s
biggest thrill while working on this Disney Channel Original Movie. To go from
being that guy who recorded raps alone in his bedroom on jury-rigged recording
equipment to suddenly professionally laying down tracks in this state-of-the-art
studio.
The cast of “Lemonade Mouth” — (L to R) Blake Michael, Naomi Scott, Hayley Kiyoko,
Bridgit Mendeler and Adam Hicks — perform on ABC’s “Good Morning America” this
past Monday. Photo by Ida Mae Astute. Copyright American Broadcasting
Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
“The time that I spent in that studio was just amazing,” Hicks remembered. “But
then the whole experience of making ‘Lemonade Mouth’ was just amazing. Wait ’til
you see all of us up on stage during the Madison Square Garden sequence. After all
that rehearsal, we’re not just some actors pretending to be a band. We really
are a band.”
If you want to see what Adam is talking about, “Lemonade
Mouth” premieres tonight on the Disney Channel at 8 p.m. ET/PT with
simulcasts on Sprint TV and MobiTV. And if you can’t catch this new Disney
Channel Original Movie then … Well, there’s always the encore on Sunday, April
17th. Which is when “Lemonade Mouth” airs at 8:30 p.m. ET / PT.
And if you’d like to actually see Hicks and his fellow “Lemonade
Mouth” band mates learning to perform the choreography for this Disney Channel
Original Movie, be sure and check out the encore presentation on Saturday,
April 23rd. Which will be hosted by Bridgit Mendler & Adam Hicks
and will feature all sorts of behind-the-scenes footage of the cast during
their two-week-long rehearsal phase for this new TV movie.
Bridgit Mendler and Adam Hicks on set during the production of Disney’s “Lemonade
Mouth.” Photo by Colleen Hayes. Copyright The Disney Channel. All rights reserved
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