Nat and Alex Wolff, better known to viewers of Nickelodeon as The Naked Brothers Band, are gearing up for a new season of their hit series and their first national tour.

The siblings launch their trek November 1 at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J., with a dozen more club and theatre stops scheduled through mid-December.

Highlights include visits to Blender Theatre at Gramercy in New York City (November 8), Rams Head Live! in Baltimore (November 15), Myth in Saint Paul, Minn. (November 23), House of Blues in New Orleans (November 30), Berklee Performance Center in Boston (December 7) and The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, Calif. (December 14).

Just how hot is Nickelodeon’s rock star/comedy act The Naked Brothers? Well, in East Tennessee this weekend, they drew thousands to their autograph signings at two Wal-Mart stores.

Brothers Alex and Nat Wolff star in their own Nickelodeon comedy, “The Naked Brothers Band,” which airs 8:30pm Saturdays. Their CD “I Don’t Wanna Go To School” just arrived in stores, and they have their first made-for-TV movie, “Polar Bear,” out in early June.

On Saturday, it was estimated the brothers attracted 1,000 folks to a Sevierville Wal-Mart, with a line going outside the store and around a block. On Sunday at the Turkey Creek Wal-Mart in Knoxville, more than 1,500 fans came out to see them.

There were tears, screams of joy, shaking and even camping out. Four girls camped out at the Turkey Creek Wal-Mart just so they could be first in line to see the Naked Brothers.

Why did the hot Nickelodeon act choose to do signings here? According to a source, the band’s CD sold better in this area than just about any place in the country.

The Naked Brothers Band is one of the top-rated shows on Nickelodeon. Nat Wolff and his little brother Alex are the stars of the show, along with their parents and friends in the band.

The Naked Brothers wasn’t the original name of the band. “The real name was The Silver Boulders,” Nat Wolff revealed, noting that they like being in demand. “We write the music and then we go into the studio and we record it, and we do gigs. But we actually go to school and we’re totally normal.”

Vouching for Nat and Alex being “totally normal” is their good friend Devon Werkheiser, star of Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, who is currently writing songs for his debut CD, coming out later this year.

VALERIE STRAUSS; The Washington Post

This was no ordinary field trip. When the kid rock band Rated traveled from Washington, D.C., to New York recently, it wasn’t to see the Statue of Liberty.

Instead, keyboardist Alexander Levy, 12; guitarist Edoardo Pisoni, 12; drummer Daniel Guimaraes, 12; and singer Rebecca Levy, 11, visited with the Naked Brothers Band and watched a taping of the Nickelodeon show.

The comedy, in its second season, is about two brothers and their famous rock band. It stars 13-year-old Nat Wolff and 10-year-old Alex Wolff, real-life brothers who do have a rock band.

Members of Rated interviewed the stars to learn how they do what they do. Here are some things that Rated band members, who have been together three years and who jam at Bach to Rock Music School in Bethesda, Md., discovered:

• Nat can write a song in 15 minutes. Melodies pop into his head, he said, and ideas for lyrics come “from regular life.”
• Both boys are Beatles fanatics. Alex was inspired by drummer Ringo Starr: “I copied all his moves.”
• The show, which often showcases guest stars (including Tony Hawk), is taped mostly over the summer so that the kids don’t miss too much school. They also are tutored on the set.
• Alexandra Jean DiMeco, 15, who plays Rosalina, the band’s bassist and only girl, can play at least half a dozen other instruments. Allie loves being in the band but said she sometimes wishes there was another girl around.
• The band’s name comes from when the boys were little and emerged from a bath calling themselves “The Naked Brothers Band.”
• Nat started a band when he was 4 or 5 with preschool friends.

Nickelodeon is ready to get down with a new dance/variety series for tweens dubbed “Dance on Sunset.”

“Sunset,” hosted by Quddus Philippe (MTV’s “TRL”), will feature a mix of musical acts, free-style dance competitions and a troupe of young dancers who will teach kids the latest moves. In addition, viewers can get in step each week in front of the TV and on a new complementary Web site.

Stars slated to perform include Ashlee Simpson, Sean Kingston, Akon with Colbie and Menudo. Among the guest stars on tap are Janet Jackson, Omarion and Nickelodeon’s Miranda Cosgrove (”iCarly”) and the Naked Brothers Band.

Produced by Magical Elves (Bravo’s “Project Runway”) and created by talent agents Bryan Leder and Frederick Levy, the series will encompass 12 half-hour episodes. It is set to premiere at 9:30 p.m. March 29 after the 2008 Kids’ Choice Awards. Following its premiere, “Sunset” will move to its regular time slot of 8:30 p.m. Sundays.

An indoor Nickelodeon theme park is opening in the Mall of America. Nickelodeon Universe, the network’s first theme park, is scheduled to open March 15. The seven-acre amusement park will include 18 Nickelodeon-branded rides, including a roller coaster called SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge; Avatar Airbender; and The Naked Brothers Crazy Cars.

This is one of several efforts by the network to associate its brand with travel and destinations. In 2005, a Nickelodeon-themed resort opened in Orlando, and in August, Nickelodeon will launch its first-ever family cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas, with a Western Caribbean itinerary.

Nickelodeon has announced a new DVD release titled The Naked Brothers Band - Polar Bears. Distributor Paramount Home Entertainment will release it on June 17th. Video is full screen, audio is English Dolby and the running time is 70 minutes.

The band’s next concert stop is in New Orleans, where they are staying with an old friend of dad who runs a B&B. The kids used to play together when they were younger and are overjoyed to be reunited. But Rosalina is jealous of this new potential competition and her complicated feelings for Nat keep her from being honest with him. Qaasim is also upset that he has seemingly lost his magic touch with the ladies, which couldn’t come at a worse time as he has a huge crush on Nat’s childhood friend. Meanwhile, Alex accidentally sees “An Inconvenient Truth” and is determined to take a stand against global warming. He takes it a little too far but his passion is inspiring to everyone and as usual, his charm more than makes up for his overzealousness.