Jackie Jackson, Marlon Jackson and Tito Jackson. (Daniel Warren /WENN.com)

It was baby brother Michael Jackson's untimely death three years ago that inadvertently led to The Jacksons -- Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Tito -- hitting the road together again for the first time in almost three decades, not since 1984's Victory tour.

The Jacksons' Unity Tour of North America kicks off Wednesday night at Casino Rama near Orillia, Ont., about two hours north of Toronto, and is the only Canadian date.

"I think it stemmed from the tribute concert in Wales, England, and the tribute concert for the people of Japan, for my brother (Michael), and I think from that led to this," said Marlon Jackson, 55, on the phone recently.

"It was emotional and (there) was some reminiscing on stage. You get flashbacks. (His death) is always with you. You learn to deal with it. You learn to go about your daily life with it. You never forget. Everyone's doing fine, as best they can do when you've lost a loved one. It takes time to heal and there's still a healing process but it's gotten a lot better."

Michael was known as such a consummate performer that Marlon believes he would support his brothers' new road trek.

"He would be for it," said Jackson. "As a matter of fact after he was doing his dates in England (which he was rehearsing for right before he died), then he wanted to do one more tour with all the brothers. He'll always be there with us in spirit. And the fans want to see the brothers, it's been many years, and so we decided -- 'We're not getting any younger,' we might as well do it now."

The brothers have been in rehearsals in L.A. for the last six or seven weeks, and apparently, despite 28 years of not touring, it's just like riding a bike.

"I mean, you might have to fine tune some things but you never forget," said Jackson.

Marlon claims they can still bust some dance moves, even if there's "some of the things you can't do."

"I never think about age, to me, it's just a number. I just go about my daily life and try to have fun and enjoy it. And, especially since my brother had passed, I've made a promise to myself, you know, 'Tomorrow's not guaranteed and I'm going to enjoy this day to it's fullest as I can.' "

Anticipation is high amongst Jacksons fans and Jackson said they won't be let down with a hits-heavy 90-minute set.

"They should expect a regular Jacksons show. The energy and the performance from the brothers is still the same."

Still, before it even began, the Unity Tour -- which was supposed to launch two U.S. shows earlier than the Rama date -- has been plagued by a number of cancellations, including Cleveland just this week.

"There was some conflicting schedules and things of that nature so it had to be worked out," said Jackson.

As for recording new material, "we might want to do something," he teases.

For now, The Jacksons are just dipping a toe in the touring pond with the Unity Tour running through late July.

"There might be some other things overseas and (then we'll) probably come back around and do something in the U.S. and other places," said Jackson.