The boys of You Me At Six are in town!!!
Made up of Josh Franceschi, Max Helyer, Matt Barnes, Chris Miller and Dan Flint Five the piece alternative, pop rock band from Weybridge, Surrey, You Me At Six are in Kuala Lumpur guys!! Formed in 2004, the band shot to fame in 2008 with their debut single Take Off Your Colours which includes singles “Save It For The Bedroom”, “Finders Keepers” and “Kiss and Tell”.
Following the success of their debut album, You Me At Six released their second studio album Hold Me Down in January 2010. The album reached number #5 in the UK and singles from this album include “Underdog”, “Liquid Confidence” and “Stay With Me”. Their third album, Sinners Never Sleep, was release in the UK in October 2011 and in January 2014, the band released their fourth studio album, Cavalier Youth.
Currently on tour, You Me At Six will be performing for the first time ever in Malaysia at KL Live tonight (September 2nd). Thanks to our buddies from Livescape Asia, we managed to catch up with Josh Franceschi and Max Helyer this morning. Here’s what the two hotties had to say:
Hype.My: Hey guys! You guys arrived yesterday, yes? How do you guys like KL so far?
Max: Yeah, we did. We managed to get some good food and did some sightseeing last night. We also danced for like 4 hours straight and woke up with a massive headache this morning. Hahaha. So yeah, I’d say we had a good time.
Josh: I’m surprised we’re constructing sentences to be honest. I was kinda upset that we left but they closed so yeah.
Hype.My: Haha. Glad to hear you’re liking KL! What do you enjoy most about touring?
Max: Seeing new places, meeting new people and playing shows. I think we’ve met some great people by doing this and some of these people I’ve met have become some of my best friends.
Josh: Yeah apart from seeing new places, playing shows and meeting new people, I enjoy being able to introduce myself to new cultures around the world. We use the band as a platform to see the world so it’s really cool.
Hype.My: You guys travel quite a fair bit, so how do you juggle touring and your personal lives?
Max: We don’t really. It’s a realisation that you’re going away for a long time and I think some people can handle it and some people can’t, you know? Especially with family, I think they find it a bit strange sometimes when we walk out the front door. Like for me, when I left home I didn’t see my dad. I saw my mom and she was like “not going to see you for ages so pep talk. Here you go, look after yourself, make sure you have fun and come back with good stories because I’ll look forward to them.” I think we’re lucky that we have good families. Families that would rather not have us around all the time but they know that we are doing something with our lives and that we’re happy. We just have to enjoy every moment we can.
Josh: Yeah, I was going to say that my personal live is becoming less and less important or less and less valued really. Not in like a boo hoo sort of way but it’s difficult because we’re older now. Now that we’re a bit older, all of my friends have like proper jobs and proper girlfriends and I’m the guy from that band that comes home for like half a year or leaves home for half a year. The true friends have stuck around but in terms of family and girlfriends, it is difficult because it’s like I’m asking them to pause their lives or be flexible to what I need and I want. Being away makes me appreciate being with family as much as I can.
Hype.My: I can only imagine how that must be like. You recently released your fourth album, Cavalier Youth. What would you say is different about this album as compared to your previous works?
Max: We spent a lot more time writing it. I think we spent about 2 years writing it because we wrote it in between tours and stuff. Yeah, the really big difference I would say is the time we spent on the album. We got to go to this place called the Doghouse in the UK and we spent a week at this place. A week just to write music and get engrossed in what we wanted our record to be about.
Hype.My: Are there any particular songs on the new record that stand out more than others for the band?
Josh: Personally, “Forgive and Forget” is the one I enjoy playing the most. I think the whole album works better as a body of work so it’s quite difficult to pick out certain songs but I like “Forgive and Forget” and “Room To Breathe”.
Max: Yeah, I was going to say those two songs also because it shows two different sides of our band. “Room To Breathe” just kind of fell to place but “Forgive and Forget” was all trial and error. We couldn’t figure out the parts of the song until we were actually in the studio and it was one of the most challenging songs for us to write as a band because it’s something we’ve never done before but we were really happy with the end product.
Hype.My: Is there a particular role that each of you play when it comes to making an album?
Josh: I think Max has a got a very focus approach when we are making a record. He will lead the way in terms that he’s always in the studio. For the most part, I’m the exact opposite because I would rather come in to the studio when it’s basically done so I can sing on it. But I would say each song is different because each track requires different attention and care.
Max: I think we all have different roles. We each have our own opinions and the way we did this record was that we started with drums then guitars then bass and then vocals. There’s no real leader, it’s just us five and the producers and that’s it, you know? I think that’s why we make good albums because we work very well together, we all bring different opinions, we all bring different ideas and we work well together.
Hype.My: Cool. Are you excited to be playing in KL tonight?
Max: Oh very much so! It’s our first time in KL and we can’t wait to see which song gets the most cheers and which doesn’t. We’re quite nervous but super excited at the same time.
Josh: Yeah every much. KL is new, it’s our first time so yes, very excited!
Hype.My: Okay last one. If you had to, which would you give up, food or hearing?
Max: Food, definitely. You can live on a liquid diet, right? Haha
Josh: Food. Definitely, food.
It was such a pleasure talking to Josh and Max of You Me At Six. Down-to-earth, charming and not to mention, totes hotties, don’t forget to catch You Me At Six live at KL Live tonight.
Deets are as follows:
Date: September 2nd, 2014 (Tuesday)
Time: 7.30pm (Doors Open)
Venue: KL Live
Ticket prices:
Early Bird (Rock Zone): RM98.00
General: RM108, RM138 (Door Sale)
Rock Zone: RM148, RM178 (Door Sale)
Here’s Fresh Start Fever to get you all pumped out for tonight! Enjoy!