The Kids are all Right

English youngsters You Me at Six bring a bracing dose of mayhem and melody to the MTV2 crowd. Frontman Josh Franceschi breaks it down.
By John Bolster

You Me at Six don’t necessarily reinvent the wheel on their heady debut, Take Off Your Colours, but they definitely give it a zesty, wrist-flipping new spin. And who knows? It may land on a lucky number for them. We wouldn’t be surprised if they hit it big in the U.S., where many much-hyped British outfits before them have failed to make a dent. They may be young—and look even younger—but they’ve got the songs, the hooks, and, it should be said, the looks for a decent shot. They also have an uncanny way with a “whoa-oh-oh” chorus, a knack for gnarly, adrenalized riffage, and the ringing clarity of singer Josh Franceschi’s achy tenor. Put it all together and you’ve got a band that can set fists pumping and honey dripping in equal measure.

You guys have gotten pretty big in the U.K., cracking the Top 30. How important is it to you to have success in the U.S.?
The U.S. could be really hard for us. It’s a big, big place, obviously. We’re concentrating on defining our success on a smaller level. If we can come over and do a headline tour and people come watch our band, then that’ll be success to us.

You’re frequently labeled as a pop-punk band, but there’s more to your sound than that implies.
Yeah, for sure. We agree completely.

Are you concerned about being put in that box?
In the U.K., a lot of people are realizing that though we may be put under that category, realistically, we don’t belong there. When I think of pop-punk, I think of Home Grown, Starting Line, um, you know—I think of pop-punk bands, really. But we’re more of a rock band, maybe a rock-punk-pop band. Now that Take Off Your Colours has dropped in the States, I think people will realize that. But at the same time, if someone were to say, “Oh, yeah, you’re a great pop-punk band—you sound like Fall Out Boy,” I would never take that badly. That would be a huge compliment, even if it’s not completely correct. But at least it’s pop-punk and not metal crap or whatever.

Or boy band.
[Laughs] Yeah, exactly.

You’re all pretty precocious, musically. Were your parents big into music?
We were definitely brought up around music, but
none of our parents were [professional musicians].
But from a very early age, I was really into music and
performing live. I’ve been in bands since I was like 11.

The song “Save It for the Bedroom” seems to be about keeping female fans at bay. Is that right?
No, it’s about this girl from where I’m from, and she’s kind of promiscuous and very active, as it were. When I met her, she was very forward, and very on that-wavelength to me. I said, “You need to chill and it’s not all about that.” Since I recorded it, she’s kind of calmed down, so I think maybe it’s sunk in.

Did you ever think that most guys might like to have a problem like that?
Oh, yeah! Sure, like, the majority of my friends are like that. But it wasn’t my cup of tea. “Cup of tea”—how British! I like my cup of tea….

No worries; we use that expression over here.
Yeah? Okay. Beautiful.

I wouldn’t be doing my job as a Penthouse editor if I didn’t ask you for some good road stories with the girls.
Well, I don’t have any for me, but we just went to Amsterdam, to the red light district, and a few, or, well, one person—actually, he’s not even in our band, he’s just in our crew—but yeah, he had a bit too much fun with a lady over there.

This was a hired lady—or a civilian he met there?
Hired. Yeah. But, by the way, I’m not into that. I’m into more, uh … I don’t know what I’m into, but I’m not into … that.

Last question is random: Are you a soccer fan—or football, as you say in the U.K.?
I am, yeah. I support a team called Arsenal.

Arsenal?
Yeah.

I’m wearing an Arsenal jersey right now, while I’m
talking to you.
No you’re fu— No you’re not! [Laughs] That’s a lie. I know you’re lying.

I swear. It’s an old-school retro one, with the white sleeves and the cannon on the left breast.
Oh, my God.

[Laughs]
That is so funny. How cool is that, man?