With all five members of You Me At Six aged between twenty-one and twenty-two, when these young’uns aren’t off on tour or in the studio, they still live at home in sunny Surrey!
Together since 2004, the band’s music really has grown up with them – their first record was distinctly pop-punk but they’re now “more of a straight up rock band… that’s how we like to think of ourselves anyway!” Inspired by bands such as Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters and Blink 182, it seems that the rock/pop-rock sound certainly helped shape You Me At Six. The band have toured the world, building up a dedicated fan base and being nominated for all manner of things as they go, picking up ‘Best British Band’ at 2011’s Kerrang Awards. Following this title with another, next month will see the release of their new album, Sinners Never Sleep. Thinking it was probably about time, i-D got their chat on with Dan Flint who, despite early childhood dreams of football stardom, started playing drums for You Me At Six in 2007. We interrupted his Fifa-filled day to throw some questions his way, and here’s what happened:
You’ve toured with Paramore. What was that like? It’s great fun not only because the shows are always HUGE, but also because they are an awesome band and we have learnt a lot from them! They’re always good dudes to hang with too.
What is the best show you’ve ever played? There’s been quite a few amazing ones but I think back to when we headlined the London Astoria in 2008, we were still an unsigned band, 17/18 years old, and didn’t really know what we were doing but had somehow through relentless touring and hard work got to the stage of selling out this venue that we used to go to when we were 14 to see our favourite bands. It was an incredible night.
The collaboration with Chiddy was a big change to your usual sound. What are your thoughts on it? It was simply something that we did for fun between records. We like his music, had this unused song and the label thought it would be a good idea. We didn’t think about it too much but it’s the one thing we get asked about the most. It’s obviously not a change in direction for the band but it’s always good to experiment creatively!
What is your favourite festival? It’s got to be Reading. It’s a festival we all went to as fans when we were younger and then to play it three years in a row and end up half way up the main stage was surreal!
Your favourite song you’ve ever written? Hmm… I think a song off the new album called ‘Bite My Tongue.’ It’s one of the heavier songs, it’s already fun to play in practice so I know it’s going to be a huge one live. I did a few cool fills at the end too so I got a chance to show off a bit which is always fun!
What’s the most baller thing you’ve ever put on your rider? When it comes down to our rider we are pretty boring… a few cheese strings and mini cheddars and we’re happy. I think Nandos is about as baller as we have got. Next tour I’m going to demand Veuve Clicquot champagne.
Who is your dream collaboration? The first single on our last record ‘Loverboy’ has a solo in it and we had this dream that Tom Morello from Rage could play it. But I highly doubt he’d want to feature on a track called ‘Loverboy’. We would have had to change the name.
What new music are you into right now? Loving the new Thrice CD Major/Minor, came out on 19th Sept.
What are your plans for the future? World domination. No, but seriously we just want to keep travelling the world playing shows, writing music and having fun! We are a super tight group of friends and love what we do.
You, me, at six, where? Er, the pub! Of course.
Ultimate mixtape?
Brand New – The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
Taking Back Sunday – Liar
Blink-182 – First Date
Every Time I Die – The New Black
Dr. Dre – Forgot About Dre
Foo Fighters – Everlong
Jimmy Eat World – Sweetness
Foo Fighters – Arlandria
Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
Linkin Park – One Step Closer
Text: Francesca Dunn
