Sometime in 2005, a quintet of gorgeous pretty boys exploded onto the pop music scene, heralding their arrival with Greetings From Imrie House. Now, if you don't know by now who I'm talking about, where have you been? It's The Click Five, of course!





Seranading us with a load of radio-friendly tunes like "Just The Girl," "Good Day" and "Pop Princess," legions of teenage girls (and boys) have since then sought to "Catch [Their] Wave."





Two years later, the delectable boys are back with a new album, Modern Minds And Pastimes, and a new lead singer, Kyle Patrick taking over on vocals. The group has yet again produced a gem of an album, chock-full of addictive pop-rock, with a more edgier and powerful sound. A slew of #1 hit singles quickly followed, cementing The Click Five as the reigning pop princes and more!





MTV Asia caught a quick moment with Kyle and Ben en route to a music show in Boston, hence fears of parallel-parking and traffic woes abound. Otherwise, the boys remain safe and happy to talk about their peculiar habits (you can be sure, they really are peculiar), living in the basement, schizophrenia, and wheelchair races.





***





MTV Asia: So what have you guys been up to lately, now that the Modern Minds And Great Times Tour has been wrapped up?


Kyle: Writing songs! Every single day.





MTV Asia: That's great news for all your fans! So when can we expect the new album to be out then?


Kyle: When it's ready! [Laughs] This is one of the first times we've had a completely clean slate to begin and all. But I think I'd go with early next year.





MTV Asia: How different is it going to be from the previous one?


Kyle: I think any band can hope to progress musically from record to record, and hope to get better. I think the fact that we've been playing together for a while now, almost two years, has helped make us a stronger group of guys, musically. We're probably going to try to beat the previous record, and just be the best that we can be.





MTV Asia: How has the Asian Tour experience been like, especially for you, Kyle, being the first time you're headlining a major tour with the rest of the band?


Kyle: Yeah it's been pretty much like a whirlwind. I've gotten that question before and I never really know how to answer it because it's really hard to be prepared for a tour like that, to be thrown into that scenario, you know what I mean? But aside from that, everybody just gets up on stage and plays the music that we love. I think touring is one of our favorite times, especially in Asia, where things have taken off for us. Every time we go over there, it just seems to be a really really good experience.


Ben: And just to add on to that, I think what's really crucial is that as we play our music back and forth, we really find out what works and what does not, for the band, musically.





MTV Asia: You've recently just concluded a tour in Asia, and now you're going to be back with us again at the MTV Asia Awards (MAAs). Do you really miss us that much?


Kyle: [Laughs] We love you guys! We have such a great time in Asia. I think the guys have actually been to Malaysia a couple of times, before I joined the band. So yeah, we miss you, and we're really excited to be performing again. Or just to even be involved in the show, we're extremely happy to be doing it.





MTV Asia: The theme for this year's MAAs revolves around the letter 'M'. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of 'M'?


Kyle: Ermmm... Musical, Magic, Monkey? [Laughs]


Ben: Emmmm... TV! Mmmmm... Melons! Mmmmmmm... Motorcycle! Mmmmmm... Milk! Mmmmm... Moooooo!





MTV Asia: Living together and touring together, what are some of the weirdest or peculiar habits of some of the members?


Ben: Oh there's plenty of those! Kyle?


Kyle: I travel to outer space everytime before the show. I travel to a place that's deep inside my head, that catapults my legs above my head, my arms go above the surface of the earth, and I sit around the core until it turns into a milky centre then I make a baby!





MTV Asia: Wha... WHAT?


Ben: It's really a sight to see.





MTV Asia: Is that like sort of your pre-show ritual?


Kyle: A form of that yes. It varies!





MTV Asia: Ermm... Moving on, I'm sure a lot of fans who've caught the Behind The Band video are really curious to know: Kyle, are you still living in the basement near the generator, and has your vocals improved at all as recommended by Ben?


Kyle: Yes, to both questions! My vocals have gotten a lot stronger over the past two years, and it's largely in part because of the mold and fumes from the generator, yes.





MTV Asia: Don't you foresee yourself ever upgrading to the upper levels of the house?


Kyle: I'm not going to push my luck, you know? I think I belong down there and it's my home. I'm not too hopeful, and I do kind of like the basement.





MTV Asia: Hey Ben, did you hear that!


Ben: Uhm... Yeah. But like I said, I think it's a healthy diet of mold and fumes! And you know, if it can help Kyle to sing great...





MTV Asia: Since we're on the subject anyway, Ben, why a name like Austin St Claire for your alter ego?


Ben: Why not? Everyday I wake up, I look into the mirror, and I think "What's it gonna be today?"


Kyle: Well here's the thing about Ben. Pretty much every week, he's a completely different person. Austin St Claire is just one of many personas that Ben Romans can portray.


Ben: I like to take on characters. I can't do movies, but when I'm not on stage, I like to entertain everyone with my hobby. Most recently, it's Bobby Renzel, the lounge singer.





MTV Asia: So you never know who you might be?


Ben: Yup. You never know.





MTV Asia: So who are you right now? Can I even call you Ben?


Ben: Right now, I'm Desmond, I have glasses on and a baseball cap...





MTV Asia: I guess you guys had fun making the Behind The Band video. Ever considered a change in career?


Ben: You know, as much fun as that stuff is, and I think it's great, we spend most of our time in music and I think music's always going to be a priority.





[At this point, Ben announces his worries about parallel-parking but assures us that he's going to be okay...]





MTV Asia: If the day comes where your music evolves so much that it doesn't match up to the band name at all, will you change it, and if so, to what?


Ben: I think a lot of bands evolve over the years musically, that's for sure, but they're still essentially the same band. So yeah, I think we're going to stick with it. It's just like say, a guy named Bob. After awhile, you'll go, "Hey, it's Bob, but he's grown up." But he's still Bob. But you never know. One day we might be called Bobby Renzel And The Band. Who knows what? Kyle, what would it be named?


Kyle: Lake Tahoe.





MTV Asia: Why Lake Tahoe?


Kyle: I don't know. I think it's got a nice reflection to the sound, as far as band names ever go.





MTV Asia: When you were a kid, did you ever think this is where you'd be in future?


Kyle: Definitely, because I think for everyone in the band, from a young age has been performing and playing music. So I think all of us have been serious about a career in the music industry for a long time. I think we all had aspirations for that from a very young age. We've very happy to be touring the world, and making a living out of it. So we're just glad to be writing the best songs that we can and putting it out. Songs that means something to a lot of people, and is widely accessible to them. And we're super psyched to be doing it.





MTV Asia: How do you think you've changed both as an individual and as a group, from the time you were a virtual unknown, to the superband that you are now?


Ben: I think a lot of it has been about learning from one another, and learning as a band. Okay... I don't really know. Kyle, what would you say?





[We understand Ben has got to concentrate on the road. You wouldn't want The Click Five to be missing an awesome keyboardist, would you? So he's excuse...]





Kyle: We don't even think of ourselves as a superband or that we're famous even, by any means. I think we get better musically. We work better together after a certain amount of time, and we become stronger performers. We know what we do best and we shoot for that. Knowing that, makes us individually stronger as well. You get to know yourself a lot better once you travel around the world, and perform for thousands of people. It makes you a different and better person. Especially when it comes to communicating with others, in general. Where English may not be the first language, it makes you do certain things to communicate with people and I think that translates a lot to our music, because melody and music is the universal language for people all across the world. So when we can do something that translate to someone in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, that means something to someone, that's a big deal.





MTV Asia: Now you guys call Singapore your 'home' in Asia right? So what are some of your favourite haunts here?


Ben: My favourite place is this place called the Clinic Bar. At Clarke Quay. They have all those really cool wheelchairs all over the place, you know? And the next thing I know, Kyle, Ethan and Joey's just taking off and they made it outside, and went all the way to the street. And it's just unbelievable! They kept doing it until Ethan got his wheelchair taken away from him! And just so you know, they kept pushing me around and I'm doing crazy tricks, showing off for bystanders. I'm surprised we didn't completely get kicked off the place.





MTV Asia: So I guess we can expect to see you again at Clinic the next time that you're here huh?


Kyle: Maybe. You never know! [Laughs]





-mtvasia.com

Gladys :D