GF: Hi Shaun, so what's the best thing about being famous?
Shaun: Well, let me say that there are just as many downsides to fame as there are perks, but having said that, fame is pretty cool. The best thing is that we get let into clubs for free these days. We don't even have to make a scene; we just kinda wander through, lurking in the shadows. It's pretty amazing.
How much have things changed for you since you first started?
Things have changed pretty dramatically. We have roadies now! I mean, they're still just friends of ours but they do a good job and it's nice taking friends on the road with you. We don't want professional roadies; they'd just steal from our rider!
Do you remember your first ever gig?
Our first proper gig was at a festival in Newcastle; we played on this stage and it went great. There were about 100 kids there and everyone already knew our songs from MySpace and stuff. But we've played our fair share of sh*tty gigs. The worst ones were usually in pubs supporting big bands. We got heckled a few times, but that's always fun. We'd just heckle back, comment on their appearance and stuff.
What's the best thing about having so many MySpace friends?
We get heaps of picture comments!
Do you remember the first time you were ever recognised on the street?
Yeah, it was when we were recording our album. We were walking around and this girl stopped us and we thought it was the coolest thing ever. But then she was like, "I don't even like your band, my sister does."
Do you get much free stuff these days?
Um, not as much as we'd like. We're still poor. The best thing we've received is clothes and jeans and stuff. They usually just send through little bundles and we'll go through and pick out stuff and it's first in, best dressed, literally. We get a lot of sh*t stuff sent in too, but that's also good coz we just wrap them up and give them away to relatives as Christmas presents.
Do you get to hang out at cooler parties?
Well, Rolling Stone threw a pretty awesome party recently; that was fun. And on tours and stuff we've had the chance to hang out with Mark Hoppus from Blink-182, Simple Plan and Good Charlotte, and they were all really cool guys. But we don't really party that much anymore. We used to back in the day, but we don't have much time anymore. But the parties we threw back then weren't exactly great; we went to school an hour away from where all our friends lived so no one would ever come anyway. (Ed: Sad face!)
What's the worst thing you've HAD to do since becoming famous?
Hmm, we kinda have to do a lot of favours. We had a lot of favours done for us when we were young and starting out like the Hello/Goodbye tour and that really helped us out, so we kinda have to return those favours these days... Not sexually or anything! Sometimes we even get asked to play these industry gigs but we try not to. Our biggest fan base is just teens around 15, 16, 17 and 18, so they get it more; it just makes more sense to play for them. We wouldn't do anything unless we thought it was worthwhile or unless someone really needed us to help out.
You've previously mentioned that fans sometimes hang outside your house, but what other strange fan interactions have you had to deal with so far?
Well, that's the weirdest one. Besides that, Andy's had his car kicked up a few times and people have left notes and stuff on his car, but nothing really over the top has happened.
So besides all that, you're enjoying your new life?
Yeah, it's amazing. The best thing is that we get to hang out with our best friends every day and we basically get paid to do things that we love and adore.
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