Talkin’ Love and Lust With Young & Divine

Is there anything sexier than a guy with a guitar (besides, of course, a guy with some drums)? We think not, which is why we’re currently swooning over the boys of Young & Divine. This Albany based pop-punk group is comprised of three awesome and totally talented dudes, Jake Mai, JP Clark and Joe Bortscheller.

This trio is as talented as they are adorable (and witty, sincere, humble, adorable…wait, I already said that one), being compared to music heavy hitters like The All American Rejects and Boys Like Girls. Their first self-titled album is set to debut this Spring, and after spending the last week dancing around (in my granny panties….I really need to do laundry) to their first single, Shake That Bubble, we can’t wait.

Lucky for us, the boys of Young & Divine took a little time out of their rock star schedules to sit down and talk to us. There were so many things we wanted to know (like why the Joe and JP were using MySpace to find a drummer), but with Valentine’s Day creepin’ up on us, we thought we’d pick these three hotties’ brains about love.

(Full disclosure: we just wanted to figure out how we could woo them for ourselves….)

What is the best way, in your opinion, for a girl to get your attention?

JP: Uh, for me, it’s confidence and playing a little bit hard-to-get.

Ok so, if you’re out at a party, drinkin’ some beers, what could a girl physically do to lure you in?

JP: It will probably intrigue me if she wasn’t easy to approach or easy to start with, and had to, like, draw me in more.

Jake: With a totally conflicting opinion, it would totally be a surprise not if a girl were too forward, but definitely shows some kind of interest as far as eye contact and [being] confident. Don’t be shy.

Joe: If you have a wit to you and a charm… that makes it really cool.

What’s the biggest turn off?

JP: I would say talking to too many other gentlemen.

Jake: Um, grabbing other gentlemen’s crotches in front of you.

Joe: Just being really flashy – talking a big game they don’t really have, like NAME dropping! Big turnoff.

JP: [Yeah] we don’t want that, we all think that’s a big turnoff. We pick that up off the floor and throw it out the window.

What’s one thing in a relationship, that a girl does, that sends you running for the hills?

Joe: Going through your phone. Big no no.

That one’s pretty serious?

Joe: Yeah, its like a honesty, trust thing.

OK, what else? There’s gotta be more than just that. I mean, I’ve never done that and I’m still sitting here alone on Valentine’s Day.

Jake: Don’t get overly jealous or clingy. Give a dude his space, because he is a dude and he needs that. Let a dude live, you know?

Joe: And maybe being overly critical or commenting way too much on stuff being really overbearing.

JP: Be easy going, be honest, be affectionate but not overly affectionate. Give some space, give [the relationship] some time, let it blossom into something beautiful. And be yourself.

Wow, that’s really deep, JP. You should start writing songs…  Anyways, in your opinion, do you think a girl should approach a guy if she’s interested, or would you prefer to be the one to do the approaching?

JP: I like to meet in the middle.

So both of you walk across the room in slow motion with fans blowing to meet each other?

JP: Basically, like out of a movie.

Jake: I like it when I’m approached but not, like, um, totally annoyed, you know what I mean? I think that it’s pretty cool when a girl isn’t afraid to be outgoing and tell someone, like, “Hey, you have nice eyes” or nice teeth.

JP: He gets that all the time.

Joe: That doesn’t happen too often, but if it did that would be really cool.

Which would you prefer on a girl, a thong or boy shorts?

Jake:  Boy shorts

JP: Boy shorts

Joe: Probably none of the above

Do you think it’s true that if a guy is into a girl he’ll find any way possible to get in touch with her?

Joe: I’m gonna say honesty goes the longest way in terms of how you feel about someone when you meet them first. If you do actually really hit it off with someone when you first meet them… I guess it depends on the guy, but most guys, if they are interested, they will find a way to keep in touch with you.

So if a guy doesn’t call a girl we should pretty much grab the bottle of wine and accept that he’s not interested?

JP: If it was us, then, yeah. But I dunno – I’d say it depends on the situation, and how much you were into them to begin with.

Jake: I wouldn’t rule it out, just because someone doesn’t call you. Sometimes there’s other things going on in people’s lives. For one, I don’t really like talking on the phone that much.

Yeah and now that you guys are super busy being famous and making music, it’s hard to keep up with the ladies. How has dating changed for you now that you guys are rock stars?

JP: I thought it would have changed more…but I’m still not doin’ so hot

Joe: I uh…I’m kind of on a dry streak right now.

Do you have girls throwing panties at you now?

JP: Not yet, but we do encourage it.

Can you give some super secret insider tips for getting in with the band? How does a girl lure a rock star?

Joe: Bring a few extra bucks and buy him a drink, because, really, they’re broke. Buy ‘em a drink and say, “Hey, good show! Let’s buy you a drink and you know…” Or have some brownies or something. That always helps break the ice.

JP: Or cookies… But, yeah, I would say be patient and wait till the end of the show, after the work is all done, before you try to move in.

Jake: Don’t be, like, overly slutty because that’s not cool. We don’t like that.

Joe: Really?

Jake: Well Joe does.

OK, well what is slutty? I mean, there’s a very fine line between a girl being sexy and a girl being slutty. So where’s the line?

JP: Well we’re still searching for it. I think the best girls are the ones that walk the line and don’t really go too far in either direction.

What do you think about girls who will sleep with you on the first date? Is that going too far in the slutty direction?

JP: First date [is] not appropriate for that. Just bein’ truthful.

Jake: Well, my advice is, if you want something to last you should definitely let the relationship build before you sleep with someone so you already have the foundation of your friendship. Then, you know, jump each other’s bones after that. If you sleep with someone on the first date, like, especially in a guy’s mind, it’s like, “well that was awesome” and now our whole relationship is built off of that.

Joe: If it happens on the first date, don’t expect too much in return or for it to go any further.

Pause. Boys mumble something to each other…
Uh, you there?

Jake: We feel like we’re totally screwing up every dude out there trying to get some… we’re screwing up his game.

Nah, it’s OK. You’re making millions of girls fall in love with you at the same time. Got any last pieces of advice?

All: PRE- NUP!