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f anyone knew why some U.K. bands have the legs to traverse the Atlantic and others don't, they could set up a little cottage industry telling record labels what the hell happens. But no one knows. Elton John did it thirty years ago; the Scissor Sisters and Mika, both Eltonish in their own ways, are freaking huge in Europe and just sort of semi-biggish here. Amy Winehouse is wheat-pasted on every public surface in Manhattan; Joss Stone, a similar cockney-accented soul chanteuse, not so much. Someone needs to get Stephen Hawking off black holes for a day or two to work on this.

Editors, the foursome from Birmingham, England, launched themselves to the top half of this conundrum with their 2005 debut, The Back Room, which broke sales records in the U.S. despite its glum worldview. (Relentless comparisons to Interpol

promotion

probably didn't hurt.) Their second effort, An End Has a Start, has even more of the soaring, triumphant melodrama than the first, which will probably help it gain a foothold in finicky American soil. It'll also probably help them shake some of the Interpol association, which has gone from pulling them up to attracting accusations of bandwagoning. Nerve spoke to guitarist Chris Urbanowicz. — Lauren Gitlin

What would you say is the biggest difference between the audiences here and in the UK?
There's a bit of a drinking culture in the U.K. They all tend to get pissed up and bounce around, and it's a bit more like a punk-rock gig.

What are some cardinal rules of touring on a bus with a bunch of other guys?
Well, obviously no shitting on the bus. That's pretty basic. Beyond that it's pretty much a free-for-all.

It must be hard trying to bring someone back to the bus for a hookup. Is there any sort of etiquette?
No, not really. If one of our crew wants to bring someone to the back of the bus then go for it, but there's not really a lock on any of the rooms.

So you just take your chances?
If that's what you're in to. If she wants to do stuff in the back of a tour bus, that's not the sort you're going to get married to, is it?

Does anyone in the band talk in his sleep?
Ed, our drummer, does sometimes, but he hasn't done it for a while. Thankfully we room on our own nowadays.

"Obviously, no shitting on the bus. That's pretty basic."

One of the things you have to do when you're touring on a bus is to pick your bunk carefully. Try to make sure you're away from the older guys, or the bigger guys who snore. Also, don't go for a top bunk because it's dangerous. I've fallen out of a bottom bunk in my sleep before.

When is the last time you got fall-down drunk?
Last night. We were in L.A. We went to see Snow Patrol. We've been friends with them for quite a while. They love to party so we did a bit of raging with them.

What's your poison?
I like vodka. The other three just go for anything they can get their hands on.

Do you like your vodka straight?
On the rocks. I'm Polish, you see.

You're keeping it real.
Exactly. Beer fills you up and bloats you. I like to keep it light and fresh.

Have you guys encountered any crazed fans on tour?
Our first trip to Japan, we landed and went straight to the hotel. It was around ten o'clock at night. It had obviously been a long flight, and there were like ten or fifteen kids that were there waiting for us. They had presents for us and our CDs for us to sign and we were like, "How do they even know where we're staying or what time we arrived?" They were there in the morning, they were there at gigs — it's weird being followed around like that, like we were the Beatles or Madonna.

Have you met anyone famous who you've been utterly star-struck by?
We did get to meet Paul McCartney, and he was so nice. We just had a bit of banter with him. He stopped by for a few beers in our dressing room because he didn't have any in his. He was really cool and came out of his way to come say hello.

Did you save the bottle he drank out of?
No, that would be weird.

Did he offer you any pearls of wisdom on music or fame or anything like that?
There was one thing he said to me that struck home. I play a Rickenbacker guitar, and he was like, "I remember the first time John came back with his. The first time he played it he was wearing a suit the same color as the guitar, so that the two merged together and the guitar seemed almost invisible." I remember thinking at the time that I wish I had the guts to say, "John who?" But I didn't because I was panicking.

Do you have any rock star crushes?
There's no Debbie Harry of our generation at the moment — a girl who's cool but really hot. I mean, there's Karen O, who's definitely as cool as Debbie Harry, but not quite hot on the same level.

Do you guys ever play drinking games?
Not really. We don't have time. We like to cut straight to the drinking. A game would just get in the way of that. Also it's important to drink at your own pace. Russell is like six-four and Ed's five-five. Considering we all have to play every night, it might not be a good idea for Ed to drink as much as Russell. Although I did spike his Guinesses a few times on his birthday earlier this year while we were in the studio recording. I started pouring whiskey in when he wasn't looking. I thought it would be more of a challenge for him.  

To order An End Has A Start, click here.

© 2007 Lauren Gitlin & Nerve.com