Interview: The Click Five’s Comeback
Interview & Photos by Yising Kao
Read our July issue featuring The Click Five on the cover HERE!
With hit songs such as “Jenny” and “Happy Birthday” from their album, Modern Minds and Pastimes, The Click Five is making a comeback this year since disbanding back in 2013, with band members, Kyle Patrick (Lead Vocalist), Joe Guese (Guitarist & Backing Vocalist), and Ethan Mentzer (Bassist & Backing Vocalist). The Click Five is an energetic band who creates nostalgic Power Pop songs full of captivating lyrics and electrifying melodies. I caught up with the band before they embarked on The Click 2025 Tour in Asia!
What inspired you guys to decide that you wanted to get back together 12 years later and how long ago have you been planning this comeback?
Joe: Mid-life crisis.
Ethan: Something like that.
Kyle: It’s funny ‘cause it’s true. We’ve really only been planning it for 6 months or something like that. It’s a really short amount of time to be honest. This really was not on our radar until-
Joe: My mid-life crisis.
Kyle: ‘Til Joe had a bit of a meltdown.
Thank you Joe.
Joe: Pulled me out of the tailspin.
Kyle: I mean truthfully, I think there has been this kind of slowly rising interest in the music. Or maybe it’s not slowly rising, maybe it’s just been around. I don’t know, it’s like this nostalgic element to you know, us being a part of people’s childhood and their high school years and kind of those younger days. And now people have, you know, adult lives and they’re still listening to the music and now we’re going to do concerts.
I know, you guys have so many listeners still on Spotify so people are still listening, definitely. What do you guys think? I feel like I spun out there a bit.
Ethan: You got it.
Joe: I just hope it can help people if they have a mid-life crisis. Yeah, it’s fun to get the band back together and play with the old guys again.
I’m glad you guys are back.
Kyle: Thank you, very glad to be back.
Modern Minds and Pastimes and TCV have a bit more of a rock vibe than Greetings from Imrie House. When you guys were recording this album, did you have a creative vision of what type of themes you wanted to include or how you wanted it to sound? What genre would you describe your sound as?
Ethan: We made a lot of demos on the tour bus and at home. So, we came into the studio with a lot of that record written, both of those records. I guess the 3rd record was a little different ‘cause we were a bit more like fresh off of a tour where we’d just gotten to the rehearsal space but the 2nd record, Modern Minds and Pastimes, I think we did have a pretty good sense of what we were trying to do and sound like. Mike Dineen produced it, who also produced the other records. So yeah, we were just kind of all in that together.
Joe: And a lot of it was written in England too, so I think it had an effect on the sound, you know. That English sound.
What would you describe your genre as? Because you’re in the emo scene but you’re also pop rock too.
Kyle: Yeah, I think we always described ourselves as Power Pop. The emo thing, I think was given to us. It’s not something we shot for.
Joe: I was pretty happy, to tell you the truth, well-adjusted.
Kyle: Zero issues. It’s funny listening back ‘cause back then, we did not have emo influences.
Joe: The Juliana Theory.
Kyle: Definitely. Maybe by Osmosis being the early 2000s, mid-2000s, just that sound was out and about, and we were hearing it a lot more. But our influences were more like power pop influences and rock ‘n roll influences. Tom Petty and Weezer, Green Day, and The Cars. But listening back, it’s funny because I hear it. I’m like, it’s pretty emo.
Joe: I was pretty sad.
Kyle: We were terribly, terribly sad.
But “Pop Princess” was on the Hannah Montana soundtrack, so you guys do have range.
Kyle: That’s right. Theres always going to be an element of pop I think in what we do. We’re all fans of pop songwriting, tactics and techniques.
You guys are going on The Click 2025 tour in May. You have a really large Asia fanbase which is awesome. How does it feel to be back on tour and seeing your fans again?
Kyle: We’re in our rehearsal room right now, we’ve been in here holed up kind of relearning everything. But I’ve been thinking a lot about what these shows are going to feel like. And I don’t think there’s anything that can prepare us for what we’re about to experience emotionally. I think there’s going to be a lot of amazing emotions in these rooms we’re about to be in. We’re hearing a lot of comments and reading a lot of comments about people who tried to see us a bunch back then but couldn’t. You know, maybe they were too young or they couldn’t’ afford it back then, you know, just didn’t have their own money. So, there’s going to be a lot of people seeing us for the first time after all these years. I feel like that’s going to be, I don’t know, it’s going to be shocking and beautiful.
Ethan: I think it’s going to be surreal because we didn’t plan for it before the ball started rolling. It’s not like we were master-minding it. It’s kind of like one thing led to another, maybe we should do a couple of shows and maybe we should do a few more, and then we have a little run of dates.
Joe: And a new song.
Ethan: I think when we’re there in front of an audience for the first time and every time, I think every night it’s going to be like a pinch yourself moment.
I’m excited for you guys.
Have you guys ever noticed any differences between the Asia crowds and US crowds? Or do they both give off similar energy?
Ethan: It’s definitely both. There are cultural differences, I mean, we’ve had crazy, crazy shows in both places.
Have you had a lot of crowd surfers?
Kyle: It’s funny, at one of the more recent shows, a small gig, it was actually an acoustic gig. There were people moshing in this acoustic gig playing The Click Five songs which was insane, like to “Jenny.” I’m like wow ok, I didn’t expect that for “Jenny” acoustic. It’s different everywhere. I think we love our fans no matter where it is. So, we’re excited to see them again.
At Playback Fest in the Philippines, you guys are performing alongside Boys Like Girls and Secondhand Serenade. Have you guys seen them live before?
Kyle: Definitely have listened to them.
Ethan: I don’t think we’ve done shows together.
Kyle: Yeah, we’re fans of them. We’re very excited. The lineup is pretty awesome. We feel honored to be included amongst those names, so we’re super pumped.
And you’re going to be back performing at a mall too.
Kyle: Actually, one of my most vivid memories of a Click Five show is the first one we ever did in Manila. I think it was our first show in Asia maybe. And we showed up to this mall, which is a popular thing to do a concert at a mall. And there were probably 15,000 people at this show, which was new for us. At that time, I think that was one of the biggest shows we’ve ever played. But to go in not really expecting anything like yeah there might be some people there or like, it wasn’t a ticketed event so we didn’t know how many people would be there but there’s like 15,000 people or something.
Joe: They told me 20,000.
Kyle: I think it might have been 20,000.
Ethan: It was like the atrium of the mall, the balconies. It was amazing they didn’t like collapse. I mean, it was that kind of packed, like it should not have been permitted.
I think we should bring back mall tours in the US. I just went to JonasCon and they performed at a mall. It was really fun, it was chaotic but it was amazing.
Kyle: There are so many opportunities there, there’s so much shopping you can do.
Joe: Orange Julius.
Kyle: Auntie Anne’s.
Joe: All sorts of culinary options.
Kyle: Baskin-Robins.
Joe: 31 flavors.
Kyle: You can go to Abercrombie & Fitch.
While you’re moshing
Kyle: Or American Eagle, either one.
Joe: Hot Topic.
Kyle: Bed Bath & Beyond.
Joe: And then you get a rock show.
It’s free too.
Kyle: I know right. We did some mall shows in America too. What could be better?
So many opportunities.
Kyle: Yeah, something for everybody, the whole family.
Over the years you guys have been doing your own projects such as producing for other artists, playing in other bands and Kyle, you have your own solo music, which is awesome. Do you have any plans to make any new music together again or do you want to focus more on your other projects and playing The Click Five shows for now?
Kyle: Great question. Should we unveil something?
Ethan: I mean, we could.
Kyle: We’ll tease. You go ahead.
Joe: Well yeah, we’re working on new stuff.
Ethan: This is something we have plans for.
Kyle: We won’t give up much more than that. But getting back together and playing in a room, I think there’s been this realization. I can’t speak for these guys but we’ve said something to this effect several times over the past few weeks. Kind of realizing how great we are together and how fun it is to play together with these guys. So there’s’ been a lot of good feelings around it and it has spawned some new ideas, we’ll see where that leads.
We’ll be ready for that then!
Of course, I need to ask if you guys will do a US tour eventually?
Kyle: Yeah, definitely. We came into this kind of with the mindset of let’s see how this goes, how these shows go and take it from there. It’s sounding so good, it just feels good, so it’s great to be back.
Ethan: This is our first week back with like a full band rehearsal kind of feeling so yeah, it’s fun.
Kyle: We’ve seen the comments to all of you out there in America. We’ve seen the comments loud and clear. We’re working on it very, very hard. And we want to do that very badly. We’re very focused on these ‘cause they’re coming up real fast. We’re not really ready yet but we’re getting there. We’re rehearsing and we can’t wait to do some stuff in America.
What message do you want to say to your fans?
Kyle: What do you guys think?
Joe: Have a good time all the time.
Ethan: You know our Uber driver basically said that to Kyle and I. “Have a good day, everyday.”
Kyle: he also said some really weird stuff to us that I will not repeat.
Ethan: Message to the fans…
Joe: Thank you.
Ethan: Thank you for sticking with us for all these years. We couldn’t come and do it again if there weren’t fans to do it for so that’s what it’s all about.
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS
What’s a song you wish you wrote?
Kyle: Darlin’ by Jean Dawnson. It’s an awesome song.
Ethan: Happy Birthday. The original one.
Kyle: So, you could say you did both? I do all the Happy Birthday songs.
Joe: Beethoven’s 9th. No, something that made a lot of money probably.
Ethan: I mean, that’s where I was going with Happy Birthday.
What’s your dream venue to perform at?
Kyle: That’s a really good question, there’s so many.
Where have you played in Los Angeles before?
Ethan: We played The Roxy a couple of times.
Kyle: Troubadour.
Ethan: We played Universal Amphitheater.
Kyle: Joe just played an amazing venue called The Greek Theatre. That’s high on the list for me. I’ve never played there.
Joe: Hotel Café.
Kyle: We just did a gig there.
Joe: Silverlake Lounge.
Kyle: We really truly have played all sizes.
Joe: Satellite. Don’t look for it, it’s not there anymore.
Kyle: We do not discriminate.
You guys should play at the Forum.
Kyle: Yeah ok, now I see where you’re going.
Manifest it y’all.
Kyle: One hundred percent, that would be a huge dream.
Are there any bands that you wish would reunite or any bands that you love that have reunited recently?
Joe: Fountains of Wayne.
Kyle: Absolutely, yes, a favorite band of ours.
Joe: Oasis.
Ethan: The Beatles.
Kyle: Yeah, for sure. Fountains of Wayne was produced by the same producer as us too so we have a lot in common with them and they’re a great band.
I feel like in this era so many bands are reuniting. I would want Allstar Weekend to reunite. Do you know them?
Kyle: I definitely know the name, the name for sure rings a bell. What are some of the songs?
Dance Forever, Journey to the End of my Life. They’ve played on Disney Channel.
Kyle: Well, we may have crossed paths. Shoutout to Allstar Weekend.
What’s an artist or band that you would want to collaborate with or tour with?
Joe: A female artist or band.
Kyle: Yeah, it’d be fun to do a tour with like some female pop stuff. We talked about 5 Seconds of Summer.
Love them.
Kyle: They are awesome and have great, great music and a similar arrangement to us, and we think that would be a really awesome fit there. They’re seemingly good dudes.
That’d be amazing, I’d be at every show.
Kyle: Alright, maybe we should figure that out. Who else?
Jonas Brothers.
Kyle: Totally, yeah.
Play at the next JonasCon.
Kyle: Absolutely, we’d be honored.
Anything else, Joe?
Joe: Mid-life crisis.
Kyle: I think we’re going to start a band that we’d also tour with called Mid-life Crisis.
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