'Boys In The Biz: Go West'
UP EARLY OR UP ALL NIGHT?
"Up all night. I don't know why I even had to think about that. I just have a problem waking up early."
READ THE BOOK OR WATCH THE MOVIE?
"Watch the movie. When I was 12 years old, my stepdad forced me to read Wuthering Heights and all those classics, and I don't remember a thing about them."
THE POOL OR THE BEACH?
"The beach. You've got waves, and the pool just kind of sits there. But loading all the crap back in the car is not cool."
THE GORDITA OR THE ENCHIRITO?
"I'd have to say the gordita, because I don't even know what the enchirito is. I've never had one. Are they new? Gorditas are good."
DINE IN OR TAKEOUT?
"Takeout. I'm a fast-food junkie. It's just easier."
MXG: Congratulations. Learning to drive a stick isn't easy. We're so impressed. Plus, now you'll always remember today as the day you learned to drive a manual transmission for MXG, right? Had you ever tried before?
SW: Never. I was completely against it. I figure they make automatics because they make sense and they're easier. You put it in drive and put it in park, and that's all you should have to do.
MXG: So it's not a guy thing...you know, with the stick in the hand...
SW: I guess I'm not that type of guy. I understand it for racing, but for everyday life and especially out here in California, it's kind of pointless.
MXG: Are you a road trip kind of guy?
SW: I took a road trip to Vancouver with a couple of my buddies, and that was pretty exciting. And I finally did the Vegas trip, which was great. We went out into the desert with our video cameras and started filming a fake Blair Witch. But I'm still waiting to do more, like go to New Orleans, because I'm from Baton Rouge. I also want to take a round trip down to Texas on Route 66 and stop at those 24-hour diners where the waitress is named Flo and all that. And I want to go to Colorado and see the mountains. I want to get into snowboarding.
MXG: We heard you have a band. Tell us about it.
SW: The band is called Average Jo. That's J-O instead of J-O-E. It's just to be different. (laughs) We started to get all these ideas for marketing. You know, Jo, Cup of Jo. Something to do with coffee. I think we're going to make new stickers that have an old, dirty coffee stain on them.
MXG: What's your sound?
SW: Pop-y punk. I don't think there's another teen band out there like us. I have to say, though, that our personalities are as goofy as Blink-182. Ben's the bassist and Jerry's the drummer. You know...Ben and Jerry. It's kinda funny.
MXG: You write, too. What are your songs about?
SW: Heartbreak.
MXG: I know you said you have a girlfriend now. Is it hard to date in Hollywood?
SW: No, I think it's harder to have a girlfriend. I'm having a good time right now, and she's a really cool girl, but I can't say what's going to happen in the future. I always live in the present and just take things as they come.
MXG: Do you believe in love at first sight?
SW: I don't know. It's hard to explain, but the only time I've ever been in love, I felt it in less than a week and still feel like it as true even to this day. But then other times that I thought I was in love, I knew that I ended up not being in love, but was more in love with the idea of being in love.
MXG: Would you let your little sister date a guy like you?
SW: I think I'm a good guy definitely, but I don't think I'd let her date a person like me just because I'm not there all the time. I go off on my own tangent sometimes. I'm a Gemini, so I'm kind of a split personality. Sometimes I want to go out and do things, and sometimes I just want to stay home.
MXG: Do you put stock in any of that zodiac stuff?
SW: Unfortunately, I start to, but I don't technically believe it. Then I'm like, "Oh my God, she's a Pisces!" but I catch myself before I'm saying it, and I get so embarrassed.
MXG: Do you have a life philosophy?
SW: Just to be true to yourself. To be yourself. I'm not into dishonesty.
MXG: Have you ever told a lie?
SW: Yeah, I've told tons of lies, but it doesn't get you anywhere and it's pointless. I just try to stick to who I am and try not to be fake, and if anyone doesn't like it, then it's not a big deal.