Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourselves?
James: We're definitely two very different people, but thats what makes us "us", so to speak. It's really a very classic case of opposites attract. The thing about it is, if you don't like both of us, for some very odd reason... you'll definitely find something to like in one of us!  

How was the band formed?
Mark: James and I met in a hurricane shelter on campus at UCF our freshmen year.  Ever since that first night in the shelter James and I have basically been working together and since then have added some of the best musicians as well as friends that we could ever ask for.  

Who plays what in the band?
James: We have Mark of Mark and James, James of Mark & James, Preston Dantoni, Glen Samuels, and JMage (aka Jordan Major);  

Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Mark: It varies for each of us a little..I know James is a huge John Mayer fan and he would for sure tell you that I am a huge Ryan Cabrera fan.  Although we are influenced by basically any musician that we have ever seen in some way or another.  When we were out in NYC on the Bandemonium Tour I saw some of the best musicians playing in the subway.  As far as non musical influences, I would say everyone around us has influenced us at one time or another.  Every song that we have written is about us being somewhat affected in some way or another by the people around us...I mean girlfriends, lack of girlfriends, friends, family, you know it...we are influenced by them.  

Who writes the songs for the band and what usually inspires your songs?
James: Mark and I both write individually and together. Sometimes I might feel more inspired to write about a topic or vice versa but if one of us is writing alone, it usually ends in a phone call saying "hey man, I need a line... wanna come over and help out?". There are also songs that we have written 50 50 straight down the middle. One time we really really wanted to finish a song so we played leap frog. Mark would write line one, I would write line two... the song ended up being really really bi-polar.  

Can you tell us about your album, "Hello, I love you & Goodbye"?
James: "Hello, I Love You, & Goodbye" was really more about getting the story across than anything. Starting out we wanted to go in and record a 5 song acoustic CD. We really wanted to have something that was high quality that we felt comfortable giving out. Needless to say, 5 songs somehow turned into 15. It's probably something about the acoustic guitar but it just always seems to bring out love songs in some shape or form. When we decided on the title and started formulating the stories, we couldn't help but start adding in songs that we were writing. Best I Never Had, Beating of My Heart, a few others were added in the final weeks of recording but we think they were strong additions to the album and definitely helped to complete the story.  

What was the recording process like?
James: Fun sometimes, painful a lot more of the time... Recording is kind of this double edge sword. Somedays, everything would fall into place perfectly, all the notes were on, and stuff took one take. Other days turned into late late nights and toward the end of the album, school finals came up. There was a few days that we'd spend studying in the studio, running in and out to do vocal takes, or add little pieces in. Needless to say, it got done and so did school but we have no idea how.  

Which of your songs is your favorite?
Mark: My favorite song today on the new cd (it changes every day) would have to be "Leap of Faith".  The piano parts that Glen plays are absolutley amazing to me and I really cant get enough of it, but we really love each song on the cd or else we wouldn't have put them on there.  

If you could work with anyone/any band, who would it be?
Mark: That is such a tough question...there are so many talented people out there that we would love to work with.  I would love to work with Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Mayer, Cabrera - the list just goes on and on.  Can I say all of them?  

How was your experience on the Bandemonium Tour?
Mark: Bandemonium was the best experience that we could have ever asked for.  Playing music is one thing for us but being hosts was totally different.  I was really more nervous at the beginning hosting instead of playing.  We met so many great people on tour and we just hope that we have the opportunity again in the future to go out and just share our music with people.  

What do you do to prepare before going onstage?
Mark: Man, thats another crazy tough question...I mean we practice, practice, and practice.  Usually I pick out a nice sexy outfit or something to accentuate my eyes.  We always pray right before we go on and basically just try to bond with each other and some fans.  

What is the weirdest fan encounter you've experienced?
James: Well the weirdest / coolest thing thats happened so far is this girl changed her last name to mine on Facebook. It's funny cause people started asking if I had a wife or another sister they didn't know about. I don't think I'm ready for there to be more Friedman's. For Mark, its kind of a crazy one... He has this belt that says Sexual Chocolate on it, referring to the band in the movie "Coming to America". This girl sent us pictures on MySpace of her writing "Sexual Chocolate" on her leg with chocolate fudge icing (we assume it was chocolate icing...). Needless to say, it was interesting.  

What's your best advice for fellow bands?
James: 1) Practice all the time, even if you make it, you can never be good enough
2) Play out everywhere and anywhere that will have you - we've made fans in interesting places
3) Get really really lucky - no matter what, there is someone out  there with twice the talent and who is way better looking  

What else can be expected from Mark & James in the future?
James: The sky's the limit. We will keep making music and playing it as long as people keep listening. Right now (as right this second) we're in the studio recording some new songs for you guys to hear. We want to show you guys that yeah, we started acoustic but we love to rock out too!  

What are your goals for this year as a band?
Mark: I guess when it comes down to it, our goal is getting a record deal and blowing up huge but in all honesty our goal is to just share our music with as many people as we can and just have fun doing what we love.  

Anything you want your fans to know?
James: Just to stay tuned for new music that we're working on right now. Other than that, we are so thankful and grateful for all you guys are doing for us.  

How can your fans contact you?
James: MySpace is our bread and butter. We also like fan mail which can be sent to the address on our myspace blog. Other than that, telepathy, carrier pigeon, and singing telegrams will do just fine.