Cincinnati rockers The National were schooled on stardom by none other than legendary icon Bruce Springsteen and REM's Micheal Stipe.

Speaking to Hot Press, Aaron Dessner and Scott Devendorf revealed that they drank whiskey with The Boss and heard some of The E street band's old war stories.

"One of the bits of advice he gave us is that you've got to learn to play to the back row," says Dessner. "He told us - 'You create a wave and then ride it. When I wrote Born To Run, I had a million fans, and when I wrote Born In The USA, I had 10 million'."

After opening for REM at Oxegen, the lads were also given a masterclass by lead singer Micheal Stipe.

"The main thing we learned from Micheal in particular, is not to be afraid of writing an infectious song" Dessner says. "You don't always have to subvert them into something artier. Don't be afraid to write a pop song I think is how he put it".

"Some of the simpler songs on High Violet were our response to that", Dessner concluded.

The National's new LP Trouble Will Find Me is set to be released on May 20. To hear what the lads have to say about the record, their ill-deserved reputation as miserabalists and kicking back at Other Voices in Dingle, check out the new issue of Hot Press, out tomorrow.

Order this issue