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Young Guns
Gustav from Young Guns tells Subba how important control is for them, and how awesome they think Bon Jovi is!
When a band explodes from quiet obscurity to being one of the most exciting UK acts, there has to be something in it? After the hype around their debut EP last year, the new band found themselves caught in a whirlwind of success that just keeps spinning faster.
Having a monumental live show, which has seen them play events from The Great Escape Festival right through to supporting Bon Jovi (oh yes!), the anticipation for their debut album has been more than overwhelming. It feels like everywhere you turn, there is no escaping these guys – so lets find out what it’s all about…
You just released your new album, how would you choose to describe it?
I would say that it is an ambitious first album. We’ve tried to push ourselves as much as we could at this early stage of our career, and though I’ve said it a fair few times already, I really feel that it’s an honest body of work – say what you want about it as a collection of songs, but we haven’t tried to sound like anyone else other than ourselves and I think you can hear that in the music.
Is that how you set out for the album to be?
In the sense of not trying to sound like anyone other than ourselves, no. We didn’t actively get rid of parts if we thought they sounded like this band or that band, because we didn’t really find that we had to. It came out how it did purely because that’s how we operate and how we write in the first place. That’s what I’m most happy about, I think. We did however set out to try and push ourselves (at least) beyond what we thought people would expect. I wanted to be proud of it, and I am.
Why did you choose to self-release the album?
We felt that we’d gotten ourselves to the stage we were at by the time it came to write and record the album, with the help of a few amazingly dedicated people around us, and we just didn’t really see the need to bring any particular label on board. We also didn’t want to lose momentum and have a huge gap between the EP and the album. Obviously being broke sucks, so a nice big advance would have been wicked, but we just felt more comfortable retaining the control and input that we’ve always had, and as long as we’re busy touring etc, money to live isn’t really much of an issue. Also, being as busy as we are, and are hoping to be, means that we’re not so in the way at home, which I’m sure is of great relief to Ben’s family!
You recently supported Bon Jovi – are you a fan of his music?
Who isn’t?! Whatever your opinion may be about him as a guy, that band is one of the all-time greats. Some of their songs are as ingrained in my consciousness as Michael Jackson etc. Hearing Living On A Prayer, Bad Medicine and all the others was amazing. I still can’t process the experience to be honest.
Describe how it feels when you’re on stage?
That’s a tough question. We’re perfectionists, and because of that every little mistake or bum note is amplified one thousand fold. It can feel at times like I’m in the best band in the world, or the worst, when in reality obviously neither is true. Every now and then though, it’s an almost transcendent experience, feeding off the energy of the crowd, seeing my best friends around me and realizing that all of it is actually happening and isn’t a day dream or my imagination. The way that moment feels is beyond words, I imagine that’s what performers and people in public view throughout history have felt, there’s something very primal and overwhelming about that energy and that buzz. But I would think that ‘cos I’m a nerd.
And how does that compare to being in the studio?
Well, in the studio you are under a microscope in front of your friends/producers etc. and live you are under the microscope in front of loads of people who don’t know you. Both can be horrible and really rewarding in different ways. It’s amazing and so rewarding hearing songs take form layer by layer, day by day. There’s an excitement that kicks in when the vocals and guitar leads start to go down and the song really starts to have a personality, it’s awesome. We’re ridiculously lucky to be able to do something that we love, and that’s one of those times that it really hits home.
Music moves so fast these days that it’s difficult not to get lost in a stampede of new bands – what do you think you have which will give you lasting power?
It does, but I think that in a way that’s what’s helped us to get to where we are today. In a time of constantly evolving fashions and trends, we only concern ourselves with writing what we think are good melodies, and good songs. We aren’t about what’s cool or what isn’t, and in playing pretty straight up melodic rock we seem to have stood apart from the pack, at least enough for people to take notice of us. It was really hard to fit in on bills in the beginning, which is pretty amusing when you think about it – bands were mostly either death metal/metal-core stuff, or pop punk with breakdowns. Not that those two musical styles are crap in themselves, just really over-saturated right now.
Who do you owe the success of Young Guns to?
We are indebted to everyone that has been patient enough to let us throw money and time at something that stood (and still stands) relatively little chance of ever bearing fruit… Our families let us chuck everything in have supported us 100%. We are indebted to our managers Mark and Andy who got on board without any motivation or prompting other than the fact that they really liked some songs we’d written and wanted to help us. Most importantly though, we are indebted to anyone and everyone that buys our music or our merch, or comes down to a show and sings along with us. Without being wet about it, it blows my mind every time somebody tells me they like Young Guns, it means everything to me and we appreciate them more than we could possibly communicate.
How much does an outside perspective influence what you do with the band, or do you tend to keep the decisions very band-centric?
Our decisions are totally band-centric, it’s one of the best parts of having the amount of control that we do. Obviously there are certain things that come down to experience and expertise, and we have great PR, management, distribution, booking and so on, that helps us make these decisions but ultimately it is up to us. We’re stubborn opinionated bastards so it’s definitely best that way.
Where do you want the band to lead you? Why?
The band has already given me more than I ever thought it would. I get to do something I love with people I love which is a rare thing in this day and age. My hope is that we can continue to grow and get to do new things, meet new people and go to new places. I really want people to like our first album, and I think that they will – I know that I’m happy with it, but I also know that our best is yet to come and I want the chance to be able to show that. I have faith that we can do so much more.
What does the next year hold for Young Guns?
All being well, just touring, touring, touring, and as I said before, hopefully getting to experience some new things and meet new people.
New album 'All Our Kings Are Dead' is out now!
Thanks to Mark at Devil PR
www.myspace.com/youngguns
Anna Meacham
