GROWING UP
Young the Giant matures, sticks to vision of creating great music
There are plenty of things Francois Comtois has learned over the course of his musical career.
Now in his 13th year as a member of rock band Young the Giant, he’s learned a lot.
Getting more sleep, enjoying life, settling down a little.
“And we do yoga a lot more,” he says with a laugh. “It used to be, drink too much beer and eat too much pizza. Now it’s more figuring out a balance. We have friends in most cities we go to and we take time for ourselves.”
Young the Giant formed in 2004 in Irvine, Calif.
Over the course of its career, there have been some lineup changes, but the vision of creating great music has never changed.
Comtois is joined in the band by Sameer Gadhia, Jacob Tilley, Eric Cannata and Payam Doostzadeh.
The band was signed to Roadrunner Records in 2009, and a year later, it released the self-titled debut album.
Out of the gate, the band’s first three singles — “My Body,” “Cough Syrup” and “Apartment” — reached the top five on the alternative chart.
“Mind Over Matter” followed in 2014, and in 2016, the band released “Home of the Strange.”
Comtois says there are a lot of similarities among the three albums’ processes — though there are some changes.
“The ways we approach songwriting is different, and we have a stronger focus on storytelling,” he says. “At the end of the day, it’s about being honest.”
It took Young the Giant nearly two years to complete “Home of the Strange.”
Comtois says the band has definitely had its ups and downs over the years.
After the debut album, Young the Giant stayed on the road for more than two years.
“We got off the road and were shellshocked,” he says. “We didn’t have any momentum going into the second album. When we started the new one, we had to find a balance to writing and working on the road.”
On its current tour, Young the Giant has also graduated to being the headliner.
Opening for the band are Joywave and Cold War Kids.
“It’s very surreal to have Cold War Kids and Joywave with us,” he says. “With Cold War Kids, we came from the same place. I saw them play at the Troubadour, and it was so different than anything I had seen before. Both bands have been a point of inspiration for me personally. We just wanted to put together a bill that is amazing for the fans.”