Young the Giant moves to alt-rock success
Young the Giant RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest When: July 10, 2 p.m. Young the Giant has made the tough transition from underground underdog to a mainstream alt-rock success, as Robin Levinson discovered in a conversation with the band’s drummer, François Comtois.
With their second album, Mind over Matter, the band from Orange County, Calif., has stretched its muscle a little bit by incorporating more electronic sounds and playing around with rhythms that make you move. The band — whose lead singer Sameer Gadhia has possibly the sexiest and most melodic voice in rock right now — is on an extensive tour this summer, supporting Kings of Leon. But they don’t mind playing second fiddle, Comtois says, they’re just happy to not be chasing the winter anymore.
Q Mind Over Matter was released in January 2014, over three years after your selftitled debut. What did you do in between albums?
A We had been on the road for about two-and-a-half years after releasing the first album. We sort of had to build from nothing at that point, so we would do a headlining tour and then we would do the same cities next time to build up a bigger audience. And that just took a really long time. By the time we were finished with that and came to the realization that it was time to start writing again, we also thought it would be really important to take some time and decompress and focus on our relationships at home ...
And then after that we had to write an album and record it. It took longer than we anticipated, but it was really important for us to pace ourselves.
Q What was the writing process like for this album?
A It’s a very democratic process for us, it has been from the getgo ... and that works really well. You’re free to let your ideas shine without worrying about what someone else thinks.
We’re creatures of habit and sometimes those habits show
through in songwriting. So when you have five people to break up that process, I think it allows you to avoid doing the same thing over and over again.
Q How has your sound changed?
A It’s fair to say that it’s changed significantly, but not to the point where it’s unrecognizable. One of the important things is that we’re confident musicians.
I play drums for example, and I hope you can tell that it’s me playing drums, no matter what the part is. Same thing with Sameer, you can always hear that it’s clearly Sameer’s voice. That identity is hard to shake and it gives us some latitude as far as being able to experiment with different genres and different sounds, knowing at the end of the day it’s still going to be Young the Giant. We definitely wanted to incorporate a little bit more of an electronic component — nothing that would reinvent who we are but using the amazing music technology that’s out there to amplify and supplement the sounds we were coming up with. Hip hop is definitely something we all really love, and rhythmic music in general. Trying to focus on what it is that makes people move and that common denominator that you can bob your head to. We wanted to focus on that.
Q After your first album, you switched labels from Roadrunner to Fueled by Ramen. Why the switch?
A They all work with Warner. It was more just a question of wanting to be on a label that fit us a little more. It was a mutual decision and so far it’s been really great. They have a better idea of how to handle a band in our genre.
Not to discredit the work we did with Roadrunner but they were, and remain, a more hard rock and metal label.
Q Is there any one moment that really encapsulates how far you’ve come?
A There’s one. The first time we returned to Orange County after having finished this two-year tour cycle. And we came back and we played the Orange County Fairgrounds, which has this huge amphitheatre. I think it was sold out with 12-13,000 people. I was so tired I didn’t know how I would finish the set. And then the second I walked out there was just this realization that we have such a great support system, and we were feeling so grateful for all these people who have really helped make us who we are. It’s this very humbling experience, this realization that we’re making a life out of this and we’re very fortunate.