California-based indie, alternative rock band to perform at USC tonight
Their California-branded cool extends far beyond V-neck T-shirts, rolled-sleeve button-ups and carefully laced, vintage-chic oxfords.
They’ve built an indie rock wave around, well, cough syrup.
Young the Giant has taken the industry-wide titles of heat seekers, “on the verge” artists and up-and-comers. The members’ always alternative flair and endearing combination of cardigans, killer facial hair and that brooding yet quirky smirk have found their way into the spotlight.
And the “Cough Syrup” 20-something songsters will bring their same festival stage show and charmingly eccentric alternative rock to the Greene Street intramural fields tonight at 8.
“I think we cover a broad spectrum,” said guitarist Jacob Tilley. “I think it’s a pretty spot-on description: alternative, indie rock. We have a little bit of both going on.”
Young the Giant first hit the scene, in its skeletal being, in 2004 as The Jakes in Irvine, Calif. Lead vocalist Sameer Gadhia and Tilley were the only two lasting members in the original set, which found a following at college frat parties and weekend, hometown gigs.
It wasn’t until 2009, when the band was signed by Roadrunner Records, that they got their first, real shot at South by Southwest in Austin, Tex. It was their big break on the festival stage followed up by a forever coveted song spot on MTV reality show “The Real World.”
“South by (Southwest) will always be huge in our hearts. It’s the first time we’d driven in a van across country — it was a lot of fun,” Tilley said. “We didn’t get a lot of sleep and didn’t get many shows, but we were exposed to so much in just those couple of days. That was the first time we saw the potential that could be achieved.”
It’s the first big break that sticks to the heart. The guys returned to the festival in 2011 for a more high-profile appearance in the lineup, and, although they won’t be taking the 2012 stage this week, they’re still “paying their dues to Austin,” Tilley said.
Young the Giant — which sold out every date on its nationwide, headlining tour — will be back in Austin March 24 and 25 with two shows at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q. And Tilley assures they’ll “probably be back next year” on the South by Southwest stage.
They’ve been defined by the annual indie music festival, but is that the mark of industry celebrity?
“I wouldn’t say it’s when we ‘made it,’” Tilley said, “but once we played the VMAs, we saw a huge change in our crowd attendance.”
Their MTV award show debut with single “My Body” last year is what officially took the California boys from frat party entertainment to the Billboard charts. And although they’ve seen their fair share of time on the charts, Young the Giant still does carry the title of the “up and coming” rockers — they aren’t the established, but rather the new discovery.
“It’s flattering,” Tilley said. “We realize that we’re still very young and in a very lucky situation. We just hope we can stick around a little bit longer, through the second album.”
But the fans are still growing and falling into Young the Giant on the self-titled debut album’s big, current hit “Cough Syrup.”
The song, written by guitarist Eric Cannata, is really just “off the cuff,” Tilley said.
“Eric wrote the bulk of it when he was really young. It’s just about being kind of disassociated from things and working it out and taking it from a new perspective,” Tilley said.
And that’s going to be the main difference in Young the Giant’s sophomore release, which is due out at the end of this year, Tilley said.
“Our last record had a lot of material that we had done when we were a lot younger; there was a lot of rerecording and doing again,” Tilley said. “This time, it’s going to be a clean slate. I don’t think we’re doing to deviate too much in the writing style, just more edge than the last album. More maturity.”
The goal is, quite simply, to prove themselves. The guys write all of their own music, and now, with one recorded album under their belts, they’re comfortable and ready to mature their music and fan base, Tilley said.
“We all just kind of get together and jam. We bring an idea and start hashing it out,” Tilley said. “On this tour, we’re playing a few new songs and ironing them out as we play.”
And Tilley assures that the USC smaller-scale festival, a Carolina Productions event on the intramural fields, will receive the same, Austin, Tex., treatment. It’s a welcomed treat to take on a college crowd.
“I’m only 22, so I would have been getting ready to graduate this time last year,” Tilley said. “I still love being around people my age, and it’s kind of a glimpse into the life I would have had back at school.”
Tilley, who self-identifies as an outdoorsy type and loves playing “Guns Out” live, laughs at the earlier described threads that have just further propelled Young the Giant into the indie world.
“I think it just worked out for us,” Tilley said. “Our clothes just matched.”