Young Guns have been bringing us big sounds, thoughtful lyrics and one helluva a good gig for the past eight years. And while their last three albums solidified their place in rock music, the band hit a crossroads in late 2015 when founding member and drummer Ben Jolliffe decided to leave the band.
"One of the founding members of the band left," lead singer Gustav Wood told Myspace over thai food. "And he wasn’t just a bandmate, we were all best friends. It was a real shift to our friendship. We lost our friend to another country. We lost a bandmate."
However, Ben's departure allowed the UK band to really look at themselves and figure out what they wanted to do next. And during the time of introspection, they came up with their latest effort, Echoes. We had the chance to take the band out for some vegan summer rolls and vegetarian pad thai at the outdoor food market, Mad. Sq. Eats, in New York City to talk about this and other changes in the band's dynamic as well as their new record.
As the guys dug into their meals and sipped on pineapple agua frescas from the Two Tablespoons pop-up stand, we chatted about how Echoes was unlike their other work — not only because of who collaborated on this effort, but also because this really was a personal one for Gus.
"Everything that I wrote, from a lyrical perspective and all of that, was all that I could talk about. And that was the only thing on my mind," he explained. "I think if I tried to write about anything else, it would be insincere. And we definitely as a band, we’ve been very lucky with our careers so far. We’ve been really productive and excited. And we’ve come to a place, and I as a person, found myself in a place, in 2015 where it was time for a change."
Delving into the end of a six-year relationship, followed by Ben's departure, Gus saw the album as an opportunity to really let his and the other band members' creativity soar.
"To be honest with you, it just felt appropriate and a way for me to address things and put them to bed and look forward," he explained. "So for me, it’s a record for I was at that point in time, where we were in that point in time. We had to do what we had to do to move forward. So we had to be frank with ourselves and talk and think about everything in order to move on. The album is about not living the past anymore and putting those things to bed and putting our best foot forward and looking ahead to a brighter future."
Since the band used to live in one house in London, Gus admitted that "it streamlined the process a little bit. We wrote most of the album in [Fraser Taylor's] bedroom."
And starting Echoes as a foursome, Young Guns got back to their roots and found a new energy for their music. "I think it was really good for us as a group of four," Gus admitted. "We reconnected a little bit and listened to each other and the dynamics in the group had to change because there was one person less. And we had to reconnect in a positive way, and that came out in the writing. There was a great emphasis on Simon’s bass playing, which came to the forefront more. Things like that were really good for us as a new chapter."
But the rock quartet needed to find a new drummer and found it in Chris Kamrada. The Florida drummer, who had previously worked with PVRIS and Saints of Valory, joined the band in February while Echoes was still in recording stage. And after a little more than a week with his new band members, Chris just jumped right in and contributed his two cents.
"It was an interesting dynamic meeting them for the first time," he admitted. "I had to sit there and pick apart songs and be brutally honest. I think it was a healthy way to all meet. It was a good start to be creative and being honest and going for something great and not just good. It felt like a turning point."
With Chris' previous music experience, he empathized with Gus, guitarists John and Fraser Taylor and bassist Simon Mitchell. "It was exciting for me to also help them feel excited again," he explained. "I know that position when you put out records, and you feel disappointment from record labels and so on and so forth. A lot of bands have that issue. And it’s awesome to feel something new, a new presence, a new energy, anything that really brings a creative atmosphere that brings positivity. I think that happened when we were working on the album and everything. Even if it was rushed and things were done on the fly, sometimes just letting go and saying, 'Fuck it,' and playing and making the music is very important."
Guitarist John Taylor felt that the addition of Chris "gave us a new invigoration" and that really showed when the band worked on "Mercury in Retrograde." John and Gus worked tirelessly on the track to get it right.
"We kept saying to ourselves that we had to finish this song," John conveyed. "We sat up all night, just drinking, smoking cigarettes, just making it happen. And it turned out to be one of my favorites."
Gus agreed. "Yeah, and I think it’s all about that. It’s capturing the moment. Sometimes the best things come out of very stressful situations. I mean, these guys came in the next day, and John and I have been up for about 28 hours. We were just goblins, blinking from the darkness. But it was great because it was a creative atmosphere in the studio."
Meanwhile, Chris had to contribute his part of that song on his way to the airport. And while that sounds like a crazy way to put a song together, the final product proves that nothing could stop these guys from putting together a great record. And they also could thank multi-platinum award-winning producer David Bendeth for that, too.
"He really liked our tracks, and he wanted to work with us," Simon explained. "And we wanted to work with someone who can really tear a track to shreds and really get the best out of us. We wanted someone to challenge us as musicians as well. So that’s what we got by working with David. And that first day when we went to the studio and went through all the demos and the songs, it wasn’t going to be an easy process. But we weren’t expecting that. So he made us work for it. It was definitely worthwhile. He’s great at what he does."
As we wrapped up lunch, we ended the conversation on their favorite parts of touring. And while Chris and Simon pointed to the obvious answer of performing live every night. Gus highlighted the point that they've been lucky to have the opportunity to do what they do.
"We’re fortunate that when we go to New York, we’re able to meet with these people and these people," he said. "Then we go to our favorite pizza spot that we know because we’ve been to this city enough times. Those are not things that, as a child, I would ever be able to say or to know. So as a group of friends, we’ve been to Thailand. We’ve been to China. We've been to Japan. We’ve been all around Europe. We’ve been to the States. We’ve been to all these places that I’ve been desperate to go to my whole life and assumed I’d never be able to. So getting to do that by playing music for a living with my friends is a pretty spectacular thing. And it's important to take a step back and appreciate that."
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