YOU
live at the Bungalow on January 10, 2015.
| gig magazine issue #9 |
interview & photographs by Justin Thor Simenson
Editors note:
This article was originally published in February 2015.
With a renewed energy, the college crowd is back and looking for a release. The Bungalow sits in a perfect place to draw in the crowd on the cold January weekends. YOU is set to be last on the lineup, but they jump up to second because of other obligations by some members. The first band gets the crowd in and sweating. After their set no one seems to mind or notice the shift in lineup. Maybe they are too amped, buzzed or just stoked to be back among friends.
As YOU hits their second or third song the crowd is swirling with the heavy guitar and bass. I move to behind YOU’s guitarist Austin and see that the room is moving as one and a sense of individualism is lost. “We dabble in synthetic telepathy, using our instruments and a collective mindset to alter the reality of a group of people in and out of our direct vicinity.” Eric and Harim tell me. There is something special about live music. The experience is more than just hearing, you use all of your senses and inside a house party those sense get piqued way more than at a bar or bigger venue.
“What is the draw to playing house shows?” They respond “What isn't the draw to playing house shows? You get to play to a bunch of party goers looking to have a good time in an intimate environment. Plus you’re not separated by a stage and you’re exposed to the audience and whatever good and bad creativity comes with it. Also you’re basically being a guest of honor at stranger’s (most the time) house to be the entertainment at a party of people.” Guest of honor. That is a great way to describe a band that plays a house show.
Before the show YOU had just finished recording a new album. “Tell me about the new album” I asked. “Our 2nd LP “Phase” was recorded live over 2 days at Push Drive Studios by our friend Lee Sillery. We added about 2 hours of light overdubs for some vocals, claps & tambourines. These tunes have been in our song bank for a couple of months and some songs we completed molded in the studio. We recorded live because we all agree we’re a live band and we wanted to capture that energy rather than paste layers from different sessions together, plus we wanted to finish recording before our guitarist Austin moved to Oregon. You can tell the two sessions apart by their overall tones for sure. Only one song was recorded months before for a compilation record that never saw the light of day.”
“What are your plans with it?” I ask. “Hopefully one of the micro labels in Phoenix, AZ and Burlington, VT who we met on tour will put out the LP on cassette and vinyl, but nothing’s set in stone so if they they fall thru we’ll self release CDs.” “Cassette?” I ask. “In total we have self release 2 cassettes, both were small runs of our shows we recorded on tour and mixed ourselves. We met this dude Mark who runs a rad little label in Denver in April 2013 and again that July, and we all just agreed that we should re release our first LP “Ambivalence” on his Literati Records label and he pressed 100 copies for us. Cassettes are amazing and the demographic that might listen to us probably own used cars from the 90s.”
If you've seen YOU live, this issue will make a lot of sense. If you went to college and enjoyed the music scene, you will understand this issue. If you get out and see live music, this magazine should connect with you. If none of this applies to you, I think it is time for you to head over to your local watering hole or music venue and see the next show. You can thank me later. Live music, especially good live music, will fill you with an energy that you can’t get elsewhere.
