Page 18 - Black Velvet Issue 95

BV95 pg16-19 Young Guns Interview_BV95 pg18 19/12/2017 22:52 Page 3

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kind of social thing, you’re always out talking to
new people, you’re meeting new people every
day, and so it’s not the norm, but it’s exciting
and it’s a great experience, but you do learn
along the way, like with anything.”
hile having self-doubt, they also have
Wself-belief. That may sound like a
contradiction, but feelings come and go. It’s
easy one day to realize your talent and feel that
you deserve more than you have – while the
next, a seeping self-doubt can come rumbling
into play like a boulder rolling down a mountain.
Simon says, “We’re an ambitious band, so
we’ve always wanted to be as big as we could.
From the very early days, we didn’t expect to
headline these prestigious places, but we did
have a belief that our band could be very suc-
cessful.”
The boys both think the impact Young
Guns has had on the world to date is “not
enough”.
John adds, “The great thing about music is
that no matter how big or how small a band you
are, your music’s out there and it’s out there for-
s you move through life, certain pieces insecurities and I’m sure everyone is, but you ever. You can’t take it back. So no matter what
Aof advice will stick with you. John re- just have to keep a brave face and be positive your size is, you still have a little legacy that
ceived one of the best pieces of advice when and keep doing what you’re doing and hope that you’re gonna leave behind and I think that’s re-
Young Guns first started playing as a band. “I it pays off one day.” ally cool, and a really cool thing about music.”
wish I could remember who said it,” he says. “It It’s easy when you put everything into what Simon continues. “I actually said something
was; ‘The only bands who don’t make it are the you love to be very self-critical. Even when there similar the other day. Someone was like, “Why
ones that give up,’ and I guess to an extent are no expectations from others, sometimes you aren’t you massive yet?” or “Why aren’t you
that’s true. I’m sure there are some really tone can put your own high expectation on yourself. doing this?” or “Why haven’t you done that?”
deaf people that that doesn’t apply to, unfortu- Sometimes you can let yourself down due to Well, at the end of the day, being in a band and
nately, but I’ve kind of always applied that to our being a perfectionist, wanting what you’re creat- dedicating all your time and your life to some-
mentality and our positivity, and tried to apply ing to be the best it can be. Wanting every re- thing like this, towards your passion, you are
that to our band.” lease to be immaculate. Wanting every show putting a lot on the line. At the end of the day, if
He says it’s a quote he’d like to pass on to you perform to be faultless. And feeling sick we were to end or we were to die tomorrow,
others. “You can pretty much apply that to any- when something goes wrong. we’ve left behind something that will be timeless.
thing. Just keep trying, keep working hard and “It probably applies to anything but I just It will always be there. I think that’s very impor-
keep being the best you can and hopefully you’ll wish that I would have spent less time being tant and to be proud of.”
get to where you want to be.” moody about things and enjoying every mo-
ment,” says John. “Before you know it and it’s n ‘Lullaby’ from ‘Ones & Zeros’, Gustav
ne thing that really endears us to Young ten years later and there are so many things that Isings ‘You finally have the audience you
OGuns is that not only are they down-to- I didn’t take part in because I felt like I had a bad need’. Black Velvet asks Simon and John if they
earth, but they also admit to having insecurities show, or I didn’t talk to as many people or meet remember the first time they had the audience
and from time to time doubt themselves. In the as many people as I would have liked to. I think, they needed.
rock world, you sometimes come across musi- hindsight is, you always regret not doing stuff, “The first tour we did when Simon joined the
cians who believe their own hype and whose but I wish I enjoyed it a lot more in the past.” line up,” answers John, “we played this tiny
ego starts to inflate. There is none of that with “It’s part of the experience, isn’t it?” says the venue in Kingston called The Fighting Cocks. I
Young Guns. John says he actually doubts him- less introverted Simon. “You kind of learn as you think the cap is only 60 people. It’s literally tiny.
self with “every record, really. I don’t think we’re go along. There are a lot of things that you don’t It’s this kind of DIY punk venue. I remember that
the most confident bunch, honestly speaking. I know about in the early stage of being a band. was full. Obviously it’s a very small venue, but
think it’s always something that can hold people You’re thrown into this whole different world. It’s that was really cool. And it was the first tour that
back and we try not to let it. We’re all riddled with very different to what you’re used to. It’s a very this line-up had existed.”
“That felt really right, didn’t it?” says Simon
to John.
“Yeah, it was the first time that it really
clicked,” replies John, “that we were writing
good music and we were actually a band. Writ-
ing music that we were all into and excited
about.”

here are a lot more people than just the
Tband that are excited about the music
they are writing now. John tells us, “We have a
lot of fans that have tattoos of song lyrics and
the one that I think comes up the most is a song
called ‘Stitches’ off the first record. There’s just
something about that lyrical content that Gus
wrote that really connected with people and I
find it really amazing. People come up to us all
the time and show us handwritten stuff that he’s
actually written out for them that they’ve actu-
ally got tattooed on their body; it’s crazy… but
yeah, people seem to cling to his lyrics, which
is a great thing for us.”
The band try to keep a positive message in
their songs, despite what they’re going through
in their personal or professional lives. John
YOUNG GUNS