It was a dank, grungy vibe filled the low-slung basement of Frankie’s on Sunday eve. However it was not the delicious salami pizza that brought the swaths of die-hard fans from far and wide, it was of course Gang Of Youths.
After witnessing the aura of such a band live, it is hard to understand where they draw their inspiration from as they could of only been emulating themselves – creating a beautiful mess of raw, electric talent that oozes originality and authenticity.
David’s voice certainly draws a crowd, yet the real mystic behind his vocals is how they create an intensely personal connection with the audience, taking you along for the ride.
Below are some q’s we hit him up with, so as to gain a better insight into the band and himself:
After four years in the making, now that you guys have gotten your first LP out, what’s next? Are you going to concentrate on touring and promoting the album, or are there a few new treats in the pipeline?
We’re probably going to tour the everliving shit out of the LP for the next year or so — I don’t think there’s going to be much in the way of new music until the next recording though — maybe I’m awaiting some new great tragedy to befall us so there’s impetus for a sophomore.
Were there any specific tracks you really struggled finishing off? Or were there any that you just couldn’t get right and sorta said thats it we ave to move on?
Oh goddamn — other than ‘Kansas’ virtually every song on the recording was a holy pain in the ass to finish. There were tracks that took on two or three different configurations or were re-recorded over and over and over again. I remember ‘Radioface’ and ‘The Overpass’ being particularly difficult to execute and the first incarnation of ‘The Diving Bell’ was ditched in late 2013. It took a lot of persuading by the rest of the band for me to dig up the limbless cadaver of that song and do a little fucked up necromancy. We did a lot of ‘moving on’ which, given my Axl Rose-esque penchant for delaying the recording process with self-indulgent and idiosyncratic slowed a lot of it down.
One of the more intimate tracks ‘The Overpass’ slows down the rhythm of the whole LP and brings it to an almost depressing conclusion. What led you to put such an emotionally hefty track right at the end?
Tremendous question – the sequencing of the record was oddly democratic given my aforementioned dictatorial tendencies. ‘The Overpass’ was the penultimate track preceding the comparatively hopeful and jaunt ‘Radioface’. Joji, Jung and Max thought that thematically, The Positions needed to end where it started, reflecting the same conceptual narrative established by ‘Vital Signs’ in the beginning; a storybook ending of sorts. Capturing a sense of pathos at the end of this record was significant to us both personally and artistically because ‘The Overpass’ always felt hopeful but resigned, wilful and at the same time, sort of despondent. I feel like we wanted to emphasise the symbiosis of all of these feelings at the end of the record to demonstrate an important but sad triumph – that’s almost certainly art imitating life for us.
What is the creative process of putting such personal emotions into tracks like that?
I sit down and ask myself “what is the simplest, most transparent, most conversational and most beautiful way to dig my still-beating heart out of my chest, cut the motherfucker open and paint the town red with my blood?”
I have brief moments of pause where I wonder if I’m disclosing too much of my humanity – but it was the records that did that very thing which changed my life, so I just grow a pair and do it anyway because fuck it – I hate liars and I hate cowards. To restrain myself would be doing both.
Does expressing your emotions out loud like that take a toll on you at the end of live shows?
Absolutely. Especially reliving everything I wrote about. But up until recently I rarely expressed emotions verbally period, so the cathartic element of doing it to total strangers isn’t lost on me at all.
What defining point in your life made you turn to music as a vent? Or was it more out of boredom or realising you had a un-natural ability to vocalise your feelings?
Being nine-years-old and singing in the school choir, getting called a ‘faggot’ and a ‘gaylord’ by the other 4th graders was probably the impetus. I suppose it was my way of telling these little pricks to go and fuck themselves.
Take us through your favourite tracks from your new LP, and what they mean to you on a personal level?
‘Kansas’ has a special place in my heart because I was able to be completely autonomous during the recording process. I was wearing a towel, sitting in my childhood bedroom fucking around with some strings on garageband. The process of writing and recording it only took four or five hours, and and I felt like I was getting closer to achieving my ‘Street Hassle’ moment in some weird way. I love arranging strings and could probably do that all day every day for the rest of my life.
‘Sjamboksa’ is another one I love, purely because the narrative of the song is so autobiographical and quite literal. It also seems like a tawdry gesture in this day and age not only to be so sentimental but to do it with four electric guitars which I like.
In an interview with Pilerats last year you mentioned that you thought Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m on fire’ had a “holy, ancient” aura to it. Was this same ‘holy, ancient’ vibe something you tried to re-birth on your LP? (cause if so I think you nailed it)
Yr. a fucking champion! Thank you and yes, I like to think we attempted to make something spiritual and familiar. Initially I was consumed with the notion that we had to produce some dickriding trendy clusterfuck rife with listless nonchalance and hipster superiority. While that would have won us the approval of a few fuccboi posers in the music underground who don’t give a fuck about anything that isn’t scuzz punk or some new and unlistenable piece of internet who make conscious efforts to shit on anything with vulnerability and/or big choruses, it just wouldn’t have been us.
Considering the Aus music scene being what it is these days, driven mostly by dance/electronica/flume style ‘bangers’ where do you think you guys fit in, are you trying to being back a lost genre or trying to forge your own in amongst all of the other unique sounds floating around these days? if yes, what genre do you self-identify as being a part of?
I like to think that things aren’t as homogenous as most ‘purists’ say. I for one am really interested in electronic music as an artform and love the democracy of it all. I think it’s excellent that any fucking nerd can figure out how to use ableton and become an ‘artist’ with a legion of sweaty, orange fans now. I don’t know if we’re really ‘bringing’ anything back, because guitar music needs to adapt and develop but maybe we are trying to dismantle the idiotic notion that big, ambitious music is not inherently artful or thoughtful or provocative. Earnestness as well as is like kryptonite for cool kids and cynics though. In reference to genre? I just like to say that we’re an indie rock/baroque rock group.
In that Pilerats interview I also read that GOY all started because you were trying to support your then wife in times of hardship. Do you think the forming of a band around such a emotionally connected aspect of your life has helped perpetuate a certain closeness within your ranks? i.e. have you and your ‘gang’ become closer and more familial?
Absolutely. We were best friends before all of this GOY shit and it’s done nothing but make us love the fucking shit out of each other more. What a good way to spend a life and career.
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Here at LWA we’re all about up and coming stories and original music, so keep an ear to the stage as this gang of misfits will be tearing through many venues all around the country in the coming months.
The Positions Album Tour Dates:
Fri, 15th May – Sydney – Oxford Art Factory: Tickets
Sat, 16th May – Brisbane – Woolly Mammoth: Tickets
Fri, 22nd May – Melbourne – Northcote Social Club: Tickets
Sun, 24th May – Adelaide – The Exeter Beer Garden: Tickets
Fri, 29th May – Perth – Jimmy’s Den: Tickets
Sat, 30th May – Fremantle – Mojos Bar: Tickets
