It's only half over, but 2010 has been a busy year for Allston, Mass.-based indie upstarts Young Adults. After forming late in 2009, the trio quickly captured and released an echoey, careening fuzzfest of a demo, and this month the act plans to head back into the studio to record a full-length already carrying the working title Black Hole. The planned full-length will be issued on a date to be determined digitally and in a limited edition of 500 vinyl LPs by Prague-based promotion and label concern AMDISCS. The sessions for Black Hole are being helmed by Justin Pizzoferrato, who has worked previously in some capacity recording records by alt-rock gods Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. The recording will take place at Esthudio, the same studio where the Young Adults demo was tracked by Dan Gonzalez early this year. The band's arc is definitely on the rise and we wanted to check in with guitarist Chris, bassist Demitri and drummer Kurt for their perspectives on where they're heading and what their hopes are for the new record.
Clicky Clicky: It seemed like the demo was well received. Were you pleased with how it went over with fans? To the extent you had any expectations at all, were they met?
Chris (guitar, vocals): Yeah, we made a racket and people liked it. I'm glad.
Demitri (bass/vox): The main purpose of the demo was to declare our existence as a band, to make some sort of audible shout against the clamor of all the new bands trying to communicate something relevant, or perhaps in a way that is relevant. It was our opportunity to sublimate our somewhat perverted obsession with guitar music by exposing our own collective interpretation of it. So, when the demo received some reviews that basically spit back all of the stuff we spit into it, I can honestly say that I felt somewhat self-affirmed. Some people "get it" I suppose.
Kurt (drums): I think we can all say that we are very pleased with how the demo went over with the small but growing group of fans that we have. It is always pretty rad to have someone tell you that they put one of your songs on their running mix or walking mix. It means people are really digging our music which is just great. I think we have a lot of pride with what we have accomplished and what we are doing. Pair that with all the good blogging and reaction we get from crowds, I would say that almost all of our expectations have been met. We obviously have raised our own expectations and hope to fulfill those.
CC: Tell us a little but about the planned recording sessions in July. How many songs do you hope to get down? Is the goal to get an album's worth of material? Did you learn anything from recording the demo that will help you through the process next month?
Chris: It's a loose concept album and we're shooting for 11 songs with ambient instrumentals somewhere in there to make the album flow. We want a real LP, not a collection of singles. I'm looking forward to overdubs and more room for sonic candy.
Demitri: We are actually recording at Esthudio, which is where we recorded our demo. It’s a really nice home studio in Brighton, MA run by Dan Gonzales and Jeremy Mendacino (guitarist and vocalist of Pretty & Nice). We felt really comfortable in that space because we're friends with the engineers there and the space is cozy and warm, as opposed to an austere, expensive studio that might make us feel stressed or pressed for time. Our friend Mike Caulo, local management and booking dude, recommended that we get in contact with Justin Pizzoferrato about recording our record. After discovering that he had worked on recent Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. records it became instantly clear that we wanted him to help us craft this thing. It’s exciting.
Kurt: I think we learned a lot about recording from our demo, really that art should never be rushed. We recorded 5 songs in one day! I think given the circumstances we put out a great demo and I cannot wait to see what we can do with more time...
CC: It looks like there will be a different engineer for the sessions next month? Any particular reason?
Demitri: We like what Dan G did with the demo. That man is really a savior for us. Whenever we’re in a crunch when it comes to recording, equipment or live sound, he is usually there to extend some degree of help. We are just enticed by the idea of fresh perspective on the 12 inch, especially one that helped to craft Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. records. I apologize for my unabashed love for those bands.
Chris: We contacted Justin P and he immediately was enthusiastic. Based on his experience working with some of our core influences, it seemed like a very fortunate opportunity that we couldn't really pass up.
Kurt: I think this is just an opportunity someone should never pass up. It's very humbling and exciting. It will be interesting to see how Justin P. interprets ours music and the direction he will take it. I think we just wanted a new perspective on our music and see how it goes from there.
CC: Do you plan to self-release whatever comes out of the planned sessions, or has a label expressed interest in getting involved?
Demitri: AMDISCS reached out to us a few months ago about putting out our next release. The same people involved with the label have a blog called All Everyone United, based out of Prague, that promotes somewhat esoteric music projects. After they posted our demo they e-mailed me about the possibility of putting out our first record. Initially I was somewhat sketched. I sat there thinking, “what could a bunch of dudes from Prague possibly want with us?” After chatting with one of the founders of the label on the internet for a while I began to loosen up and really dig those guys. He was telling me about this fest he’s running in July called Creepy Teepee featured bands like Vivian Girls, Male Bonding and Toro y Moi. We shoot the shit about bands fairly consistently. Anyway, they’re solid dudes. We're stoked to be working with them.
CC: I see you'll be playing the Deep Heaven Now festival in August. How did that come about? Any other local shows on the horizon?
Demitri: Jinsen Liu who sings and plays guitar in 28 Degrees Taurus invited us. I’ve seen him around at shows in the Boston area for years so we’ve come to know each other that way. About a month ago he explained that he liked the new band I was playing in and invited us.
Chris: Jinsen is really dedicated to celebrating Boston music, and he is a huge fan of our sound. He thought that we would be a good change-up in the prominently shoegaze/psych fest. I think we might be the most aggressive band on the bill, which is never really a bad thing. As for other shows, we are also playing our friend's birthday gig on August 12th at O'Briens in Allston. His name is Omar and he is one big, beautiful man.
Demitri: We’re trying to stay focused on making this record everything we want it to be. It’d be nice to get invited to play NYC or some neighboring states in August though...
CC: I recall in the interview on WERS you were sort of weighing your options about touring outside of the Boston area. Any plans firming up to take the show on the road?
Demitri: AMDISCS was talking about having us come out to Europe for a little over a month and doing a US tour as well. We’ll see how things roll.
Chris: It's all a matter of resources and organization at this point. Once we're ready, we will let everyone know.
Young Adults' "Let Us Out" from the band's 2010 demo
Young Adults:
08.07 -- Precinct -- Somerville, Mass. (early set)
08.12 -- O'Brien's -- Allston, Mass.
Excellent interview. Loving these guys right now.
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