Band of the Day: Youth Illusion

After a couple of days off, Band of the Day is back with an international act…

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

Hey, we are based in London but we are actually from all over the globe! Zach is from USA, Matt from Italy, Rory from South Africa, and Tim is from UK

How did you meet?

Rory and Zach met on gumtree of all places; Zach was looking to put a band together and Rory was looking for something and it clicked straight away. We had a couple of different drummers before finally finding Tim and things really started falling into place perfectly. We decided to add a second guitarist not long after landing Tim and Matt slotted in perfectly both musically and personally.

How long have you been playing as a band?

The band first started in May 2018 but we don’t really count the first 11 months while we were settling in; Tim and Matt joined in April 2019 and that’s when we feel we really became a band and things started happening fast!

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

The band name comes from a bit of a joke; we are a little older than most bands in our scene so the name Youth Illusion kind of fits perfectly – Rory likes to say he is 21 and has been for 14 years now. Some people have suggested changing it to Youth Delusion but that’s still a few years away hahaha

What are your influences?

Our influences are pretty wide, Zach loves his Alexisonfire and Thrice, Matt likes his classic rock, Tim digs his heavy stuff, and Rory is a punk rocker so we all bring a different ingredient to what we play.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

The most unique thing is that we all bring a little bit of our backgrounds into our music. Zach is from Texas so brings that southern feel, Rory is straight down the middle with his Punk basslines, Matt brings his classic rock influence and Tim just smashes the beat and holds it all together. You can hear each influence in the music and it just brings something different which makes it difficult to pin down who we sound like – it’s nice to have that something that just makes you stand out a little

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

Our upcoming EP is focussed around toxic relationships which is a bit of a theme but they are more introspective and existential from different points of views. But I think that theme was more accidental than planned because we don’t try and be themed or political or try to nail down any specific message; it’s more about what is relevant to us when the song is written.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

We have played about 7 shows with our current lineup and it’s really clicked. We like to have a good time on stage and try our best to get the crowd moving; but even if they are a bit static, it doesn’t slow us down. We are grateful for every show we play and every person who comes to see us play so will give our all every time.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

Zach likes to climb on things whether it be an amp, a bar, a bass drum, or a passed out drunk so he usually does well to entertain – we haven’t really done anything too wild ourselves but we are still a young band and have enough time to embarrass ourselves. It wasn’t at a show but after we played at the Parish in Huddersfield we got kicked out of MacDonalds for singing because they thought we were homeless and begging for money – our old drummer was passed out on the street and being circled by crack heads and prostitutes so that didn’t help and I am not surprised we were not welcome for very long. When the promoter got back to his hotel, they rushed him in and locked the door behind him because they thought our drummer was dead and “didn’t want to get involved with that”!

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

Zach plays a Gibson Les Paul future through a Blackstar 45; Matt plays a Gibson Les Paul through a Marshall JCM2000; Rory plays an ESP LTD through GK 1001RD amp and Tim plays Paiste cymbals and Pearl Export kit

What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?

We are plugging our single ‘Better Off’ at the moment and have just announce the release date of our first EP, Terms of Submission which is out on 15 November – we plan to put out a second single before then but haven’t ironed out the details yet.

What are your plans for 2019?

We will be doing a few London shows before the EP release and are planning a full UK tour for Feb or March 2020.

If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!

We have just finished a short run with Bristol band, Kite Thief and would play with them any time, any place. In terms of bigger bands we would like to play with, Alexisonfire would probably be top.

Youth Illusion: official | facebook | instagram | youtube

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