Interview with youth Group

Interview by Carlo Gironi | carlo@staff.TRUEPUNK.com| with Toby Martin.

"Skeleton Jar" is the debut album on American market for one of Australia’s most quietly adored bands, Youth Group. Not only they toured with
Death Cab For Cutie, not only they worked with Chris Walla, not only
they got their song played on the Tv Series "The O.C.",
but their Epitaph Records debut is also great!

Hello there! How are you doing?

I’m well. Thanks for asking.

Can you introduce yourself and what you do in the band?

My name is Toby Martin. I sing most of the songs and play the guitar.

Since some people might not know of Youth Group, can you tell us more about your band and your history?

I’d be delighted. We played our first gig in December 1997 at the
Warren View Hotel, Enmore, Sydney, Australia. We then released four
singles that connect (figuratively and literally) to create one large
image. Our debut album ‘Urban and Eastern’ came out in 2001. It was
a sprawling, country rock opus. We then wrote and recorded for some
four years and released Skeleton Jar in Australia in 2004, and in
the rest of world in 2005. In the last eight years we also played
many gigs, both transcendental and disastrous.

"Skeleton Jar" is your sophomore album and the first one for the American market. How would you describe it to people and what should fans expect?

Lyrically, "Skeleton Jar" is marked by an obsession with
public transport and the ocean. Musically, it is characterized by
soft starts, slow builds and crescendos. This is something we found
we were quite good at in 2003. For us, "Skeleton Jar" was
a big step on from our first record. It represents us finding out
what our sound was. We didn’t begin as a band with a distinct ’style’.
We dabbled with many different sounds and structures and songs. But
I think Skeleton Jar has a style that is Youth Group. If I do say
so myself.

I heard you
worked with Walla from Death Cab For Cutie. Is that any true? If it
is, how was to work with that guy?

Chris Walla mixed our cover of Alphaville’s ‘Forever Young’. He did
a fantastic job. He really brought our recording to life. Made it
breath. We have also just finished a tour with his band Death Cab
For Cutie, which was a dream touring experience. He is a man of exquisite
bearing and warmth. A true gentleman of rock.

You come from
Australia: from the outside it looks like a hot punk rock country.
How is is in your opinion? Is there a good music scene? What other
Australian artists do you like?

Well I hope not. The idea of a hot punk sounds a bit scary. I am a
nerdy indy kid remember. There are some seriously great bands in Australia.
Ones which Youth Group have been influenced by. In fact I would say
that "Skeleton Jar" owes more to other Australian bands
than to groups from other countries. They include: Gersey Glide Underground
Lovers, Gaslight, Radio 78, Saab, You Am I, La Huva, Augie March,
The Moles The Go, Betweens Perhaps there aren’t the career opportunities
for bands here that there are in the US and Eruope. Consequently,
most of the bands I just mentioned haven’t managed to play music as
their job.

How did you
decide to release your new disc on Epitaph?

They rang us and told us they liked Skeleton Jar so much they wanted
to put it out overseas. We’d heard of Epitaph and knew it was a cool
label. We also discovered they were a lovely bunch of people to boot.
It wasn’t too hard a decision to say yes. And I’m glad we did.

A song of yours
was featured on the TV Series "The O.C.": are you happy
with that or are you afraid that kids will check you out just because
Seth Cohen said you were his favorite band?

What? No way! Youth Group are Seth’s favorite band? I gotta’ check
them out.

Are you happy
with the outcome of the new album?

Yes. This album had a long, and sometimes difficult gestation. While
we recorded it members came and went and, because of people’s jobs
and timing, it took more than a year to record. There were times when
I wondered if the band would survive long enough to actually finish
the record and, if we did, whether the record would actually come
out. The fact that it came out at all is something I am very happy
about. The fact that it came out overseas as well is a delightful
surprise.

What are your
main influences? Both musically, and lyrically?

These are difficult things to separate. Most of the bands I love I
love for their lyrics as much as their music, such as Pavement, You
Am I, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground. There are some poets who
have influenced me I think. Gig Ryan, David Berman, John Forbes, William
Blake spring to mind.

Do you consider
yourselves as being a "indie rock" band?

It is how I tend to describe us at airports when people see our guitars
and ask us what kind of music do we play. So yes.

If you could
compare the quality of the Australian scene and the American scene,
what would your conclusion be?

I think there are good and not so good bands in both countries. I
don’t think I could draw any conclusions about national characteristics
and band culture though.

Do you do real
day jobs, or you just play in YG? Can you get a living just by playing
rock?

We have always had to work full time to support our music habit. Although
that is starting to change now. We’ve all quit our jobs recently and
support ourselves through a combination of rock n roll and casual
jobs. I’m starting to believe that maybe it is possible.

The year has
almost come to an end: which are the best records you heard during
this year?

Some of my favourites have been:

The Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers

La Huva - Midnight Black and White

Arcade Fire - Funeral

And what is
the best thing that happened to you in 2005? And the worst one?

The tour with Death Cab for Cutie was a real highlight. Nothing too
bad has happened to me this year. As years go 2005 has been rather
fantastic.

What can we
expect from YG in the near future?

We are recording an album over December/January, so hopefully you
will here that soon.