With their new album Ones And Zeros dropping this summer, the UK’s Young Guns are on top of the world – and they plan to travel all over it this year. On top of the upcoming release of the album, of which the band is immensely proud of, they plan on touring constantly for the remainder of 2015, hoping to reach every every corner of the globe before the end of the year. Their big plans in the US start with supporting Breaking Benjamin on their upcoming tour, as well as hitting plenty of festival dates. You can check out the full tour routing below!
Ones And Zeros is an anthematic experience, and that can be heard in the band’s most recent single, “Rising Up” which is a positive and incredibly catchy track, and can be streamed below. You can pick up Ones And Zeros on June 8th and catch Young Guns on tour with Breaking Benjamin soon!
Interview by Shannon Shumaker
You guys recently premiered your single “Rising Up” from your upcoming album, Ones And Zeros – can you tell us a little bit about the track? What made it “single material” to you guys?
It’s all about the riff in this song. When we wrote it we knew it would be a stand out track for us. We wanted to keep the groove simple and concise throughout. I think with the heavy riff and the uplifting lyrics it only felt right to release it as a single. Who doesn’t love a riff?
How excited are you about Ones And Zeroes?! What can fans expect from this album?
We are absolutely dying to get this album out. We’ve literally put our blood sweat and tears into this record and we are so proud of it. We have grown as songwriters and I think it really shows on this album. We wrote a bunch of the songs in different countries over the last couple of years which really gives each song its own identity. We have really focused on the grooves in each song, everything we add has to serve a real purpose. Like many bands we have been guilty of ‘kitchen sinking’ in the past and this process has really made us realise that often, less is more.
Are there any messages that you want to be able to get across with this album? Any stories you wanted to be able to tell?
As each song was written in different countries or at different moments this really reflects the personality of the songs, lyrically and instrumentally. For example, the track ‘Infinity’ we wrote in New York. We were really struggling to get a chorus for it and one day Gus and John were sat on the balcony of our apartment over looking The Empire State Building. The surroundings and moment in time was very inspiring and they basically came up with the chorus with lyrics there and then. It’s amazing how much inspiration you can get from a your surroundings and a moment in time.
How do you feel the album compares to Bones or your older material?
Ones and Zeros shows how we’ve matured as a band. Bones and AOKAD are good reflections of what we wanted to write at the time, and whilst we didn’t have very long to write those records I’m very happy with how they came out. As a band you have to always grow, adapt and push yourself to be as good as you can. We wouldn’t have wanted to write a ‘Bones part 2′ and I don’t think our fans would want that either. Ones and Zeros is a collection of the best songs we could have possibly written.
What is your main goal when you’re working on new material? What do you want fans to be able to take away from new music?
Our main goal is to write songs that we love. We are 5 opinionated boys and we don’t stop until we are 100% happy. Sometimes that means a song can take forever to finish but then sometimes it can be done in a couple of hours. We are forever trying to push ourselves and do something that’s a little different so it’s fresh and we’re all excited by it. Songs are supposed evoke a sense of emotion and that’s something we really try and focus on.
You’re also hitting the road in the US really soon with Breaking Benjamin! What has you most excited about this tour?
We can’t wait for this tour, it’s an honour to be on such an extensive run with a band of such a stature. We are hitting most of the festivals too, which is really exciting. Having the mix of shows and festivals is the perfect blend for us. It’s going to be a very exciting 6 weeks!
What can fans expect from these shows? Are you planning on playing some more new songs?
We can’t wait to play some new material on the road. We will be playing a good mix of new stuff and old, we are always aware that playing too many new songs people don’t know might not always be the best option. We always play with as much energy as possible and we love getting the crowd as involved as we can, we want everyone to feel at home at YG shows, it’s all about having a good time.
What would you like fans and new listeners to be able to take away from your live performances?
I think it’s obvious we put in 100% into every show. It doesn’t matter what size room, how many people or how we’re feeling in the day, we will always play with as much passion and conviction as possible. We want people to go away from our shows with their ears ringing, covered in sweat and a big smile on their face.
On top of constant touring and the album release this summer, what other plans do you have for 2015?
We aim to be on the road for the most part of the year. We can’t wait to discover places we haven’t been before and travel back to places we haven’t been in a while. We’ll be at a bunch of festivals this summer and hopefully hit all corners of the globe by the end of the year.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you to everyone taking the time to read this. Our record Ones and Zeros is out on June 8th and we couldn’t be more excited to get it out and play as many places as possible. Check us out on Instagram and Twitter on @younggunsuk.
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YOUNG GUNS TOUR DATES
4/17/2015: Pharr, TX @ Pharr Events Center – Breaking Benjamin Spring Tour
4/18/2015: Houston, TX @ KTBZ Buzzfest
4/19/2015: Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete Street Amphitheatre – Breaking Benjamin Spring Tour
4/21/2015: Birmingham, AL @ Iron City – Breaking Benjamin Spring Tour
4/22/2015: Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle – Breaking Benjamin Spring Tour
4/24/2015: Tampa, FL @ WXTB Rockfest
4/25/2015: Fort Meyers, FL @ Fort Rock/JetBlue Park with Slipknot, Godsmack, The Pretty Reckless
4/26/2015: Jacksonville, FL @ Welcome to Rockville/Rockville Festival
4/28/2015: Mobile, AL @ Soul Kitchen – Breaking Benjamin Spring Tour
4/29/2015: New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre Breaking Benjamin Spring Tour
5/2/2015: Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29 – Breaking Benjamin Spring Tour
5/3/2015: Concord, NC @ Carolina Rebellion – Carolina Rebellion Festival
5/5/2015: Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
5/6/2015: Peoria, IL @ Limelight Eventplex
5/8/2015: Des Moines, IA @ KAZR Lazerfest
5/9/2015: Somerset, WI @ Northern Invasion/Somerset Amphitheater with Slipknot, VOLBEAT, The Pretty Reckless, Halestorm
5/12/2015: Flint, MI @ Machine Shop
5/13/2015: Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE Indoor- Breaking Benjamin Spring Tour
5/15/2015: Columbus, OH @ Rock on the Range
5/20/2015: Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
5/22/2015: Pryor, OK @ Rocklahoma