Spotlight Artists: The Young Things

Our next spotlight artists are the NYC rock band The Young Things. I first found out about this band because they are participating in Cathyland's Rock 4 Japan benefit concert next week. Guitarist Josh answers our questions below.
Lineup
There are four members of the youngthings:
Josh - guitar
Mikey -guitar and vocals
Neil - bass
Jonny - drums
We all sing a little bit too. but TYT is much bigger than the four of us. We've got an amazing manager (Brandon) and group of guys around us.

How did your band's name come about?
Ahhhh the name. You know I don't actually remember. I think we wanted something kinda vague but also kinda catchy. It's nothing nearly as cool as 'The Velvet Underground' or 'Television', but we do think it's pretty fucking awesome.

How long have you been performing?
We've all been friends for years. Some of us played together as kids, some later in life. Officially, The Young Things played their first shows about a year ago. We've had loads of ups and downs on stage (yes, alcohol is usually involved for both), but right now I think we're cooking with the perfect temperature.

Past lives (i.e., previous bands, your early years, etc.):
God, too many to count. I've got 3 or 4 skeletons in the closet, Neil's got a few. Jon also.

Musical influences:
I can only speak for myself, but you gotta go down the list:
Velvet Underground, The Clash, The Libertines, The Strokes, The Beatles, The Stones, etc etc. I'll even toss Guns n' Roses on that list. Why not? Slash definitely had an impact on my guitar solos.

Favorite venues to play:
We're NYC boys through and through, so we gotta say Bowery Electric on Bowery, Pianos on Ludlow, Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg.

Blatant self-promotion: What would you like to plug?
We got a huge spring summer lined up. Details are still in the works, but we're gonna be leaving the country for a few, recording some new tracks, playing all over NYC, and basically just having a fucking party. Specifically, we hope everyone can make it out to our Japanese benefit at Brooklyn Bowl on April 12, also our show at Bowery Electric on May 19th.
You are performing at the Rock 4 Japan Benefit concert. How did did you become involved?
I honestly don't know. My manager came to us and asked if we wanted to play. We were obviously happy to do it. It's gonna be a great night for a great cause. They're matching donations at the door, so whatever you give, consider it doubled! that's pretty amazing.

Tuesday, April 12
Cathyland & PackratPlanet present..
Rock 4 Japan A benefit concert
Live rock show featuring:
Cheap Trick or Treat's tribute to Live at Budokan
Acey Slade & the Dark Party
The Orion Experience
High Teen Boogie
The Youngthings
Guest DJs Dario Speedwagon, Michael T & Amber Martin
Raffle prizes include:
an Ibanez electric guitar, a 5-piece set of Sound Percussion drums, Cheap Trick Budokan DVD/CD sets and Rick Nielsen-designed Ipod and Ipad cases

RSVP via facebook
$10 suggested donation
All proceeds go toward Japan earthquake/tsunami relief efforts
doors 6pm.
Show 8pm - midnight
at:
Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Ave. (between N 11th & N 12th St.)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
(718) 963-3369
BrooklynBowl.com

Linkage:
website: theyoungthings.net
facebook: facebook.com/theyoungthings
Youtube: youtube.com/theyoungthings
Twitter: @theyoungthings
Myspace: theyoungthings

Where can we buy your music?
You can download our entire EP for FREE on our website, theyoungthings.net. We don't want your money… not yet at least.

Tell us a story or anecdote about performing live.
Oh man we've got anecdotes. My favorite would have to be the first time we went to play in LA. We went out there with our engineer and basically tore the town down. One night in particular, we ended up going to a house party thrown by the cast of CSI, then ended up in some shithole bar in Hollywood. We're sitting at the bar having some cocktails, and I look to my left: a Hasidic rabbi dancing with a prostitute. I look to my right: a mother with a couple of young kids. Needless to say that we all hung for quite a while. Lovely people. I love LA.

Any advice to someone just starting out?
Drink and smoke a lot of cigarettes. Go out as a band as much as possible. If you're playing shows once every 2 or 3 weeks, spend the other nights meeting other bands and other people. It's awesome, everyone is super friendly, and you never know who you're gonna meet. Early on, we started the night handing out flyers in front of Bowery Ballroom. The night ended at an insane industry after party at 4 am. You never know where it takes you.

Can you recommend any other act(s) we should feature on MurphGuide?
we got a million friends in a million bands, so i don't wanna piss anyone off by forgetting a mention. it's like forgetting to thank your mom at the Grammys.

What are your plans for the future?
We've got big big plans coming up in the spring. But we don't wanna tip our hand.

In addition to the Rock 4 Japan benefit, you can see The Young Things on May 19 at Bowery Electric...

Thursday, May 19
The Young Things
at:
The Bowery Electric
327 Bowery (between 2nd & 3rd St.)
New York, NY
(212) 228-0228
TheBoweryElectric.com

Below you can learn more about the band in:
The Young Things 10-minute Documentary: