Band ready for rockstar lifestyle
(Thursday, April 16, 2009)“We got lucky,” admitted lead singer Dan Young in an interview with The Pitt News. “A recording label heard us, and we got signed and we made our first recording. We got signed before we even toured.”
That first record label is in the past for This Providence.
“We’ve been a band for five years now,” said Young. “Myself and Gavin [Phillips] started the band. It slowly evolved into what it is now. The lineup now has been that way for two years.”
When Young and guitarist Phillips began, however, the group was very young and inexperienced. Most parents expect college from their high school graduates, but Young remembered that his parents were supportive of the beginning band.
“When I turned 18, I got my first electric guitar from them. They were all very supportive, and they still are,” he said about family members of This Providence.
“The way we took off was playing a lot of shows at teen centers and clubs, wherever we could find a show,” remembered Young.
Through playing local shows in Seattle, Young and fellow band members at the time were picked up by their first record label.
“It wasn’t a big record label. It was a small independent record label in the area,” said Young. “We did one record with them, so they’re like a first label for bands.”
Now with Fueled By Ramen, Young said that the band is “still based out of Seattle,” home of This Providence founders. And with expanding its playing field came the need to use other tools, including social-networking Web sites.
“We use it (Myspace) all the time for different little things and events,” said Young about the social-networking site. “It’s definitely been an interesting thing. There are so many tools like Facebook and Twitter. There are a lot more tools and a lot more work to do with them.”
Even with the tools of the Internet, band publicity and rock star lives are not easily achieved. Neither are they completely full of glamour and fame.
“It’s very common for a touring band to continually ask ourselves that,” said Young when asked about considering a different lifestyle. “You don’t make much money. People don’t buy records anymore.
“On top of that you’re away from home a lot and it sucks,” continued Young. “Some people are made for the road. I don’t mind it, but I wouldn’t mind my own bed at night and sleeping where I am comfortable. I could probably make more money at home in a recording studio.”
Whatever future decisions Young makes, for now he and This Providence will continue to put forth effort to produce music together.
“It is hard,” said Young about song compositions. “If you want to do it well, it’s hard. It took up a really long time to do this last record.
“I think our band is a little more anal than other bands,” said Young. “We’re very concerned that everything makes sense in the English language, or making our point go across the way we want it. And finding inspiration in the first place is always challenging. It’s a difficult task but a rewarding task.”
It makes sense that a difficult skill would be met with frustrations.
“We would love to see more success,” said Young. “I get tired of playing in crappy little clubs where my guitar won’t work because we knock the power out.”
Until then, Young has begun to dig into other ideas.
“When I’m not touring I’ve started to delve into some co-writing and a small amount of producing. I’ve spent a lot of time in studios. It’s a natural, comfortable place to be, and I get it.
“I think all of us could move on to other things,” he said.
But for now, This Providence is still aiming for what Young calls “more success.”
“We’re doing what we can to make that happen, and we have some big tours lined up that we’re not allowed to announce,” said Young.
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