About Young the Giant
Young the Giant is an American rock band that formed in Irvine, California, in 2004. The band's line-up consists of Sameer Gadhia , Jacob Tilley , Eric Cannata , Payam Doostzadeh , and Francois Comtois . Formerly known as the Jakes, Young the Giant was signed by Roadrunner Records in 2009, and they released their eponymous debut album in 2010. The band's first three singles, "My Body", "Cough Syrup", and "Apartment", all charted on the US Alternative Songs chart.
The Jakes formed in 2004 in Irvine, California. Consisting of Jacob Tilley, Addam Farmer, Kevin Massoudi, Ehson Hashemian, and Sameer Gadhia, the band's name was an acronym of the members' first names. After several personnel changes, the group's lineup by 2008 included Gadhia, Tilley, Hashemian, Eric Cannata, Francois Comtois, and Jason Burger. Initial coordination of musical contributions was difficult because the members all attended different schools. With two members still in high school and the others each attending different colleges, the Jakes recorded an EP, Shake My Hand, with producer Ian Kirkpatrick. Band members then individually decided whether or not to put their schooling on hold to focus on music. Burger left the band to pursue an education at Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and Comtois took over as the drummer. Shortly thereafter, longtime friend and collaborator Payam Doostzadeh joined as bassist. In 2009, the band played four shows at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. The band's song "Garands At Normandie" was played during an episode of MTV's The Real World: Brooklyn, and "Paid the Piper" was featured on A&E's The Beast. Another song, "Cough Syrup", received airplay on the Los Angeles radio station KROQ. Shortly before signing to Roadrunner Records in August, keyboardist Ehson Hashemian left the band. In December 2009, the band announced they had changed their name to Young the Giant.
The Jakes officially changed their name to Young the Giant in January 2010 during the production of their eponymous album. Young the Giant spent 2010 opening for Minus the Bear and Steel Train while working on their debut album with Joe Chiccarelli at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles. They took an old-school approach to recording the album. All the tracks were performed live which resulted in a lot of “chopping” during production. The band was very vigilant of their tracks but trusted the decisions of Joe Chiccarelli who had previously produced albums for The Shins, The Strokes, and Saints of Valory. The band believed in transparency; they only wanted to record what they could reproduce in front of an audience at a live show.
After the band finished recording in early June, they played additional shows with Marina and the Diamonds, The Futureheads, Neon Trees, and New Politics. Several songs—including "My Body", "I Got", and "Strings"—were leaked online in advance of the album's release. On October 26, Roadrunner Records digitally released the eponymous Young the Giant album, which Amazon.com hailed the third best rock album of 2010. The album was released physically in the U.S. on January 25, 2011 and in the UK on May 2.
The band's first single "My Body" was released to U.S. radio in January and went on to peak at number five on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. iTunes offered the song as a weekly free download beginning January 9, and it was featured on an episode of American Idol. The band performed the song that month on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Fuel TV's The Daily Habit. The official video for the single, which features actor Bryan James, was directed by Justin Francis.
In March, Young the Giant headlined the Billboard Showcase at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. In May, the band played the Sasquatch! Music Festival, the BBC's Later... with Jools Holland, and The Great Escape Festival in Brighton. English singer Morrissey, on the fansite True to You, declared Young The Giant as one of his favorite new bands. The music video for the group's second single, "Cough Syrup", premiered in June. The band was named MTV's PUSH Artist of the Week on July 4.
Map & Directions To Venue
